Northern beaches’ school leaders 2023: Passion in leading and motivating other students
School leaders from across the northern beaches have shared their hopes for 2023, and what their leadership roles entail. Meet the young legends.
Manly
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As another school year rolls on, school leaders from across the northern beaches are working to motivate their fellow students, with an unwavering passion for learning.
Talented students from across our region have shared what they hope to achieve as 2023 school leaders, and the impact they can have as young leaders.
Meet the local young and upcoming leaders for 2023:
PITTWATER HIGH SCHOOL
Abigail Hamilton – school captain
As captain, my responsibilities entail being a voice and representative figure for the student cohort, making conscious decisions in the best interests of those around me, and cultivating strong community engagement through positive activities and events.
As a student, I’ve always been outgoing and determined, involving myself in school sporting teams, clubs and events. I was an active member of the SRC during my junior years of high school, as well as a house captain for my sports house and a peer support leader for younger students.
These leadership opportunities inspired me to ultimately run for school captain, allowing me to broaden my leadership opportunities, strive to develop school spirit and give back to the Pittwater community.
To me, being a leader means being a voice and figure for the student cohort, empowering others and valuing all. I decided to pursue this role because I wanted to expand my leadership experiences, challenge myself to be more involved in our community, and ultimately help shape the growth of our school through positive engagement.
I wanted my younger peers to understand that leaders don’t always have to be the smartest or the most popular person; leaders are those who are able to persevere in the face of adversity and bring about positive change.
I enjoy studying my subjects, acquiring new skills and learning to problem solve through challenges. I’m passionate about school involvement, and enjoy participating in school carnivals, clubs, sporting teams and community events. I’m also very passionate about leadership, and I like to involve myself in community leaderships programs like the Mackellar Youth Partnership Program with Dr Sophie Scamps and the NSW parliament Leadership Program.
Darien (Linus) Wang – school captain
My role involves representing the school, planning and hosting events, bringing together the school community and being a voice for my peers.
Being school captain has been my goal ever since I started high school, I felt that being a leader in the school community I have the power to make changes for the better. I was elected by my peers through a rigorous election process.
I have always felt that I have the capabilities to be a leader and contribute back to my school community which has given me so much, I also want to be a role model that younger years can look up to and aspire to become leaders.
I’m passionate about raising school spirit and doing fundraisers. My goal this year is to work together with the leadership team to improve our school community. The theme we have this year is “Work Together, Dream together.”
ST ROSE CATHOLIC SCHOOL, COLLAROY PLATEAU
Lilly Emmerson – Xavier Colour House co-leader
My position involves helping with sport, counting the colour house points, supporting younger
students at carnivals, such as the swimming Carnival, athletics carnival, and cross-country event.
I was elected Xavier Colour House Leader after reading the speech I wrote to my colour house, and they then voted for who they wanted as their Colour House leader.
I have wanted to be a Colour House Leader since I first came to St Rose in kindergarten.
I watched the Colour House leaders doing their roles — counting and sharing the weekly Colour House points and writing the chants.
From this, I always knew that a Colour House leader was what I wanted to be in Year 6.
My Goal is to encourage every child to get excited when they have a sport lesson or carnival. St Rose’s Colour House Leaders gave me my love for sport, and I would now love to inspire the young people in my school and make young people love sport.
Thomas O’Connor – Sustainability Team leader
Our team helps the gardens to grow.
We organise and collect the compost and recycling from every class. We help serve in the
canteen and every Friday we take the bins out to the top playground for the garbage truck to come and pick up.
I was chosen for this role because I care about the environment, and always pick up after myself and others. I also know how to handle and care for a garden, because I have one of my own at home.
I wanted to pursue this leadership position because I like to keep the environment neat and tidy, and make sure that all the rubbish goes in the bin keeping our school playground and environment clean.
At school my passions are playing sports, helping in the canteen, and helping with the garden. One of our goals in the Sustainability Team this year was to start a ‘Waste
Free Wednesday’ program, where you only bring containers or recyclable plastics for your lunches instead of wrappers.
