North Coast’s school leaders share their hopes for 2022
From young dive masters to sports champions, school leaders from across the North Coast region have shared their hopes for 2022. Meet the new year’s young legends from Tweed Heads to Lismore.
Lismore
Don't miss out on the headlines from Lismore. Followed categories will be added to My News.
The North Coast’s incoming school captains are preparing to lead and motivate their fellow students in 2022.
From dive masters to sports heroes, young stars from across the region have shared what they are looking forward to most in the new year, and what they hope to achieve as the 2022 school captains.
Meet the region’s young and upcoming leaders for 2022 below.
Mullumbimby High School
The leadership team at Mullumbimby High School are ready and rearing to go.
Nalani Farrell
This go-getter school captain is hoping to make positive change this school year.
After high school, Nalani hopes to go to university, study psychology and travel.
Max Biermann
This Mullumbimby student and school captain has grand plans for the future.
Max would like to go to university to study while pursuing scuba diving and becoming a dive master.
Matilda Thornton
Vice-captain Matilda has a passion for all things equine.
She has hopes to head to Sydney after finishing school to study medicine while continuing to work and share her love of horses.
John Harry
Vice-captain John hopes to shake up the engineering world.
After high-school and the HSC, he hopes to study mechanical engineering.
Byron Bay High School
Byron Bay High School leaders are ready to make a change in their community in 2022.
Captains Finnley Connors and Tom Simpson will be joined by vice-captains Kate Giddy and Louis Trisley.
The Byron Bay community also welcomes senior student school executives Sophie Hulbert and Rex Coppin.
The Senior Student Executive Team self-nominated to be part of the merit process for a leadership position.
All students who applied submitted a written application to the principal.
They then aced an interview with the principal, deputy principal and year advisor.
Once being successful, those leaders created their own videos to share with the school which detailed their leadership capacity and innovative ideas to enhance school cultures.
The videos were played to all Jali Groups (welfare groups) and their peers then used an online preferential voting system to vote for their leaders.
Richmond Christian College
The school captains at Richmond Christian College are passionate about engaging with their fellow peers and connecting during their leadership term.
Mikaela Scott
Mikaela is a welcoming and encouraging leader with a desire for all students to feel welcomed and connected
She has run Bloom (a girls’ group) for the past few years.
She values kindness and is known in the school community for her willingness to listen and help students when they need to talk to someone.
Sam is an enthusiastic leader who is always willing and able to help others. He has a passion for leadership that will encourage others, help all students feel connected and bring opportunities for students to have fun together.
He’s really looking forward to running Battle of the Bands later in the year.
Nimbin Central School
Kyah Tapp and Kian Berry will be leading Nimbin Central School in 2022.
Both captains are prepared devote themselves to leadership roles at Nimbin Central in a big way.
Kian Berry
Kian sees his role as being bigger than just being a representative of students.
“From voicing the students’ needs, securing grants for school facilities and supporting my peers, I will continue to guide my peers to success through diversity,” he said.
Kyah Tapp
Kyah is a confident and dedicated leader who thrives on being a voice for others who want to contribute to a thriving school democracy.
“Like I told my peers before voting: I don’t want to be your leader, I want to be your representative, your mediator, your megaphone, your voice for change,” she said.
Summerland Secondary College
Summerland Christian College will be led by Ellie Black, Jorja Hodghton, Ethan Mitchell and Matthew Primiano.
The captains are elected by their peers and a panel of staff based on a select criteria of leadership.
Ellie Black
Ellie has been chosen for her efforts in schoolwork, co-operation and displaying values of kindness, love and respect to others.
Jorja Hodghton
Jorja takes her leadership role very seriously and has excelled in all facets of school life.
She will represent the college with pride and at school events in 2022.
Ethan Mitchell
Ethan has always showed leadership qualities while at the college.
He is constantly seeking to maintain a positive student culture and great relationships with teachers and staff.
Matthew Primiano
Matthew is a charming school leader and always available to lend a hand to anyone.
He is an expert at making the most of opportunities to encourage unity in the school and with the wider community and his favourite sport is football.
Blue Hills College
Julianne Espares, Samuel Fayares and Alayna Gray will lead Blue Hills College in 2022.
Julianne, Sam and Alayna have been consistently involved and supportive of the wholistic school program.
