Haileybury student leaders leading the way

From Social Justice, Sport and STEM to the Senior School and Haileybury’s many artistic and musical endeavours, a steady stream of students put up their hands to support and encourage their peers and School community. Here we introduce just a few of the talented and passionate leaders who are making their mark on our School this year.

Senior School Boys School Captain, Angus Angelatos

Angus Angelatos has been a student at Haileybury for 13 years and during this time he’s become an experienced and accomplished leader.

“As School Captain, I’ve learned that connections are made stronger through shared experiences and working together to achieve goals. I’ve also learned that through dedication, commitment and perseverance, we can achieve greatness.

Throughout my school life I’ve had a passion for leadership as I see it as an opportunity to make change and to have a positive impact. I want other students to be inspired to achieve their best and for individuality to be valued, while recognising our part in the broader school community. As a result, I’ve sought to make the most of every day to create memories that will unite us for life.

When I think about some memorable recent moments, one that stands out to me as a leader is the ANZAC Day Dawn Service at Springvale RSL earlier this year. It was a massive honour to represent the School at such an important event.

Another special event was ‘Quad-chella’, which was planned, managed and run by students. It was a Coachella themed quad party for all Senior School students at the end of Semester 1. Music was performed by our talented students and each House worked together to raise money for different charities with activities like glitter face painting, cooking snags and raffles. It was special because of the sense of community.

It’s been an honour to be part of our School’s rich history and celebrating Haileybury’s 130th anniversary this year is particularly significant."

Senior School STEM Captain (Berwick), Kloe Lashkariov-Lee

Kloe Lashkariov-Lee has been proactive in making the most of the many opportunities that have come her way at Haileybury.

“Progress…growth…change…that’s what Haileybury means to me. Facing new challenges, failing and trying again has facilitated personal growth that I’m beyond grateful for. I now see change as a welcome idea and I’m excited to see what the future holds.

Recently in STEM, I’ve focused on supporting representation of female and minority groups and on providing a diverse range of experiences to hopefully sustain interest in STEM in the future. I’m also working on bringing STEM education to kids in hospitals and disadvantaged areas. I came from a school that was unable to afford proper resources and so providing the opportunities that I did not have, to other children, is important to me. It gives me an opportunity to see the next generation grow, learn, innovate and create.”

Year 4 Student Leader (Newlands), Amara Naing

As a Year 4 Leader, Amara Naing presents at Assembly and mentors a Prep buddy.

“I became a school leader because it helps you to be creative and it opens your mind to so many things. I play the piano and cello and I enjoy singing and drawing, so being Arts Captain ties in with my interests. Every Tuesday I round up the Preps who play chess and I help them get to the right classroom. I have presented at Assembly and I’m also a mentor to my Prep buddy.

My favourite part of being a leader has been being part of the Worewa Reconciliation Carnival because it made me feel like we were finally narrowing the gap towards reconciliation and learning about Indigenous culture. I also enjoyed speaking at the end of term Assembly and representing all of Junior School."

Middle School Boys Sports Captain (Newlands), Lockye Ching

Lockye Ching is building his leadership skills on the footy field and shares the news of other students and their sporting successes.

“I love playing sports and I want to improve my leadership skills – on the football field it’s important to communicate with my teammates and being Sports Captain is a great opportunity to practice leadership.

I’ve reported on standout players in Years 5 and 6, hung up the team sheets for Saturday sport and I speak at Assembly about the APS Sports Awards and the sporting successes of our Years 7 and 8 students. I also helped at the APS Swimming Championships where only the best of the best competes. Being involved in that is something I’ll never forget.

Being at Haileybury is a privilege and I’m lucky to have taken advantage of the opportunities on offer – I’m part of four different music ensembles and I’ve played sports that I’d never heard of before, like Touch Rugby."

Middle School Social Justice Captain (Berwick), Lavanya Samarawickrama

Lavanya Samarawickrama became a Social Justice leader to make a difference.

“I applied to be Social Justice Captain because I wanted to make a difference at my school. Social Justice is a cause I am really passionate about and, so far, I’ve led different initiatives and raised money for different causes. International Women’s Day and the Fight MND fundraiser stand out for me because it was clear from the outcome of those events that we really made a difference.

My time as Social Justice Captain has developed my communication skills as I’ve worked with my peers and teachers to help run different events for our Middle School. Communication skills are really important to be able to convey meaningful messages through words – I think the skills I’ve learned will help me throughout my entire life."

Middle School Social Justice Captain (Berwick), Hrish Gukananthan

For Hrish Gukananthan, being a Social Justice Captain has been an opportunity to organise fundraisers for some worthy causes.

“I’ve been involved in raising money for Motor Neurone Disease (MND) and so I’ve sold raffle tickets and promoted the cause to all our homerooms. My next focus is on helping Beyond Blue’s services that support young people and their mental wellbeing.

I wanted to be a Social Justice Captain because I wanted to support charities and to get students involved and inspired. The role has meant speaking at assemblies, attending Captain meetings, talking to students and ensuring I don’t leave any student out – I want them all to feel heard.

Along the way I’ve learned about responsibility, organisation and improving my public speaking skills. When speaking in big crowds, I will feel more confident moving forward. I also have more empathy for others and an understanding of who in the world can be helped.”

Middle School Boys Sustainability Captain (City), Henry Donohue

Henry Donohue is making the Boys Middle School a ‘greener’ more environmentally friendly space.

“I want to make the Boys Middle School a greener place and I am passionate about the environment, so I was excited about the opportunity to become a Sustainability and Environmental Captain.

As a leader, I have to make speeches in front of the Middle School and help coordinate activities. Some of the initiatives I’ve participated in were the Boys Middle School empathy speeches. These involved talking about what empathy means and giving examples of someone who has shown empathy towards us.

Being a leader is an excellent start to Senior School because when you are a leader, you have to work as a team. That’s a great skill to have when you work on group assignments, or in a future job.

Haileybury has helped me in many ways — I’ve improved my mathematics and learnt different sentence structures in English. The teachers are excellent as they have so much time for each student. Whether it means coming to School early or at recess or lunch, the teachers always make time to help.”

Middle School Girls Sustainability Captain (City), Aarushi Sawant

Putting a spotlight on climate change and koala welfare is important to Aarushi Sawant.

“I believe that even the smallest gestures or changes in our lifestyle can impact the environment, which is currently in a fragile state. That’s why I applied to be Sustainability and Environment Captain for 2022.

I hope to implement some ideas which can help our community to be more environmentally aware and one initiative I’ve contributed to is the koala sponsorship initiative carried out by the Year 8 French class. It is something that can be easily done to benefit native Australian animals, like the koala. I encourage people to take part in such initiatives to reduce the impact of climate change and natural disasters on animals in danger.

To me, being at Haileybury feels like being part of a vast yet close-knit community. I can rely on other people at Haileybury if I’m ever in a situation I can’t handle alone. I also know that everyone who is part of Haileybury has something they are truly passionate about and that they support through their actions. This makes me feel inspired to pursue everything I am passionate about, too.”