Auckland, New Zealand

He Waka Eke Noa, we are all in this together. Over a weekend mid-March, the five Edmund Rice Schools of New Zealand (Liston College, St Peters College, Auckland, St Thomas of Canterbury, Christchurch, St Kevins College, Omarau and Kavanaugh College, Dunedin) gathered in Auckland with their student leaders to focus on leadership skills for the year ahead.

The Edmund Rice story and servant leadership were key aspects of the retreat theme - He Waka Eke Noa, We are all in this together.

After arriving at the Motu Moana Scout Camp in Auckland, we engaged in some icebreaker activities with the other student leaders of which we would spend the following few days alongside, learning leadership skills and gaining a better understanding of the philosophy of Edmund Rice. As well as getting to know the other students on the camp, we were also given the opportunity to get to know the setting and landscape which we had found ourselves in. We were driven to Bastion Point where we listened to the local history of the land and people, and the trials and tribulations which had occurred on this spot. We finished the day with a visit to the iconic Mission Bay where we shared food and competed in some inter-island touch competition…Cameron B.

On Monday the student’s leaders spent the day across Auckland at eight service organisations including Starship Children's Hospital and the New Zealand Police. This day challenged them to put their leadership skills to the test and reflect their role for 2019 and into the future. It also was a chance to show their leadership skills in the spirit of Edmund Rice.

I know that I can speak for all of the boys when I say that we really enjoyed our time at this Edmund Rice Leaders Conference, mingling and connecting with different student leaders from all corners of the country. The new leadership skills we have gained will go hand in hand with the enhanced Edmund Rice values which we can hopefully take back to school and apply to the different initiatives which we have discussed over the past few weeks. Cameron B.

Thank you to all the students who attended, and the staff from the following schools - Luke Williams (St Peters College), Stephen Kennedy and Chris Leader (St Thomas of Canterbury), Tony Mullally (St Kevins College), Cathy Harrison, and Amelia Bresanello (Kavanagh College).

Chris Leader

Edmund Rice Coordinator