The leaders of the future are being developed as young as Grade 5 through the True North Leadership Program.
The values-based program has come to an end after eight weeks at the Grange Primary, with all involved praising its effectiveness.
“Our school values link-in closely with the values of The Huddle and the North Melbourne Football Club, which is great," The Grange's physical education coordinator, Adam Clark said.
"The leadership and values-based approach True North took worked really well.
“The students were working in groups trying to solve problems, and I liked the interaction The Huddle facilitator had with them in terms of building relationships.”
True North uses sport to engage students and explore values, character strengths, communication and teamwork.
“I learned in order to be a leader, you have to use different styles of leadership in different places and to know your strengths,” one student told North Media.
“I love how True North included learning in the classroom but also time outside, where we could play and exercise.”
Another student, Dau Yak, agreed.
“The thing I liked was how we do the learning inside, then we go outside and talk about strengths and skills, like fairness,” Yak said.
“I learned there’s different styles of leadership; democratic, autocratic, laissez-faire, and that we also need situational leadership.”
Facilitator of True North and education coordinator at The Huddle, Kynan Barnes, wasn impressed with the rapid growth of the group.
“It has been great to work with the students at The Grange, particularly seeing how they’ve developed and applied their learnings throughout the program,” he said.
“The development from the first session to the last was really impressive particularly in the way the students communicate, make decisions as team, overcome challenges and differences in opinions, and adopt different leadership styles.
“It has been awesome to see and be a part of that growth.”
If schools or sporting clubs are interested in implementing a similar initiative contact Kynan Barnes, Education Coordinator at The Huddle: Kynan.barnes@nmfc.com.au
