From the Acting Principal 

Matthew 20:26–28

“It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

October at Huntingtower sees the departure of our very worthy 2023 leaders and the introduction of our School leaders for 2024. On that note, I would like to thank the School Captains, Prefects, House and Cocurricular Captains for the magnificent job they have done this year. These very accomplished and committed students are listed below. We have all been touched by their contributions.

To our newly elected leaders, congratulations! They have been nominated by their peers to represent them and it is indeed a great honour. I am confident they will embrace the role and the many opportunities it affords. 

At a recent School Assembly, I spoke about the importance of good leadership and the reality that one of the key lessons a leader will learn is the need to empower others. As Mahatma Gandhi sagely commented:

A sign of a good leader

Is not how many followers you have, 

But how many leaders you create.

The reason why these words resonate, is because, as I explained to the students, the role of leadership does not end there. Leadership is not a set and forget arrangement. This is because, in order for a community to work, everyone needs to be invested. An obvious example are the many sporting teams that have been filling our screens throughout September. Be it AFL, Soccer, Netball, Rugby or NRL, while there is often only one Captain, every player has to contribute for the team to succeed. We all have a part to play. My advice to students is not to wait for a title to make an impact. 

Furthermore, history has warned us that when there is a culture of not questioning leaders, the outcomes can be dangerous. This is evident across all fields and disasters such as Korean Air flight 801 (1997) and the Challenger disaster (1986) are examples of what happens when there are not clear and open forms of communication. 

There is no doubt Leaders need to listen, but everyone needs to remain engaged and interested so that they can be heard. We are all familiar with the adage, ‘there is no ‘I’ in team’, but what is often overlooked is that there is an ‘E’ for everyone. We achieve more when we are all involved. I am confident with the appointment of our new Student Leadership team, 2024 will be a great year.

Mrs Shan Christensen

Acting Principal