E Kore Au Ngaro, He Kākano I Ruia Mai I Rangiatea               “A seed born of greatness” 

On the 30th of May, 14 of the Year 8s from Pupil Council attended NYLD//17  (National Young Leaders Day 2017).

At National Young Leaders Day we learnt a lot about being a leader. The theme of this year’s event was ‘you are a seed born of greatness’. This means that we are all seeds that have the potential to grow into something great, you just need to find your way out of the dirt.

The speakers were Aaron Jackson from Shortland Street, Daniel Flynn founder of Thank You water and author of ‘Chapter One’ (Daniel also donated 2 of his books to Merrin School), Matt Brown an award winning barber, Anna Galven a former Silver Fern, Adam Gardner and Duane Major who are the initiators of Give-A-Little campaign last summer to by a beach near Nelson, Zane Scarborough a two-time winning poet, James Beck NYLD manager, Te Waka Mcleod from The Parenting Place and the hosts of the day were Liz Harrex and Christian Gallen from Attitude NZ.

The values of the day were:

Ngaro - All of us have times where we feel like we are invisible and that have nothing to offer. It is important to be yourself because there is no one else like you. Don't let others make you feel down about who you are.

Kākano - Within everyone is the potential to make the world a better place.

Ruia - Creating and being in a great environment is how we grow.

Rangiātea - We can achieve greatness in big and small ways every day. Our role is to care and make the world a better place than it was when you arrived.

Students’ Voice on National Young Leader’s Day

We talked to the Year 8s that attended the event and this is what they said:

Drew.O - NYLD motivated me to make a difference and strive for excellence. My favourite speaker was Daniel Flynn. I really enjoyed the fun day out.

Ella - I thought the day was really inspiring and exciting! My favourite part was listening to Daniel Flynn and hearing his story.

Hunter - I was inspired by Daniel Flynn because of his not giving up attitude. I would definitely recommend this event to others as it taught me a lot about perseverance and being a leader.

Sam - I found the whole day very entertaining. There was music, dancers, games and competitions! It was a very good experience.

Jhetro - The speakers were really engaging and inspiring. My favourite speaker was Daniel Flynn, the founder of ‘Thank You’.

Ethan - I found the event very interesting because the speakers were extremely inspirational. I enjoyed listening to Daniel Flynn because he told us stories how he persevered when setting up his business.

Meshwa - I found it really fun and I got really inspired by hearing all of the speaker’s stories, struggles and accomplishments.

Isabel - It was a very fun day, and I learnt a lot about leadership skills. Aaron Jackson was my favourite speaker because he was very inspiring.

Natalie - I found it inspiring, and entertaining. Matt brown and Daniel flynn inspired me the most

Jahstys - The day was really enjoyable and the organisers made the day really interactive with us students. My fav was Aaron Jackson.

Sapphire - It was fun because there was lots of awesome music and dancing. I was really inspired by listening to all of the speakers and hearing their stories. I thought the whole event was very encouraging.

Ollie - NYLD was really awesome and inspired me heaps, my favourite speaker was Daniel Flynn because he was really relatable and cool.

Jood - The day was very enjoyable and very inspiring. My favourite speaker was Daniel Flynn because I could relate to him the most.

Kimberley - I learnt that anyone can make a change but you have to work to your best ability. And that we can achieve and make an amazing difference. I think that I couldn’t have had better speakers and people to inspire me.

Article By: Drew Oakley and Kimberley Sutton