The student representative council (SRC) participated in the 2021 GRIP leadership conference at Dubbo. The day was filled with enthusiastic presenters that challenged and encouraged the students with their leadership skills and endeavours. The message for the conference was “l need to put my own hand up and be ready for when it’s my time to lead”.
“l need to put my own hand up and be ready for when it’s my time to lead”
Students were encouraged to be determined and not be discouraged or distracted in achieving their leadership goals and school endeavours. Our PCS students had the opportunity to meet and work with other student leaders from both public and private schools, in our district. Bailey Boland commented that “it was great to see the diversity of leaders [that brought their own talents and skills to their SRC teams]” and he also noted that “no leader was the same.” Students were encouraged to use their talents and identify real needs in their school.
Each session had two elective options that the students could choose from. Our PSC students divided themselves evenly to cover both electives and get the most out of each one. The sessions challenged students to think more deeply about their own leadership skills and reflect on their own school’s needs and activities. Luke Hall-Matthews said, “The conference was the best time to learn and think about good leadership.” Both the house captains and SRC found the sessions called “keeping your team motivated” and “Creative Ideas for Your School Which Aren’t Events” really useful. Laura Hall-Matthews found the creative ideas presented by the organisers and discussed were great and hopes to be able to implement some of them at PCS.
Time management in leadership was an optional session that ran through morning tea time. It was great to see a large proportion of our PCS student participating in this optional session and learning the importance of scheduling, having priorities and eliminating distractions. Samuel Quince and the other SRC students especially found these management strategies really helpful.
At the lunch break, our students had the opportunity to socialise with students from other schools. It was great to see and hear how they spoke about our school. I also had a great time meeting other SRC teachers and talking about our awesome school.
Ice-breaker activities called Loud Noise were the most enjoyable for students. They allowed students from different schools to work as a team and have a good laugh getting to know each other. Luke participated in one of these Loud Noise activities called celebrity heads. He showed his deep knowledge of important famous figures, like Emma Wiggle, Taylor Swift, Steve Erwin, Buzz Lightyear, Donkey from Shrek, Moana and his most expressive, Elsa from frozen. Ruby Wilson thoroughly enjoyed the dancing Loud noise activity, at the end of the day.
Overall, the students thoroughly enjoyed spending the day together and showed real enthusiasm about their SRC roles and goals.
Mrs R. Lynn