Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity. 1 Timothy 4:12
It is an absolute joy to work in a school where students of all ages take on responsibility for caring for others and serving their community. Just as Paul writes in his letter to Timothy, young people have a huge opportunity to set a positive example for others in their words and actions.
2023 has been an exciting year in the area of Student Leadership.
In Primary, our Year 6 captains have been joined by students from a number of other year groups to form a Student Representative Council. Under the leadership of Mr Andrew Nash, these students have been meeting regularly to plan and implement exciting initiatives around the school. They have been talking about different ways to listen to the student voice as well as planning some upcoming fundraisers.
“While student leadership often leads students to take initiative in “up-the-front” moments, there are just as many valuable occasions throughout a school day when students have the opportunity to influence, serve and lead.”
In Secondary, student leadership has taken a variety of forms. At the start of the year we gathered a group of students from Years 7 – 12 who had all expressed an interest in being part of our student leadership program. We shared a day together in early March where a number of speakers, including Pastor Mark North from St Clements Kingston, encouraged our students in the role they could play in loving and serving our school community. From this point, a number of fantastic student-led initiatives have emerged:
We have student Bible studies and prayer groups up and running. A variety of groups have been formed and run both during lunchtime and before school.
Our Year 7 student leaders, under the guidance of their Head of Year, Mr Stephen Matthews, are running Milo Mondays and Toastie Thursdays as a way of blessing and connecting our Year 7 community.
Two of our Year 12 students, Chloe de Kievit and Matilda Spakman, recently organised the very successful “Day for Dolly” – a fundraising and awareness day around the very important issue of bullying prevention and student wellbeing.
Our senior Student Council are in the midst of organising the Calvin Biggest Morning Tea. We’re looking forward to seeing some amazing costumes next Thursday 1 June around the theme of “Historical Figures”. There will be a shared afternoon tea, games and money raised being donated to the Cancer Council.
While student leadership often leads students to take initiative in “up-the-front” moments, there are just as many valuable occasions throughout a school day when students have the opportunity to influence, serve and lead. We love to recognise all the different ways that students contribute to a loving and Christ centred community; whether through words of kindness, giving help to a friend who is struggling or thanking a teacher at the end of a class. Each of these seemingly small gestures goes a long way in helping our community become a place of welcome, inclusion and care.
Stelle Carmichael — Acting Head of Secondary