Altitude Day Leadership Development Day held for Year 9 students across Western Australia was a very fruitful day for all involved. The 25 students, who attended, had an early start meeting at the Clarkson station at 7:00am with Team Leaders, Mrs Hiotis and Mr Rourke. We travelled by train into the city having some interesting conversations on the way!  Once we arrived at Elizabeth Quay station, we enjoyed morning tea snacks provided by the teachers. Then we made our way to the Novotel Langley Hotel where we signed in and excitedly proceeded to the room in which the event would take place. 200 students started the workshop with some warm-up activities so that we could mingle with other students from other schools. We sat next to a person from another school, and engaged in interactive activities as icebreakers. We then received an introduction to the day, and had lots of discussion about making plans and unlocking your potential, doing other fun activities along the way. After a quick break, we had a guest speaker, who is the owner of an online stationery business. She spoke about following passions and working hard to get results. We also heard from a fitness college owner who talked about not worrying about what people thought of you, and staying well mentally and physically. Lastly, we heard a very inspiring story of a man who was born without a leg who completed the very physically demanding "Australian Iron Man” Triathlon. The success of these three speakers really taught us a lot, and provided meaningful messages. My favourite quotes from the speakers were included, "The people that want you to fail will tell you, that you can't", and "If no one's pulling you down, you're not climbing high enough". We finished the day with an awesome dance routine where everyone participated. It was certainly a day to remember!

Some of the reviews from those students who attended include:

  • I enjoyed meeting new people and interacting with other students. I also enjoyed listening to the stories of the guest speakers. (Erin Taylor)
  • I enjoyed my experience at Altitude day. It taught me many lessons that I will use throughout my whole life. (Josh Tasmer)
  • I enjoyed talking to people from other schools as this helped to build my confidence on the day. The guest speakers were quite vibrant. The day overall was great as it helped me to believe in myself more and for me to be more confident. (Kristin Ford)
  • The guest speakers were very inspiring and taught me to stay positive towards what I can achieve for myself. (Lara Tashkandy)

Written by By Dylan Sheikzhadeh (Year 9)