Mabel Boland – deputy school leader
I help run the school assemblies with the other school leaders each morning and afternoon, and often give tours of the school to our new families.
To get elected for School or Deputy School Leader, you have to present a speech in front of the students in Years 3 to 6, and the teachers, who then vote.
Ever since I was in Kindergarten, I knew that I wanted to be one of the leaders.
St. Rose is such a special place, and the community is so caring. I want to give back to St. Rose and help make it an even better place, and I am so lucky to have the opportunity to do so this year.
In my role this year, I want to make a difference.
It is St. Rose’s 50th anniversary, and I would really like to do something special that brings the whole community together.
I love it at St. Rose, and I want to do the best I can in my final year.
Layla Erickson – Student Representative Council leader
This role means I am part of a K-6 team who are the voice of the students of St Rose.
Our team comes up with new ideas and we hold meetings to brainstorm ways to make our school even better.
Before being elected as a SRC Leader, I performed a speech in front of my class and then in front of the primary students at our school in years 3-6, and of course the St Rose staff.
After my speech everyone voted for the roles.
I was very happy to be selected to be an SRC Leader. Being the voice of our student body is an honour and something I have always wanted to do.
St Rose is like a second home for me, so I wanted to repay the favour for everything our
amazing school does for me.
At St Rose our leadership program is very strong. Our Year 5 students are ‘apprentices’ in a leadership team, then move on to be the Year 6 leaders of those teams.
Having the honour of being a leader is an amazing experience, and something I am
very passionate about.
Not only do I enjoy the leadership program, but I also enjoy the separate classes such as library, specialist sport, drama, meditation and martial arts. Such programs help me to ‘refresh’ for our next class session.
I am a proud and happy student at St Rose Catholic Primary School. It is an incredibly welcoming community that supports me and makes me enjoy life at school.
PITTWATER HOUSE, COLLAROY
Levi Smith – Head Prefect, Boys’ Grammar School
This involves being the main point of correspondence between the Principal and Executive team, with the Prefects and student body.
As well as this, the Prefect team has many goals for both the students and the school, which
are discussed at weekly leadership meetings.
Furthermore, as the Head Prefect, I have attended many prefect afternoon teas at a variety of schools throughout the area, where inter-school relationships have been built, and goals have been developed.
This position was elected, partially by a student voting process, but also from an interview process and selection by the Executive team. The application process contained a written
expression of interest, followed by a written application to the school, and then a 90-second speech in front of the Senior School.
Following this was the interview with the Executive team and then a highly suspenseful waiting period. I believe that the teachers felt that my ideas and visions were in line with the
school’s core values and believed that I would be a strong role model, and representative of the school and community.
I believed it would offer me so many opportunities during my final schooling year and beyond. The skills that it has given to me and allowed for me to improve upon, such as teamwork, communication, delegation and open mindedness will be instrumental in my
future endeavours.
Further, the ability to meet new people and build strong relationships with Prefects and students from our school, and other schools is beneficial to both myself, and Pittwater House.
I also enjoy being able to write speeches for weekly assemblies, and special occasions and
practising my public speaking skills frequently
I believe that we all must make the most of the limited time we have at school, and this belief
has furthered my ability to pursue my passions of competing in both sport and academics.
Throughout my time at Pittwater house, I have played for basketball, water polo, soccer and rugby teams, as well as competing at swimming and athletics carnivals, which has allowed me to push myself to my limits and compete with students from various areas.
In terms of goals for the year, it is crucial to me that students enjoy their time at school, so, in conjunction with our Prefect team, we have, and will continue to run, various programs and events for the students to participate in and enjoy.
Additionally, the Prefect team and I would love to see greater interaction between the Junior
School and Senior School students, through programs led by the students, for the students.
Bridget Boyd – Head Prefect, Girl’s College
This position involves being heavily involved with relaying messages and ideas between the
Principal, staff, our Prefect team and the student body.
It is my responsibility to create discussions around the various ideas that our leadership team produces and come up with ways in which everyone’s ideas can be implemented throughout the school.
