Student Leadership

I'd like to congratulate all of the year 5 students who put themselves forward for a badged student leadership position for 2026.

I was impressed with the responses that students gave in their interviews for the positions, and of course so impressed with the speeches delivered by the candidates for the 2026 Bilingual School Leaders. Far out! This cohort of year 5s is taking our school's expectations of leaders to a whole new level, raising the bar considerably for future years. Amusingly, I overheard some of our current School Leaders whisper during the speeches, "Wow, they are so much better than us!".

(Quick side note on the speeches: I'm so very sorry that the videos of the speeches haven't been shared yet as promised - Graeme did take the videos and he was going to share them that same day! Please don't hesitate to chase up the video if you were unable to be there and are desperately waiting!)

So there you have it - whether or not your child is successful in securing enough votes to become a Bilingual School Leader or not, they have definitely had an impact and they are all (every single candidate) worthy of the position. I have kept copies of their speeches so that we can refer back to them throughout the year to remember promises and draw on the ideas.

For the students who don't get the leadership role that they hoped to get, and perhaps don't get one at all, please remind them:

it was the toughest year so far for student leadership at NPS, with the highest number of students ever applying for a position; so a large number of students simply have to miss out;
even if you don't get a badged position, you have still helped to raise the bar for student and staff expectations of leaders for years to come;
you will still be a leader, as all year 6s are leaders and have an important role to play as the oldest students in the school; and
for students who are really keen to still develop their leadership skills and have a role to play, even without a badged position, we will have some committees they can join (see below).

Announcing the 2026 student leaders!

Next Thursday, we will let all of the year 5s know the results of the Bilingual School Leader votes and all of the other badged positions during their Wellbeing sessions. Students with leadership positions will take home a contract to read with you and sign together.
We will announce the results of the Bilingual School Leader to the whole school in the Cultural Week Assembly next Friday.
The other positions will be announced in the newsletter and then also in a special assembly on Friday 6th February when all student leaders will receive their badges.

Here's a rundown of the positions for 2026:

Bilingual School Leaders (combines Spanish Leaders, School Leaders, and Assembly Leaders)
Community Leaders (combines sustainability, wellbeing, and fundraising)
The Arts Leaders (visual & performing arts)
Health & Movement Leaders (expands the focus from competitive sport to also include all forms of health-promoting movement)
Library Leaders
ICT Leaders
House Leaders

Committees:

Production Committee (which will include the Arts Leaders)
Science Week Committee
and possibly a Buddy Committee, to organise and run the buddy sessions.

Positions for these committees will open up early next year, and priority will be given to next year's Year 6s who don't have a badged leadership position.

I greatly look forward to working with the year 5s next year when they're in year 6, and to all of our student leaders at the school, regardless of their year level or whether or not they have a badge.

Best,

Nerida