Bishop Fox Award recipient, Georgette Pereira

The Bishop Fox Award is presented at Year 12 Graduation, and is awarded to a student who displays excellence in the areas of conduct, study and sport.

We are proud to announce the 2024 recipient of the Bishop Fox Award is Georgette Pereira.

Georgette made an address at our end of year Presentation Assembly, and below is an excerpt of her speech:

I'd like to share some of my experiences, and what I learnt from them. The first is about failure. Now, let me be clear, failure isn't fun, and it's definitely something we aim for, but it's also not the end of the world.

I know as I entered Year 11 I thought that was the year I would have to buckle down, strive for excellence and achieve excellence... and that's where I was wrong.

Because I did not reach my goals immediately. In Year 11 I failed both my maths and chemistry prelims. I'm telling you this because I want to make sure you know that you will face challenges.

Use your time at school to learn from these challenges. This will help you develop resilience and commitment to learning.

Find out what study methods work best for you, discover the subjects you love, and the ones you don't. Through my experience at Red Bend I've come to realise that reaching your goals and achieving your version of success is a long process.

It's a process full of consistency and determination. A process of failure and resilience. A process that Red Bend is all about.

Through difficulties to greatness.

Life balance is another crucial lesson I've learned. As we approach our senior years, the pressure to succeed can sometimes feel overwhelming. It's easy to fall into the trap of thinking that schoolwork and grades must take up every minute of our lives. But if there's one thing I've learned, it's that balance is key to both academic and personal success.

In the midst of studying for exams, completing assessments and trying to keep up with school life, it is easy to forget about taking care of yourself.

Trust me, burnout is real.

For me, balance meant taking breaks, spending time with friends and family, sport, getting enough sleep and eating loads of good food.

I've learned that when I take care of my mental and physical health, I can focus better, retain information more easily, and even enjoy the process.

I have to be honest with you; one of the biggest challenges I've faced in my 13 years of schooling is procrastination. We've all been there, right? You know you have a big assessment coming up, but somehow you find yourself doing everything except the work.

Maybe it's a Netflix show, or scrolling social media... the task feels too big, so you just push it aside.

But here's the thing I've learned: procrastination only adds stress. The trick for me was to:

• Start early

• Break tasks into smaller, manageable tasks

Whatever works with you, just stick to it. Consistency really is key (yes, Mrs Wheeldon, you were right.)

If I can leave you with one thing, it's this:

Success isn't about being perfect - it's about learning, growing and finding balance.

Start early, don't let procrastination win, and don't forget to make time for the things you love.