A group of Year 6 students recently attended a SCIPHA (Sunshine Coast Primary Heads Association) Leadership Day where students participated in fun team building activities and learnt what it means to be a leader. All Year 6 students are given opportunities throughout the year to step up and serve as they embrace a significant leadership role in our Primary School.
Enjoy reading these student reflections from the SCIPHA Leadership Day.
SCIPHA Leadership day was so fun. It helped everyone who went to have a clear perspective of the way of the leader. We did so many fun activities which helped us to know what we do as a leader. We were split into two groups to complete two different activities. We participated in dragon boating and an activity called Boot Camp.
I was split into group 2. So, my group went out to the river to learn about dragon boating and we were split into three boats. We all created a war cry and team name. There were approximately 19 people on the boat so we couldn’t decide the name instantly. But I piped up and said blue mermaids. The boat had a mermaid print on it and ours was blue. Excellent name, right? My partner and I Abby were number 17, so we sat near the back of the boat. On the river, we learnt how to make the dragon boat move, we shot water at the other boats with water pistols and we raced at the end. My team didn’t win at all. We came second on the first race and last on the second race. After the dragon boats, we ate morning tea. We sat with other people from different schools, I just sat with Elle and her neighbor.
The second rotation was Boot Camp. The rules were that we could go anywhere in the building or on the outside and make a mini roller coaster for a ping pong ball. We did alright and managed to keep the ball off the ground for at least 14 seconds. But we were meant to try and keep it above the ground for more than 20 seconds. Elle’s group won in the end. They found planks of wood and taped it to the porch and then it went near the water. It was pretty impressive.
The last thing we did all together was make two large circles and have two-minute conversations with the person in front of us. It was a little nerve racking but after two or three people, we all started to be more confident. It was a really nice feeling to get to know other people by asking them questions without being scared. It was amazing.
At the end, we played a game called Big Up. It was when you compliment others by just standing up, saying their name and why you are giving them your big up. I tried to stand up to give my big up to everyone for learning so much, but I didn’t make the number, there was so many big ups, not everyone got to do theirs.
When the day finished, we all jumped back on the buses to travel back to school. But first, we all stayed to take a picture as Ms Mitchell asked us to go out on the deck. I went to the front deck while they took the picture on the back deck, so once we realised, we ran to the back and joined the photo.
So, overall, it was a really fun day.
By Mia H
I loved the leadership day as we learnt a lot about teamwork.
When we first walked in the door a few girls greeted us – they were kind and brave to introduce themselves. We then talked about our school and how similar our schools are as well as some random questions. This conversation then gave me confidence to introduce myself to everyone else. We talked for a while until the rest of the students arrived. The leaders introduced themselves and told us the activities we were going to do. Some of the activities included dragon boat racing and a game with Ping-Pong balls. We were given a safety talk before the dragon boat racing which included wearing life jackets and we didn’t have to wear shoes. YAY! We were taught how to ride the dragon boat and then we hopped in ready to start. When we stepped on the sand it was very slimy and I almost slipped. I was in the green boat and shortly after we moved off the sand, we realised that if we wanted to go fast, we had to paddle at the exact same time as each other. Once we got the hang of it, we had a water fight and we were saturated. We began the race at a buoy in the water and our team won every time. The leader on our boat was so proud of us and what we achieved.
After the dragon boat race, we ate morning tea and we sat with students from other schools. Then it was time to switch activities and I was on the ping pong game. The rules to win meant keeping the ball rolling but make it as slow as you can. We were told of a group where they didn’t listen to one of their team mates, and he did it himself and won the game and the the ball took a very long time, so this taught us that need to listen to everyone’s ideas. The amount of time was measured when the ball reached the bottom and we were so happy with our results even thought it only lasted 30 seconds. Next was lunchtime and we met even more people.
It was almost the end of the day but there were still a few more things to do. We did big ups which is a game where you say the person’s name, you stand up and say why you gave them a big up and talk about what they have done that is good. Next, we were told to make two circles and we had to have a conversation with the person in front of you. Once they clapped, we had to move 2 places to the left. We did that a few time and I had many cool conversations. We had a little time at the end so we played a game called boot camp where you complete a series of activities as fast as you can. We scored below 20 seconds.
Overall from attending this Leadership Day and completing these activities, I learnt the importance of working as a team. The day was a great experience and increased my knowledge and understanding of leadership.
By Emily H
