2023 School captains of Bass Coast and South Gippsland have been revealed

Bass Coast and Gippsland school captains are starting to be announced for 2023. Find out who is going to be leading the schools in our area next year.

School leadership is an excellent opportunity for young people to step up and assume some responsibility.

With the 2022 graduating class almost out the door it is time for the 2023 school captains to take over leading the schools of Bass Coast and South Gippsland but, who are they?

Here are the 2023 school captains for schools all over Bass Coast and South Gippsland.

Leongatha Secondary College

2023 school captains for Leongatha Secondary College Lily Hume, Chloe Stoops and Chloe Goff.

Chloe Goff

Chloe Goff hopes she can instil a love of school in the students at Leongatha Secondary School next year.

“I am most excited to see what change as leaders we are able to bring to the school community and what new skills I am able to develop along the way,” she said.

Chloe is passionate about education and not only is her goal to help other students find their love of learning while she is school captain, she would love to go on and study primary education at university after completing year 12.

“I hope to make a difference in how the students at Leongatha Secondary College View school and inspire them to welcome the challenges that they are going to face throughout their education as well as their futures,” she said.

Like her other co-captains Chloe is feeling the pressure of being a 2023 school captain however she said she is ready to embrace all the emotions that come with the role.

“To be school leader for 2023 it feels nerve racking, but at the same time the feeling of excitement to be able to see what difference we are going to be able to make to the school is empowering,” she said.

Chloe started at the school in year 7 and she can’t wait to now lead her peers through 2023.

Lily Hume

“To be a school leader is both a privilege and an honour,” 2023 school captain Lily Hume said.

She can’t wait to become a voice for her peers and inspire them to give things a go, even if they think they won’t be good at them.

“That is how you discover your interests,” she said.

“People should always pursue their own interests because it is more fulfilling than following the crowd.”

Lily said she is proud to be leading the school and as a woman, hopes she can inspire other younger girls to aspire to big things.

“I am full of nerves as it is a big responsibility and role however, I am deeply excited for the opportunities that await,” she said.

After finishing year 12 Lily hopes to go on to study forensic science at university.

Chloe Stoops

The girl power at Leongatha Secondary continues with Chloe Stoops.

Chloe can’t wait to lead Leongatha Secondary beside long time friends Chloe Goff and Lily Hume.

“We have known each other most of our lives,” she said.

“I know that we will be able to work together to make great changes and support and encourage the young people at this school to be the best versions of themselves.”

Chloe is excited to be a part of her all female captain team and said she believes it sets a great example for younger female students who might feel leadership is out of reach for them.

“I hope to encourage other young women to push themselves and demonstrate how we all have the ability to make change, big or small, and to challenge stereotypes that we can find ourselves stuck in,” she said.

“It feels empowering to be a leader of the school, especially with being surrounded by other female leaders and being encouraged and supported by our teachers.”

Chloe started at Leongatha Secondary when she was in year seven and will be sad to say goodbye at the end of 2023 however, she can’t wait to go to university and study nursing to hopefully build a career in paediatrics, IVF or emergency care.

Newhaven College

Newhaven College's 2023 school captains Gabriel Pascoe, Brinn Hamley, Niamh Moore and Oscar Healey.

Niamh Moore

Niamh Moore is “excited to represent everyone” when she takes over the role of school captain next year.

She said she is looking forward to events where she can see the wider community and show everyone what being a Newhaven student is all about.

“I’m also really excited to be more involved with the younger students in the other sub schools and trying to be the best role model I can be for them,” she said.

Niamh started at Newhaven College in 2018 when she was in year seven and she said she is “proud” to now be a school captain.

“It’s a title you must work to get and it’s something I‘ve wanted to do for the past few years. It has made me feel quite nostalgic in my time at Newhaven I’ve seen a total of 20 college captains go through the school and it’s made me realise it’s my turn to lead,” she said.

During her time as school captain Niamh hopes she can create a better sense of connectedness throughout the junior, middle and senior schools.

“I hope I can unite all the sub schools so that we can be a whole school more often and make sure the younger students have older students to look up to,” she said.

After school Niamh wants to travel and take some time to work out what she really wants before heading to university.

Gabriel Pascoe

Gabriel Pascoe started at Newhaven College back in 2015 when he was in grade 4. He has loved watching the school grow over the years and is now excited to be leading it.

“School captain opens the opportunity for me to do many things I would like to see achieved in the school,” he said.

“I hope to make the school a more positive and vibrant environment.”

Some things Gabriel would like to achieve are hosting more events in and outside of school and create an open forum where teachers and students can communicate easily

Gabriel is also excited about getting to public speak during his time as captain.

“Overall school captain is an awesome opportunity for all four of us, and we are keen to see where things go in the future,” he said.

Gabriel, who wants to study science at university, said he is “incredibly proud and ecstatic” to be a school captain in 2023.

