Junior School Co-Captains
Clara Barry and Holly Farrer
Leadership Assembly Address 

Welcome to our Leadership Assembly. My name is Clara and my name is Holly. We are your Junior School Co-Captains for 2022. We are very excited to be your captains this year and we vow to work hard for you.

This year, we have chosen ‘Courage’ as our theme. We want all girls at Barbreck to practise being courageous with their learning and eventually become fierce learners, a step towards becoming courageous in all that we do.

Why did we pick courage as our theme?

• Courage is about being brave enough to have a go at things you haven’t tried before … having a go at things you don’t know if you’ll be good at
• We all experience fear at times and courage helps us overcome our fears
• It might be speaking to another student we haven’t met before, answering a question in class, trying a new sport or just having a go at any of the activities on offer at Barbreck
• We might be afraid that something will be too hard or that we’ll be embarrassed if we fail, but the fear is only in our minds
• We want to have a supportive culture in Barbreck where we recognise courage in others and support them when they have a go at something

Overcoming our fears is hard work. I’m not going to lie, it is really hard work, but the success of overcoming our worries is worth the work. Too many people, in particular girls, think too much of the obstacles instead of the success they will receive.

You know what we all do – we think:

• ‘What will people say?,
• What will happen if I can’t do it,
• How am I ever going to show my face again?”

Instead we need to picture what success feels and looks like. When you progress or succeed you will feel proud or happy, you will think that it’s worth the effort and how unbelievable it feels. You will have an endless smile stretching across your face, you’ll stand a little taller, have your chest out a little further, and be more confident. You will fist pump in the air and say or think, (if you’re in a maths class) – “Yes, I did it!”

Think of Ash Barty, the world number one for women’s tennis, imagine how happy she was when she beat Danielle Collins in straight sets. She was the first Aussie to win the Australia Open in 44 years! She did it by being courageous and working hard, she didn’t think of obstacles, she pictured being successful! If she can, then we can too!

So, what are the benefits of being courageous?

When we act with courage at School:

• We try new things to see what we like
• We can learn from our mistakes
• We have a positive mindset, focused on what’s possible and not what might go wrong
• We encourage others to do the same, and support them trying, even if they don’t succeed
• We will create a better School environment for everyone, where everyone feels safe enough to have a go at anything they want

By the end of the year, we want every girl in Barbreck to be able to use courage in learning, sports, and participation. To experience progress or success through courage and to believe that courage helps us to succeed.

We will aim to become more confident and to realise the first step is always the biggest. If we can all be courageous together, we as females of the future will make this world a better place for ourselves and others that follow.

If we keep being courageous, one day we will realise we are fierce because she who dares achieves!