Provincial conference attendees and award winners from KCS. Kneeling from left: Jillian McArthur and Courtney McKenzie. Standing, from left: Kali Sproule, Brianna McBride, Blair Gilmour and Shayla Olafson.
Kevin McBain
of The Clarion
Six members of the Student Leadership Council at Kindersley Composite School attended the Saskatchewan Student Leadership conference held in Tisdale.
The annual event was held Sept. 20 to 22 with more than 700 students, plus advisers, attending from across the province.
Students attending from KCS were Kali Sproule, Courtney McKenzie, Blair Gilmour, Brianna McBride, Jillian McArthur and Shayla Olafson. Going with them was SLC adviser Karen Barrows.
This year’s conference was based on a super hero theme and it was all about being your hero, reaching beyond all limits and stepping out of your comfort zone.
This year’s guest speakers featured Tyler Haden, an East Coast speaker who the KCS students reported as saying that energy flows where attention goes and enthusiasm is caught, not taught.
Greg Johnson, the Tornado Hunter, also spoke. He said when he first started chasing tornadoes, people said he was crazy. But his dream, which he shared with the students, was not to let people dissuade you from following your dream.
Speaker Ian Tyson encouraged the leaders that their job is to keep people safe when they come to school and make sure everyone feels a part of the school, and help them feel that they can come and be safe.
Alvin Law said misery is a choice. It’s all a perspective.
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There was also a video shown about bullying, giving the perspective from both bullies and those being bullied.
As well, there were several workshops that students could choose to attend, such as teen dating violence, travel tips and a workshop by Amnesty International.
Grade 12 students Jillian McArthur and Shayla Olafson came back excited from the event and said they hope they can do their part in trying to include everyone in various activities in the school and make them feel welcome.
“It’s important to foster relationships,” said McArthur. “People are going through the same journey, but they are all taking different paths to get there.”
Olafson said, “we want to try and get more groups involved in activities and make everyone feel more welcome.”
A big highlight for everyone was winning the Provincial Award of Excellence in student activities for 2016-17.
Barrows said that the award is given to the council that shows great student leadership, community involvement and volunteer work – among several other criteria.
“It just isn’t the 2016-17 members of the SLC that deserve this award, but it also goes to the past members of the SLC,” she said. “It is definitely a cumulative effort.”
The Student Leadership Council at KCS is a very important part of the school and this year the group has close to 30 members.
Barrows says that the conference is a great way to motivate and inspire the students and leaders, and a way for them to connect to one another and get new ideas to bring back to the school to make their schools better places.
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