Luckily for us, we have attended a range of leadership afternoon teas with a myriad of other prefects at different schools, allowing us to learn from each other, and gain a greater understanding of what leadership means and how we can take ideas from other people and apply them to our own school.
I also believe that being Head Prefect involves more than the tangible things, such as running weekly assemblies, and attending a range of meetings each week. I believe that this position enables me to connect with students in all year groups and become a role model for younger students.
This position was an elected position by both the student body and the Executive
team after a range of tasks were completed as part of the Prefect application process. The process, though suspenseful, taught me a lot of life skills and about how important leadership is within not only the school, but also in the wider community.
I believe that I earned this position as both the teachers/staff, and students of Pittwater House felt that my beliefs and my goals for the school, aligned with not only the school’s values, but also their own.
Through the range of co-curricular activities I have participated in since year 7, I believe that
people thought I would be a good role model to those in younger years, and that I would be able to represent the school with pride.
I am very passionate about making everyone within a community feel accepted, valued and heard. I believed that as Head Prefect, I would be able to create an environment where all students felt as though they could express themselves in any way they wish, and they would feel supported while doing so.
I also felt as though I wanted to give back to the Pittwater House community, as it has
done so much for me during my six years at the school.
I thought that leadership would teach me life skills, such as communication, collaboration,
delegation and teamwork. I have met so many different people during my time as Head Prefect, which has been very beneficial to helping me grow as a leader and as a person.
I am a strong believer in making the most of your time at school, which has enabled me to involve myself in a range of sporting teams and gala days as well as being a Cadet
Under Officer of the Pittwater House Cadet Unit.
I am passionate about making a difference in students’ everyday lives, whether it be having
a conversation with them in the hallways or connecting with them through Cadets and College Union Programs.
I believe that allowing people to feel seen, encourages them to also make the most of their time at school. It is important to me that all students enjoy their time at school and build relationships with people not only in their year group, but throughout the entire school.
One of our goals as a Prefect team is to build a school community where everyone
can connect with one another, through a range of different student-led programs.
This is beneficial to both the older and the younger students within our school.
Rory O’Connor – Cadet Senior Under Officer
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I am the Senior Under Officer of the Pittwater House School Army Cadet Unit.
The SUO’s job is to plan for and supervise the running of the unit. Usually this is done
by my senior rank, but I regularly check in with more junior members of the unit to ensure that the senior rank and I are effectively planning for the unit.
Mentoring other rank members in leadership is a core responsibility of the SUO, so that in time they can be effective leaders themselves.
Promotion to any rank in Cadets is based on merit. Formal and informal assessments are used to gauge an individual’s capability, and if the individual is successful, a promotion is offered. Covid disrupted many of the formal assessments my cohort would have undergone, leaving our predecessors’ judgments to be primarily based on informal observations.
My promotion largely came from having a practical approach to running activities and performance that was consistently to standard as a junior member of the unit.
All positions in Cadets have enjoyable aspects. As a junior rank my favourite was teaching
Cadets.
The SUO has the greatest influence of all Cadets over the unit for that year, allowing greater range for contribution to the unit. Giving back to the unit is important to me, as the unit has given me so much over the years, and becoming the SUO was the best way to do that.
I hope to study rural medicine next year, so I’m working towards a high ATAR and UCAT score.
Sophie Buckton – Cadet Company Sergeant Major
In my position in The Pittwater House Cadet Unit, my official rank is Warrant Officer Class 2. However, my appointment is a Company Sergeant Major.
I am responsible for overseeing half of the recruits — the Year 8 and the Year 9 Pioneers.
It is important that the other members of rank and I ensure they are enjoying themselves and are going to be outstanding rank members.
I was promoted to Senior Leader because of my consistent attitude to improve as both a cadet and a leader. These efforts have allowed me to have an input into who will be the next leaders, alongside the Regimental Sergeant Major and other CSM.
I was excited to work together with the leaders of platoons to make sure cadets are enjoying
themselves as much as possible. I was more than happy to be chosen for a position where I
am able to help to make changes I wanted when I was previously in the cadet’s positions. Additionally, this position has allowed me to improve my leadership and teamwork skills which will help me later in life
At school my passions are in the science and PDHPE field. I love biology, PDHPE and
Food Technology the most. These subjects have pointed me towards working in a hospital, or somewhere where I can help people, in hands-on situations.
