Student Voice, Agency & Leadership

A key feature of Karoo Primary School’s success is the active involvement of students.  The school offers a diverse range of leadership opportunities for all students including joining leadership teams and participating in leadership programs. Our student leaders are given guidance, encouragement and support on how to develop the skills, values and attitudes needed to fulfil these important roles.

Through their participation students learn about:

• public speaking
• ‘what makes’ a good leader
• organisational and team skills
• encouraging and problem solving
  

Student leaders are our role models, and are required to:

• be caring, courteous and reliable
• be capable of doing the job
• be positive and enthusiastic
• show empathy towards others and act as good friends would
• use manners and basic good grace when dealing with other students and adults
• treat others fairly and honestly
• be self disciplined
• show self control of their feelings and actions
• be responsible and trustworthy
• be friendly and act like a good friend should
• work well with others

Student Leaders

The School Leaders at Karoo PS are selected at the end of each year, and presented to the school community at a special assembly at year’s end. All students in Year 5 are given the opportunity to nominate themselves for the leadership positions for the following year, and present a speech to their peers and staff, interviewed and student voice is also taken into consideration. Our student leaders are the student face of the Karoo, and proudly represent us at a range of events both within and outside the school community. They are regularly called on to greet visitors to our school and act as tour guides on important occasions such as Open Days and school celebrations, represent Karoo Primary School at special ceremonies (such as Remembrance Day), take an active role in our school assemblies, and along with other student leaders, assist with a variety of Karoo events. 

There are a variety of student leadership positions such as: School Captain, Student Voice, Media, Wellbeing, Sports, Science & Environment, Library, Mandarin, Media, Visual & Performing Arts. 

In 2024, we also introduced student action teams to offer further opportunities for students in Year 6 to show leadership in their final year, which will continue into 2025. These teams include the Media Team, the Smile Squad, the Setup Squad and the Green Team. The intention of these teams is to promote cooperation with classmates to take action around the school; an important leadership quality.  Some of the tasks support the school, build responsibility and teamwork and in turn support students across the school.

Student Representative Council

At Karoo we have an enthusiastic and dedicated Student Representative Council (SRC) who have been elected by their peers. Our SRC is comprised of a representative from each Year 3-6 class and is run with the guidance of staff. Our Student Representative Councillors take pride in representing Student Voice and Agency, and often survey their peers to identify ideas and issues of importance. Regular meetings are conducted in which our SRC members share their thoughts and findings and organise future initiatives and events.

Our Student Representative Council work together to:

• organise and run events for students at Karoo to promote school values and for fun
• organise fundraising events for various charities, special causes and for the improvement of school facilities
• consult with children in own classrooms and report school-based concerns to SRC

PLAY leaders

The Play Leaders Program provides an opportunity for Year 5 students to undergo training in leadership skills to organize and run a series of sports games designed for students in Foundation to Year 3 to enjoy.
The program offers Play Leaders new leadership skills and confidence, while creating a positive and encouraging environment for all participants.

The program runs during lunchtimes each day.

Buddy Program

The aim of Karoo’s Buddy Program is to create friendly and caring primary school communities where strong cross-aged peer relationships can be built and maintained. The Buddy Program helps students to develop positive social skills. The activities focus on core values such as friendliness, responsibility, respect, caring for others, valuing and supporting difference and including others. The program is specifically designed to help children understand and use these values in safe, supportive social settings. At Karoo every Foundation student is paired with a Year 5 student, a relationship that continues into the following year as they become Year 1 and Year 6 respectively.