What do a nuclear disarmament researcher, our school guidance counsellor and a yoga teacher have in common? Well, they all took part in training our Year 12 Peer Support leaders of 2017!
Everyone as a child wished to be an astronaut, until they learned about the training that was involved and the intense mental stress each candidate went through. Many students at Sancta Maria College wish to become a Peer Support leader, but they are in fact oblivious to the trials and tribulations the team must endure during their training to reach their goal.
Our eager senior leaders arrived on a forebodingly dark, dreary and wet Friday morning with a relaxed attitude expecting yet another recap on leadership.
Oh, how they wished they had prepared for the incoming storm.
Led by Kristina, Katherine and Lyndon from the Peace Foundation, along with Mrs Goddard and Mrs Kevern, our leaders faced a plethora of challenges from evenly splitting an orange between two hostile foes each vying for the treasured juice contained within, to finding the inner animal spirit contained inside them, whether an aggressively adamant shark, a fairly fair fox or even a type of tame teddy bear.
Pushed to the brink of breaking point from the barrage of relentless tasks and the everlasting question of “When’s lunch?”, our team of hardened leaders banded together, pushed through and emerged stronger than ever, each learning invaluable skills on empathy, peace meditation and active listening.
Despite the everlasting memories of oranges lost in battle, our leaders came away at the end of a now brilliantly clear and sunlit blue afternoon, armed with the tools they need to become effective Year 12 Peer Support leaders of Sancta Maria College.
Faith is Our Compass.
Manvis Wong
