Taken from Dave's Farewell Speech at our End of Year Mass:

Well today is really a day of mixed emotions.

I could be really upset about leaving but really I’m celebrating how lucky I have been to have been able to have spent nine years here at Lumen Christi.  So any tears shed will be tears of celebration not tears of sadness.

In the past six years I’ve been the principal at Lumen Christi plenty has happened.  We have had new buildings built, a new playground, we created Cambo’s Kitchen, I survived cancer, Lumen Christi has the world’s best soccer team, I’ve become a Grandfather and Richmond has won three, THREE premierships.  Over the past few years we have had fires, storms, another fire, floods, another storm and even a global pandemic. The world doesn’t sit still and things are always changing, and so it is with school.  I was so excited to become the 7th Principal of Lumen Christi but I always knew there would be a time for someone else to become the 8th Principal. 

I often use the word LOVE in my speeches to the students in assemblies and today is a perfect opportunity for me to say thank you for the love you have shown me and also an opportunity to remind all of you that I love you.  Vicki would be embarrassed to know all the times at assembly that I have rubbed my wedding ring to tell you all about how much I love her and then jokingly rank my love for you all somewhere between Richmond and a packet of Burger Rings - and that is pretty high up there.

To the staff of Lumen Christi who I have worked with I would like to acknowledge your professionalism and thank you for your friendship.  You all know I often say I’m not looking for my colleagues to be my best friends and I’m not interested in socialising with you out of hours, but I can say to the staff that you started as colleagues and have become my friends.  I’m going to deeply miss you all next year but I’m sure your meetings will be shorter without me.

To the current and past families, I extend my thanks for the trust you place in us collectively and me personally.  I’ve watched your preps become graduates, I’ve been super clucky over your babies and I’ve listened when you have shared your saddest stories.  And when COVID hit you became my new staff - and I think you were pretty awesome and probably deserved a pay rise.  I have enjoyed being a small part of your lives and will miss the before and after school chats.  In particular, can I thank those school parents who have gone above and beyond in contributing to the school - I simply can’t thank you enough.

To the most important people in the school, the students.

Well if there are any people that I’m going to miss the most it is you guys.  I’ll miss seeing you every morning on duty and I’ll miss our chats when I’m out and about.  I will definitely miss hearing you sing WE SHINE and my forever wish is that you will remember how loved you are here at Lumen Christi and also remember to be the Light of Christ no matter how hard that is going to be.  

Across my time here in Churchill I have been blessed to work with a wonderful group of Priests who I have enjoyed sharing the responsibility with of being our  Faith Leader.  Our Priests have been mostly from overseas and I cannot express how grateful I am of their generosity and courage as they have moved from their homes abroad to join us here at Lumen Christi.  Fr.Solomon can you please pass on my thanks to your brother priests, and personally I would like to congratulate you on your appointment as Parish Priest down in South Gippsland in 2022.  I look forward to hearing about your surfing adventures down at Inverloch.

To the Lumen Christi Parish Community, I have never felt so welcomed into a Parish like I have here.  You are the Light of Christ and Bishop Coffey should be canonised for what he has created here in the middle of the paddock in the late 1970s.  So I humbly and simply just say thank you.

Tonight we get to say farewell to our Graduating Class of 2021.  Tonight I will get the chance to wish you all the best for the future and acknowledge your achievement in completing primary school, but can I take this opportunity to wish you and your families all the best.

So with tears of appreciation I finish up and simply say goodbye Lumen Christi.  I love you, I will always love you.