Student leaders stronger together

As our Year 11 students head towards the summer holidays, they could be forgiven for not having much on their mind other than rest, sunshine and long days at the beach. However, for our 2021 student leadership team, school is still a major priority. The boys came back to the Aquinas Centre this week to spend a day deepening their bond as a group, learning about all things leadership, and making plans for the coming year.

We were fortunate enough to have the wonderful Amy from yLead join us via Zoom to facilitate the morning sessions, which were all about discovering how to harness the complementary strengths and values within the group. This was the overarching lesson of the day – that thanks to our different backgrounds, experiences and skills, we are always stronger together than we are on our own.

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These discussions and activities prompted much laughter, deep thinking and more than a few ‘aha’ moments for the boys. We caught up with them at morning tea time (which featured some delicious donuts from the Canteen) to see what they had learnt so far, and this is what they had to say…

“ It’s really important to me to be a positive role model for the younger students, and give back to the school for all it has given me over the years. It has been really helpful to learn about each other’s strengths and weaknesses this morning, so we know how we can best support each other to be those positive leaders and role models. “
Mitchell Gregory

“I’ve learnt that leadership is character plus action, so it’s been interesting to think about what actions I actually want to take to be a positive leader for the school community. For me, that means being friendly, approachable and accepting to all.”
Yemo Koo

“I’ve learnt a lot about my values today, and what really matters to me. I hope to be the kind of leader who cares, because it’s been fantastic in previous years to have leaders who really know and care about their fellow students, as well as the broader community.”
Lachlan Sewert

“I’ve learnt things about myself this morning, in ways I never thought I would. That self-awareness is something that I think will be vital for us to be positive and effective leaders. This morning’s activities have shown me the synergy between my life experiences, and the character strengths I now have. It was also humbling to learn about our weaknesses, and make plans for what we can do and who we can go to, in order to develop in these areas. I think that as a group we have a really complementary set of skills and values and I think this will promote really good teamwork.”
Kevin Mach

“It’s quite a big group of us here today, and as well as all the different strengths and values I’ve learnt about everyone, it’s been great to find the things we have in common too. I think this will help us relate to each other and other students too.”
Antony Le

“Learning about our strengths and weaknesses was really valuable. I learnt that perseverance is a big one for me and I hope that will shine through next year.”
Gurkirat Bar

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As you can see, this group has high hopes for how they will continue in the footsteps of their predecessors. It was heartening to see each member of the group demonstrate their exceptional teamwork skills as they contributed with honesty, vulnerability and enthusiasm. Even though the announcement of Head Prefect and Deputy Head Prefect is still to come, there is no doubting that among this group there are many more than just two standout students ready to take on the challenge of leading Blackfriars, and making positive social change in our school and community.