Cadets has helped me improve my teamwork and leadership skills, which will benefit in my career goal.
In the short term my goals are more focused towards school marks and ensuring I look after my wellbeing.
Millie McEwan – Cadet Sergeant
My official rank is a Sergeant, but my role is the Quartermaster, which involves handing out uniform, maintaining a high standard of organisation in the Q store and handling gear for camp.
On a day-to-day basis another rank member and I organise the uniform. A couple weeks ago we received brand new uniforms which required us to issue the new uniform to all cadets, rank and staff so they look their very best in ceremonial parades.
I was promoted to the role of Sergeant by the OC and senior rank as they monitored my consistent work throughout Cadets.
The role of Quartermaster was a position I chose to be in. The position was one I always had an interest in and when the opportunity came up, I was extremely excited to be involved.
At first, I was assisting someone else but then once I became familiar with the Q store, I became the Quartermaster myself.
I always liked the idea of being in Cadets and having a different role than most. As well as Cadets itself, I really enjoy other opportunities such as being involved in Catafalque parties on ANZAC Day and attending camps.
The idea of being a part of the Cadet community was always something that interested me. Additionally, I was looking forward to mentoring and training a junior cadet to eventually take over my role as Quartermaster.
This role has allowed me to make changes to the current Cadet unit, improving it for the future.
I really enjoy studying PDHPE and Food Technology as they have practical components relating to work we are doing inside the classroom. Taking these subjects has drawn me closer to choosing my path further on in life — psychology.
Cadets has also been extremely beneficial as it has really improved my teamwork skills and working with others which is vital for any field of work. Additionally, I am currently working towards achieving my Bronze Duke of Edinburgh Award.
Miranda Chi – Junior School Assembly Leader, Junior Girl’s College
My job is to guide the younger students as well as set an example not only to the students in lower years, but to my grade.
This role also involves being always on your best behaviour, as well as assisting others. (Of course, we still also have our fun moments).
I may be asked to speak on behalf of the Junior School or the students when it comes to
thanking special guests coming into our school or anything related to this
In the last term of year 5, students get the chance to put themselves forward to become a
Junior School Leader, which is exactly what I did.
The next step is where all students from years 3-6 vote.
After the voting, teachers will decide which students get which roles as there are a variety of
Leaders, such as Sports Leaders and Performing Arts Leaders.
Our predecessors taught us how to behave as School
Leaders so we as the future leaders have learnt from them. I personally think that this is a really amazing system as it is so welcoming to everybody.
I believed that it would be a fun and educating task for myself and the year ahead. In year 5, I saw this as an opportunity to challenge myself which was one of my top goals for 2023. Throughout this year, I believe that I was able to tick that box and accomplish that amazing goal of mine with every speech I’ve ever given, every ceremony I’ve ever attended, and having the phenomenal position of being Junior School Leader in general.
I have many passions at school, but one is most definitely public speaking.
With the help of our school’s public speaking program, I have learnt how enjoying public speaking can be. I have gone
from speaking in front of my classmates, to speaking to the whole year group, then the entire
school. Public speaking has always been a hobby of mine, and just having the role of a leader is purely unbelievable.
My goals for this year are just to keep up the good work, if not, get even better, working more efficiently.
As I transition into Senior School, I hope to have the same mindset as I do now, to discover the many things that are yet to come.
Xander Scott – Junior School Assembly Leader, Boy’s Preparatory School
My leader position involves talking at every assembly about what has happened in the past week at school as well as what is relevant that is happening outside of school that we might want to incorporate, such as the recent Coronation of the King and other world
or local events.
We were offered the opportunity to put our names down if we were interested in leader roles. I was elected to this position by peers and teachers.
I valued the role of past leaders and like connecting with students of all ages and thought that it would be a good opportunity for me.
My passions at school include playing sport like AFL, cricket and soccer as well as representing the school for PISA, HISCES, debating and maths.
