The Power of Teamwork

The School Swimming Carnival is one of my favourite days of the year. I get to see the girls crossing boundaries and challenging themselves to join in the House spirit and support all their friends and School Community.  Days like the carnival put many of our girls right out of their comfort zone. It can be a confronting day, but also a day that they learn so much about themselves and their peers.

But it’s not just about the students, we as staff learn so much about ourselves and our relationships with the students at carnivals. This year some of the staff formed a team to join in the synchronised swimming. While this stated out as a silly idea for fun, it turned into so much more. The staff that joined the team all had different reasons for joining and worked together to bring joy and laughter to all.

I loved seeing the staff involved work through nerves on the day and finish on an absolute high. We were each crossing our own boundaries alongside the students. We have all had students come up to us and talk about the carnival, encouraging us and thanking us for being part of it. Sometimes it’s the strangest things that bring us together and make us a team.

This group of staff was from all parts of the School. We had staff from the Executive, Music, Science, Languages, Religion and History, Drama, Dance, Heads of Years and a chaplain. I can’t really imagine another event that would collect such a diverse group.

When I was asked to become a school chaplain, I never imagined this would be part of the job. This silly idea brought about connection with new staff members, connection across staffrooms and departments and built a trust between staff and students who know we are willing to put ourselves and our pride on the line for them.

As an unexpected result of joining in this amazing team, as you can see in the photos, I am making progress on the walking on water.

– Rev Sally Yabsley-Bell
MLC School Chaplain

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