Whether it be through sporting and organised events or through personal mentoring and social/emotional engagement, these students thoroughly deserve the positions of leadership.
Julianne Espares
As school captain, Julianne has consistently shown leadership in previous years, but her election to the position recognises her skills and efforts in her school and co-curricular work.
She is a massive Penrith Panthers fan.
Sam Fayares
Sam is a born leader who enjoys spending time with friends and family.
His role models include comedian Robin Williams and wildlife expert and Australian conservationist Steve Irwin.
Alayna Gray
Alayna takes inspiration and admires people with perseverance who achieve their goals.
She loves being around her friends and hates to leave them.
Emmanuel Anglican College
The go-getters at Emmanuel Anglican College can’t wait to start a new year and are committed to making change.
The leadership team comprises of two school captains, eight house captains, student representative council president, arts and culture student leader, community involvement student leader, and student representative council secretary.
Meet the captains below:
Judah Wright
Judah is a passionate individual who is a constant at school events such asvarious school carnivals, NCIS soccer, touch football, inter school debating, academic competitions, club soccer and his local church community.
He hopes to strengthen inter stage social bonds with the school environment, whether that be between Secondary School and Primary School, or fostering a more personable connection between teachers and students is a key focus for 2022.
Throughout the year, he also wants to develop the school’s profile and involvement across the greater local community.
India Trevan
India has been attending Emmanuel Anglican College since she started school in 2010 and is honoured to take on the leadership role.
Over the years, she has participated in Tournament of the Minds, Duke of Edinburgh Award, competitions and excursions.
As college captain she will strive to be a positive role model, encourage equality, kindness and acceptance and embody college beliefs and practices.
She is also an advocate for her fellow peers and studies.
Murwillumbah High School
Murwillumbah High School will be lead by four student leaders with big plans for their senior year.
Jemma Gilliland
Jemma hopes in her role as student leader to represent the rural students at Murwillumbah High.
She has lived on a farm her whole life and loves being around cows, horses and dogs while noting not many students in the Tweed have that same experience.
She hopes to encourage the agricultural program offered by the school so students can gain farm experience.
Hayley Jones
Hayley is a young student who has overcome many hardships to achieve her academic and sporting goals.
She hopes to be an approachable and non-judgemental and an active listener who can help support junior students overcome their social, emotional or schooling issues to help them feel more supported in the school environment.
Keira Paddock
Keira has been a member of the student representative council since Year 7.
She is a volunteer in the community and at school and participates in many extra-curricular school activities.
Micah Power
Micah was a successful entrant in the National Schools Constitutional Conventions and will attend the convention in Canberra in 2022.
The convention provides an opportunity for students in Years 11 and 12 to explore contemporary constitutional issues.
It also encourages students to become better informed about the Australian system of government and how the Australian Constitution provides the framework for our democracy while encouraging senior students to take an active interest in the traditions, processes and practices of government.
Xavier Catholic College
Cheyenne Acret, Jayda Thompson, Brodie Viel, and Zachariah Sullivan were elected as the talented leaders for
Xavier Catholic College Captains in 2022.
As the lengthy nomination and voting process continued, it was clear that these four students were highly respected and valued for their dedication to, and support for, the entire College community.
Find out more about the team here:
Jayda Thompson
Jayda hopes to complete a Bachelor of Communication and International Studies, focusing on Political Science.
Cheyenne Acret
After school, Cheyenne plans to study at university but is still deciding what course to pursue.
Zachariah Sullivan
Zachariah also plans to go to university, pursuing studies in Engineering.
Brodie Viel
After finishing Year 12, Brodie will continue flight training to pursue his goal of becoming a commercial aviation pilot.
Kingscliff High School
Kingscliff High School’s captains have shown courage in their passion to make change in the school to support students from all diverse backgrounds after a thorough election process involving one-on-one interviews with the principal and campaigning for the role.
Ashiyana Hilmer
Ashi shows a passion for diversity, advocacy and the environment.
When she finishes school she hopes to take a year to travel around Australia working on her film and photography skills.
She hopes to later go to university to study environmental science or marine conservation with a hope to work all around the world with a passion for working with animals and advocating for environmental protection.
Jack Charlton
Jack has been elected for his passion for student voice, advocacy and corporate finance.
