The nominees for leadership positions were given the following stimulus for their speeches, which they wrote independently in class shortly before giving them in front of 4th, 5th and 6th classes and teachers.
Mr Leon MacLaren, the founder of this school, said the following
“…Service is the finest and noblest work that someone can undertake.”
What is service? Give an example of inspiring service in another. Give an example of one way in which you have served the School.
Here are some short excerpts from the speeches. Well done to all the nominees.
“Service is a way to show Respect to someone. You aren’t asking for any reward for serving; you are truly giving from your heart and for the good of all, not just yourself….I have been inspired by my mother. She always serves, no matter when, where or how. I have truly been inspired and I hope that I, and all others can be inspired by her as well…”
JL
“I think Service is one of the most important values because a true leader needs to be able to serve, not just be called a leader for no particular reason. Service is only one of the many values a leader needs. You could also have integrity and consistency in the way you act. Through this, people will trust you and look up to you…”
EH
“Service is when you take a bit of your time to help someone. Service doesn’t have to be noticed or rewarded. It is about your willingness to do something that will help the community and people around you. I have seen a lot of people taking up the School value of Service, but my figure skating coach Ashley taught me the rest of my artistic routine in her free time. She was patient when I made a mistake.. she would smile and teach me again…”
LC
“I believe being House Captain shows a great deal of Service to the school. Imagine you are on a soccer pitch and someone slidetackles you! Then someone from the other team helps you up! That would be amazing Service! … If I somehow get House Captain, I would be willing to do all those things! And if I don’t get the role, I’ll make sure to still be helpful to every student at JCS…”
DS
“…Service, in my opinion, is a way that friendship can be obtained or strenghthened… You also need courage to show Service because you may have to show Service to someone who is not your friend or relation. It will take mental courage as well as physical courage, but it is worth doing for the result of happiness…”
JJ
“…In my opinion, I think Service is to help someone and not hope for praise… One example of someone performing Service which is when Frankie broke his leg. Grae was one of the first to rush over and help him. Grae also sat with Frankie at the office. To me, that is clear Service. Examples of me serving the School are simple but meaningful; such as picking up rubbish from the playground or helping someone when they fall down…”
LZ
“…To me, Service is helping others, working hard for others and putting their needs first. Service is not about the leader, it’s about those you serve. A way I have served the School is by entering the PISA team. Although it is a lot of fun, it is also a great responsibility to serve the School and to represent it in public…
SJ
“…Service is not only Service, it is Courage and Respect. You have to be respectful to give Service. Even picking up a small piece of rubbish is Service. You have to have Courage to give Service, because you might be showing visitors the school, even if you have never met them before. …I feel I could truly help others, I am not doing this to be popular or for people to like me, I am doing this for other people. As Cesar Cheves said “together, we can do anything.”
SR
“…Service is an act of helping someone else, with kindness. As Head Girl, I would serve the School in as many ways as I could. I already serve the School by being in charge of the compost. Nearly every week I have taken one of the compost bins and emptied it. I have also served 5N by helping Mrs Nadjarian collect all the costumes for Shakespeare during lunch play. I try to do little things often to help as an act of Service…”
VE
“Service is when you do something that helps a person. Say, when you hold the door open for your teacher and friends to come in. … I have shown service to the School in many ways, such as taking the iPads and Chromebooks back to their station during recess or lunch and helping Mr Roslyn pack up the sport gear and take it back to the shed. Or, pushing somebody’s chair in when they’re not there…”
GT
“…Georgia, you have made so much commitment in being House Captain. When you aren’t asked to do something, you help or just do it. You have been an inspiring leader to me, and you have changed the Carnivals. You start school spirit, it’s not only for Cook, for all the Houses.
The way I serve the School is by following all the Values. I also help my teacher if they need it. I pick up trash if I see any lying on the ground…”
AH
“When I came to school today my tummy was full of butterflies. I was hoping the stimulus would be easy except it wasn’t. I had to think about what Service was. It was a tricky question, but I came up with one thing: Service is not something you do to get rewarded, it’s something you do that comes from your true heart. I think everyone can show service to our School, country and our world…”
DT
“…Have you ever wondered what is Service? In my eyes, Service is a way to help people. It is an act of kindness and is beneficial to the wider community. It is a noble act that can help people…A way I have served the School is by translating…to inform a new family about my experience and translating what Mrs James said… The School has served me for many years, and I want to serve it too…”
FK
“…Mr Leon MacLaren, the founder of the School, said “Service is the finest and noblest work that someone can undertake… (He’s saying) …that it is hard to take on a challenge of applying service to your daily lives, as normally people expect something in return for their good deeds. If you expect something in return, it is not done purely out of your heart…”
FW
“…Service can be shown in many ways. The one I find most inspiring is how you can show service by almost secretly doing something that maybe someone will not notice, but you will feel warm in your heart…We have shown service by performing our plays to the audience at Glen Street Theatre, that all the students, and class parents have put so much effort into…or learning and singing a beautiful song for Speech Night. I feel service is a really important value to our School because it reflects what we do in our everyday life. It is something so simple, but it has a big impact on our lives…”
HG
“…When you help others in need, it always shines and hopefully it will have lightened up someone’s day. It also shows that you are not given everything, you have to work and stay confident in order to achieve something you want. I have given service to the School by putting a small group together in order to show somebody something that I believed in. Two girls and I worked to put together a persuasive letter to show Mr Wilcock that our School needs more compost bins. Even little things, like adding a compost bin, is something that will not only help the environment but also help our School…I believe that small things can make a big difference…
CT