My goals are to build a stronger relationship with the new students and my new teacher and also to make it through to the semi finals for debating.
ST AUGUSTINE’S COLLEGE, BROOKVALE
Kailan Sweeny – Creative and Performing Arts Prefect
This involves helping manage the Arts in the school and being a role model to those wanting to get involved in artistic endeavours. CAPA includes Visual Arts, Drama, Music.
Being a leader is more than just the position you hold in the team. I make it a personal goal to demonstrate passion and resilience in the school community to maintain a safe, positive, and proud school environment.
I went through an interview process in which I was interviewed by the head of my portfolio and the previous CAPA prefect. I guess I impressed them enough to get the position.
I decided to pursue this position due to my many years of involvement in the drama program. I have been in eight St Augustine’s College productions, with my last ever show closing two weeks ago.
My passion for drama made me very keen to put my hand up for the position. However, I didn’t only go for one position. I put my hand up for many different roles in the leadership team in a variety of areas, because I think it’s important that everyone within the community is a well-rounded individual, across academics, sport, and creative pursuits.
I am very passionate about rugby. A big goal of mine is to return to play after rehabilitation from injuring my leg. I am almost at my twelve-month mark, and I am feeling good.
The process of rehabilitation was a struggle, but there were two main things that got me through it: resilience and goal setting. With these two things I honestly believe you can achieve anything.
By setting benchmark goals that were achievable in a short period of time, while still working toward my overall goal, I was able to stay motivated allowing me to succeed. These are the traits that I aim to share with those in my school so they can use them in their own journeys and succeed.
As a Student Leadership Team, we have set clear goals throughout the year that we have worked together to achieve. We wanted to enhance the community experience at the school by helping build bonds between seniors and juniors, encouraging them to have a student voice.
A few ways we have done this is by merging tutor groups across year groups one day a week.
Another important focus of our team is for students to understand their rights at school.
With the new Child Safe Standards from the Office of the Children’s Guardian, we believed it to be important that the whole community understands how the College is keeping them
safe at school.
We had a full week of activities and a themed College Assembly educating the student body on this.
In the April holidays I had the privilege of going to the USA on a school drama tour. It was a great opportunity to bond with all the seniors (Years 10-12) that went on the tour, bringing us all closer together.
Our tour consisted of 3 cities New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles over 10 days. We saw multiple shows from Broadway to sketch comedy to improv. This tour helped all the boys get a gauge of the necessary skills and abilities to become professional.
NARRAWEENA PUBLIC SCHOOL
Mele Manuofetoa – school captain
I like to take my role pretty seriously.
I get a few jobs like welcoming guests on special occasions, leading assemblies and representing Narraweena at leadership camps where we improve our skills and confidence.
Getting any sort of leadership role was to be honest pretty hard. It took a few weeks, but when I got named it was definitely worth it.
The first step was for all of my year 5 classmates to vote and those who were successful got 20 to 30 minutes to write a speech on why you thought you would be a good role model and student leader.
I never really thought of myself as school captain but I’ve always loved helping people and voicing my opinion so it fits perfectly.
My teachers, friends and family also had a bit to do with it as they have always encouraged me and helped me to take a step outside of my comfort zone while building my confidence. So that’s probably why I’m here today.
My goals are pretty simple for this year. They include helping Narraweena stay a safe place and letting everyone be them self because we are all unique in our own ways.
Ben Morrison – school captain
I love to play sports with my friends and I also like public speaking and writing imaginative stories.
Before I was elected as school captain, I gave a speech about giving things a go and trying your best. After my speech, a lot of kids came up to me to tell me that they voted for me which made me feel proud and happy.
I love being a mentor to the little kids and teaching them how school works. I also like being a voice for kids who are worried about things.
My goal as school captain is to make our school an even better place and to help all students to be proud to be Narraweena students.
St Mary’s Catholic School, Manly
Jack Kane – Library IT team member
Our team manages the library and technology aspects of our school. For example, during
recess/lunch our team runs a Library club, where we run Kahoot! — an online trivia quiz — and allow students to read and do colouring.
