Student Leadership
Student Leadership
OUR APPROACH
Guided by our school values of Truth, Justice, Freedom and Love, it is our belief that every St Nicholas student will maximise her potential and be nurtured to become a leader who has integrity, is resilient and compassionate. In line with the IJ mission, students will be confident to lead and committed to serving the needs of the disadvantaged and underprivileged. Our students will exhibit these attributes by upholding the school motto, Simple in Virtue, Steadfast in Duty.
As a Catholic-Mission school, SNGS aims to nurture our girls (1) to be “Leaders with Heart” who embody the IJ Ethos and to develop our girls to be Principled Leaders of Tomorrow and (2) to be ready and able to serve and impact the community and others.
OUR PROGRAMME
The St Nicholas Leadership Programme (SNLP) is based on two principal provisions, the provision of ‘Trainings’ and ‘Opportunities’. The trainings consist of leadership workshops which focus on equipping and honing leadership skills and inculcating the school’s values required for students to exercise their leadership competencies and skills with excellence. Hands-on training are also integral parts of leadership training, whereby student leaders are given the support and skills needed to become effective leaders. Through these trainings, students will develop their individual leadership aptitude, formulate personal goals to attain, as well as to be a good team player.
(1) Trainings
All St Nicholas students go through the SNLP which provides structured developmental leadership training. This includes leadership milestone trainings, which identifies specific leadership skills to be taught at each level. Key skills such as coordination, facilitation and communication skills are explicitly taught to our students through workshops and training sessions. The five Practices of ‘The Leadership Challenge © ’are also mapped out as focus areas for the respective cohort. This ensures that there is segmented and progressive leadership development programme for our students throughout their four year journey in our school.
(2) Opportunities
Our school believes in empowering students and developing important 21 CC skills through an array of platforms, as outlined in the table below. Students are invited to participate actively in the life of the school and to play their part as members of the St Nicholas family.
Leadership Development at CHIJ St Nicholas Girls’ School (Sec)
Future Readiness (21 CC Skills)
Civic-Literacy, Global Awareness and Cross-Cultural Skills; Critical and Inventive Thinking; Communication, Collaboration and Information
| Our Workshops | Leadership Appointments | Working with others & Student Voice and Choice | External Opportunities (selected students only) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mass Student Leadership Workshops Class Management Committee - role training Design Thinking |
Student Council Class Management Committee CCA Leaders Sports Leaders SyNerGiSe Committee |
Level Camps * Sec 1 Orientation Camp * Sec 2 Alumni Camp * Sec 3 OBS Camp Values-in-Action projects (student-initiated) Leadership appointments projects (Org school events) |
Interschool Leadership Camps * Student Leaders Convention (HCI) * Youth.Lead (RVHS) * JIP Student Leadership networking (CHS, SCGS) Signature Programmes * Camp facilitators * Cultural Scope / Break fast (cross cultural skills) * Heart-to-heart talks with industry leaders (Alumni) * Community Outreach (grassroots collaboration) |
Leadership Opportunities at CHIJ St Nicholas Girls’ School (Sec)
| Positional Leadership | School Project Appointments |
|---|---|
| Student Councillor CCA Committee Class Management Committee House Committee Sports Leaders SyNerGiSe Committee |
JIP Student Leaders’ Exchange Sports Carnival Open House Department programmes, e.g. English Language and Literature Festival, Mother Tongue Fortnight National Education Programmes |
| Non-positional Leadership |
|---|
| Being a good influence and a contributing and involved member of the school community. |
Here are some examples of leadership opportunities available in our school:
Our Student Leaders at Harmony Centre and An-Nahdhah Mosque, understanding the importance of cross-cultural skills.
Our Student Leaders with Ms Nichol Ng (from left, first row), co-founder of Food Bank - to learn about the importance of resilience through her sharing about her journey as an ex-St Nicks’ student and how she overcome challenges in her personal and professional life.
SNGS Student Council
Established in 2008, the Student Council strives to serve the student body and forge stronger bonds among students so as to bring the school to greater heights. The Student Council also aspires to promote the school values and be exemplary role models to their peers in the school.
Key events organised by the Student Council include the Secondary One Orientation, and Teachers’ Day Celebration. In addition, the Student Council also supports school events such as Chinese New Year Celebrations, Moonlight Party, Open House, Primary Five Camp, SYF Showcase, Jubilate, IP Leadership Symposiums, Meet-the-Parent sessions and Parent-Teacher Conferences.
