By Lena Cologgi
SBS Advancement Prefect
Teaching the principles of leadership is valued at StoneBridge, as it is something that God calls us to as Christians. Christians are called to stand out and not conform to the ways of the world. Because this is a core value, StoneBridge provides students leadership opportunities to teach them how to become young leaders in life and in their communities. Three examples of great leadership opportunities offered at StoneBridge are Key Club, prefect positions, and class representatives.
Key Club, a great way to get involved in helping the community, is a group of students who volunteer at the school to help with things like Valentine’s day grams, flood buckets, concessions at games, and more. This year, as part of the annual Upper School service project, we are collecting flood buckets and other necessities to donate to those affected by Hurricane Ian. StoneBridge is partnering with the PCA Disaster Response Ministry to donate 40 flood buckets. These buckets will be filled with sponges, laundry detergent, trash bags, gloves, and so much more. This will not only help grow leadership skills and character within the school, but it will give students the opportunity to help and serve people in need.
Through Key Club, students learn the importance of serving the community and to not take for granted all that God has graciously provided them. Key Club encourages students to be a blessing to others around them who do not have as much as them. It is a great way to express God’s love and the hope that He brings every day. Through serving their community and extending a helping and loving hand to those in need, students learn how to be a leader both within and outside school.
StoneBridge also offers a variety of student leadership positions within the school. For example, prefects are student leaders who serve in specific areas of school life such as worship, spiritual life, advancement, art, and more. Prefects serve under supervisors, who are teachers or administrators who help guide the students and assign them responsibilities according to their position. Becoming a prefect means setting an example for other students to follow, as well as serving the student body, faculty and staff. Prefect positions help students learn responsibility, as well as the principle that leadership is not about being in charge, but about serving and guiding those who you lead.
Another challenging, but rewarding leadership opportunity StoneBridge offers is class representatives. Every year, a few high school students from each grade level run to represent their class, and they are voted upon by their fellow classmates. Each grade has one representative for that year. The class representative leads their class, and is expected to uphold their given responsibilities, serve their school, and set a good example for their peers to follow. Grade level representatives truly learn the value and meaning of leadership as well as the responsibilities that come with it. They not only represent their grade levels, but the entire school.
StoneBridge teaches that as Christians, we should be leaders in all areas of our lives – in our home, school, church, and community. At every grade, from elementary through high school, StoneBridge teaches the principle of self-government and how it applies within the school. By allowing students to become leaders and take on responsibilities, they learn firsthand what it means to self-govern and to set a good example for those around them. That is what God calls Christians to do, so that is what StoneBridge helps guide its students to do.
