In this series of articles, we get to know our 2021 prefect team better, and learn about their goals, backgrounds and roles. Today we meet Andrew Choi Joyce Ecclestone, our Wellbeing Prefects.
At the end of last year, Andrew Choi and Joyce Ecclestone were selected to become the Wellbeing Prefects of 2021.
Andrew Choi
Andrew states that his role as a Wellbeing Prefect with Joyce is to “ensure students have good wellbeing, self-esteem, and positive view on themselves”.
He wanted to be a prefect as he believes “we all have experiences that cause us to be different and I want to be able to connect with the younger students to have a positive influence on them for the future”.
Other than his day to day school life, his favourite subject is music which resulted in his passion for playing jazz guitar in Mr Cho’s bands and other music projects outside of school.
“My Goal is to work alongside Joyce to set visionary goals and pass down advice from ours and others experiences so younger students can learn from our successes and mistakes.
The Tauranga Jazz Festival and Wellington Jazz trip are two trips that Andrew is personally looking forward to this year, assuming that COVID-19 doesn’t interfere. As a prefect, he looks forward to making connecting with all the different year levels and developing a good outlook for the wellbeing of Sancta Maria College, especially with events like COVID-19 that may have put people at a disadvantage.
Andrew believes that our school should look forward to new events and updates that are innovative; keeping some good ideas from the past years and adding in new ideas that may have potential.
Some advice from Andrew to those who wish to become prefects in the future is “the advice I can give you is to be outstanding, take risks, and get involved from the day you step foot in the school. Although it is never too late, teachers ‘keep tabs’ on you since you enter SMC, so always be conscious of that”.
Joyce Ecclestone
Joyce states her prefect portfolio alongside Andrew as a “position to engage more with the Sancta Maria community and encourage the idea of this school being a safe and open space for everyone”.
She believes that over the past 6 and a bit of years that Sancta Maria College has given so much to her. Whether it was growing her faith or broadening her knowledge, she believes that is shaped the person who she is today. “Being a prefect is my opportunity to give back and show how much I care about our community”.
“I enjoy commerce related subjects (specifically accounting and economics), I don’t mind getting work from these classes as I find the topics intriguing and hope pursue a future in this field”.
This year Joyce would love to aid in bringing our school together. She knows that year levels tend to have a divide between each other, but wants to break the barrier with Andrew by having interactive events
Joyce is really excited this year as it is her last year of high school! She intends to appreciate every moment and is especially looking forward to events like ball, school trips and making fun memories. She is also looking forward to working with Andrew to create new well-being initiatives for everyone to get involved with.
“SMC should expect creative events/activities that focus on improving their physical, mental and emotional well-being. We want to stress the importance of maintaining a healthy well-being, especially during this time of uncertainty with COVID-19”.
Some advice from Joyce to students who want to apply from prefect roles in the future is “As Andrew said get involved! Participation is key, show your passion for SMC, but don’t be doing it with the sole intention of becoming a prefect. Integrity is important, what you do when no one is watching means more than a front you put on”.
We congratulate Andrew Choi and Joyce Ecclestone whose leadership and never ending commitment to Sancta Maria College have seen them appointed this year’s Wellbeing Prefects. We wish them all the best!
Daniel Pereira