As a bridge to link the student body and the school, the Student Council constantly acts on feedback from the student population and together with the Council teachers, discuss, propose and co-plan ideas for the student population. Some initiatives that have been implemented are Colourful Friday and DJ Booth which aim to improve the general welfare of the students. In 2014, the Councillors were also involved in the conceptualisation of the Students’ Lounge 乐悠轩, a facility which is enjoyed by students from both secondary and primary sections.
The Student Council comprises of Councillors from Secondary 2 to 4, led by a President, two Vice-Presidents and the Executive Committee (EXCO). The Student Council is divided into three wings, namely the Logistics Wing, Events Wing and Welfare Wing, each helmed by two Wing Heads. Being in charge of the different aspects of the school allows the Student Council to maintain discipline and lead their school mates while striving for the betterment of the student body.
| Teachers-in-charge Mrs Lily Tan, Mrs Uma Jacob & Ms Vivian Foo |
|
|---|---|
| 2023/24 Student Council Executive Committee |
|
| President | Koh Zi Xin, Gwyneth (3 Truth) |
| Vice-Presidents | Shum Yin Theng (3 Diligence) Iva Soh (3 Loyalty) |
| Heads (Logistics Wing) | Woo Xin Hui, Claire (3 Faith) Ngoi Shin Yee (3 Grace) |
| Heads (Events Wing) | Seah Jingyi Shuanne (3 Purity) Koh Zi Rui Kirstyn (3 Truth) |
| Heads (Welfare Wing) | Jillen Ng Jie En (3 Hope) Joy Ng (3 Justice) |
The Student Council seizes valuable networking opportunities to work with student leaders from other schools. Through a variety of platforms and programmes, they gain exposure to a wide range of issues, learn problem-solving skills and feel empowered to speak up for causes they strongly believe in. Some programmes that our Councillors have participated in are the Hwa Chong Institution’s Student Leadership Convention, River Valley High School’s Y.LEAD Seminar and Student Leadership Exco Exchange with our Joint Integrated Programme (JIP) partner schools.
| Student Council Highlights (2022) |
| 2022 Student Council Presidential Elections |  |
|---|---|
Serving the Community at the Kebun Baru Community Club Digital Family Day  |
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| Student Council Fortnightly Touchpoints |
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Student Council S2 Leadership Camp |
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| 2022 Pinnacle |  |
| 16th Student Council Leading Teacher’s Day Celebrations |  |
Through our DSA (Leadership) programme, we aim to develop leaders who:
- are passionate and committed to the service of others and the community
- possess and demonstrate the qualities of ‘leaders with heart’
Criteria
Candidates should have:
- attained leadership positions in primary school (e.g. Head/Vice-Head Prefect, CCA heads etc.) or;
- led in community/service projects (e.g. Value-in-Action projects with school/community wide impact) or;
- been recognised by the school/community/external organisation(s) for their contribution (e.g. EAGLES (Leadership) award, ECHA, Brownies Chief Commissioner’s Award etc.)
- have demonstrated overall readiness to benefit from our JIP or ‘O’ level programme (Candidates are encouraged to indicate their preference for JIP or ‘O’ levels)
| Leadership Development at SNGS for DSA (Leadership) Students |
| Level | Mentoring | Theme-based Exposure | Cross-cultural Exposure | Leadership Camps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sec 1 | S1 - S3 Buddy System (be mentored) |
Environment - Share and brief about objectives for our Cohort S1 VIA Activity (AMK Town Council) |
OnePeople SG’s Culture Scope |
Game Facilitators for P4 National Education Camp |
| Sec 2 | Singapore Kindness Movement (SKM) • Planning and execution of project that lasts about 4 months (off-peak periods) • Themes range from Cyber Wellness, Embracing diversity, Appreciating our neighbours, Mental Wellness, etc • Mentored by Leadership teachers, pitching to Sch Leaders |
External conferences such as Open Little Eyes Conference (SCGS) Game Facilitators for P5 Cohort Camp |
||
| Sec 3 | S1 - S3 Buddy System (be a mentor) |
Organisational Leadership (Pinnacle Programme) for Sec 3 & 4 • Networking with top leaders in SNGS • Talks by external leaders (eg: Industry visit, Sharing by top athletes, inspirational speakers, Alumni 姐姐们) • Strategic planning within area of leadership (Eg: Council, CCA, etc) |
Game Facilitators for Sec 1 Orientation Camp Game Facilitators for Sec 2 AA Camp Game Facilitators for P5 Cohort Camp |
|
| Sec 4 | • Networking with other top leaders • Mosque visit and breaking fast together (with Madrasah students) |
Organisers for Sec 1 Orientation Camp | ||
