The Bimbadeen Blaze

Young Leaders Day

On Monday 3rd March, the Student Leadership Team of the school hopped on the train to travel into the city for the National Young Leaders Day; an opportunity to listen to four ASTONISHING leaders tell their stories and their journeys to being the leader they are today. We arrived at the Melbourne Convention Centre and found good seats in the auditorium. The leaders we listened to Thomas Duncan-Watt - a young screenwriter and author, Cathrine Laga’aia - a young actor and soon to be well know for her part in the live action Moana, Emma McKeon - a superstar swimmer with 11 Olympic medals and 20 Commonwealth Game medals, and Majak Daw - a refugee born in Sudan who became the first Sudanese person to play in the AFL. 

At every break, we had a chance to get a photo with a speaker.   

 

The first speaker for the day was Thomas Duncan-Watt. He is a young screen-writer and author. He started off by making a version of Star Trek in his garage at home with his friends. From there, Thomas worked on shows like Home and Away and Space Nova. He even won some awards for his work. He told us about how he remained open to opportunities and kept on trying to improve. Some lessons we took with us were ‘Every master was once a disaster’ and ‘Every failure is a step closer to success’. We thought they were powerful messages to remember. He also showed us how to make a presentation interesting by including funny photos and videos.

 

One of the brilliant speakers was Emma Mckeon. She has a fabulous history of swimming. Emma was the first female swimmer, and first Australian, to win 7 medals at the one Olympics, making her the most decorated Australian Olympian of all time. She spoke about having strong role models to guide your way. Hers was Susie O’Neill - Madame Butterfly. Emma taught us to never give up, always use self belief and bravery to help us grow. She always stays positive and resilient even when times are hard.

Our second speaker was Catherine Laga’aia, soon to be known as the live action ‘Moana’. Catherine left her whole life behind in Australia for an audition for the role in New York. She couldn't tell anybody about the audition besides her immediate family. After a couple of months of waiting patiently, Catherine found out she got the part of Moana. There were no kids her age there on set. It was just her, her family and the film crew. Catherine shared how you need to be yourself and believe in yourself, to lean on supportive people around you, and to persevere when things get hard - because they will get hard. But you can dig deep and push through. You can see the live action movie in cinemas, July 2026. 

 

Our last speaker was Majak Daw. He was a refugee from Sudan and had to move to Australia for a chance to live a better life, away from the civil war. He told us about his struggles in moving and fitting in, in his new life. Majak had to leave some of his family behind and he hasn’t seen them since. Majak wanted to play footy so he could make friends so he persuaded his mum and dad to let him play. They said yes and that is how he became who he is today - the first person from Sudan to play in the AFL.

 

After the last speaker, Majak Daw, finished his presentation, we did one last dance with the Dance Curriculum, sang some karaoke, left the Melbourne Convention Centre and headed back home on the train. Travelling back, we all felt tired but we were inspired by all the speakers. 

The most common message for the day was to never give up and to believe in yourself. If you persist and back yourself, you can do anything. 

 

Afterwards, Miss Murphy entered a competition and won Bimbadeen Heights PS a whole school incursion with Dance Curriculum. Get your dancing shoes ready! Dean and the crew will be visiting us soon.

 

Our Highlights: 

  • Meeting the new live-action Moana, Catherine Laga’aia - Hugh
  • Learning the new dances with all of the people who attended - Rose
  • Thomas Duncan-Watt’s presentation was really good because it was full of photos and videos - Nikita
  • Listening to Majak Daw’s story and his message about how hard work pays off - Alex
  • Meeting the speakers after they shared their journeys - Lacey
  • Hearing Catherine Lagi’aia’s story and what she had to go through to become Moana - Evie
  • Hearing all of the speakers stories and the journey they took to become a leader - Scarlett
  • We heard the speakers share how using a positive mindset helped them overcome challenges - Mikayla
  • Learning the dance from Dance Curriculum - Charlotte
  • Hearing all of the different inspirational stories, and dancing - Mia
  • Taking photos with the guest speakers during the breaks - Miller
  • I loved the dancing, and hearing ‘Moana’ speak - Chloe
  • Hearing everyone’s stories, hearing the goals they had and how they worked to achieve them - Alexis