Growing Leaders at Every Level
In previous years, leadership at 麻豆社 belonged to a relatively small group of students and the pathway to it required patience. Year 6, Year 9, Year 12. Outside of some more informal leadership opportunities, you waited. This week, we began deliberately changing that.
Our student survey last year asked over 1,200 students about their experience at 麻豆社. The results were genuinely affirming across most areas, but one finding stood out as a clear call to action. When asked about student voice, whether students felt their ideas were heard, and whether they felt they had genuine opportunities to contribute, the scores, while above the national benchmark, reminded us there was real room to grow. Around 60% of Middle and Senior School students agreed that their ideas were acted upon at school. That is a number we are committed to growing.
Blueprint 2026+ is our answer, and this week, we began bringing one of its commitments to life.
Under our Good Humans Ready for the World pillar, we have made a deliberate commitment to strengthening student voice, agency and leadership for our Year 6 to 12 students. Not just for those who wear a badge or hold a title, but for every student with something to offer, which is all of them.
So we reimagined our student leadership model.
The previous model created real and meaningful leadership experience. Year 12 led the way, Year 9s had the opportunity to lead in the Middle School, and Year 6 have their own committee. There were also numerous informal moments of leadership woven throughout school life. But what we lacked was a deliberate, structured program that gave students across more year groups the chance to work on something real, together. That changes now.
Our new model launches five student-led teams:
- Faith
- Service
- Wellbeing
- Community
- Environment
Each team draws two members from every year level, Year 7 through Year 11, supported and mentored by Year 12 leaders. Our Year 6 committee members will also spend time working alongside these teams, building connections across the school. We are also introducing Year 9 House Leaders to work alongside our Year 12 House Captains, a new layer of shared House leadership that we are excited to build.
The result is something we are genuinely excited about: cross-year-group teams, working together on real projects, mentoring one another, sharing perspectives and building the kind of relational skills that no classroom can fully replicate.
Yesterday afternoon, we saw it come to life for the first time.
115 students submitted expressions of interest, and those who did, gathered for our inaugural Student Leadership event. They were asked to rank-order priorities for a team stranded at sea, a classic exercise in values, decision-making and group dynamics. They planned hypothetical school events and initiatives, pitching ideas and listening to one another across year groups. And in one of the afternoon's most powerful moments, our Year 12 leaders conducted one-on-one interviews with Middle School students, asking questions, drawing out ideas, and modelling the kind of engaged, generous leadership we hope to see grow across the whole program.
Watching the room, I was struck by how naturally the students stepped into it. There was energy, generosity, and a willingness to stretch that told me this is going to be something special.
After the session, I spoke to the group about the process ahead. Selections will be made, and not everyone who applied will be placed on a team this round. I emphasised something I believe deeply: this process and experience is a win- win for everyone in that room, regardless of outcome.
Every student who wrote an expression of interest, who showed up yesterday afternoon, who put themselves forward, grew. They practised self-reflection, teamwork, and a real willingness to contribute. These are not consolation prizes. They are the very things our school values are built around.
This year, we will see the volume of leadership opportunities at 麻豆社 grow markedly from years gone by and we will continue to expand these teams and opportunities as we go. We won't get it totally right the first time, but we will certainly learn and adapt.
Research in youth development helps explain why this matters. Self-Determination Theory proposes that young people thrive when three core psychological needs are met: a sense of competence (feeling capable and effective), relatedness (genuine connection with others), and autonomy, the sense that what you do matters, and that you have real agency over it. Our student survey last year placed 麻豆社 above the national benchmark on all three, and that is something to be proud of. But autonomy, in particular, is what this program is designed to deepen. When students are trusted to lead real projects, to make real decisions, and to shape the experience of the school around them, something shifts. They stop being participants in someone else's vision and start becoming authors of their own.
Our staff mentors are there to guide, not to direct. The ideas, energy, and outcomes will belong to the students. That is the point.
I look forward to introducing our team members to the community in the coming weeks and watching what they create together. A special thanks to our School Captains and Vice Captains, Ava, Lachlan, Anika and Saxon who have played a huge role in the planning and running of yesterday鈥檚 event. Thanks also to Mr Chipps and Mr Pascoe who have been instrumental in getting the process up and running.
In our final Easter Assembly today, I encouraged our young people to think about the collective impact we could have if each of us committed to small acts of kindness over the break. I hope that as families come together over Easter, many of those moments find their way to you.
Wishing you a wonderful Easter break.
Matt Corbett
Principal
