At Wairakei we strive to offer our students with opportunities that extend and challenge them. PALS is one such course that offers selected students the opportunity to work on a range of leadership skills that they then bring back and apply within our school.

Last Wednesday 10 Student and Sport Leaders from Wairakei school attended a PALs workshop run at Roydvale School. They were offered this opportunity as part of the leadership roles they were selected for. PALs is an established Physical Activities Leaders program run by Sports Canterbury. The course fosters leadership skills within a sports context. Throughout the day students attend leadership workshops which challenge their abilities to adapt and to lead other students.

It was a very hot day. The students were out having fun and picking up valuable tips in the field. They discussed ideas around leadership and were given chances to put their knowledge and opinions to the test while creating and leading activities. I was really impressed with the effort and attitude of all our students. They worked hard, stood tall and definitely did us proud.

Over the next few weeks the PALS Leaders will be working on their ideas and coming up with some action plans. This will begin with Wheels Day on the 3rd of March. They will be looking at how they can encourage enjoyment of a variety of physical activity and working with students throughout the school. This is a wonderful way for these students to work on their positive communication and leadership skills while helping to foster a fun and supportive playground environment for all students.