Head of Junior School
Developing Leadership in Boys
Developing people of good character is part of our mission at Scotch. In the Junior School we offer many opportunities for the boys to lead. This will develop and increase as they move through the College. Boys will be given responsibility in class to monitor, sort and manage areas within the room. This will teach them to importance of following set rules and meeting expectations as well as appreciation of working to deserve the trust that has been placed in them. For our youngest boys this is a learning journey and they will require support and guidance as they mature. As the boys move through the school they will be given further opportunities to lead in many different areas whether that be in sporting teams, chapel, music or the arts.
We are introducing a new level of leadership for our boys in the Junior School for 2014. Our Year 5 boys will be our first cohort or Junior School Captains and will work with our teachers to develop these important roles. The Captains will be boys who lead by example and will set the standard to how to conduct oneself in class, in the playground and in all school events. The captains, as will all Year 5 boys, will be looked up to by the boys in the Junior School as role models and examples of the type of student we look to develop at Scotch.
Mrs McNally and I will be working with the Year 4 boys to develop the leadership programme. Together we will decide the type of leaders we feel a Scotch Captain should be. We will also set out our programme for developing leadership skills and opportunities for all boys in Year 5 in 2014.
Boys in Year 4 have nominated for Captain positions. They will present a speech to the Junior School outlining why they feel they will be good captains and leaders in our school on Tuesday 5 November at 2pm in the MacKellar Hall. The staff and boys in Year 1 to 4 will then vote for who they feel will best demonstrate the qualities they believe make a good captain. The successful candidates will be announced at our final Junior School assembly in Friday 29 November at 2pm in the MacKellar Hall.
The Captaincy positions for 2014 will be:
• Junior School Captain (whole year appointment)
• House Captains - 2 per house (semester appointment)
• Sport Captains (semester appointment)
• Chapel Captain (semester appointment)
• Sustainability Captain (semester appointment)
• Visual Arts Captains (semester appointment)
• Performing Art Captain (semester appointment)
Supporting this Captaincy Leadership Programme will be our Class Representatives Council. Two students from each class will elected by their peers to represent them at the bi-weekly council meeting. The issues they raise will be discussed and the Chair and Secretary will them meet with me to see what suggestions can be put into action. The Class Representatives and School Captains will change each semester. These positions will be advertised at the commencement of the 2014 academic year.
These new initiatives for 2014 will further support our leadership development programme and provide roles for our boys to aspire to. I look forward to working with our Year 4 boys to set the bar for other students to aspire to.
John Stewart
Head of Junior School
