School for Student Leadership  

Good Luck to Cameron, Tyson, Prarthana, Sonali and Lily – all year 9 RHS students who have started their journey at the School for Student Leadership in Marlo, Far East Gippsland. 

They will spend the next 8 weeks living, learning and adventuring in the beautiful natural surrounds. They will learn invaluable life and leadership skills living with many students from all across Victoria. 

Tyson's SWAY journal at SSL 

The first few weeks here at the School for Student Leadership have been awesome. We’ve done heaps of activities and learned a lot about leadership, teamwork and how to get along with everyone. We talked about the qualities of a good leader, like listening to others, staying positive, and giving things a go, and then had to give examples of people who showed those traits. I joined the mountain bike and garden committees, which I’m really keen on. 

One of the funniest things so far was the “gear catwalk” where we had to model outfits for different situations. One group even wore pants as sleeves. We also did the spaghetti marshmallow tower challenge (my group won!) and I ended up teaching everyone how to fold a paper crane, which was pretty cool and helped my confidence in speaking in front of people.

The outdoor stuff has been unreal. I’ve had my first go on the pump track for mountain biking, caught waves while surfing and went canoeing from the river to the sea. The T-rescue drill was absolutely freezing, but now I know how to help if someone tips over. We also built a bridge out of logs and ropes, which was way harder than it looked, but really fun once we worked it out as a team. Another big leadership moment was when we had to work, blindfolded, with ropes to make shapes. It was all about clear communication and trusting each other to get it right.

One of the biggest eye-openers was “empathy day.” We got split into groups as different social classes. Some people got three-course meals while others (like me) had to share a tiny bit of rice between six people. It really made me think about how lucky we are and how tough life can be for others. We’ve also started planning our Community Learning Project, where we’re going to replant native plants along Darebin Creek to help the wildlife.

So far, it’s been an amazing mix of fun, learning and meeting new people. I’ve already picked up heaps of skills, made some great friends, and had experiences I’ll remember forever. Can’t wait to see what’s next.