2023 Leadership Retreat returns to Tallong

At the annual leadership retreat, we as a College leadership team forged a vision of what the next 12 months would look like. The tranquil setting of Tallong was conducive to the critical thinking, collaboration and planning that we would undertake during this time. One of the core goals we established as a team was the concept of community; something that could be achieved through the encouragement of diversity and camaraderie. However, in order to move forward with this goal it was necessary that we embedded a sense of trust within one another, something we were able to see flourish during the retreat. In our first session, Ms Skerman emphasised the importance of understanding one another’s leadership styles, strengths and weaknesses and personal goals. In addition to the outdoor team building exercises, both sessions facilitated the development of trust amongst one another. Through the various planning sessions of the retreat, we were also able to flesh out what we realistically believed we could achieve both individually and as a team. 

At the heart of our developing leadership model was the notion of global mindedness. As leaders we vowed to the idea that we would engage with broader issues affecting our local and international community, using in-school initiatives to facilitate this awareness. In doing so we aimed to seek truth and justice for those seeking hardship around the world. This was something Sr Sheila guided us through as we came to further recognise the importance of coming to truly know our purpose as Dominicans. Finally, one of the overarching goals we developed as a team was establishing connection, especially within our College community. Our session on branding and ambassadorship helped us plan how we could live out this goal. We proposed the better use of our Veritas Online page and our leadership Instagram, creating morning announcements and regularly updating the community on events and outreach initiatives and formally rewarding the work of students in all domains on a monthly basis. Overall, the leadership retreat was a wonderful experience that enabled us to unite as a team and put forth concrete ideas that were reflective of our leadership vision for 2023. 

The Student Leadership Team