Meet the Head Girl and Head Boy T
his year’s BHS Head Students are Kristyn Dale and Nicholas Hall, with Nick having the distinction of being the school’s first ever Head Boy. Both Kristyn and Nick are accomplished students who are managing to balance their additional responsibilities with their IB studies. Kristyn’s enrolment at BHS started in P1, as did her sister’s (Michele ’10) and she has “aunts and cousins” who also attended the school. For obvious reasons, Nick’s history does not go as far back but his sister, Lara, entered Year 10 this year and his mother is a teacher at the School.
Next year both will head off island to pursue their education. Kristyn is planning to attend university in Canada to study neuroscience and medicine, which she hopes to turn into a career. Meanwhile Nick is going down under to The Armidale School in Australia for a year. He will work as a “gap student” helping with administration, sport coaching, and assisting with the younger students.
Both student leaders are also busy outside the school with Kristyn an active sportswoman, having represented Bermuda on the National Volleyball team and playing football for local club Dandy Town. Nick’s favourite activity outside of school is to play the violin. He has been playing for over ten years and performs with the Menuhin Orchestra. Kristyn and Nick took time out of two very full schedules to talk to Torchbearer about being student leaders.
What does it mean to you to be Head Girl or Boy? Kristyn: Being Head Girl of BHS is very much a privilege and an honour. It is an incredible feeling knowing that the student body believes in you and trusts you to make a difference. Nick: To me being Head Boy is all about representing my school and giving the student body an opportunity to present an opinion.
What are your major duties and responsibilities? Kristyn: The major duties of being Head Girl are holding Executive Meetings with the other student leaders, and planning and organising events for the students. For me, the most substantial responsibility comes from always being watched and looked up to by the other students. Nick: My main duties involve organising the IDEALS pillar and making sure their ideas are carried out. I make sure that everyone’s thoughts are listened to and we discuss how to implement them.
What is the structure for student leadership at BHS? Kristyn: There are many different student leadership positions in the school, under the six Round Square IDEALS: Internationalism, Democracy, Environment, Adventure, Leadership and Service. Under each pillar, there is a Pillar Leader (Yr. 11), a Deputy Pillar leader (Yr. 10) and a representative from each year group. Additionally, we have
Deputy Head Students, who carry out their own responsibilities and help us along the way. Each Pillar Leader holds Pillar meetings with their representatives and Deputy approximately each month, which Nick and I often attend; we hold Executive meetings with Pillar Leaders and Deputies again once a month in which we communicate ideas, plan events, and discuss obstacles.
What’s the hardest part about being Head Boy/Girl? Kristyn and Nick: Time management! Kristyn: Juggling executive meetings, speeches and assemblies, plus the workload of IB, often feels impossible, however, it is completely manageable with careful planning and organization. Nick: Any time you make a commitment, time management is important. There are a lot of people to communicate with and a lot of people who give you ideas, so finding time to deal with everything can sometimes be challenging.
Finally, (just for Nick), what’s it like being the first Head Boy of an “all-girls” school? Well, it is definitely something I like to tell people, to see their reaction, but it also means a lot to me. Knowing that I will be noted in the history of the school’s first Round Square IDEALS committee makes it very important to me.
Torchbearer Spring 2012 9
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