Laver House Captains book 2019

L aver H ouse C aptains 2019

S omerset C ollege P ersonal S uccess | G lobal O utlook

L eading a L egacy – L aver H ouse C aptains

A word to the Captains from the Captains before...

Tyge Walker and Jessica Lekich Well firstly, a congratulations are in order; Welcome to the role of Laver House Captain. You are now part of a legacy that will live on forever. As I sit at my desk writing this I am on the cusp of QCS and the final Year 12 exam block where as you are just beginning and there are so many exciting things to come. The role of Laver House Captain is entirely what you make it and I hope you make it the best possible year of your schooling and leadership journey.

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Somerset College Laver House Captains Handbook

W hat does your position entail ? In essence, your position as Laver House Captain encompasses being a role model. Whether you excel in sport, academics or co-curricular activities, those traits are not why you have been chosen. I personally would not be in this position if it was decided upon over athletic ability - thank goodness. Your role as Laver House Captain, as I’m sure Mr Bassingthwaighte has already said, is about what you are going to do as opposed to what you have done. So, what is it that you are going to have to do? You are going to have to lead- with confidence and be diligent. Able to interact with students who look up to you from all throughout the College. You have to be prepared to take it on the chin- should an incident occur within the house, it is your role as leader to take the responsibility. You will also be required to speak in front of others so I hope you enjoy public speaking… and if not it’s a good time to practice. However, most importantly you get the opportunity to shape Laver. Should you wish to implement a certain change or future endeavour of the house, the answer is yes, so long as you commit and be ambitious.

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Somerset College Laver House Captains Handbook

F ive tips for you as successors

• Get involved

• Don’t doubt the positive power you can have on the House- should you wish to see a certain change… don’t wait, make it happen.

• Don’t focus on building the house around winning, it will get you nowhere (don’t let Ms Leslie have the House theme as ‘winning’ hahah it doesn’t work AT ALL) • Organise your seniors. While it may seem daunting leading your peers, some of whom may have desired the role, it is so important that you help Ms Leslie by giving her one less thing to worry about.

• Enjoy the opportunities that arise while being Laver House Captain, you have earned the position.

• REPLY TO YOUR EMAILS (Ms Leslie strongly believes in replying to emails)

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Somerset College Laver House Captains Handbook

H ouse W arcry

Extra, Extra, read all about it. Laver’s going to win there’s no doubt about it We’re rough and tough and hard to bluff So, come on Laver do your stuff L-A-V-E-R LAVER

As it is very short, this warcry needs to be lead with passion. Maybe make this the year that the Laver warcry gets an extension! Seniors have tried in the past and it has not been successful so make it creative and tasteful- good luck!

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Somerset College Laver House Captains Handbook

The First week of School – what can you do to help?

Firstly, don’t get overwhelmed. The first term involves House Chapels, House Plays and many more events that you will hear about your active involvement with in the first week. Take each day as it comes and if you have any questions ask Ms Leslie, but realistically you can’t go wrong. As long as you are keen to involve yourself, you are on the right track. Secondly, Make the first move- approach Ms Leslie and tell her how excited you are for the year. She likes captains who have initiative and are guaranteed to get things done; make the first impression a good one. Finally, get to know your House. On the first day walk to the Laver locker rooms and say hi. Even just to help a year 7 open their new locker; even if you don’t remember it- they definitely will. Leadership in PC Honestly, just enjoy PC. Be a Year 12 role model as all of the other Year 12’s should be- but you don’t need to re-enforce your leadership. Grow relationships with those in your PC and embrace the last year of spending 30 minutes three times a week with your little ‘family’. House Meetings Use House meetings as an opportunity to practice public speaking. I found it most effective to challenge the idea of speaking on the spot. Write down a couple of notes of what you need to talk about and then put the sheet down and talk to the House. In this low pressure environment, use it as an opportunity to speak off the cuff and grow more confident at not relying on a sheet to speak; it’s a great tool for the future.

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Somerset College Laver House Captains Handbook

H ouse E vents

Year 7 Camp BE INVOLVED, that’s all I have to say. While you may not think that your presence is highly valued- the year 7’s love it. To this day, I see year 7’s walking around the campus who stop me to ask how Year 12 is going and if I still use the same lip balm that I raved about on Camp. It’s also the first real opportunity to bond with the year 12 leadership team. Trust me, you become such a tight little family over the duration of the year who are all driven, strong in character and want to defeat Veivers at tug ‘o’ war. House Chapel Be helpful. Offer ideas to Ms Leslie about ways in which the chapel can be improved - she always loves contributions. Also, write a good speech should you have to do a reflection. While it may seem insignificant, the way you speak and present as a leader says a lot about your character. Those who speak clearly and with purpose are what members of the College remember. House Play Festival Don’t miss out on getting involved in this opportunity. As captains I highly recommend you audition, however, if you aren’t a budding performer try to get involved. Ask the directors when rehearsals are taking place and go watch (maybe take some snacks as well). Being at some rehearsals shows the House spirit and team environment that Laver thrives off. On the actual performance nights you will be required to introduce Laver, so do so engagingly! As the first Inter-House competition, start the year off with a bang! Inter-House Carnivals It’s not about winning, I cannot express this enough. Our House theme for all of 2018 was ‘winning’ and it brought about nothing but loss. While this theme was not our choice, creating a fun theme for the carnival is crucial. I would recommend something like avocados or foliage (an all-time classic). Having standards around winning, is not beneficial. Focus more on the team spirit and fun involved in the carnivals is much more memorable. A possible idea for athletics is to have a senior run the 100m in a green suit- always something to

