At Aquinas College, boys are told that anyone is capable of leadership - that is, only when you put in the hard work. The Middle School Leadership Program was introduced to the whole Year 8 cohort on Thursday (24th June) to give every student an explanation on what it takes to become a Middle School Student Leader. Boys were handed a powerful message related to leadership upon their arrival at the workshop and were asked to sit down at a table with the same message attached to it. Almost all these messages linked to the idea that all boys are capable of being a leader, but much emphasis was put on the fact that we must put in the hard work to reach this goal.

Boys were to analyse the messages and speak in front of the group about what the message really meant. Leadership was already displayed in the workshop, as students braved the challenge to stand up in front of over 170 boys and speak to them, showing confidence and courage. Multiple other activities were included in the workshop, which required boys to fill out a booklet. All students were then sent an application form to become a Middle School leader but were to complete this in their own time. The workshop was a great way for the Year 8 students to be introduced to the Middle School Leadership Program of Aquinas College, and hopefully served as a great way for young boys to grow into good men.

Many thanks to Mr Weston for running the workshop.

The Middle School leadership program is designed for Years 8 and 9. In this program, you will have to fulfil the duties of looking out for your peer’s and fellow Aquinian’s. There are different Councils in the program that students work for such as Student Welfare, House, Academic, Arts & Culture, Tuatha Cup, Spirituality & Service, Student Voice & Character, all of these play a big role in the Middle School.

You don’t need to be the smartest in your classes to participate in the leadership program, you just need to have good character, strive for excellence in everything you do and have a high work ethic. When you have a leadership opportunity, I encourage you to go for it and achieve your best. All students should give it a go as it will be a great part of your Aquinian journey.

On Thursday the 24th of June the Year 8 students participated in the launch of the Middle School leadership program at the dining hall. Students completed a series of questions about what leadership is and how can it be shown to the public eye. The program is designed to make the Year 8’s be more aware and open to opportunities like this one.

As the day went on the Year 8’s were meant to watch a video about leadership but ended up not being able to because the speakers for the television had blown, so instead we got to get outside and talk to our friends.

After a while, we got split up into our tutor groups and had to complete a worksheet about how we can use leadership to become a better person and to acknowledge the difficulties that leaders face every day.