On Thursday 29 April our Year 7 and 8 Class Captains participated in a full-day leadership seminar called ‘Maximising the Badge’. This seminar was run by the Ylead organisation and centred around their philosophy of ‘leadership is more than a badge, it’s about the action that makes the world you touch a better place’.
Throughout the day, students explored leadership, developed their confidence, enhanced their skills and worked together to develop group cohesion, unity and a shared vision.
Here are some reflections from our Class Captains:
The Leadership Program was really enjoyable and we all had a great time. It was a great way to get to know everyone and learn how to be good leaders and work out what we wanted to get out of the year as Class Captains. This program made us look at being a leader from a totally different perspective. We completed what we thought were games but then we realised that it was teaching us that as a leader you sometimes have to take that step back, like we did when we stood on a tarp with squares all over it trying to find that correct path. Sometimes you have to stay in sync with your peers or you might fall over, like we did in the 22-legged race. Being a Class Captain is not just wearing the badge but getting others involved and sharing your ideas and this is what we took from the program.
— Sienna El-Zain (Year 8 Orange) and Mackenzie Strachan (Year 8 White)
The incursion was a great day for the Year 7 and 8 students. It taught us as leaders the value of being a leader, what it means to be a leader and, most importantly, it showed us who we are as leaders. For me, I have always been a natural leader because I am organised and take initiative. But this incursion taught me that as a leader there are certain responsibilities and certain things you have to be willing to do. For example, you might have to give up lunchtime or use your personal time to plan a class/school event. The incursion taught me and everyone else so much, it was very beneficial and I thank the school for running it. We all loved it. I will adapt as a leader to someone who can read how people are feeling and to be someone who can make decisions that benefit everyone.
— Blake Schelfhout (Year 7 Purple)
The Ylead team gave us heaps of games and activities to get us through the day but my favourite part of the day was probably the public speaking game. It was where the leader (Amy) gave us a number and a topic and if she called that number you had to stand up and say a whole speech about that topic right off the top of your head. All of the things we did helped us reach our inner leader and learn new things about how to become a leader or be a better leader. We played several games about leading and helping others around you. In one game there were 25 squares on a blue tarp and you had to make it across in a certain time limit and not touch the tape. I think the Ylead team have made my leadership skills better than before and I feel better as a leader.
— Katherine Hobson (Year 8 Silver)
We participated in many different activities that would help us think differently and show better leadership qualities. A few of the activities that stood out to me was an activity where we had to get a tennis ball to travel as fast as we could through the whole group in the quickest time possible. This helped us to think outside the box. Another activity that I really enjoyed was when we had to stand up in front of our group of four and speak about a random topic. This really helped us improve our public speaking. After the day I felt I had learned some really helpful leadership skills that I will definitely use in the future.
— Isabella Maurici (Year 7 Green)
