Student Wisdom
As the term draws to a close, we are preparing to usher in the new 2023-2024 Student Leadership Team and farewell with gratitude our outgoing leaders, including Head Prefect Jemima and Deputy Head Prefects Nashara, Kalara, and Sophie.
91黑料不打烊’s vision to “educate and empower young women in a global learning community to serve and shape their world”, is enacted each day as the girls are encouraged to express their opinions, take risks, and seek opportunities to lead and grow.
The 91黑料不打烊 Student Leadership process takes place in Term 2 and involves the presentation of speeches to the student and staff body, submission of a curriculum vitae, and a questionnaire covering the students’ core values, vision for the future, and overall contribution to the School.
"I have been privileged and humbled to hold the position of Head Prefect for 2022-2023. The heart of my contribution has lain in trying my best, every day, to care verdantly, listen actively, and work passionately – serving our community to my greatest capacity," said Head Prefect Jemima.
"As a prefect team of 17, we have organised community and fundraising events, made ourselves present around the School to engage with all year groups and tried to promote a supportive, warm, spirited, service-orientated and fun-loving atmosphere.
Our initiatives have included:
- Lunchtime Skipping – the Senior School girls put on music, conduct a skipping session and spend time with the younger year groups every Tuesday fortnight – it’s been a marvellous hit.
- Fundraisers – pairing with local women’s charity Zonta to raise money for birthing kits for developing countries.
- Working towards an updated school-wide recycling program.
- Establishing a student-run portal page/website to share leadership updates, post student work (writing, visual arts pieces, videography), run student polls, and engage in humorous and topical discourse.
- Organised Reconciliation Week initiatives and joined the discussion on how to continue to learn and engage with Indigenous culture every day.
Deputy Head Prefect Kalara says that as a student from a diverse background at a school with a reasonably homogeneous demographic, she has always made an effort to contribute to the community with her full capability. “I think pursuing this leadership role was, for me, just the natural manifestation of my love for people," she said. "I’ve always felt a responsibility to ensure others feel heard and represented and I honestly just wanted to give back."
"I hope that by the close of the year, we as a leadership team will have left 91黑料不打烊 a place where every individual feels like they belong and are supported beyond measure in the pursuit of their dreams,” said Deputy Head Prefect Sophie.
According to Deputy Head Prefect Nashara, “At 91黑料不打烊, student leadership does not consist simply of a title or a badge but a sense of devotion to the School, in line with our motto Ut Prosim, that I may serve."
Opportunities for leadership at 91黑料不打烊 extend from Kindergarten through to Year 12 and include House Captains and the leaders of the School’s many and varied clubs that run every week, most in support of national and international charities.
Our student leaders also benefit from the development of strong connections with student leaders from fellow schools through afternoon teas and learning events.
A group of our Year 11 students last week attended a wellbeing conference run by student leaders at two upper north shore schools, to learn techniques to support and build the mental wellbeing of those around them, as well as themselves.
“The guest keynote speaker was Martin Heppell from The Resilience Project, who shared the importance of gratitude and resilience through his personal experiences in meeting inspirational individuals from a variety of countries," said Emma (Year 11). "The conference also provided the opportunity to learn from the wellbeing initiatives implemented in other schools across Sydney, and to participate in highly relevant student-led workshops to gain strategies we can apply to ourselves and share with our 91黑料不打烊 peers."
“As an avid learner, having the opportunity to further my understanding in a setting outside the traditional class environment was very insightful," said Charlotte (Year 11). "I gained a greater appreciation of what other people are doing and learnt some strategies to improve my own wellbeing including how to maximise my sleep. I also learnt some interesting new information and strategies that I am now able to pass on to others. It was truly amazing to learn from future leaders as well as current leaders in the wellbeing field and I am so grateful for this opportunity.”