THE ASSISTANT MINISTER FOR MINISTRY OF YOUTH AND SPORTS
THE HONOURABLE ILIESA DELANA

 

• The Head Teacher
• School Management and Committee
• Teachers
• Students
• Invited Guests
• Ladies and Gentlemen
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Good Afternoon, Bula Vinaka, Namaste and Salaam Aleikum to you all.

It is indeed a privilege to be here this morning, celebrating the school’s annual prize giving day.

It also gives me great pleasure to congratulate all the prize winners as well as all the students who performed so well in 2017.

It would be a mistake to see events such as these as a celebration only for the top achievers and award recipients.

Today is very much about every student who has been part of the academic year at the St. John of Arc School in 2017. You all are winners.

Each student here today needs to consider the way forward. Each student has the potential and the opportunity to be the recipient of future awards and recognition.

Ladies and Gentlemen, today is also about affirmation and seeking inspiration. We all need to rekindle the light in our child or continue supporting our child on their educational journey.

But most importantly, it is about the present and the power each of us has to create new possibilities from this moment forward.

Ladies and Gentlemen, students, with this in mind I have three main points on which I wish to focus this afternoon. The power of Choice, the setting of Goals and being passionate about what we do.

We make choices all the time, from the moment we wake up until we go to bed.

Some of the choices students make may include;
• Do I go to school or do I get my mom to call the school and say that I am sick?
• Do I inform my teacher about my late arrival to school or do I sneak into the classroom trying not to be noticed?
• Do I listen attentively in class or do I attempt to disturb my other friends?
• Do I do my own homework or do I copy that of my friends?

These are some of the choices that we do not even realise we are making. What we must begin to acknowledge is that the choices we make must bring us closer to or take us further away from our dreams.

I would like to urge each of you to become aware of the Choice you have at any given moment - the choice you have right now, right this minute.

To achieve any result in reality, choices must be followed by actions aligned with that choice. Often we may say “I had no choice” – but we do and it may be a hard choice to make. Indeed, making no choice by trying to ignore issues is also a choice.

However, the quality of the choices we make, and the effectiveness of the actions we take are determined by how clearly defined our goals are and the extent of our focus on those goals.

Goal setting is a powerful tool that facilitates the achievement of our dreams. It helps us to focus our attention, to organize our time and to use our resources optimally.

And since success breeds success, goals which we achieve, motivate us to aim higher and boost our belief in our own ability, creating a new confidence to strive beyond the limits we may have set for ourselves.

However, a crucial element for effective goal setting is creating goals based on values. This means we need to adopt a broader view of our achievement.

If we declare Excellence as our life goal, then every area of our life will be an opportunity for us to strive for excellence: our academic results would be excellent, our sporting achievements would be excellent, our relationships would be excellent, the way in which we speak, our conduct and our dress would be excellent.

Ladies and Gentlemen, this brings me to my third point: being Passionate about what we do. Passion indicates our full commitment. When we experience success, achieving our goals, we demonstrate our passion.

The opposite is also true: when we are passionate about what we do, we motivate others to achieve our collective goals. Passion can therefore lead to success.

When we use our skills and talents to do something meaningful and significant in our lives, we develop Passion. Being Passionate is also a choice.

It is the choice we make to bring enthusiasm, commitment and enjoyment to those value-based goals we have set.

When we are passionate we do things to the best of our ability. We do more than what is required. We are positive and enthusiastic. We inspire others by our example.

Passion is contagious. It is a life force that brings about all manner of advancement. It is that which makes us know we are ALIVE!

We all have the Power of Choice and that is exactly what Choice is: POWER. It is in our power to influence our academic progress and results, our sporting commitment and, indeed, Life itself. Each one of us has the choice to strive for excellence.

Finally, congratulations to all the prize recipients and may you all excel in your future endeavours.

Vinaka, Dhanyabad, Shokran and Thank you all.