At Ironside State School we provide many opportunities for our pupils hold positions of leadership within the school. Student leadership positions are held in high esteem by the Principal, staff, their fellow students, parents, carers and the general community.
The positions available for pupils to apply for are male and female School Captains and Vice-Captains, male and female House Captains and Vice-Captains, Student Council, Library Captain and Music Captain.
School Captain
There are many traits a student leader requires and certain specific criteria students must meet in order to be considered for a position. The positions students are able to apply for are school captain (male and female), vice-captain (male and female), school councillor, house captains, library captain and music captain.
The school captain and vice-captain positions are decided before the end of the previous school year i.e. while the students nominating for the positions are still in Year 5, while all other leadership positions are decided upon in term one of the new school year i.e. once the students have begun Year 6, their final year at Ironside State School.
Year 5 students who wish to nominate for election into school captain positions must demonstrate the following characteristics and meet criteria throughout Year 5, as a minimum acceptable period, before they will be endorsed by the Year Level Teachers as a candidate for the school captain interview process.
Student Leadership Characteristics and Criteria
Demonstrates consistent scholastic and general effort in seeking to do one’s very best.
Demonstrates leadership qualities both in current and in previous years.
Demonstrates competence and perseverance when completing tasks or duties.
Consistently demonstrates self-discipline and responsible behaviour to a very high standard.
Consistently demonstrates an understanding of, and a caring attitude towards, fellow students and younger students.
Consistently demonstrates emotional resilience.
Consistently complies with the Student Dress Code to a high standard.
Consistently supports and complies with the Ironside State School rules.
Demonstrates collaborative team skills in working both with staff and students.
Demonstrates involvement in a range of school and extra-curricular activities.
Demonstrates competent public speaking skills in both formal and informal contexts.
The election process has been structured in order to provide a clear and supportive process where students are able to make an informed decision about voting for the most suitable candidate for the school captain and vice-captain positions for the following year.
The process for applying for a student leadership role and the criteria that must be met are as follows:
Each nominating student must submit an initial expression of interest form (students will be notified of the specific date in term four of each year). This form will be handed out to students after the leadership speeches given by the incumbent captains during term four.
The initial expression of interest form is submitted to allow staff to observe the nominees and gather feedback at the Year 5 camp. The staff will specifically be observing the students teamwork abilities and their behaviour towards their cohort. Those nominating students who are not attending camp are also eligible for selection as a student leader if they pass through to the interview stage of the process.
Following the speeches given by the school captains and camp, once the students have had time to reflect on the duties and expectations of an Ironside student leader, a student may submit their formal written nomination. This nomination must be a handwritten application of 100 to 150 words in length which addresses at least 5 of the criteria. Students are also required to submit a character reference from a non-family referee.
Students will be notified of the cut-off date and time the applications must be submitted by during term four.
Student nominees will need to be endorsed as a candidate for the School Captain interview process by the Year Level Teacher and the school administration team.
If a student nominee is shortlisted they will be granted an interview with a panel that consists of administration and teaching staff. Students granted an interview will be eligible to run for the male and female captain and vice-captain positions.
Successful nominees will be required to prepare a poster for display within the school.
Successful nominees will also be required to prepare and deliver and election speech to the Year 5 and Year 4 students.
All staff and students from Year 5 and Year 4 will take part in preferential voting. The votes will be counted by ‘Ironside Electoral Officers’ under the close scrutiny of the administration staff.
Once the results are finalised there will be an assembly where the current school captains will officially handover the position to the incoming captains.
Library Monitors and Library Captain
Students may join the Library Monitor program in Year 5. They work towards their Lifetime membership in the Library by progressing through three levels.
Level One requires 10 weeks of volunteering to achieve.
Level Two requires an additional 15 weeks of volunteering.
Level Three requires a further 20 weeks of volunteering.
In order for the week to count towards the ‘level’ total students must volunteer for a minimum of two 15 minute shifts per week. One of these shifts must be during morning tea. Library Monitors meet once a week during morning tea.
As a student progresses up the levels their duties during their shift will change.
The process for becoming Library Captain is:
The student nominates themselves for the position.
Nominees make a speech to the other Library Monitors.
Their fellow Library Monitors vote for the student they believe would make the best Library Captain.
The Captain is elected for the entire school year. Their duties include assisting the Librarian, participating in assemblies, promoting the library and undertaking the duties of ‘The Banker’. The role of ‘The Banker’ involves keeping a track of the number of shifts each Library Monitor is doing in order to track how many weeks they have accrued towards their next ‘level’.
House Captains
At Ironside there are four sports houses. Each house has both a male and a female House Captain and a male and female Vice-Captain.
The process for becoming House Captain is:
The pupils self-nominates if they are interested in the role.
They make a speech to their respective houses.
The House votes for the pupils they believe would make the best House Captains.
Pupils are elected for these roles once per semester i.e. each set of four Captains and Vice-Captains only serve in that role for one semester and a second set of pupils are elected for the second semester.
Student Council
Pupils in Years 5 and 6 may run for election for the Student Council.
The process for becoming a Student Councillor is:
A student self-nominates if they are interested in the role.
They prepare a paragraph on why they would like to be a Student Councillor and why they would make a good Student Councillor.
These paragraphs are submitted to their classroom teacher.
The teacher selects two pupils to be Student Councillors from the nominees from the class.
There are two Student Councillors selected from each class in Years 5 and 6.
Music Captain
The role of Music Captain is rotated during the year.