GRIP 2025 Leaders Conference

Leading On Behalf of Others: A Transformative Experience for Our Student Leaders

The GRIP Leadership Conference at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre  was an incredible opportunity for our students to explore what it truly means to lead—not for personal gain or recognition, but for the benefit of others. Each session was engaging and insightful and the games, discussions and entertainment kept everyone actively involved.

We kicked off the day with a powerful session on the Responsibilities of a Student Leader. This session provided a practical look at the core responsibilities that come with student leadership: being an example, using one’s voice, offering help to others, and stepping up to meet the needs of the school. Our student leaders walked away with a deeper understanding of how these principles shape the way they serve their peers and our school community.

Leadership Through Friendship, was a clear reminder that leadership is not about privilege but about people. Students learned how to build strong relationships, share responsibility, and create an environment where everyone feels valued. It was inspiring to see our students reflect on how they can foster a positive school culture through friendship and collaboration.

The New Ideas to Help Others offered our student leaders the chance to collaborate with peers from other schools, exchanging innovative ideas to make a meaningful difference in their school communities. Our students had already begun a list of implementation ideas back at school and were able to build on this list with exciting and achievable ideas to bring back to our school.

The final session, Achieving Your Idea Before the End of the Year, equipped students with the tools to take ownership of their projects and bring their ideas to life. Students learned how to prioritize, break down goals into manageable steps, and work effectively as a team. It was motivating to see them take the first steps in turning their visions into reality.

We were really lucky to have Isabela, Cassie, Alexia and Zak chosen as representatives of EVPS throughout the day to do be a part of the action and Steve and Zac playing air guitar was also a bit of fun.

As I reflect on the conference, I am filled with pride for our student leaders. They are more equipped than ever to lead with purpose, compassion, and a commitment to making a positive impact in our school and beyond. Our students are not just learning to lead—they are learning to lead on behalf of others.

I look forward to seeing how they apply these lessons this year, and I’m confident that their leadership will continue to inspire us all.

Rachel Griffiths, 

Acting Principal

This week on Tuesday, the JSC (Junior School Council) team went to the city by a train to go see the GRIP leadership conference 2025, a practical and interactive training conference for student leaders. 

We learned how to be a good leader and how to succeed in being an influence, to be an amazing role model for kids to look up to. 

We learnt about how to lead and teach others, self development as a leader, innovation and change, how you react and ask, and how to help out others. This course changed how we see the school and how to be a good leader. 

We are so grateful to have gotten the opportunity to go to the conference and us leaders have taken in the information and will try our best to be the best leaders this school has ever seen.

Junior School Council