Student Leadership in Focus

At Regent International School, encouraging student leadership is just as important as the subjects they study in the classrooms. Putting students in leadership positions develop values such as accountability, discipline, responsibility and respect.

Beyond the values, student leaders become the mouthpiece between the students and administration, ensuring that we are listening and adapting to their needs. This ensures that the conversation is two-ways and not just directional, giving them the confidence to think big ideas, become planners and put these ideas to action.

Student leadership also allows them to think creatively and take initiative to implement activities, while also empowering others.

We decided to ask our student leaders of 2020-21 from Year 6, Aarya Dhruv, Head Girl and Wael Ahmad, Head Boy a few questions.

Q1 Why did you apply to be Head Girl/Boy?

A: I wanted to apply for head girl because this would be a great opportunity for me to introduce new things and improve my leadership skills. As Head Girl I am very much looking forward to doing presentations, talking to inspectors & parents and tell them how proud I am to be a part of RIS and what a great school RIS is.

W: The reason I applied for head boy is because it was my dream since I was in Grade 1 to be a role model and set an example for the children in this school. This school has provided me with an amazing education and helped me nourish my skills. I want to thank RIS by making positive changes to the school which is my ultimate goal as Head Boy.

Q2 What improvements do you see for the school?

A: The moment I was selected as the head girl for RIS – I was elated, mainly because this was a perfect opportunity to make this a wonderful year for all of us and introduce new things that will be very beneficial. A few things I wanted to change and improve are listed below:

• Break time sports led by student sports leaders
• More competitions led by the student leadership team in all subjects
• More projects and creative learning in Math lessons
• More focus and projects, etc. in our language subjects

W: A few months ago, when I was chosen to be Head Boy, I was delighted, mostly because I had many visions and ideas. A few things I thought of improving are shown in the list below:

• Meetings with students who have ideas of improving the school
• Monthly competitions amongst students in different subjects
• Exceeding amount of physical education
• Mindfulness lessons in the classrooms

This year, I hope to see more positivity throughout the classrooms. I would like to hold meetings with students who have ideas and visions to exceed the great standards of the school. I want to see more projects in the classrooms with the objective of keeping our planet safe and clean and I hope to have more sport competitions led by student leaders.

Q3 Are there any upcoming projects that you are excited about?

A: As Head Girl, I am excited for Term 3, as I want to focus more on creative thinking and learning.

W: During the past two years, the COVID-19 pandemic has affected us in many different ways, although the teachers, students and leadership team have continued to persevere. I am thrilled and excited of what’s to come in Term 3.

A&W: Just to give you some insight, we are currently working on following projects.

• Coding in regent universe
• Positive education
• E-safety and environment

Q4 How would you describe your past year at RIS?

A: Our school, RIS, is the best school. Even though I only joined last year, RIS has helped to gain knowledge and opportunities to show my leadership skills. I know for a fact that if we all work hard and try our best in everything then we can achieve anything we want.

W: I know that this is the best school in the UAE and that everyone is capable of doing many great things. RIS has brought out the best in all of us. Nothing is out of reach when we put our minds to it. We are Regent and we represent success!

We believe our student leaders are more than capable of inspiring, encouraging and enabling their peers and we look forward to following their young leadership stories.