CULTURE Character & Leadership
EMERGING LEADERS More than 600 students from 30 schools across Canterbury descended on College for the annual one-day Year 12 Emerging Leaders Conference. Under the theme “Betterment is our new leadership calling. Step up”, the young leaders have been encouraged to consider how acting as a leader who can show empathy, thoughtfulness, kindness and the courage to take action can improve the lives of others. Through various workshops and presentations on different aspects of leadership, the delegates also reflected on the meaning of leadership and how our leadership actions impact on the community. From the outset, keynote speaker Abbas Nazari challenged the conference delegates to consider the choices they make as leaders. Abbas’s story of his personal
Tyre businessman Harvey Firestone has been quoted as saying: “The growth and development of people is the highest calling of leadership.” In 2022, we have returned to a full programme of fulfilling this calling with plenty of opportunities for personal development for our students and, in doing so, growing their leadership capacity. Whether through the various student committees, leadership workshops and conferences, leadership responsibilities or taking the initiative in service, the development of leadership among our students continues to grow. PREFECTS Despite some lingering Covid-19 restrictions, the Prefect group started the year with their usual orientation and training day. The theme of the training centred on values-based leadership and leading with integrity. The group eventually decided on keywords such as zest, honesty, respect and empowerment to guide their style of leadership, with a renewed focus on improving our understanding of diversity, biculturalism and inclusion. As usual, the Prefects were involved in an array of duties, including leadership of student committees and Houses, service to the school and the Year 10 Immerse & Inspire programme in a mentoring and role- modelling capacity, to name a few. There was some good collaboration this year too, with students from the Service and Character & Leadership committees working together to raise money for charity, as well as other Prefects coming together on tutoring, podcasts, and the development of bicultural initiatives.
journey from Afghanistan to New Zealand also noted the importance for leaders to understand different perspectives. Keynote workshops by Joel Bouzaid, Jade Beaman and comedy magician Brendan Dooley proved to be highlights, with all three presenters giving their spin on the importance of using personal values and strengths to bring out the best in yourself and others. The day was rounded out by Australian Olympic Gold Medallist Emily Seebohm, who talked about the lessons learnt as an elite swimmer. BE INSPIRED After the cancellation of the previous year's event, it was a pleasure to host the Year 7 Be Inspired mini conference again. The focus of the day was about inspiring young leaders to work collaboratively to
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Christ’s College Canterbury
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