Mission and Identity 

• Year 11 Reflection Day

Year 11 Reflection Day 

We ask our Year 11 students to wear a white shirt to distinguish them as leaders in the College. Year 11 students are asked to lead the Peer Support Program conducted with Years 5 and 7. To lead or to be a leader is not a skill that is quickly learnt – it is something that needs to be developed.

Our Year 11 students spent Monday 15 March at Oxford Falls; a great place to take time out of study to better understand the role that they are asked to undertake each day as leaders. Students heard many perspectives of what makes a good leader and what leadership is. Perhaps the best understanding came from a clip that explained that leadership was the ability to do small tasks that on their own may seem meaningless, but when they are completed over time in conjunction with all the other small tasks – they show that someone is a leader.

Fr David of OLD Parish provided insight, given his experience as the Administrator of the Broken Bay Diocese while we waited for the appointment of Bishop Anthony Randazzo. He explained that a role given to someone: Captain, Prime Minister or Governor does not make someone a leader – that is merely a role. It is when someone is in that role, and they can share their vision with the people around them and empathise with the people around them that they are showing that they are a leader. In the word of Angus Houston – former Chief of the Defence Force in Australia, leadership is about “people, people, people”. The sooner someone in a role of leadership understands that the sooner they start displaying great leadership.

Plenty of time was provided during breaks for students to enjoy the grounds at Oxford Falls.

After lunch, a group of students from Year 11 presented to their peers about how they saw the year group – the Class of 2022, leading the students of St Pius. Ideas covered: what makes good student leadership, the legacy that the Class of 2022 wish to leave behind and the benefits of good leadership to a community were covered.

The Year 11 students were mature in their approach to the day and certainly were open to the ideas presented to them. The Year 11 presenters should be congratulated for their willingness to “put themselves” forward to share their ideas with their peers.

Thanks especially to the staff: Ms Janes, Mrs Guerrera, Mr Di Sano, Mr Balboa and Mr Kovacic for their work on the day.

Mr Nathan Mulheron - Assistant Principal, Mission and Identity