28th National Schools Constitutional Convention in Canberra
I had the privilege to attend the 28th National Schools Constitutional Convention in Canberra from 21- 23 of March 2023. It was an amazing opportunity which was filled with lots of exciting and eye opening experiences. Some highlights included sitting in on a parliament question time, meeting the Governor General at his home, a high court dinner, and meeting amazing people from all around Australia.
Over the couple of days in Canberra, we also worked in groups of 8 learning how the Constitution worked. This included having the opportunity to be the leader or be the scribe of the group discussion and speaking to everyone at the end. Further each working group session was spread out over the couple of days with keynote speakers in between sessions, further developing our understanding of the importance of the constitution as well as the pros and cons of changing such a system.
Some keynote speakers included Senator the Hon. Anthony Chisholm, Assistant Minister for Education and Professor Kim Rubenstein -University of Canberra, with many others who had very knowledgeable points to make on our legal systems.
This trip is one I will never forget, I have made so many friends over the short stay who made the experience all that more memorable. Also thank you to all that helped make the trip possible!
By Jocelyn S (College Captain)
Smoking Ceremony – Mount Waverley North Primary School
By Liliana E (Deputy Captain)
Halogen Young Leaders Conference
The Halogen Leadership Conference of 2023 was attended on Monday 27 March by Maya, Aarav, Vivian, Georgia, Fathya and Parker from the Year 11 Leadership Team. It was a wonderful experience full of inspiring guest speakers, activities and lots of new people. The guest speakers included Australian Leaders of today, such as comedian Mr Nazeem Hussain (a graduate from MWSC!), Time Magazine award winner Ms Amanda Johnstone, TV sports broadcaster Ms Candy Hertz, and AFL legend Mr Robert “Dipper” Dieperdominico. There were also featured dance sessions held by Dance Curriculum in order to encourage focus among students as the presentations continued.
Despite each having embarked on very separate journeys on their career paths, the speakers emphasised common themes, such as the importance of persistence, having faith in oneself, working hard at your passion – and above all, dreaming big. Such gave us invaluable perspectives on how to face challenges in learning, and in leadership – encouraging us to practise resilience.
In particular, Nazeem’s journey to writing his book was due to his mischievous days at high school. He found that through the art of humour, he was able to personalise his storytelling skills, and also advocate for things that matter to him most. Although we had a good laugh listening to his story, we learnt that you never know where life would take you, as was shown by Nazeem as he liked reading “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” as a child, and he never imagined that he would be a writer.
Overall, the highlight of the day was listening to the various guest speakers and hearing their stories, but also learning some insights into their presenting methods, the way they got through challenges and their backstories, teaching us the lessons and values they learnt along the way.
The experience of being a part of the National Leadership day was amazing and really helpful not just for us, but for the students from other schools who attended this conference. The guest speakers entertained us with their journey into finding what was right for themselves and what careers were best for them. Each speaker gave tips and tricks into what they define as success, thus teaching us to find what is inevitably our success, even if it means failing and taking a different course to what we initially mapped out for ourselves.
The National Young Leaders Day is a celebration for self-made leaders who aspire to contribute back to the community, and that is exactly what we as the students of Mount Waverley Secondary College should strive to become.
We also wanted to give Ms Walk a big thank you for accompanying us to the event and supporting this wonderful leadership opportunity.
By Fathya P, Aarav B, Georgia K, Parker D, Maya C & Vivian P (Year 11)
