Year 6 News

Youth Leadership Conference: Dream & Lead

The School Captains had the privilege to represent Ormond Primary School at the Youth Leadership Conference: Dream and Lead, run by the Youth Leadership Academy Australia. Held at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, we felt the energy of the crowd as soon as we walked in. It felt like we were at a rock concert with all the music, flashing lights and dancing, creating an exciting vibe amongst the 2000 student leaders attending. Whilst we were waiting for everyone to enter the auditorium, we got a sticky note and we wrote down the three most important qualities in a leader. Everyone then stuck their sticky notes on a big board that said ‘Leadership’ at the side of the room. We sat right down the front and were feeling really engaged in what we were going to experience. 

Straight away, as soon as the presenters started, they gave us the opportunity to talk to the other schools and ask them questions about their experiences as leaders. Everyone was so nice, and it was a great opportunity. One of the most important things we learned was that you don’t need to be perfect, you just have to be brave and take action. Real leadership is the choices we make, often when nobody else is watching. The presenters, Bonnie and Liam, talked to us about the importance of connecting with other people by using the ‘GOT’ strategy where you take the time to consider how the other person is feeling and to listen and support to build trust.

During the break, we all played Networking Bingo, where we had to find people from other schools and fill out a bingo card with fun facts about them. It was a good chance to work on our public speaking and find some new friends. While it was challenging in the beginning as some of us felt awkward introducing ourselves to people we didn’t know and ask them these questions, particularly the one where we had to challenge them to a dance off. But as we talked to more people we gained more confidence, which was one of the strategies we were given on public speaking: Accept that things will be challenging, acknowledge that we have experienced things in the past that show us we have the necessary skills and ask for help if we need it.

Nick Pearce, the founder of HoMie, an organisation that designs and sells streetwear, was the first person to come and speak to us apart from our hosts. The business gives homeless people a second chance by training them and giving them jobs in the company. The store also gives homeless people 5 pieces of clothing and haircuts for free once a month. Nick gave a motivational speech about making life a little better for others. We learnt a lot listening to Nick, particularly ‘The secret of getting ahead is getting started.

Wil Massara, the founder of YLAA, talked about how he started his career and how his emotions inspired him to take action. As a teenager, Wil was obsessed with planes and started a website called Planeapeadia so all of the children who are interested in planes had an opportunity to share their information. Wil’s main aim was to prove that “your age does not determine your ability to achieve extraordinary things” and talked us through how to identify a big issue in our school and how we can go about changing it. We decided to focus on the big issue of Discrimination and how students at OPS may not value the differences in others leading to negative and judgemental behaviour towards others in our yard and classroom. We are passionate about creating an inclusive school community where everyone is valued and celebrated for their differences.

The final speaker for the day was Lucy from Project Rockit, an organisation that teaches students around Australia to act against bullying. She talked about 3 Main Takeaways that she wanted us to remember.

1. You don’t have to be perfect, you just have to be brave and take action
2. Being brave takes practice. Every big step gets smaller with every step you take.
3. Instead of trying to change who we are, find the courage to be who we are.

In wrapping up the day, Wil reminded us that 'one size does not fit all in leadership' and that leadership can be shown in different ways whether you are a badged or unbadged leader. At OPS we are trialling a new leadership approach where all of our Year 6 students are leaders, known as either Badged or Flexible Leaders. Whilst the elected Badged Leaders carry out their roles, the Flexible Leaders have many opportunities to model leadership around the school, including being in Foundation and Yr 1/2 classes and assisting them with their learning. This is proving to be a very positive experience for everyone at OPS. We, as the School Captains, are looking forward to developing our action plan for how to make OPS more inclusive and will be sharing this journey with the community as we go. 

You never know, our project may win us $2000 in the YLAA Leader-Up Challenge competition! 

By The School Captains

Evelyn P

Robbie F

Chloe N

Jayden J