Captains Corner 

Balwyn Highschool Visit - September 5th, 2025

On September 5th, the School Captains attended a leadership conference at Balwyn Highschool. The conference was run by two Year 12 Leaders, and the DPS School Captains were able to further develop their leadership skills through workshops and discussions. Read to learn about the day from the Doncaster School Captains. 

Nathaniel C

On Friday, 5th of September the school captains and I attended a Leadership Conference at Balwyn High School. On the day we arrived at 9:45 and at 10:00 we began our session. The hosts, Marianna and Christina introduced themselves and explained how the day would go.

Soon we all got put into four separate groups each with a Balwyn Leader. I was put with Asha, the school captain alongside Alex and others. During the day we talked together and did activities about leadership. We had breaks with delicious foods such as meat pies and others. Overall, It was a great day, I had lots of learning opportunities, having key takeaways such as “anyone can be a leader.” To me this was one of the best learning experiences ever, learning not just neutral facts but other perspectives as well.

Neli F

On Friday, 5th of September the school captains and I participated in a Leadership Conference Day at Balwyn High School. We were put in groups where we got to meet other leaders from other schools and introduce ourselves. The Vice School Captains, Marianna and Christina hosted the day and told us how the day would run. I enjoyed working with my group and getting to know them well by the end of the day. I was with the Year 12 school captain, Gilbert. What I enjoyed the most was Battleball, it was very similar to dodgeball. For recess, they provided us with lots of delicious food. What we focused on most was how leadership brings an impact to schools and how it’s a very important role. While learning we completed a poster about all our different school events. We combined all our ideas and as we were sharing our ideas and leadership roles we really learnt about each school's perspective. Thank you to Miss Curtolo for coming along and supporting us along the way. I really enjoyed this day and I hope I  get to serve as a leader in future years. 

Chloe D

On the 5th of September the school captains participated in a Leadership Day at Balwyn High School. This day was kindly organised by Balwyn’s Vice Captains Christina and Marianna. The day was so much fun as we got to collaborate upon different ideas and come together as we figured how we can make everyone in our school leaders even without a title in leadership. There were four groups each with a Balwyn captain. I was in the group with one of Balwyn’s school captains Gilbert and also Neli. We talked about diversity and how everyone can be a leader even without a specific role. It was very interesting learning about other schools and how they incorporated leaders into their school. I liked how in some schools they have a coffee club where they make coffee for parents. I liked this idea because it gives older students an opportunity to become a leader and helper in their school. Overall it was a very fun day.

Alex O

On Friday the 5th of September, the School Captains and I attended the Balwyn High Leadership Conference for the day. We arrived at 9:45am and began our first session at 10:00. The hosts, Marianna and Christina introduced themselves and explained the layout of the session. We all got put into 4 separate groups each with a Senior Balwyn Leader. I was placed with Asha, the school captain alongside Nathaniel and others in my group. During the day we talked and did activities about how socialising helps develop leadership. We had recess with some delicious food prepared for us. After the break we continued developing our ideas for the topic, I learnt how much advertisements really mean to get more people involved into something. In the event, I shared many ideas even if I thought they weren’t the best. I learnt that ideas don’t have to be perfect or correct, you just have to say what you think and not be worried about what others think. To me that is one of the most valuable things I have learnt as a Captain.