Student Leadership Action Training

The student leadership action training will provide an opportunity for current leadership students to mentor and train our future leadership team (students who have volunteered to take part in our student council for the upcoming year). This training will be based on the feedback provided by our current student leaders. Current leaders will have the opportunity to plan and deliver the training to their peers.

Our student leadership team/student council is made up of two to three representatives from each homeroom, for a total of 50 students. The student leaders take a leadership role in the school. They plan events to promote school spirit and school community. As well, they choose various charities to support and organize school-wide fundraising campaigns.

To make the student leadership committee successful, we would like to have a training session. The aim of the training session will be to help them develop leadership qualities and to help them consider how they can have a positive effect in their community. This training will be based on the feedback provided by our current student leaders. Current leaders will have the opportunity to plan and deliver the training to their peers.

As part of the training, students will go to Winnipeg Harvest, a local food bank. There they will learn about the purpose of Winnipeg Harvest and they will volunteer for half a day. This will show them the importance of helping the community. As well, it will encourage them to organize support for charities next year. After the volunteering, students will participate in a training session. During this training session, they will discuss their experience at Winnipeg Harvest. They will learn about the qualities of a good leader and how to best demonstrate these qualities in the school and community.

Student voice continues to be a divisional initiative. Our student leadership team is an opportunity for students to have an authentic voice in many facets of the school: school safety; youth in action and school spirit. We hope that by providing current leadership students with the opportunity to pass their leadership experience on to upcoming student leaders will further support this student voice initiative.

Update (April 7, 2011)

The preparation stage for the student leadership action training is well underway. Our current student leaders have been planning the training session for next year's leadership students. Last month they discussed and brainstormed ideas. They have identified what the new students need to know to be good leaders in the school. As well, they made suggestions of what needs to be included in this year's training.

Some of our current leadership students have volunteered to plan and help present at the training session. They are creating role playing scenarios which will help the new leaders practice leadership skills. As well, they are prepared to teach mini-lessons on the role a student leader takes in the classroom. With their efforts, the action training will be a great success!

Update (May 25, 2011)

On May 24, Grade 6 and 7 students from Golden Gate Middle School participated in the Student Leadership Action Training. Throughout the day they learned valuable skills which will help them act as leaders in the school.

In the morning, the leadership students attended a field trip to Winnipeg Harvest. They were particularly interested in visiting the food bank, since Golden Gate staff and students had supported the organization with a food drive in December. Students took a tour of the facility and learned about how people receive aid from Winnipeg Harvest. Afterward, they volunteered at the food bank by sorting food, boxing potatoes, and cleaning food bins. More importantly, the leadership students learned how their actions can positively affect others.

In the afternoon, the leadership students attended a training session which previous leadership students had helped design. The purpose of the afternoon was to teach the students about their role as part of the leadership team. To explore this topic, the students planned short skits in groups which showed how they could take on a leadership role in the school. Afterward, we discussed their responsibilities in homeroom and elsewhere.

Another purpose of the training was to give the leadership students a voice in the school. Before the training, the students were asked to share in writing various suggestions for the upcoming year. Suggestions ranged from fundraising ideas for charities, suggestions for spirit weeks, to offering a Summer Carnival. These answers were compiled onto posters. At the training, the leadership students were asked to vote for which ideas they liked the best by putting stickers on the posters. This was used as a springboard into small group discussions and planning for the upcoming school year.

Overall, the Student Leadership Action Training was very successful. The new leadership students are well prepared for the role they will take on in the new school year. They are prepared to organize activities, support charitable organizations, and care for others. They will act as leaders in their homerooms, classes, and communities.

Update (January 18, 2012)

To use the rest of the grant money, there will be another field trip to Winnipeg Harvest to train the new leadership students on May 29, 2012. Students will visit Winnipeg Harvest as a culminating activity of a canned food drive. It will be used to build citizenship and leadership skills in the students.
The remaining grant money has been used towards booking a bus for this field trip.