School for Student Leadership 

School for Student Leadership is a Victorian Department of Education and Training (DET) initiative offering a unique residential education experience for Year Nine students. The curriculum focuses on personal development and team learning projects sourced from students’ home regions.

There are four campuses in iconic locations across Victoria. Our students Shardae, Rori, Jonathan and Oscar are currently attending the Don Valley Campus located at Don Valley in the Yarra Ranges. These four students undertook a rigorous application and selection process to be successful in obtaining a placement at the school for this term. The program utilises outdoor based activities to build and practice leadership skills, team building and conflict management. Our students are also developing a Community Learning Project to launch when they arrive back at our school in Term 3.

Recently the team was challenged to build a bridge structure. In this challenge, they took on roles of responsibility, listened to others ideas and worked as a team. Rori reflected:

‘Today we did bridge building. What was most successful to me was how we worked well in a group, there was no arguments and everybody was getting their ideas heard. Also, our bridge was built pretty well, it was sturdy and has an interesting design. Personally, I feel as though I contributed, but not as enough as I wanted to. So next time, to improve, I’m going to help out more. Even if I’m not 100% sure on what I’m doing, because I can always ask somebody else for guidance.’