2023 Head Girls Speech
Luca and I are the 113th and 114th Head Girls’ of IGGS and are extremely excited to have begun fulfilling our roles in the schools 131st year. We are incredibly grateful for the opportunity to inspire the students of IGGS, and the wider community. We feel honoured to contribute to the thriving legacy of past Head Girls and are extremely grateful for the guidance we have been gifted with. As leaders, we strive to serve – to serve the students, staff, community, and every Old Girl of Ipswich Girls’ Grammar – we believe that servant leadership arises from the inherent goodness and dignity of the students and staff that have gone before us, and that sit before us today.
The 2023 Seniors are a group of spirited and ambitious change makers. Each equipped with the ability to bring contagious energy to everything that we face, whether that be on stage, spectating on the sidelines or on the sporting field. It is our hopes and dreams which define us individually, but we are united in our desire to leave our mark on IGGS and ensure that the 131st Chapter of Ipswich Girls’ Grammar School will be unlike no other.
As the senior class of 2023, we have made a few promises to the school, the younger student body, and to ourselves in order to really make this year memorable for everyone. We promise to listen and be there for you when you’re in need of a shoulder to lean on or someone to talk to. We promise to be your biggest supporters on the sporting field, in the classroom or on the stage. We promise to participate in as much as the rigorous grade 12 schedule will allow. We promise to set the standard and lead by example, to push our comfort zones and to break our barriers. We promise to be the role models our younger selves would have wanted to see. We promise to make the very most of 2023.
The 2023 Senior theme has finally been revealed. ‘Fly Free in 2023’. Now, despite what some of you may be thinking while mulling over the new theme, flying free does not mean attempting to escape from all your problems, or to be free of all school rules and social etiquette you have learnt over the years; flying free represents each and every single one of us soaring to new heights, pushing our limits, and flying that extra mile even though we’ve already been travelling for hours. Flying free means embracing who you are, your culture, your religion, your identity. No one journey a plane makes is exactly the same; it’s impossible, as there are so many factors that contribute to the flight: the location, turbulence, weather, passengers. Yet for each of these factors to have an effect on the journey, every plane needs the same foundations to first lift it into the air. If we’re tying in our metaphor to real life, these foundations are our academic education, our family and friends, our past mistakes, and our future goals. And don’t get us wrong. Most planes have a rough take off – if you’ve ever been on a plane, you understand the need to grip onto the arm rests for dear life as it races across the runway – and most planes have a bumpy landing. In most cases, it is inevitable. We all make our mistakes, go through our own turbulence that can make our stomachs drop and leave us feeling off-kilter. But no matter how precarious and bumpy things may get, no matter if they are at the start of your journey, throughout the trip, or right at the landing, we push through and come out the other end stronger than before.
We felt as though it was important to have a tangible object which exemplified our theme, and thus the idea of a paper plane was born. Paper Planes are the epitome of creativity, belief and imagination – because no matter which way or how it is folded, with persistence and creativity, it will eventually fly, similar to our personal dreams, no matter how big or small they are, with determination and creativity, they too will eventually soar.
Following the past years, we have crafted a canvas which is a physical manifestation of our theme. On our canvas there are six paper planes, five of which represent our Houses. Whilst each house, has their own goals, we are all on the same flight path, all soaring for greatness and reaching new ‘heights’ as a house. The navy and blue paper plane, at the forefront of our canvas represents IGGS as a collective. The paper plane is directed upwards, because as a school in 2023 we want to transcend to new heights, to rise above and go beyond what we ever thought was possible. When we are filled with motivation, and determination, we discover the infinitude of life and of learning, and we are lifted and moved above and beyond our present place, our present expectations, and our present abilities – we begin to fly.
On the opposite corners of our canvas, we have incorporated Indigenous art. In Term 4 last year, Sian Costigan and Chloe Murphey painted the indigenous art on the canvas for the 2023 theme. On both corners of the canvas, yellow, light blue, and navy-blue dots are painted throughout the area. The yellow dots symbolize learning, as it is one of the most important aspects of school. The light blue and navy- blue dots replicate the school colours and how together we are one and we wear our colours with pride. Along with the dot art, drawings of men and women are presented on the canvas along with little yarning circles, the men and women signify ourselves within the school as well as the yarning circles that represent community and care. To finish off the canvas, stars were drawn to fulfil the space, as the theme is ‘Fly free in 2023’, and the stars replicate the sky and the vision of the paper airplanes. The purpose of these drawings are to recognise and acknowledge the indigenous culture withheld at the school.
Finally, behind the big white paper plane, there is a trail of words that depict what our senior vision is. The words: participation, unity, motivation, inspiration, ambition, memorability, inclusivity, kindness, and fun, are what creates the loop. They are written on the canvas because that is what our grade believes leadership to be, and it is the legacy that we want to leave behind when we walk out of these school gates for the last time.
We are truly grateful for the encouragement and support we have received from the executive, teachers, peers and fellow seniors of 2023. We have full confidence that under the leadership of the Class of 2023, IGGS will transcend to new heights, thrive and prosper like never before. Throughout our senior year, we will face challenges, successes, highs and lows, and moments of realisation when you realise you forgot evaluate in your English exam – we are excited for all these moments, and especially to share them with you, the Class of 2023. To quote the admirable East High Wildcat, Troy Bolton “This is our last time to get it right, and this is the last chance to make it all right. We’ve got to show what we’re all about, work together. This is our last chance to make our mark. History will know who we are. This is our last game so make it count. Its now or never.”
To the Class of 2023, it really is now or never. This is our moment, our year and our chapter.
2023, is officially ready for take-off.
Luca Pole and Bridie Ward Landy
2023 Head Girls
