Loreburn Central School students put their “Leader in Me” skills on display

Students at Loreburn Central School put their leadership skills on display last Tuesday before a large crowd of family and friends who packed the gymnasium to take part in the school’s first annual Leadership Day.

The celebration allowed the community to view first hand the success the kids have gained over the past two years in “The Leader in Me” process implemented at Loreburn Central School. This process allows students to practise “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” that leads to a culture of leadership in the kids.

“It’s given the kids a lot of empowerment and voice, so they know they can come to any staff member and say ‘I think we need to do this in the school or we need to have this,'” said Jill Long, principal of Loreburn Central School. “We basically turn around and ask them how that will look and we offer the facilitating to that program, but it’s the kids that are the ones who do the work for that.”

Grade 7 student and Leadership Day co-emcee Abby Adams, 12, said Leadership Day allowed the kids to showcase how they are changing their school and their own lives for the better through the “The Leader in Me” process. She said at the school it has brought about a closer relationship between the elementary and high school students giving them a chance to work together to build a better school.

“I am a busy person with dance and music and sports, so I really think that the course has helped me to become a better person with time management and getting everything done,” Abby said. “That’s important before I go on to other things.”

Abby’s classmate Abigail Graham, 13, shared the stage as co-emcee during the morning presentation in the gym that featured a discussion on the seven habits by a number of elementary and high school students as well as different class presentations including a couple fun musical numbers. Following the main presentation the onlookers were able to tour different classrooms at the school to find out how the kids are implementing leadership principles in their daily work.

Abigail said the main thing the process has helped her is being able to get along better with her younger brothers Brennan and Dillan. She said all the kids at school have been working for the past four or five months on preparing for Leadership Day and she’s very happy on how well everything turned out.

“Staff and students both put in an equal amount of work to make it the best it can be,” said Abigail. The day “helps develop leadership skills, so like in the workplace when you’re older you can get along with people and you can help others improve.”

Abby said she was “actually quite surprised” with the amount of work the younger kids put into the show and how well everything came off during the day. She said the hope now is to make Leadership Day an annual event at Loreburn Central School, so the students can continue to show the advantages they are gaining from the process.

“I really feel like this school is growing as a better school with the leadership that is going out and the roles that people are taking,” she said.

Long said the presentation was the accumulation of two years of work with “The Leader in Me” process and she is very happy with all the talking and planning by the kids over the past few months especially that led to Leadership Day.

“They were so nervous talking, but they did an awesome job,” she said. “It really showcased that they can be leaders in tons of different areas.”