With Year 12 2022 getting through their HSC Examinations there is a new group of Year 12s (2023) assuming the role of College Leaders.
While we have announced and celebrated the new Senior Leadership Group this week, along with College Captains and Vice Captains, in effect every new Year 12 student now steps up into a leadership role.
The main role of the Senior Student (Year 12), apart from focusing on their academic progress through the HSC, is to set the tone for the College moving forward. Let me commend the 2023 Year 12 students to you. They are a very fine group of students who have many good things going for them. Setting a positive tone for younger students takes work. Every aspect of their time in the next twelve months has an impact on the overall tone across the College.
What we are wanting to build is a positive tone where all Year 12 encourage their younger peers to:
- Look out for one another: where everyone is part of the team and everyone has a place
- Punctuality: All students to be ‘on time’, be that to College, in the morning, in getting to class, or turning up for their various commitments (training, rehearsals, events)
- Uniform: Sharpening up the dress code: getting the hair right, the extra piercings and nail polish removed, the facial hair shaved (for boys), the dress length right (for girls)…
- Disciplined Use of Devices & Technology: Inappropriate use of technology undermines student outcomes and creates unnecessary angst and division in staff/ student relationships. The College, with the assistance of the Senior Students, wants to set a new standard that everyone commits to so that anxiety and mental health issues are minimised and positive relationships can flourish.
- Celebrate Victories: We need to create a culture where students can perform and be celebrated for their achievements across all their endeavours.
- Actions not Words: We want to see students actively contributing to the life of the College in areas that they love and enjoy e.g. sport, music, chess, gardening, Dukes, and many other areas of College life.
- Questions & Criticism: The College needs to be a place where the students can challenge the processes (in a respectful and appropriate way).
- FUN, FUN, FUN: At the end of the day we are a community and there needs to be an opportunity to have fun and let off a bit of steam, but in a way that builds community and is not at the expense of individuals or the community as a whole.
- God is honoured: Jesus is Lifted Up: This is important to many people at Thomas Hassall; we believe Jesus sustains us and keeps us healthy. We understand that we are diverse in our backgrounds and belief systems, but we want to uphold the respect for our Christian foundation. (I see a real respect from almost all of our students and I really appreciate this and think this is one of the highlights for me)
- Hard work and Dedication are Valued: Our best results have come when our senior students (from Year 12) have committed to put their differences and distractions aside to work together to encourage, to build up, to support and to arrive at the final destination together.
If the Senior School Students lead in the ways outlined above, the tone across the campus will be one where Respectful Relationships can grow, where challenges are taken up in a Calm and Collective Response and where life is shared with a general positivity and gratitude. Class of 2023, as a community we are with YOU, ready to support and encourage you all as you lead our College and set the tone for our younger students to aspire to.
Year 12, 2023 Waterslea Campsite
