Building a RAFT for What's Next

As we enter a busy time of transition in schools, I thought I would share the speech I gave to our Year 11 students at their Presentation Ball on 25th September. 

It talks about the importance of building a strong RAFT to guide us through times of change. Term 4 is a time of change and in school communities the RAFTs we build with our students, and their families will help them navigate the chopping, complex waters of change. Through building strong RAFTs with our children, we honour the  

A very wise person said to me recently that we need to teach students to “be comfortable in their heads, heart and skin”.  

Year 11 as you look ahead to the final year of your formal schooling journey you will most often be “in your head”. The next 12 months will feel like “a head down moment” and you will be told this time and time again. You need to “get on with the task at hand”, you need to be goal focused and get that ATAR, apprenticeship, job placement or cool gap year opportunity. Year 12 can feel transactional at times, if you let it be. 

However, tonight I want you to remember that in Year 12 you must tap into your heart and get comfortable in your skin, while doing all that important schoolwork.  

This is because life is not a curated set of moments - as TikTok, Instagram, SnapChat or other social media platforms might suggest. 

Instead, it is a messy, windy, rocky path where our hearts need to, at times, rule our head and where the most important thing we can do is let go of perfection, take a leap, and build the connections that will catch us when we fall.  

When you are on the cusp of change - and going through a major life transition - it is the time to be comfortable in your skin and embrace your head and heart. 

How might you do this?  

By creating a RAFT. 

A RAFT ebs and flows across the stormy waters of change. A RAFT stays afloat, and keeps those on it safe, only if people have invested time to ensure its durability and flexibility. Like earthquake resistant buildings that have an inbuilt capacity to move with an earthquake, a strong RAFT is sturdy and able to flex with the shifting tides. 

This RAFT metaphor stands for the following: Reconciliation, Affirmation, Farewell and Think Destination (RAFT). As new Year 12s one of the most significant life transitions is on your horizon - life beyond school - and building a strong RAFT will help you navigate uncertain and choppy waters over the next 12 months. It will help you lean into your skin and balance your head and heart. The absence of a strong RAFT during a time of change can leave a person drifting aimlessly or full of regrets for things left unsaid or opportunities not taken. 

So how does each stage of the RAFT apply to you? 

• R: Reconciliation - Before the end of Year 12 make sure you have repaired any fractured relationships with friends and adults in the school community. Take the time to say sorry where you need to, or to share your hurt with someone so they have the opportunity to seek forgiveness. Reconciliation is about “making the relationship right” and forgiveness is a powerful antidote to stress and anxiety. Forgiveness helps you let go and move on. Ponder this question over the next 12 months: what relationships do you need to make right at HVGS and at home? 
• A is for Affirmation - take the time to be grateful and to express that gratitude. It might feel like there is a wealth of time in front of you, but “time flies”. Plan it out – keep a running list through the year of people or things for which you are grateful. Or simply grasp opportunities to say thank you when the moment arises. Affirmation is about acknowledging the profound impact that others have had on your school life and taking a moment to authentically express this gratitude. You can do it in person or write it down. I have spent hours writing thank you cards when I left schools and spread those hours over weeks, so I didn’t lose the moment to express deep gratitude.   
• F stands for Farewell - As you look across the year, consider the places and people you want to say a special goodbye to. Plan for it; make it an event to have lunch in your favourite places. Again, don’t let an opportunity escape you and “Stop to smell the roses” where and when you can. 
• T stands for Think Destination - you started your Think Destination journey in Year 10 and now in earnest as a Year 12 student. You must think destination, and you have to let yourself be both excited and anxious about what it will bring. Imagine yourself in January 2028, free of school and embrace the freedom of the concept. The R, A and F of the RAFT will help you stay connected to the present while you imagine possible futures.  

David Brooks, a writer for the NYT, said this in a podcast:

 “The quality of attention you bring to a person is the central moral act of your life.” 

He believes it is vital that we make each other feel honoured and respected. As you embark on one of the most significant life transitions, your RAFT will only be as strong as the “quality of attention” you bring to those around you (family, friends, teachers) and to your own journey of transition. Make sure you create the time to ensure those who have been part of your journey feel honoured and respected over the next 12 months. 

To our Year 12 leaders, I invite you to model RAFT building and this quality of attention to your peers. 

Consider ways in which you can model forgiveness, express gratitude, say farewell and think destination. Consider how you can help the year group affirm and say farewell. Consider how as a year level you can leave a legacy that reflects a deep, shared commitment to a school that has been integral to who you are and who you will be. 

This will be part of your responsibility over the next few months as leaders; to steer your cohort’s RAFT in the right direction. 

Tonight is part of your collective RAFT. Tonight, everyone here builds memories that strengthen our connections to each other and to HVGS. 

Together we balance head and heart, and we help our young people feel comfortable in their own skins.