Student Leadership

Captains’ Report

During the course of the first term of 2023, the School Captains alongside the elected members of Student Voice, have achieved many things that were planned during the final months of 2022. But we, as School Captains, have much more to achieve throughout the year, and are excited for the future plans we have in store for Coburg.

Coburg High School was lucky enough to host a surprise special visit from the Victorian Premier, Daniel Andrews. This was a great opportunity for our school and many students, who were surprised at the sudden arrival of the Premier. Mr Andrews was then shown around the school by our principal and the School Captains, the latter being asked by the Premier about their plans upon graduation from CHS.

The Captains have had an exciting and engaging term, participating in various activities and events that have helped us grow as leaders and better serve their school community. Attending year-level assemblies has provided us with a platform to address important issues, highlight the achievements of our peers, and promote upcoming events. At the recent leadership camp, we had an opportunity to learn new skills and develop our leadership abilities through team-building activities, and discussions. In addition, we have been able to network with other student leaders from all year levels, developing ideas and suggestions for improvements for the school, and forging connections that will help us work together effectively in the future. Meeting with the principal and other local and state politicians has given us the chance to advocate for the needs and concerns of our school and be a part of the decision-making for CHS’s future development. As School Captains, we are committed to working hard and representing the voices of students, and we cannot wait to see what the rest of the year holds for Coburg High School.

As School Captains we are incredibly proud of the accomplishments we have achieved just in term one alone; and strongly encourage students to consider running for school captain next year. Being a School Captain is not just a title or a position of authority, it’s a role that allows you to make a positive impact on our school community. Being a School Captain allows you to lead and inspire your peers, represent your school at events and meetings, and work closely with teachers and staff to improve the overall school experience for everyone. It's also a chance to build crucial skills that will prove useful throughout life including leadership skills and a chance to improve confidence when speaking publicly. If you have a passion for making a difference and want to leave a lasting impact on our school, we encourage you to take the leap and run for school captain next year.

Waste Sorting

One of our biggest concerns going into the year was the lack of waste sorting in our school. We saw this as a major problem, as Coburg High School prides itself as an environmentally conscious school. As an update to this issue we have already implemented prototypes for a three bin system for paper, recycling and waste around the school, and hope to fully implement it throughout the year.

Ezzat 12B

Leadership Camp

At the start of March, student leaders from all year levels attended leadership camp at Gundiwindi Lodge. Fun activities like the giant swing, the flying fox, archery, and campfire songs were complimented by the productive leadership activities, like the Shark Tank workshop. The house leaders, the student voice council, the entrepreneurs club, and the StandOut representatives split off to workshop their own ideas of ways to improve the school. The groups presented their propositions to the school captains who took time out of their busy week to visit the camp and contribute to our workshop. We ended the day with an Inspirational Leader Dinner with lots of creative costumes. On the last day, before returning to school, we got to go on Puffing Billy which was definitely a highlight. Overall, it was a very fun and productive camp and we are all grateful that we could attend.

Sanjay C 7H & Jo M 9B

Proposed Culture Day

Student Voice has been discussing a day to celebrate the cultures of Coburg High. Although Harmony Day has passed, Student Voice feels as though we need a day to celebrate culture. If this day were to happen students would be able to dress up as their culture and bring a gold coin donation which would then get donated to a chosen charity. As far as we know, Wednesday the 16th of August (Term 3) seems to be a fitting date.

Bessie B 11C, Sarah H 8D, Noah V 8D

PA System Music

Earlier in the term, our wonderful school captains created a google form that allows everyone to suggest songs for the music played at recess and lunch times. Since then, we’ve got lots of responses and students have been getting to listen to their favourite music at the end of each of our breaks. This experiment has been a great success, so we’re excited to continue to provide this choice throughout the year! We’d love to hear more suggestions from all of our students, so please submit a range of songs that you’d like to hear more of at school. 

Scarlett B 10A & Ella W 7G

Here’s the link to the google form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScD6aIrEfmD0-nviR86SV8Fv9sAhv8LeE7I4iOyQRmiKD_5Ew/viewform

Politician visits

On Friday the 31st we were lucky enough to be visited by Tim Pallas the treasurer of Victoria and Anthony Cianflone the local member for Pascoe Vale. School Captains took them on a tour of the school and discussed the upcoming masterplan. The Year 10 politics classes were also given the chance to ask these two politicians questions which was an amazing experience. We are excited for the upcoming visit this Wednesday the 5th, where Anthony Cianflone will be joined by Vicki Ward the secretary for education to continue discussing the masterplan. We’re so grateful to have had these amazing opportunities and are looking forward to future visits from politicians.

Chloe G 8A & Astrid R 9C

Out of Uniform Day

This next term and the year, CHS plans on having out of uniform days to encourage our school community values to raise awareness and money (with a gold coin donation) for current issues that our students are passionate about. The student voice committee have collectively and thoughtfully chosen these charities to reflect what they feel is most important about. 

Each term will have a dedicated charity for students' gold coin donations to go towards. These charities include Big group Hug, which aims to help vulnerable disadvantaged children and families, as well as a Turkish relief charity to help assist with the current earthquake crisis. Other charities that CHS in term 3 and 4 will be donating to, include an indigenous community support charity and promoting men's mental health charity.

Delilah W 8D & Sienna F 11H

Bike Shed

In recent times, the bike shed has been overcrowded and very hard to navigate due to its small capacity. The Student Voice Council has acknowledged this and is taking actions to solve this issue for both students. Gary Vella has created a compass entry addressing the issue and stating that “Plans are underway for a second bike shelter and additional storage options around the school”.

Nikolai Z 10C & Timur S 10D

Bins

We are currently testing a design for the bins out in the yard, to help improve littering and waste management. This prototype can be seen outside of Gary’s office, and would include multiple types of bins, including recycling. 

Open Day

We welcome current Grade 5 & 6 families to join us on Wednesday 26 April for our 2023 Open Day, where students will lead tours and our school Leadership team will be available to chat. As Student Voice leaders we have been preparing tours and planning how the day will unfold. If you are a student, remember to be on your best behaviour and if you are a primary school student’s parent you can register for the day on the CHS website.