Supporting your daughter in her leadership journey
Saturday 14 August was the Year 11 social where Brisbane Girls Grammar School and Brisbane Grammar will join together to experience what has become, in the culture of the school, another rite of passage symbolising them moving into a more grown up world. The significant part of the conceptual and organisational management in the Houses for Open Night is carried out by the Year 11s and Heads of House and other students observe the preparedness of these girls, not only to exhibit obvious leadership capacity, but to really get in and do the hard work behind the scenes. It is an interesting time as the Year 10s select senior subjects and start to seriously imagine themselves as senior students while the Year 12s retreat a little to concentrate on their last, very significant, semester at school and university course selection as they start to emotionally ready themselves to leave and let go of life as a school girl. At this time of the beginning of another migration, it is of course, the Year 11’s who are guided through a process to prepare them to take on the leadership of the School.
Leadership, and the thought about who will be the leaders, becomes a much-discussed topic amongst the girls once the excitement of the Social dies down. So that you as parents have some understanding of the process, I shall take you through, within a simple framework, how this occurs. This may help you in your support of your daughter both to have the courage to put herself forward if this is what she wants, or to share with her your understanding of what leadership is. Understanding the process is the first step. The formal leadership programme begins in Term IV, with the Year 11 cohort taking their first official action which is submitting the nominations for Head Girls. The students are asked to nominate suitable candidates, justifying their choice. The names are collated and posted publically prior to the Year 11 assembly; each girl in the Year 11 cohort then casts her vote for the two Head Girl candidates she considers will represent their particular cohort and the School in the most effective way.
A short list of five to six girls is then determined and the girls are notified of their inclusion on the list before it is published. These girls prepare and present a speech to the Year 10 and 11 cohorts, which must focus on a woman they have found to be inspiring in their leadership journey. After that, the Year 11 girls vote for their choice of Head Girls. It is also important to note that staff do not cast a vote as there is a belief that it is important to trust the judgement of the students. The Head Girls certainly are representatives for the School in major public forums, for which they receive much guidance, but first and foremost they are the elected leaders of the girls and it is important as the Year 11 girls need to feel that they can follow their elected leaders. The Head Girls are then announced by the Principal who continues to contribute to the leadership development of these two girls by meeting with them every Monday morning at 8.00am.
The Service Captains are considered an eminent role in the School and they work closely with the Head Girls and the younger students. The process for this starts next while the voting process begins for the various House Captains, Sports, Music, Drama, Debating and Visual Arts Captains. Girls nominate for the positions they wish to apply for and they list these in order of preference. Voting for each area takes place by the students involved in the particular activity or House. These lists are collated and kept.
The next step in the leadership journey is the election of House Prefects. This is one of two processes that do not involve voting, but is done by interview with interested students and the Heads of House. Each candidate is interviewed by her Head of House then six girls are selected to act as House Prefects for Years 8, 9 and 10. The qualities we are looking for in these girls include: leadership, empathy, reliability, punctuality, and an ability to connect and communicate with younger students. The House Prefect plays an important role in the younger students’ lives and she is a role model, as well as someone they can talk to and observe.
As this is occurring in the various areas of the School, Service Captains are selected, with the nominees submitting a resume to the Service Co-ordinator, Mrs Stubbington. The Heads of House, together with the Deputy Principal, then select two suitable girls for the role, which is an extensive one, with the girls representing the School on many occasions and organising activities throughout the year. Once all votes have been counted, the Directors of Music and Sport and the Heads of House finalise the positions. In most cases the choice for Captains of each Sport, Cultural activities and House are clear and easily arrived at, but occasionally a girl is voted in for more than one position and then an examination of their preferences, as well as the margin by which they won the vote, occurs. Girls cannot hold multiple senior leadership positions as it is considered too onerous and it is fair to distribute positions so that as many girls as possible have the experience of leadership. As soon as all positions have been finalised the successful candidates are announced at a Year 11 assembly. The final four positions of two Arts and two Sports Captains are voted by the elected Captains of the Arts and Sports groups under the supervision of the relevant staff. The Student Council is then finalised; this consists of the two Head Girls, eighteen House Captains, the two Service Captains, the two Arts Captains, the Club and QGSSSA Sports Captains.
By this time the Year 12 cohort has left the School and there is a break in the leadership process as the Year 11 girls enter the assessment block of Term IV. During the final week of Year 11 the election process is finalised with the election of other House positions. Each House conducts two days of House planning for the following year. During this time the girls begin their final transition into Year 12 and into the roles of school leaders. Each girl in Year 12 is considered a leader and will be called upon to demonstrate her leadership abilities, support the Student Council, act as a role model for younger students and help to set the tone of the School. It is both the behaviour of the individual, as well as the collective, that will determine the nature of the leadership of the Year 12 cohort for 2011.
So, at one level this process is simple and at another it is quite complex. It is a time when it is an honour to witness the honourable and strong character of many of our girls as they negotiate this journey, dreams and aspirations tucked under their arms, and showing great courage and developing confidence as they “have a go” providing support and encouragement for each other. Some of our most remarkable students, who we have tracked over time, are those who have managed a disappointment like this with such intelligence and graciousness that the experience seems to equip them to go on to developing a style of quiet yet powerful service leadership which ends up being publically acknowledged in important forums in their adults lives. Unwavering and wise support and encouragement from parents will help your daughter feel able to apply for positions and to continue to persevere even if she does not at first succeed. Helping your daughter to celebrate her success with humility will enable her to appreciate her triumphs while still being able to support her friends who may not have got a position they wanted. Conversely, helping her to negotiate the disappointment of life not always going to plan is, perhaps, one of the greatest gifts you can give her.
And so we embark on yet another transitional time with our current Year 11 girls emerging in all their grown up beauty tomorrow evening to dance, have fun and enjoy each other’s company, before entering into the next phase of their lives as the “elders” in their life at School. To conclude, leadership involves the entire student body, not one or two students. It is always important to remind our girls that the mere wearing an official badge does not make them a true leader. Each girl has to rise to the challenge and lead the School with integrity, honesty and humility. No matter if your daughter attains an official leadership position or not, she will be part of the leadership team for 2011. The success of the whole cohort lies in the hands of every Year 12 student.
Mrs H Boltman