As well as Library club, we also do Technology club, where we do coding and play with robots. We also run Book Week; a week dedicated to helping kids read.
To decide all our teams, we go through an interview process. We put down our three
preferences, wrote a reason for each, made a video, then talked to the mentors (teachers)
of each team. We found out just before the start of the school year.
I am a passionate reader, and dedicated coder and I am always interested in tech. I enjoy
creating games and animations on Scratch, which is why we decided to use it for the first
term of the school year. I enjoy helping other students learn, and reading is a big part of that
too.
This year I would like to improve the IT club to a standard that we can proudly say that it is
the club that provides the most learning. I would also like to help everyone complete the
Premiers Reading challenge this year, like last year and the year before.
I am very passionate about reading, science, and maths.
Tommy Smith – Community Team member
Firstly, we are positive role models to all other students. We set up for school events, which are organised by the school or our parents’ association.
I also run the Student Representative Council meetings which gives all students the right to say and add suggestions for making St Mary’s a better place.
We also welcome new visitors to our school and attend important community events, as
representatives of the whole school.
We attended a Leadership camp when I was in year 5. We learnt about leadership and what
good leaders do.
A big message was that we are positive role models. I had to go through a process to apply for the leadership position, which included applying for the position, recording on film, and attending an interview with the team’s mentor, the principal.
All our leadership teams have a staff mentor. The principal thought that I, along with five others, were the most suitable applicants for making the school and the community team the best they could be.
I decided to pursue this position because I wanted to be able to help make the school
better, and this position has a lot of opportunities to do so.
We had a Leadership Fair in 2022 and I decided on the best three teams that matched who I am. I presented these to my
parents and we talked about each of them and how I could contribute.
My personality and interests were with the Community Team and luckily, I was successful.
My passions are making sure that everyone is heard and to help my mentors as best as I
can and being a role model to all people and running the SRC.
One of my main goals is to connect with everyone in the school community and I believe that alone we can do so little but together we can do so much.
My last goal is to all work together to make the school and the community team the best they can be.
Anouk Staub – Pastoral Care Team member
My role is to make sure that everyone in our school is feeling all right.
Last year, everyone in our grade got a piece of paper where we could write our top three
preferences after last year’s Year 6 students ran a Leadership Fair.
They were trying to convince us that their team was better for us than any other. After that, every student was interviewed (by the mentor of the team) for at least one of the teams they selected.
They asked us questions such as “why would you like to be a leader at St Mary’s?” and “what do good leaders do?”.
Then the mentors of each team could discuss who they would like in their team and the principal announced the roles.
I have always wanted to be in the pastoral care team since I was in kindergarten. I like
helping people out and making sure they are OK. I just like being nice in general.
Making someone else happy will make you happy too. This is how we role model at St Mary’s. Role modelling is a big part of our school culture.
My passions at school are art, mathematics, science, and writing. My passions on the
playground are being kind, making sure people are OK and hanging out with my friends. My
goals for this year are to be a role model to the students, to be kind like Jesus is, and to be
kind in every way.
MARIA REGINA CATHOLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL – AVALON
Sybella Boon – school captain
I was fortunate to be elected by my peers for the position of school captain at Maria Regina for 2023.
I thought I would make a good school captain because I am compassionate towards my fellow students and I am very proud of my school.
In 2023 my goals are to introduce the ‘buddy bench’ into our school. This would mean that students who don’t have anyone to play with at lunchtime can sit on the bench and someone will come along and introduce themselves.
This year I would like to also introduce the inaugural school fete as a fundraiser and a way of bringing the school community together.
Patrick Drake – school captain
Being school captain involves helping my peers and collaborating with my teachers to make a difference.
I was elected by the students and teachers of Maria Regina from a speech that I gave in our school hall.
I decided to have responsibility of a school captain so I can be a service of Maria Regina to assist others in need and to be a person you can talk to.
My most enjoyable subjects and activities are science, horticulture, art, maths and geography. My set goal for this year is to make a positive impact and difference to Maria Regina.
