Student Leadership

The School for Student Leadership

Rebecca Black, Jasmyn Priest and Shanay Jacobs, were given the opportunity to attend The School for Student Leadership (SSL) in east Gippsland at the Snowy River Campus during Term 2. The school specializes in teaching student leadership, resilience, teamwork, empathy, health and wellbeing, respectful relationships, caring for the environment, emotional management, and collaboration. 

Jasmyn's Reflections

As the first half of the term comes to an end, it will not overcome all the experiences I have had so far. Throughout these 4 weeks I have learned the importance of friendship, hard work, resilience and dedication. The SSL community has taught me these values in the form of outdoor activities and engaging lessons with my peers.

Last week Shanay Jacobs, Bec Black and I (Jasmyn Priest) participated in our first expedition. It was a hike of 16 km, walking across Cape Conran, from one side of the beach to the other. Carrying bags that were more then half our size, to ensure we had the necessities for our overnight camp. It was such a challenging task, we had to demonstrate traits of perseverance and resilience. Although the sun was beaming down, draining any hope we had, the sand digging in our shoes, it did not stop us from completing the journey. With the help of my peers and teachers we were able to accomplish the walk to the best of our ability. It was such a reward at the end, to know that I walked all that way in a minimum of 5 hours, arriving at our campsite completely energized and ecstatic. 

The influence of this trip was to grow as a team and mature as a person, create your own path in life through the task of hardship and objection. We were able to signify what the journey meant to us. For me, it was a boost in self-confidence, encouraging myself to create a sense of individuality and realism of my surroundings. For Shanay Jacobs it was a quest of improving her person fitness, and building up those skills of endurance, having the ability to be consistent with her physical activity. For Rebecca Black it was a goal of improving her leadership skills, being mindful of others strengths and weaknesses, as well as looking after her personal needs. The expedition was a true insight to reality, touching us with our attributions we want in life.

During our recent classes from the past week at SSL (Student School for Leadership), they have shown a great relevance and symbolic stand in my life. The iAM class has been about promoting our conversations outside of the program here. Finding what significant value our families, friends acquaintances have in our daily lives. The influence they create on our surrounding environments, opinions, judgements etc… Our task was to write a letter to our families, dedicate our time and attentions to them, expressing everything we have and pour it all out onto the page. The letter Shanay, Bec and I wrote contained the contents of our hearts, we expressed feelings of longing, happiness, gratitude, thankfulness. Our appreciation for their love and support. 

The three of us express all our thanks to the teachers, our peers, families, friends for supporting us on our journey here at the Student School for Leadership. Having participated in this amazing opportunity is just beyond any words that can be expressed. We give all our dedication and attention to the program, soaking in all the valuable assets we will treasure forever.