Standing on the shoulders of the giants of those that have gone before

One of my favourite aspects of teaching is spending an extended time with future student leaders. Not just the five elected College Captains, but the 234 leaders within the prospective Senior cohort.

The Seniors of 2018 spent two enriching days away on their Leadership Camp exploring their collective approach to leadership as well as ways to enact this within the House and wider Terrace Family settings. A key aspect of the leadership challenge presented at the camp was honouring the past while creatively and authentically shaping the future of the College, knowing that one day others will look back while ‘standing on the shoulders of the giants of those that have gone before’.

Below are some excerpts from the Leadership Camp addresses of our newly appointed College Captains for 2018. We truly are in safe and capable hands.

Terrace gives us the chance ‘to be the best that we can be’ as individuals as well as opportunities to come together and work in synergy to do great things for Terrace. ‘Being free to be the best I can be’ means to be the best we can be without the fear of being judged by others.

Will Roach (2018 College Vice Captain)

‘Talk the talk and walk the walk’ simply translates to backing up what you say with your actions. If practised it has significant outcomes for the people around us. This year’s College Captains are a fine example of this. They challenged themselves from the outset to lead by example. Although Year 12 can be a challenging year, I have noticed that they continually put others before themselves, lending a hand wherever possible.

Zach Boland (2018 College Vice Captain)

As a Catholic school in the Edmund Rice tradition we have the responsibility to not only care for ourselves and our Terrace Family but also our surrounding community. I feel as though it would be a great challenge for our cohort to leave a lasting impression on the College’s social justice programs. This is only going to be achieved through the commitment and cooperation of our entire grade selflessly devoting our time to the needs of others.

Tom Pappalardo (2018 College Vice Captain)

The phrase ‘one person can make a difference’ can be interpreted in several different ways. Personally, I strongly believe that this phrase calls us as individuals to be committed in the support of those around us, whether it be marginalized groups, someone in our year level or our Year 5 Buddy. Quite simply, every day we come to school, we can be a person who can make a difference. As Year 12s in the white shirt, we must lead by example, showing the younger students how they too can be a person who makes a difference.

Tom Dearlove (2018 College Vice Captain)

The Terrace Gentleman. Three things spring to mind; socks up, shirts in, top button done up. But this is just the tip of the iceberg. A Terrace Gentleman is someone who supports those around him, someone who looks out for others, someone who cares about those around him. A Terrace Gentleman is humble, giving his all to everything he does. A Terrace Gentleman is at the service of others.

Jacob Montaner (2018 College Captain)