College Captains Conference

Early this week we had the privilege to attend the Salesian Schools Captains Conference in Melbourne hosted by St Joseph’s College.

We departed early Sunday morning with Mr Swan and met all of the other captains from the other Salesian schools. We then travelled to St Kilda where we had lunch by the beach, and then we explored the Sunday market and headed towards Luna Park, where we went on the famous Scenic Railway.

We travelled to a Salesian Retreat centre in the country. At dinner time all the captains made a presentation about their Salesian School. It was very interesting to learn about the similarities and differences between the other Salesian schools Australia-wide compared to Dominic. It made us very grateful for all the land we have at our school and it gave us a sense of appreciation for the community and the resources we have.

During the three days we were in the care of St Joseph’s College, they ran several workshops aimed at giving us a better understanding of ourselves as leaders and the work we are capable of. On day one all students and respective teachers attended a Mass at the chapel on the retreat site.

We were also fortunate enough to be able to have a session on the first day run by ASYM (Australian Salesian Youth Mentors) where there were many interactive games and activities which allowed us to engage with other leaders and learn more about other people’s values and schools.

On the morning of the second day we wore our uniforms with pride to St Josephs’ College where the two 2016 College Captains gave us a tour of their school and an insight to the values of the college. Following this we had another session with one of the teachers from St Joseph’s.

This session was about different types of leaders and the responsibilities and values a leader should have. We enjoyed a pizza lunch where we were introduced to many staff from the college.

We began our ‘Amazing Race’ activity from the War Memorial, where we split into groups with leaders from other colleges. While doing this we experienced and visited Melbourne’s significant landmarks and popular destinations.

We visited the Melbourne Arts Centre, Southbank, Federation Square and we experienced the business of Melbourne’s CBD. After completing the Amazing Race we walked to a Greek Restaurant on Brunswick St, Fitzroy, to conclude our second day.

The last day seemed very short compared to our other jam-packed days. We had our final session about speech-writing. We both believe this was the most beneficial session of the three and we hope the skills we gained will be able to help us in the new year.

It was sad to say good bye to the other 15 leaders with whom we had thoroughly enjoyed spending time. It was easy to make connections with the other leaders and have so many things in common. As Captains, we were also able to learn a lot more about one another.

We are privileged to have been given the opportunity to go away on such a trip. We’d like to thank all the staff who made this possible.

Jacob Davidson and Meg Parkinson - 2016 College Captains