This past September saw local youth attend leadership conferences; one was a provincial conference and the other a national conference.
In total 10 Student Leadership Team members including Emily Klatt, Brooke Valentine, Breanna Kehler, Megan Shirley, Grace Smyth, Payton Littlechief, Shayna Nicolay, Mackenzie Valentine, Kaelie Bouchard, and Katelyn Fuller attended the provincial conference in Lloydminster. While Kacey Valentine, Brook Zacharias, Marissa Owens, and Halley Doty travelled to Prince Edward Island.
"We were split up in different groups with kids from other schools and throughout the day we either had key note speakers discussing leadership topics or we would go off to individual workshops where we would get to choose and learn about different things," Klatt explained.
Ultimately the focus of the conference was to help the young leaders in attendance focus their efforts, which those of Gordon F. Kells did.
"They all came back empowered," teacher and SLT adviser, Amy Rutten, explained.
Upon returning these young leaders began to implement ideas brought forth during the conference including "Love letters to strangers," which is a kind hearted note left somewhere for people to find or are given to individuals. They are encouraging notes and the students plan to implement the idea in the coming year.
Others feel the need to bring awareness to situations both at home and globally that people aren't necessarily aware of, which starts in the school and has grown to the community and further.
The leadership team is also dedicated to showing students the different ways one can lead and helping their peers discover their strengths in leadership.
Overall, Rutten explained that the SLT is "dedicated to impacting the school and making it a better place."
Klatt added, "It was a really good experience and I suggest it to anyone who has the chance to take part in it."
G.F.K. then sent four students to the National Leadership Conference in P.E.I. including Kacey Valentine, Brook Zacharias, Marissa Owens, and Halley Doty.
Here the youth took in many speakers and experienced the culture of P.E.I. Because of their experiences at the conference they all came away with goals to improve the school and have grown immensely from the experience.
"It taught them a lot about themselves, they were pretty nervous about staying with strangers but these girls are awesome kids and strong leaders and when faced with a challenge they met it" Rutten explained.
Ideas the young leaders have moving forward include chanting, which they have already started, and implementing a school Relay for Life while, overall, helping to make the school a better place.
The idea for chanting within the school came to the youth when first arriving at the conference. While walking into the conference everyone was yelling and the intensity within the building was palpable. This feeling of togetherness, intensity, and fun was hoped to be recreated within the walls of G.F.K.
"It was awkward the first few groups that these kids went to, it was just them [SLT members] in front of the classroom chanting and people looking at them like they're crazy" Rutten stated. "and in three weeks they had just about the whole school chanting and doing it and roaring.
Doty went on to explain it is a fun way to get everyone in the school involved and let their guard down: "There's so many things that people won't do because their friends aren't doing it, but there's a moment when everyone's [chanting] so they join in because everyone else is and they know, 'I'm not going to get judged for it.'"
The SLT most recently held a Spooktacular week of events for Hallowe'en including a, "How loud can you scream?" competition. Keeping their peers in good spirits SLT works hard to impact the school, their community, province, country, and the world.
Each month they hold, Hats for a cause, where students pay to wear a hat. Each month the money goes towards a different cause including donations to the Terry Fox Foundation, for breast cancer research, and this month the money raised will go towards the Philippine Relief Fund.
Other projects SLT is working on include their upcoming 12-days of Christmas which will include a pancake breakfast on Tuesday, Dec. 3rd where a silver collection will be taken for the Philippines. The students will also be decorating the school and have been making a float for the Dickens Festival.
