By Conor O'Brien
Primary STUCO & Action Lead
Student leadership plays a pivotal role in a Primary Years Programme (PYP) primary school such as that at Northbridge International School of Cambodia.
Student leadership creates a nurturing environment where young minds can flourish and grow. That is why, here at our school, we know that one of first things we must establish in any academic year is our primary student council (STUCO).
Why is STUCO important?
Student leadership helps to develop responsibility and accountability in our young learners. Our STUCO members are given the important role of being a voice not only for themselves, but for all other students in their class and school. At Northbridge, we strive to build an environment where student voice is at the forefront of what goes on in our school. Our STUCO members play a key role in the exciting events that take place at Northbridge throughout the year.
How does student leadership look in Northbridge?
The past few weeks have been an exciting time for student leadership at our school. After discussing the importance of STUCO in classes and at assembly, aspiring candidates were tasked with thinking carefully about why they would be an ideal person to represent their peers and wider school community as part of our primary STUCO. Each candidate spent time preparing and presenting reasons to their class about why they should be voted in as STUCO representative.
Last week, once our STUCO was finalised, we were thrilled to host the first primary student council meeting where we talked about a range of topics. We had a glance at the academic calendar and brainstormed ways we wanted to mark different events throughout the year such as Spirit Week, World Children's Day and Christmas to name a few. We also considered some initiatives we could introduce into the primary school to further improve our wonderful school community.
STUCO will have regular meetings where we discuss upcoming events and initiatives, share thoughts and ideas that we have received from other students as well as looking at ways of refining important leadership skills such public speaking, communication and problem solving.
I look forward to working alongside the budding young leaders we have in our primary STUCO this year not only to help enrich their own educational experiences, but also to support them in contributing significantly to the Northbridge school community.
When people think about leadership, what often comes to mind are the concepts of power, decision making, delegating and innovation. Seldom does one think about care, empathy, kindness, and generosity – however these traits that highlight the emotional skills for successful and effective leadership, including by students at Northbridge International School Cambodia, are just as important.
What are the Primary Arts all about? Is it just a load of fun and messing around? It is fun, which is why we love it but there is so much more to the programme than some people might think.
Take a visit to our early learning spaces at Northbridge International School Cambodia, both inside and out, and you will observe a wealth of play activities happening. Students are interacting in playing on their own (solo play), playing with the same thing or in the same space (mirrored play) or sharing together (collaborative play).