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Somerset College Laver House Captains Handbook

remember. Also, be the role model who will always do what they preach. If you wish to have someone swim the 100m- do it before them.

Service Learning – House Charity Our Laver House charity, ‘RiseUp’, does amazing work at helping Australian families suffering from domestic violence. As leaders of the house I encourage you to contact Nicolle Edwards, the charity’s CEO, and express to her that you are looking forward to a year filled with the work between RiseUp and Laver House. Developing a connection with the charity itself helps to ignite the passion for the charity that you can then pass on to other Laver students. Try and plan ways to engage with the charity- for example the large canvas we made them in 2018 that they sent to one of their refuge homes. Always remember that there are other ways to help the charity out that does not involve giving them money - think outside the box! Age group managers and other captains In the lead up to House Carnivals really encourage and utilise the other seniors you have in your Laver cohort. Give everyone the opportunity to choose their age group and organise them throughout the year. A little tip I have found is, by keeping everyone’s age managers the same, the age group and managers have the opportunity to bond and develop their relationship over the year.

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Somerset College Laver House Captains Handbook

L ooking B ack

Highlight of my Captaincy The highlight of being Laver House Captain was definitely Year 7 Camp. Having the opportunity so early on in the year to bond with the youngest members of the school and my other fellow captains was a really surreal experience. It was a time where us seniors looked around and realised that this was it, our final curtain call at Somerset College. It was so funny interacting with the Laver Year 7’s as they made their end of camp performance of being attacked at a camp site. Seeing the Year 7’s working collaboratively and trying to decide who would lead the group (and seeing all the dramas that were associated with that) opened my eyes to how much we all grow as people between Year 7 and Year 12. In 5 short years we gain the skills that allow us to lead and collaborate effectively and it was so exciting to see the start of their leadership journey. Unexpected things that happened during my Captaincy One thing I did not expect to happen during my captaincy was the amount of input we had as leaders when speaking to Mr Bassingthwaighte about the future of the College. The reason I say this is to remind you of the significance of your position. While you may only think of yourself as students, the bigger picture is, that you have been selected very carefully and that the opportunities that arise with this are incredible. Memorable moments with my Head of House Organising the chaos that is the athletics carnival trials. While it was incredibly stressful it was nice to stand back and just laugh about it. As stressful as something gets in your position, just find the positives and don’t take things too seriously.

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Somerset College Laver House Captains Handbook

F ive things you won ’ t know about your head of house

• Ms Leslie likes checking emails

• Ms Leslie runs in marathons

• Ms Leslie has two daughters

• Ms Leslie’s grandma made her eat tic tacs at chapel to keep her quiet

• Ms Leslie can do steeple chase

T hings I’ ll miss most about our house While it seems cliché, there is nothing better than seeing smiling faces and people who are always willing to give it their all. While we did not win any carnival this year, no one ever felt scared or pressured to win. What I love about Laver is that everyone tries so hard and although we may not win, we give it our best and that is all that matters. O ur advice to you is … My advice to you is embrace every opportunity. These ‘opportunities’, however, are not always going to be placed in front you. And so, I highly recommend you go out of your way to make things happen. Whether it’s deciding on a strategy to help Rize up or walking around the PC’s, do it on your own accord. Don’t wait to be asked because you never will be. Don’t end up sitting down at the end of the year wishing you had done more. Do anything and everything and when the year comes to an end, provide those taking your role with new ideas for things they can involve in and initiate to help progress Laver forward as a house. And finally, enjoy the journey. I hope that you grow and develop as leaders which is something that cannot be taught. There is no ‘one way’ to make a difference or lead a group of students, but whichever way you approach it I wish you all the best of success.

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Somerset College Laver House Captains Handbook

L aver H ouse C aptains 2019

Lachlan Gallagher

Kristen Crasto

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Somerset College Laver House Captains Handbook

G oal S etting 2019

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Somerset College Laver House Captains Handbook

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Somerset College Laver House Captains Handbook

S omerset C ollege P ersonal S uccess | G lobal O utlook Somerset College ABN 54 010 343 227 CRICOS Provider 00521G Address Somerset Drive, Mudgeeraba, Queensland 4213 Telephone 07 5559 7100 Facsimile 07 5559 7345 Email mail@somerset.qld.edu.au Website www.somerset.qld.edu.au