Student leadership is part of what makes SMC the outstanding school it is. Skills are developed through taking a leadership role but also in learning from others as you see them lead.

Leaders help with the opportunities offered for all students while at school and also, they help develop the leaders of the future. Research has also shown that leadership education for girls also helps to address concerns of gender inequity (Archard, 2021) something that is constantly challenging women globally but also nationally. And simply said, as in one of Mrs Patchett’s frequent phrases, ‘if you can’t see her then you can’t be her’ so our senior leaders have a huge influence on their fellow students.

Currently, we are beginning the important task of finding our senior leaders for 2022. We have introduced two new prefect roles, the Bicultural Prefect and the Senior School Prefect. These are both areas of incredible value for us as a school and they ensure our team accurately reflects the organisation within the school.

Year 13 students will hold the Prefect roles, of which there are 22, with 31 Student Heads roles e.g. Head of Drama, Head of Library, Head of Volleyball. To share the leadership development, Year 13s will be able to hold one of the leadership responsibilities.

Another organisational change for 2022 will be the structure of Councils, of self-nominated Year 12 and 13 students, to be led by each prefect. We do have some councils already, such as the Sports, Arts and Student Council and these work well, so we are including them across the School for consistency and effectiveness.

One of the important benefits of SMC is the willingness of the girls to appreciate the importance of service both within and outside of the school community. All girls have the opportunity to contribute to leadership in a wide range of areas, so ‘leadership’ is not just the opportunity for those with a title. All students are encouraged to influence and inspire others in working towards a common goal, forming relationships and supporting others.

As we look forward to next year, we can’t help but reflect on the excellent job of the current 2021 Prefect Team, ably led by Georgia Lassen (Head Prefect) and Maya Laws (Deputy Head Prefect). The girls have contributed such a lot to the life of the school and have been excellent role models. They have also, through the experience and a range of workshops developed their leadership skills with the support of their staff mentor. They have learnt as the whakatauki says ‘He aha te kai a te rangatira? He kōrero, he kōrero, he kōrero’ - What is the food of leadership? It is communication.

Leadership development programmes focus on building leadership within individuals first, including self-confidence, personal accountability and long-term aspirations. All girls can do this either as a leader in a role just as our Senior Leaders will have next year or as a member of our SMC community. This is a time to be both appreciative of the leadership of the 2021 Prefect team and Senior Student Leaders and look forward to opportunities for those taking the mantel for 2022. The process has now started and congratulations to all Year 12 students who have put themselves forward for consideration; this is your first brave step in leadership.