Ask any leader, be it in the business world, the community or on a sports team, and he or she is likely to say good teamwork is what ultimately leads to success.
So, teamwork is exactly what recreation leadership students at Cambie secondary school will be displaying at the Leadership in Action event at the Richmond Olympic Oval, for Education Week.
On March 2nd the leadership students will be working in teams to perform a group challenge that literally highlights leadership in action. In addition, this event indirectly places the focus on supporting the needs of others, as each team is financially sponsored by local businesses, with all funds benefitting the Richmond Food Bank.
Students will be undertaking a series of activities to accumulate “points” in order to “purchase” pre-arranged recyclable materials that they will then use to build a 3D structure that reflects three of the four themes of the event: athleticism, leadership, education and Richmond.
Teams, made of students from Grades 10-12, will delegate which students go to which activity, such as rock climbing or an obstacle course. Once all the necessary points are accumulated after completing each activity the teams build their specific structure.
“It’s Education Week and we want to highlight the potential that students in our school district possess,” said leadership teacher Paula Stone-Charlton.
Grade 12 student Jessica Aujla also hopes to shed some light on the leaders of tomorrow.
“We’ve focused a lot on the academic side of things, like Science Jam, at Education Week, but we haven’t really had any interactions between the older kids and younger kids,” said Jessica, noting the senior leadership students will be mentoring the Grade 10s during this event.
Aujla’s team has designed a replica Oval for its 3D structure. The pieces have been disassembled but are ready to go for the big day.
“We use food packaging recyclables to build the structures because we’re trying to be environmentally friendly and conscious, while also incorporating the goal of supporting the food bank,” she said.
Aujla’s leadership classmate, Ashley Dulay, and her team are building a replica totem pole.
Dulay said she was eager to join Cambie’s leadership program because it helps form greater bonds amongst the student body.
“It’s hard making new friends when you come into a new environment. …If you have someone to guide you and introduce you to new people, it’s easier to make that transition,” said Ashley.
Fellow senior Sanvir Kang’s team is building a replica bookshelf with its cache of materials.
The bookshelf incorporates the education theme and Kang said she’s still got some tricks up her sleeve to include the other themes.
Notably, each structure must be no taller than six feet or wider and deeper than four feet.
“They’ve come up with some really cool ideas,” said Stone-Charlton.
“This kind of event teaches our youth that everyone has a purpose and we can each identify our strengths as individuals. I’d like to see leadership transcend through everything we do,” added Stone-Charlton.
That’s exactly what Jordan Angulo, Grade 12, has been trying to do at Cambie. and that’s why he joined the leadership program.
“I wanted to be more involved in school and thought Recreation Leadership could be the best way to do that. I saw the older students in the program before me; they were involved in all the events at school. They were always helping, and I wanted to be like that,” said Jordan.
Leadership students are involved in a myriad of events and initiatives such as volunteering for athletics, coordinating special events such as anti-bullying advocacy, coordinating the Terry Fox run, organizing care packages for the homeless, conducting social responsibility seminars and partnering with Richmond Addiction Services to lead sessions for the grade 8 students.
Stone-Charlton said the students take away countless skills, such as public speaking, time management, conflict resolution, and balancing responsibilities.
“We strive to promote leadership throughout our school community,” said.
Cambie’s Leadership in Action event, being held at the Olympic Oval, is March 2, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
- EdCom is produced by the Richmond School District and published by the Richmond News.
