Ngata 1 (Miss Birtch’s class) had the chance to meet and greet our local Youth MP for the Wigram Electorate, EJ Coffin, who is working under the guidance of the Hon Dr Megan Woods. EJ is a current Year 13 student at Hornby High School and is a former student of Miss Birtch and Whaea Sarah. EJ was pleased to come and speak to our budding leaders and was very impressed with the way Ngata 1 students demonstrated our school values and showed The South Way.
In Ngata 1 we have been looking at a variety of topics related to our termly theme of ‘Citizenship’ including: democracies, how our New Zealand parliament system is structured, Human and Children’s Rights and protests which changed the foundation of Aotearoa New Zealand.
Ngata 1 students asked a variety of questions about what it means to be a Youth MP, what his role looks like, if it’s hard to do public speaking and what other leadership opportunities EJ has had in preparation for being a member of the Youth Parliament.
EJ had some inspiring words about the future of leadership: “We are the change makers, we will see and experience the world differently from our parents or grandparents. We are going to make the change!”
It was a great opportunity to have a high school student come and share their perspective on leadership and what it takes to be a good citizen. Thank you EJ for your time and guidance.
– Miss Birtch (N1 Kaiako)
