As our Year 7 girls prepare to move up in the Senior School and take on the leadership roles next year, they spent a day of adventure-based learning at the Adventure Works site at UNITEC in Mt Albert last week. Working within a team to develop an understanding of group cohesion and group dynamics was the focus of a day; with opportunities throughout for each to take on leadership of their team.

The Unitec Leadership Discovery Programme is designed to help students explore the concept of leadership and what it may mean for them. Through gaining a greater understanding of the opportunities that can arise through learnt leadership skills, it is hoped that the girls will be inspired to seek leadership roles as they move through their schooling and beyond.

The day involved team building and problem-solving activities such as working together to find a means of getting ‘from A to B’ with limited resources. Using pulleys, team members were hoisted up on high, to find themselves balancing on high ropes and poles, walking along at great height before jumping off to catch a swing. Each student faced their own challenges, whether it was a restriction in their own ability, overcoming a fear or learning new skills. Team work was critical and the girls soon learnt how their own positivity could influence others as they built skills to relate and communicate with others in a leadership context.

Throughout the day, they girls learnt how to be influential and creative, to value the opinion of others and discuss problems and then work together to come up with strategies to solve them. They gained self-confidence and awareness, and learnt how to have confidence in their peers. It was a great day for the girls to discover more about themselves and what it means to be a leader.

Tags

• Leadership

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