Year 11 Reflection Day

On Friday 19th May the Year 11 cohort headed north to the Stanwell Tops Conference Centre where we were greeted by Michael Fitzpatrick. The College was extremely lucky to have Michael Fitzpatrick available to facilitate our day who is a very well respected presenter from Queensland who specialises in leadership development.

This day offered the Year 11 cohort the opportunity to reflect upon the way that they and the College community currently view the year group, to identify the strengths of the year group and to discuss how they want to be viewed or what they want to be known for at the end of Year 12. They were also challenged individually and as a group to step outside their comfort zones in a manner to explore the different types of leadership and what can be achieved when some risks are taken and opportunities provided to others.

They were also challenged to think of the qualities that they want the year group to be known for and identify a person in the year group that embodies that quality and tell that person. This was a very powerful process where students were often able to share their observations and affirmations with other students that they would not have voiced in the past.

Finally students were given the opportunity to acknowledge past mistakes and grievances in a safe space so that the year group could move forward in a unified manner.

This day was an important stepping stone in the continued development of our students in to young men and shaping the leaders that they want to be as senior students of the College.

Please see below some of the reflections from Year 11 students who attended the day.

Christopher Vallas – The most useful thing about the day is going out of your comfort zone to do something you don’t want too and making new friends and learning confidence to be a leader in the future

Zane Al-Salih – The Year 11 reflection leadership day allowed our cohort to come together in support of one another to show leadership as young men moving forward in the spirit of the Edmund Rice touchstones.

Alexander Attore – The leadership reflection day was useful as it enabled us to gain a better understanding on what it means to be a servant leader.

Julian Eckermann – It helped bind our cohort together through reforming lost relationships and showing gratitude to boys who show qualities of a leader.

Marcus Henriques-Thakur – The Year 11 Leadership Reflection Day in my eyes was really important, as it really helped everyone reconnect with one another (which I doubt would have happened without it, as there would’ve never been a reason/excuse to do so). I would say the day properly bonded us together into a single unit: one where every man is ready to support one another with the challenges that come with the final years of high school.