Year 8 students Amy and Melania are learning valuable leadership skills and the power of student voice as part of the Student Representative Council at Siena College in Camberwell.
Student voice, agency and leadership are all important contributors to student empowerment, and are associated with increased levels of student engagement in learning.
Siena College’s student leadership program is one avenue through which this is encouraged, and Melania and Amy are both excellent role models for other students, and play an important role in facilitating student voice among their peers.
“A good leader is someone who works with everyone and they are able to have a balance, understanding everyone, stand on their own two feet,” Amy explains, adding that the SRC acts as a bridge between the students and teachers.
“It’s like being the voice of our year level,” Melania says, “we are there for opinions and suggestions, which we will push forward to hopefully make a change.”
Both girls spoke of the importance of building connectedness between year levels and feel lucky to have the continuous support of their peers.
Head of Student Formation, Claire Moody, says that both girls were keen participants during the school’s Year 7-9 Pillars Leadership Series last year.
The four-week workshop introduced topics such as working effectively in teams, planning and organisation, public speaking and leading in challenging situations.
As Claire notes, “These are all valuable life skills and we encourage all students from Year 7 upwards to participate and consider applying for a leadership position after completing the course, as the experience gained by these students is so useful both at school and beyond.”
