student leadership

It is really cool when Renee has an experience on her own that when she came home all excited about, Denny and I smiled because it is something that we have done for a long time in developing team leaders and now someone is doing for her what we have done for others.

Her school has a head boy and a head girl, a deputy head boy and a deputy head girl, prefects and sub prefects.

The head boy/girl are the top student leaders in the school. They are in the thirteenth grade and can step in for teachers, are in charge of detention duty, they can give demerits/merits, and detentions. The deputies can do the same but they are not as important as the head boy and head girl when it comes to structure. These four people give a speech to the teachers at the beginning of the year and from that speech the head boy/girl is chosen.

The prefects are those chosen from the twelfth and thirteenth grades that show leadership qualities. They do not step in for teachers but they along with the head and deputy leaders are in charge of homerooms along with the homeroom teacher. They can give detentions and demerits.

The sub prefects of which Renee is one, are chosen from the eleventh grade. They are in a preparatory stage for when they can be prefects and head boy and girl. They give demerits, detentions, and merits. They are responsible for late duty (reporting those who come to school late) and also break duty. Making sure that everyone is behaving and acting mature. We tell Renee to go be a good police!

The administration of the school planned a day retreat for all of these student leaders. They were taken by bus to a camp for the day. The theme of the retreat was TEAMWORK:Ever try building something with just one block?

They experienced "trust" games, and mental exercises that built on teamwork and reliance on others. They enjoyed being mentored even for a day. Ms. King (the VP of the school) and Mr. Jones, (the head teacher) coordinated everything to flow together to build on what these student leaders are already learning and experiencing at school.

At the end of the night they had a bonfire and s'mores which was a great way to end the day. Since Renee is almost finished and will be leaving Belair she had her friends sign her shirt. Kind of neat that they were given one.