Strong Hearts Strong Minds

Halogen National Young Leaders Day

It never ceases to amaze us that Jesus came as such a humble leader. No pomp, no ceremony, no riches, or flowing robes. No one fanning him with palm fronds or feeding Him peeled grapes as he lay back on a straw mat by the beach. Quite the opposite, Jesus came to serve, to be with those who needed Him most, the ones who weren’t part of the inner circle, or ‘cool crowd,’ but those who were on the fringes of society. What is our immediate image of a leader? Someone powerful? Influential? Someone ‘more worthy’ than us? In Senior Primary, classes look at all sorts of different leaders and their styles, from those immediately around us – family members, emergency services, or teachers, to those who are in sporting organisations, activity groups, or people who lead change in our world. After all, Greta Thunberg was just 15 when she started leading a campaign against climate change. Students learned that being a leader actually means to follow in Jesus’ footsteps through service, to put others before themselves, to sacrifice their time and to undertake extra responsibility. Being a leader can just as easily be the quiet voice, as a more forceful one.

Our 14 School and Tribal Leaders attended the Halogen National Young Leaders Day at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, where they listened to a wide variety of speakers who told their own stories of leadership. The leaders speaking were: Robert ‘Dipper’ Dipierdomenico, Nazeem Hussain, Candy Hertz and Amanda Johnstone. Interestingly, there were similar themes of: asking for help, listing goals, loving what you do, laughing through challenging times, and embracing your differences. Please enjoy the following reflections from the day by our students.

The crowd roared with laughter as Nazeem Hussain (comedian) imitated his mother, who was very brave. His experience was not another boring speech, it was very entertaining and exciting. We were told that we should see life as an adventure, that we need to listen and learn, to be ourselves and to invent our own path when we’re passionate about a job. 

Emily K

Today, the notes I took down included: write down your goals, research your topic like crazy, practise in front of a camera, know the things that make you nervous, smile, breathe, and be you. 

Izzy M

Going to the Halogen Young Leaders Day was one of the best experiences I’ve had because we listened to lots of famous people who we learned a lot from, such as, we can do almost anything if we put our mind to it, and to push yourself away from your own boundaries. In between the speakers there was entertainment called ‘Dance Curriculum’ where we all stood up and did the dance moves that they did on stage. 

William H

Planting our Playground

While NAPLAN was going on over the past few weeks, the Year 6s (and few Year 5s) were working hard in our Primary School gardens. Lots of digging holes (through really hard ground!), planting an assortment of shrubs, mulching, watering in, weeding (those ivy vines were long!) and general tidying up. In between times the students learned how we can work together as a team to achieve great things (like making our playground space look beautiful). We talked about how teamwork and community is God’s idea - like a human body: many parts working together as one, each having a different function (1 Cor: 12). Many thanks to Mr Chatelier, Mr Bouma and Mr Roberts for organising our outdoor adventure!

Senior Primary Teachers