Following school he hopes to attend the University of Queensland to study economics or finance and pursue a career working for the World Bank – aiding countries of need.
Abbey Webster
Abbey has advocated for inclusivity, equality and school partnerships at the school.
She is still deciding what to do after school but has an interest in occupational therapy or working with children with disabilities.
Raven Tuala
Raven will focus her campaign on celebration of culture and educational improvement.
Her idea for what to do after school has changed multiple times but she is now leaning towards education hoping to share her creative knowledge with students of the future.
Tweed River High School
Tweed River High School captains and vice captains were elected by their peers to represent the student body through 2022.
Georgia Jefferies
Georgia believes she was chosen to be a positive influence to her peers, showing her leadership and social skills with her involvement in the school and community events such as sporting and volunteering.
Once she completes school she hopes to finish her hairdressing apprenticeship with a focus on celebrity hair and special events, eventually opening her own salons around Australia.
She also wants to travel the world and start a photography business.
Billie Smith
Billie has been involved with school leadership since she was in year 2.
Over the years she’s helped with planning events and attending carnivals while respecting her peers and always being a friend in their times of need.
Billie is still deciding what is next for her, choosing between studying architecture at Bond University or studying criminology at Griffith or Queensland University of Technology.
Jorja Campbell
Jorja believes she was selected as a vice-captain due to her confidence, passion and fairness as a student and her wishes to support other students at the school.
She hopes to have a positive impact for both students and staff at the school.
Following school Jorja plans to study something in the area of art design.
Rykah Ross
As a vice-captain Rykah strives to bridge the gap between students and teachers to create an environment where students can freely express their opinions without fear of rejection or ridicule.
After school she plans to study at university but is yet to decide which course.
Mount St Patrick Murwillumbah
The college captains at Mount St Patrick for 2022 are Darcy Greenbury and Lucy Jones.
The reason they were both chosen as school captains is because they are both trustworthy and reliable students who are great role models for the high expectations at the school.
Darcy Greenbury
After Darcy finishes school he hopes to be able to take a gap year and travel.
After that he would love to go to university and get a degree in secondary education.
Lucy Jones
Lucy hopes to have a gap year next year and to travel Europe and Asia.
She is also looking to potentially move to Sydney and start university, however she is unsure of what she would like to study, maybe psychology or an environmental science subject.
She is looking forward to having different opportunities and beginning a new chapter of her life.
St Joseph’s Banora Point
Hugh Holt and Lucy Boyle are the school captains at St Joseph’s Banora Point and are both enthusiastic about what is ahead for the final school year.
Hugh Holt
Hugh was chosen as school captain as he expressed the values of the college as well as enthusiasm to create change and collaborate with and lead his peers.
When he leaves school he would like to join the RAAF and become a Fast Jet Pilot through the Australian Defence Force Academy.
Lucy Boyle
Lucy was chosen as college captain for her commitment to the college community, involvement with her peers and commitment to being a leader of change in the college.
When Lucy finishes school, her goal is to become a registered nurse by completing a Bachelor of Nursing at Southern Cross Uni on the Gold Coast.
She also wishes to travel around the world learning about the history and traditions of other cultures.
Pacific Coast Christian College
William Buckley and Mellaine Macasinag are the senior school captains for Pacific Coast Christian School for 2022.
Both students were elected by staff and peers for their dedication to the values and vision of our school.
In the years leading up to their senior year, both leaders have served our school by participating in whole school events such as sporting carnivals, community service events, speaking in chapel services, and developing positive relationships with individuals in the school community.
Mellaine Macasinag
Mellaine has already taken the initiative to rally a team to plan Valentine’s Day and Harmony Day activities for the middle and senior school.
Mellaine hopes to become an architect to design effective and practical accommodating spaces for the community.
William Buckley
William started the school term with an inspirational speech, encouraging students to be dedicated to their work and try their best.
Beyond school, William endeavours to work in the fitness industry to help people achieve healthy and active lifestyles.
‘Cannabis clouded’: Pedo had history molesting teens
A “cannabis clouded” pedophile who molested a child has a history of similar offending but he believes he does not have a problem, a northern NSW court heard.
‘Families destroyed’: Tributes for young girl fatally struck by ute
Tributes are flowing – including from a heartbroken father – for a 15-year-old girl who died in hospital after she was struck by a ute towing a trailer in northern NSW.