“I’m also very excited for the opportunity to make the school a welcoming, enjoyable place to learn. However, I am aware of the challenges that face with the role such as dealing with the delicate balance between captain work and schoolwork,” he said.

Brinn Hamley

Brinn Hamley didn’t start at Newhaven College until she was in year nine when she moved from Melbourne but, she quickly developed a sense of belonging at the school.

She said it “feels incredible” to be a school leader and it is a result of all the “hard work” she has put in over her years at Newhaven.

“I am grateful that I have been given this opportunity. I feel proud to be chosen to be a leader of Newhaven College, I am glad my hard work and dedication paid off,” she said.

“It’s hard to describe the feelings when I think about all the things I will be doing to help lead the school and the people within our community, and I cannot wait to share those experiences with the other captains, who are just as enthused as I am.”

Along with all the regular leadership duties, Brinn is ready to use her position as a leader to be someone others can come to when they need someone to be there for them.

I am most excited about being someone people know they can go to about anything, whether it be for advice, help with school, or just to talk. To me, a leader is someone who inspires others, and makes decisions for the better of the people they are leading, as well as being kind, compassionate and caring,” she said.

Brinn wants to help change the outlook on school many of her peers have.

“For many teenagers, the thought of getting up for school each day is tough, but I want to get people excited about coming to school and have them look forward to the new day,” she said.

She also wants to inspire everyone to put their hand up for opportunities like leadership.

“I don’t want there to be a reason why someone doesn’t put their hand up to be a leader. I hope these two things will go hand-in-hand,” she said.

After school Brinn wants to study a Bachelor of Early Childhood Education and then set off and travel the world.

“I have no doubt that my plans may change, and I am fully equipped to deal with this, as I know I will be ready when the time comes to readjust my lens on my life and find what is right for me,” she said.

Oscar Healey

Oscar has been at Newhaven College since he started school in Prep so it is a surreal feeling for him to now be at the top of the school.

“I feel proud and honoured to be selected for the role,” he said.

“I am aware that it will be far from easy to keep up with what is expected of me between the demands of the captaincy and the stresses of the year 12 course. Yet I am entering this journey with a sense of optimism as the role is packed full of exciting prospects and opportunities that I‘m sure will make for wonderful experiences.”

He said he is excited to get stuck into planning events for the school, bringing some life back into the school calendar after Covid has cancelled so many events.

“It is a bit of a daunting task, as I haven‘t done this before, but I am positive that between the four of us, we will be able to create many great events,” he said.

Having spent so much time at Newhaven Oscar said he is taking influence from captains who have come before him.

“Throughout my schooling career there have been many wonderful events hosted by the school cabinet that have left a great impact on me, whether it be something as small as hosting a sausage sizzle at lunch, or as large as planning and executing a large-scale concert,” he said.

“Now that I have found myself in a position where I can have a say in these events, and even plan them, I aim to have a great number of events of all types being held regularly, as I hope to have the same effect on the other students as past cabinets have had on me and leave a legacy that future cabinets and captains may follow.”

After school Oscar wants to move to Melbourne to study physics, after that he is open to possibilities.

Mary MacKillop Catholic Regional College

Grace Berryman

Grace Berryman started at Mary MacKillop when she was in year seven and hopes to go onto study either occupational therapy or nursing.

Grace Berryman is a school captain for Mary MacKillop College in Leongatha for 2023.

She is excited to get more involved with her school community and take part in more connection between her school and the others in the Association of Josephite Affiliated Secondary Schools.

She said she feels “privileged” to be a representative for her school.

“l hope that during my time as College captain I encourage many students to follow in the footsteps of all the leaders at Mary MacKillop to better the community,” she said.

Grace hopes her time as a leader will leave behind a positive legacy that has built something bigger than just herself.

“When I finish my time at Mary MacKillop, I would like to have left a positive impact on the College, by doing things like building stronger connections between each year levels to ensure the best growth for individuals and to better provide a safe space for students to learn and grow,” she said.

Alessi Green

Alessi Green is ready to take the position of role-model and can’t wait to get started on his captaincy duties.

Alessi Green is a school captain for Mary MacKillop College in Leongatha for 2023.

“What excites me the most is being the person people look to, being the voice of my peers and being a leader and leading by example,” he said.

Alessi is focused on inclusion and unity and hopes his position as a school captain can help thread those things throughout the school, even when his time is up.

“I want to make the school be like one big family, I believe that there is a big gap between year levels and that we aren’t one big school but are tiny individual groups and I hope that we can bring everyone together so that we all know each other well,” he said.

Alessi said it is a “good feeling” to have your peers and teachers think of you highly enough to select you for such a role.

“It feels good, the best feeling is the fact that my peers and teachers chose me to lead the school and to have them and their trust backing me makes me feel good,” he said.

When Alessi finishes school he wishes to go onto study osteopathy or myotherapy.

Bass Coast Secondary College have informed the Bass Coast News their captains have not yet been announced but will be included once final selections have been made.

Other schools in the area were unresponsive to requests from The Bass Coast News.