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Student leaders attend 'Synergy'

‘Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.’  1 Timothy 4:12

Many events have occurred throughout this past fortnight at Nowra Christian School. Just some of these have included our Kindergarten students celebrating their first 100 days of schooling; our Senior Secondary School Captains and Prefects attending the ‘Synergy’ Christian Schools Student Leadership Breakfast and Training Program; a visit to our school by Mr Jolliffe, our newly appointed Principal for next year; and the holding of our annual NAIDOC Assembly.

You will have the opportunity to learn more about many of these events as you peruse the pages of this edition of the NCS Bytes. However, I would now like to focus more fully on the ‘Synergy’ Christian Student Leadership Teams training event held at Southern Highlands Christina School on 4 August. I felt very privileged, and greatly encouraged, to be present at this important gathering.

The focus verse that I have provided above is one that I have used in a number of previous Bytes articles. I have included it once again because it is also the key verse that the ATICS group of Christian schools has chosen as the central verse for our ‘Synergy’ Student Leadership Program. This training day brought together the student leadership teams from our five regional ATICS Christian schools.

As you are aware, I have made the decision to retire at the conclusion of this school year and thus this occasion would be the final ‘Synergy’ event that I would attend after many years of being involved in this very significant leadership training program. This realisation brought with it an initial tinge of sadness. However, at the same time, I was greatly reassured about the leadership calibre of the godly young men and women who comprise the student leadership teams at each of our ATICS Christian schools. I was encouraged to realise that the valuable contributions being made by our student leadership teams, means that the future of Christian education does indeed remain in very capable hands!

Each of the five leadership teams spoke to a PowerPoint Presentation that highlighted their journeys as school leaders throughout this past year. The presentations set out to cover the following three areas:

• An overview of their leadership achievements,
• Challenges experienced or unexpected opportunities identified as each team put their vision for their specific school communities into practice, and
• Some of the key qualities required to be a Christian school leader.

As previously stated, it was a genuine privilege for me as a departing Christian School Principal to sit in the presence of these aspiring young student leaders. I was greatly encouraged to hear them share with great humility about the many valuable lessons that they had learned from their endeavours to faithfully follow the example of Jesus in their leadership practice. (I have included a link to the presentation provided by our NCS Student Leadership Team, believing that you, too, will conclude that student leadership at Nowra Christian School remains in excellent hands.)

I loved Synergy! It was encouraging seeing the leaders from other schools again as well as learning the different ways that they applied their leadership and the changes they made in their school. :) Izzy C

It was great to spend time with like-minded people and encourage each other in our leadership endeavours. Alec D

Synergy helped us see the good and the difficult sections of being in Christian Leadership. Although the schools are far away from each other, we can use the connections, skills and ideas in our own school. Beth W

Synergy was an eye-opening experience that taught me the comradery involved in leadership and the importance of reflecting on your goals as leaders. It was awesome to be in a room full of people so willing and excited to serve their school and most importantly God. Ollie E

Our prefects and captains attended the Synergy at Southern Highlands Christian School to engage in a leadership seminar presented by Hope 102.3 Christian radio and present, along with other leaders from other schools. My main takeaway from the day was: that whilst we are Christian leaders, we must lead initiatives in service to all Christians and non-Christians both collectively and respectively. Jono W