The Year 11 Leadership Retreat was never designed to be a break from routine. It was designed to interrupt it. Across two purposeful days, the Year 11 cohort was invited to slow down, connect, reflect deeply, and test out what leadership really looks like when theory meets reality. The retreat focused on one central theme: leadership is not something you do first; it is something you are before it is ever expressed outwardly.
Day One: Foundations of Leadership
Day one, set about challenging the cohort to think about the foundations of leadership within the College and wider Lutheran context. In partnership with Lutheran Youth Queensland (LYQ), the students are asked upfront, what is the point of leadership? Premised on the confronting but essential idea that “Leadership means nothing if you don’t know who you are.” Titles, roles, and responsibilities are empty if they are not anchored in self-understanding. Students were challenged to consider who they are, their identity. Arguably, without clarity of self, leadership becomes performative, reactive, or borrowed rather than authentic and grounded.
Our second stimulus for the day asked students to reflect on who influences them as leaders and what that influence looks like. The Year 11s were challenged by the notion that leadership, at its core, is about influence. Whether intentional or not, our words, our choices and actions, our body language, and attitudes shape the people around us. We explored and were reminded that leadership is not confined to badged positions but is lived out in everyday interactions. We see leadership in our classrooms, within sports teams, in our friendships, and in moments of conflict. We intentionally shifted the language of our critical thinking in this activity from “Am I a leader?” to “What influence am I having right now?”
Later in the morning, we asked students to consider and reflect on where we lead from. This activity led students to consider the influence of personality types in leadership roles. Using a personality grid, the cohort reflected on where they lead naturally. A focus on am I task-focused or people-focused, and am I assertive or reflective in my thinking and actions? These activities were not about labelling strengths or weaknesses, but about fostering greater self-awareness. With an emphasis on effective leaders understanding their default tendencies and learn when to lean into them, and when to stretch beyond them. Growth within this mindset begins when leaders recognise both their comfort zones and their blind spots. As students developed a better understanding of themselves, the inclusion of The GAPS Model (Goals, Actions, Patterns, Stories) further helped them identify the space between intention and reality. Often, we know who we want to be, but our habits and internal narratives pull us in other directions. By naming these gaps, students were encouraged to take responsibility for closing them, aligning actions with values, and behaviours with purpose. To further build on this better understanding of self and others. The cohort explored concepts of teamwork and leadership under pressure. Under the premise that "leadership isn’t tested in perfect teams. It’s revealed when things get messy, and you still choose to lead well.” With this concept and activities in mind, students were reminded that leadership shows itself in frustration, disagreement, and fatigue. Students were encouraged to see teamwork not as harmony, but as commitment, choosing responsibility even when conditions are less than ideal.
The day with LYQ culminated in my “Why” within the ‘Golden Circle’. Drawing on the Golden Circle framework popularised by Simon Sinek, students explored the power of purpose. Drawing on the notion that skills and strategies matter, but they do not sustain leadership in difficult moments. Purpose does. When leaders know why they lead, resilience grows, motivation deepens, and integrity becomes non-negotiable.
As the three sessions with LYQ came to an end, we reflected, celebrated our growth, and acknowledged the challenges. Now we were ready for some much-needed downtime and cohort connection.
Day Two: Faith, Challenge, and Action
Day Two opened with me leading a devotional activity and circle time focused on gratitude, grounding students in reflection, affirmation, and restoration. In a safe, respectful space, students were invited to listen to the journey of Simon of Cyrene (Mark 15:21) and explore the notion of integrity in unchosen moments. I spoke honestly about recognising leadership as service to others and to something greater than self. This time allowed students to reconnect with their core values, reset intentions, and enter the day with clarity and humility.
The middle session of day two was all about action: Raft building, Pamper Pole and High ropes. The raft-builders were immediately tested and quickly learned that effective leaders balance direction with listening, and decisiveness with the inclusion of others’ thoughts. Success depended not on the strongest voice, but on shared responsibility and adaptability. This group demonstrated this through their dedication to the building process and its success.
The Pamper Pole activity pushed students beyond their comfort zones and into vulnerability. Leadership here was not about climbing to the top first; it was about encouraging the next one up the pole from the ground. Students experienced the power of the spoken word. Words matter, and belief in self and others can be transferred in a moment. The students created an environment where others felt safe to try, fail, and try again.
The High Ropes course demanded trust in equipment, in our peers, and in ourselves. Students learned that leadership can look calm on the outside, even when we're all a flutter on the inside. Trust in self and others was not seen through instruction alone. But through consistency, reassurance, and presence. Leadership, once again proving to be relational before it was technical or skilful.
Ultimately, the Year 11 Leadership Retreat was not about producing perfect leaders. It was about forming reflective ones. Students left with a clearer sense of who they are, how they influence others, and where they need to grow. Leadership, they discovered, is not a destination; it is a daily choice to act with integrity, purpose, and courage, especially when we think no one is watching.
Mr Nigel Farley, Head of Student Engagement - Senior College
This week, we were excited to host representatives from the Sunshine Coast Council, who presented their Pet Awareness Program to the Prep, Year 4, and Year 5 students. Throughout the presentations, the students learnt about what it means to be a responsible pet owner. They were taught ways to look after their pets to keep them safe and entertained, tricks they can teach their pets to help keep them under control when out in public, basic knowledge about pets and their needs, and ways to keep both themselves and their pets safe when playing together.