ST LUKE’S GRAMMAR SCHOOL – DEE WHY
Charlotte Symington – School Captain
My position involves managing an awesome team of 16 prefects alongside my co-captain,
collaborating with the entire student and staff body to uplift their voices and bring inclusive
school spirit and pride to our community.
I help run charity events, speak in assembly on issues that affect youth and support the general well being of our school.
I earned this position through a multistage process. I had to fill in a written application about my goals and my experience, go in for an interview with the Head of Senior School, perform a speech in front of my year group and the Executive Staff, and was then a part of a vote
conducted by Year 10, 11, 12 and all staff.
I wanted to pursue this position because, as cliche as it might sound, I love school. I have
experienced a life of constant travel. I lived in five different countries in my 13 years.
I never had constant friends, or sports teams, or even houses. But I always felt like I had school. The community that it offers me has shaped me as a person into someone who wants to do well, and do well with and for others.
I decided to pursue School Captain because I want to give back and I felt that if I could inspire one person to love school as much as I do, that I could make a real difference.
One of my favourite parts about school is that I am able to work with others and learn from their unique insights into different problems and questions about the world. I am also passionate about making links in my learning and getting involved in as many opportunities as I can before the end of high school.
My goals as School Captain are to drive initiatives that unite the school, and encourage a culture of support and appreciation for all.
I am honoured to be a leader at St Luke’s, as I hope that I am able to bring about tangible change in this position.
James Lye – School Captain
As a captain, I’m constantly involved in facilitating initiatives including events such as Valentines Day, Harmony Week, International Women’s Day, and National Reconciliation Week.
I also write weekly speeches for assembly and monthly blogs on topics that my co-captain and I think are important and helpful.
Being a school captain means being a role model to others, reflecting the values of the school, and promoting student voices.
I’m passionate about giving a voice to others, especially within the school community where
students can sometimes feel unconfident about speaking up. I decided to become captain to
help facilitate the voices of the youth, especially the ones with differing but equally valid views.
Both myself and my co-captain are especially passionate about celebrating diversity and
instilling values of tolerance, inclusivity and kindness. In a constantly changing world, I believe that sustaining differences in our ideas, cultures, values and attitudes is integral to our society as it helps to create change, spark new ideas and help with social cohesion.
Poppi-Tiger Townhill – Student Voice Prefect
I work to provide a voice for all students. My co-prefect and I have direct access to both students and those in my school community and with them, have the power to make positive change.
This position was earned through a series of interviews and an election, where staff and senior
students vote. These leadership roles were ultimately given to those who could manage the
workload of Year 12 with the responsibility of being a leader.
A school is made up of many students, all with different ideas and viewpoints. We have an
alternative perspective to the staff and so can offer that fresh insight.
I believe students have a lot to say.
My passion at school is communication. Through initiatives, we offer an opportunity for all years to voice their opinions.
This is so we can serve them and the school.
When stepping into this role, I wanted to leave school knowing that it had improved. This could only happen by talking and listening to the source which is all students.
Oliver Whitehead – Student Voice Prefect
My role is to ensure that everyone is heard.
I listen to suggestions, run initiatives involving improvements to the school and I voice the concerns of the students about important matters to do with school life.
I volunteered for this position and was selected out of the many candidates, chosen by the Head of the Senior School for this role. He saw my strengths and awarded this position to me.
This position allows me to pursue my goal of helping people in a very interpersonal way. It
allows me to get involved with the school community and make sure that I leave it better than I found it.
My passions at school are service, ensuring I do my part to give back to the school which has
given so much to me.
By the end of the year, I want to have left a legacy of changes that students can see and know that they are going to last and improve school life.
Aussie quartet make sailing history with win in women’s America’s Cup
For the first time in 174 years Australian women have set sail in an America’s Cup. How the quartet on Andoo Australia are faring as the Pool B Racing begins.
Future Olympians! Try-fectas, close calls in Next Gen 7s battles
There were blowouts, close calls, a hot boot and multiple try-fectas in the opening round of the Next Gen Sevens rugby series in Sydney. Stars, great photos and Rd 1 result wrap.