By Tricia Mifsud
ACTIVE involvement in school activities, fundraising for charities and student wellbeing are among priorities for Broadford Secondary College’s leadership team in 2022.
School captains Oliver Mckinlay and Aram Erdogan will represent the student body working closely with school principal Tania Pearson, who is excited about a full school-year on campus after commencing in the role at the start of the pandemic.
Focusing on reconnecting the students, Broadford Secondary College has introduced lunchtime activities and round-robin sporting events.
“We’ve introduced the lunchtime activities each Monday morning and we get the houses to come together if the kids want to do some sort of activity, whether it be music or sport,” Oliver said.
“I think just allowing the kids again, obviously being back at school, to have an area where they can engage and play with their friends [is important].”
Aram said it was the first time they had organised a round robin for students.
“So a lot of kids are engaging in competitive play of sports as well and it’s getting them out and about instead of stuck inside the house,” he said.
The school’s basketball courts will also be refurbished and a grant will see upgrades to the tennis courts to encourage further involvement in sport activities.
A student wellbeing hub has also been built, allowing students and staff to seek extra support if they are struggling with the return to school or any personal issues.
Ms Pearson said she was also ensuring staff members’ return to school was as smooth as possible and was focusing on strengthening student-teacher relationships.
“We’re supporting staff in lots of ways. Firstly, with the introduction of the new homerooms and the activities, we’re trying to build that bridge between staff and students to get them more actively involved with our students as well, which they willing to do,” she said.
The college is also focusing on its continued support of charities, and Ms Pearson hopes this will extend to each house group choosing a dedicated charity to support.
“It’s important for students to think more about just their own inner circle and to think what else is out there in terms of the broader world,” she said.
“We’ve been looking into certain charities to support and doing fundraisers and events where we can get people engaged through events like an out-of-uniform day where we can get some money and put it towards a charity,” Aram said.
Ms Pearson said she hoped all plans for the students would make it enjoyable for them to attend school.
“I’m just really looking forward to a full year with everybody. We’ve got lots of ideas to work with our leaders in particular but to make the place enjoyable for everyone,” she said.
“Students appreciate school more [after remote learning in the past two years] but it’s not only about break time, it’s also about the learning and how do we make the learning really dynamic and engaging as well, so that’s a focus for our staff.”
