Belmont High School Newsletter
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Student Voice & Leadership

Introducing Our 2026 Executive Student Leadership Team

We are proud to introduce the Executive Student Leadership Team for 2026, a group of outstanding students who will play a key role in shaping school culture, amplifying student voice and leading their peers.

 

Selections for the Executive Student Leadership Team followed a rigorous and competitive process, involving written applications, speeches, panel interviews and staff and student feedback. We congratulate all students who applied and demonstrated passion, integrity and commitment to our school values.

 

We are delighted to announce our 2026 Executive Captains.

 

Junior Captains:

  • Hannah Godfrey
  • Alice Farran
  • John Scully

  • Isabelle Ross

     

Intermediate Captains:

  • Miranda Linton
  • Sathak Negi

  • Emily Costa

     

School Captains:

  • Ruby Chapman
  • Prahlad Anand
  • Elly Wilde

  • Ruby Elshout

     

These students have already demonstrated strong leadership and a commitment to our school values of Respect, Opportunity and Resilience. We look forward to seeing them lead the Student Leadership Team and help drive a positive, inclusive and engaging school culture throughout 2026.

 

Our new Student Leadership Framework is designed to provide students with a clear developmental pathway from Year 7 to Year 12. This updated structure creates more opportunities for students to lead, contribute to school life and represent their peers.

The framework introduces two tiers of leadership:

 

• Executive Student Leadership Team - consisting of our School Captains, Intermediate Captains and Junior Captains. This team will oversee the wider Student Leadership Team.

 

• Student Leadership Team - including House Captains, International Captains, Student Representatives and Year 7 Form Captains. These students will support school events, fundraising, House activities and community projects.

 

Opportunities for the wider 2026 Student Leadership Team will open early next year, with Year 12 House Captain selections to take place during the Year 12 Camp and the Student Representative (Year 8–12) and Year 7 Form Captain applications to open in Term 1.

 

Celebrating Mali’s Kokoda Success

Earlier this year, Year 11 student Mali Martin completed the demanding Geelong Youth Engagement Kokoda Trek, a nine-day journey across the historic 120-kilometre Kokoda Track in Papua New Guinea. The experience challenged students physically and mentally as they navigated steep terrain, intense humidity, and long days on the trail. Mali showed incredible resilience, teamwork, and determination throughout the trek - qualities that reflect the spirit of Kokoda and our school values.

 

On Friday 5 November, Mali’s achievements were formally celebrated at the Geelong Youth Engagement Celebration Breakfast held at GMHBA Stadium. The event brought together trek participants, sponsors, community partners, and supporting schools to acknowledge the efforts and stories of all involved.

 

Mr Baker, Ms Erin McKenzie (Mali’s House Leader), and Mr Hosking attended the breakfast on behalf of the school. They heard inspiring reflections from GYE participants about the challenges of the trek, the friendships formed, and the resilience shown along the way.

 

We congratulate Mali on this outstanding achievement and thank GYE for providing such a powerful and life-changing opportunity for young people in our community.

 

Pictured: Ms McKenzie, Mr Hosking, Grace Fitzpatrick (GYE Spring Back participant), Mali Martin, Mr Baker, and Jordan Quinn, who was unfortunately injured in the lead-up to the trek and unable to participate.

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Student Leadership – 2025 in Review

Thank you to all students, staff and community members who have contributed to and supported our Student Leadership Program throughout 2025. This year has been a celebration of student voice, initiative and empowerment across every year level.

A special thank you goes to our School Captains, House Captains and Form Captains. Your leadership, enthusiasm and commitment to strengthening our school community have been outstanding. You have represented our values of Respect, Opportunity and Resilience with pride and have made a meaningful impact across the year.

Throughout 2025, our students have participated in a wide range of leadership events and opportunities, including but not limited to:

 

  • BHS Leadership Day in partnership with The School of Play
  • Youth Leadership Academy Conference at the Melbourne Convention Centre
  • International Women’s Day Breakfast and Morning Tea
  • Student Voice School Values Review
  • Regional Student Voice Conference
  • Implementation of new student-led initiatives, including the Teacher Appreciation Token and Student Voice – Student of the Month
  • Participation in The Push-Up Challenge fundraising campaign
  • Year 7 Dodgeball Tournament, proudly run by our House Captains

  • Junior School Captains leading a student feedback process that contributed to positive changes to our school uniform policy

     

We are incredibly proud of our student leaders and their contributions this year. Their efforts have helped strengthen student voice, build community spirit and enhance the culture of Belmont High School.

 

We look forward to an even bigger year in 2026 as we continue to Strive for the Highest.

 

Thank you

 

Matt Hosking

Student Voice & Leadership