Wednesday, 22 February 2023

 Matt FREGON (Ashwood) (09:54): The school year for 2023 is in full swing, and I have enjoyed dropping in to local schools in the Ashwood district to present prep bags, leadership badges and the Norm Gibbs Community Leadership Award. The first place our youngest Victorians will learn leadership is from their parents and guardians, who are their first role models, and as they grow older they will then see leadership in our early childhood educators. During this critical stage in their development it is so important our children have the support and resources they need to thrive, and so I am obviously, with my colleagues, proud to be part of a government that is supporting our young Victorians to achieve their best potential and become young leaders of free kinder and pre-prep, which started this year. When our preppies reach school age they meet new leaders: their teachers and leaders within our school community. Our teachers and school staff play a crucial role in supporting and educating the next generation of our leaders. The classroom is where many build up the confidence and necessary skills to excel later in life.

It is with great pleasure I give a shout-out to the newest Norm Gibbs Community Leadership Award recipients for 2022: Charlotte Wilkes from Mount Waverley Secondary College, Kiera McKindley from Essex Heights Primary School and Grace Andrews from Avila College. Also, our 2023 school captains Akshadi Saravanan and Aidan Lau from Pinewood Primary School, Riley Taing and Samika Krishan from Syndal South Primary and the fantastic school leadership team at Essex Heights Primary that I saw on Monday. These young Victorians model leadership within their schools and are the pride of the Ashwood community.