On Wednesday 5th June, Miss Robb and Miss Fogerty took 17 Year 5,6 and 7's into Christchurch for the NYLD conference at the James Hay Theatre.

The day was filled with lots of awesome guest speakers, who shared great stories about their pasts, and also very strong, inspiring messages about student empowerment, promoting positivity, motivation and education.

Other than listening to motivational talks from great New Zealand leaders, the students also engaged in question times, videos, singing, dancing and interactive activities.

"My favourite guest was YAHYAH and Brooke because they were both really entertaining" Milah

"I really enjoyed the dancing because it was fun!" Jorja

"I loved the inflatable game because it was really fun seeing how long it will take to get around the theatre." Sophie

"I enjoyed the speaker about money because she gave me some awesome tips on how to get rich." Lukas

"I enjoyed when Brooke spoke as she was really inspiring." Alex

The guest speakers who shared their empowering messages were:

Brooke Neal - Former New Zealand Hockey Play and founder of ‘ALL ABOUT BALANCE

- William Pike - Kiwi Explorer, Inspirational Speaker and Director of the WILLIAM PIKE CHALLENGE

- Te Kahukura Boynton Entrepreneur Māori Millionaire

- Nate Wilbourne - Conservation and Climate Justice Advocate, Founder or 'Gen-Z Aotearoa.

- YAHYAH – Musician

The National Young Leaders Days (NYLD) are the largest and longest running leadership event for primary and intermediate school students. These large scale annual events aim to develop student leadership. Since 2001, more than 130,000 students have been empowered to fulfill their dreams and become great leaders at a National Young Leaders Day in Aotearoa.

A huge congratulations to the students who were selected to attend!