OSLC 2015 - The Wonderful World of Leadership

This year's team of amazing leaders

For the past four years, our school has gone to the Ontario Student Leadership Conference (OSLC). Every year, students from the Ridge who have gone to this conference in Niagara Falls return with the newfound confidence and skills that enable them to grow as leaders and make an impact at the school community.

Bringing the Disney magic to OSLC

This year, I was one of the 26 delegates from our school to attend OSLC. I've previously attended this conference in my Grade 9 year and it was truly an experience that shaped the course of my high school career. In grade 11, the experience is no less impactful. No matter what grade you're in, OSLC will help you grow as a leader and a person, thanks to the many amazing speakers and students from other schools across Ontario.

Shane Koyczan opening up the conference with style

Just like in previous years, Ian Tyson and Stu Sanders were the masters of ceremonies, and with the help of the Spirit Leaders, they introduced the speakers and workshops at the conference. Our theme this year was "The Wonderful World of Leadership", which is based on Disney, a very creative way to teach leadership. The speakers were all phenomenal. Our keynote presenters included Shane Koyczan (if you have not seen his video "To This Day", watch it immediately right here), Molly Burke, Bob Upgren, Nick Foley, and Orlando Bowen. Each keynote speaker shared their own stories and experiences that masterfully entertained and educated us in the diverse applications of leadership. We also attended many smaller workshops which ranged from "How to Run a Leadership Retreat For Your School" by Kelsey and Joe from Youth Leadership Camps Canada to "Zed whY-The Ex-Warrior and Other Wicked Brain Hacks!" by Rick Cool. The workshops were wildly different, but each one taught valuable messages and each one was a unique experience. 

Another valuable experience was meeting students from other schools. As the largest leadership conference in Canada, there were about 2200 students from across Ontario. We went to spirit sessions, where we had the opportunity to talk to leaders from other schools and learn about all the unique ways they applied leaderships to their schools and how we could take away what we heard from them and apply that to our own school. Between the spirit sessions and the workshops, there was a lot to learn at the conference. The last night of the conference ended the trip off on a fun note with the Student Evening Program, which included a dance, inflatables, a movie, and a Mario Kart Competition. 

IRHS winning awards since 2013

As we've done for the past few years, our school has entered in the Film Festival, also known as the OSLCARS, and the display contest. In previous years, IRHS has built a reputation in these contests, by winning "Best Representation of School" in the OSLCARS of the 2013 year and by winning "Best Use of Conference Theme" in the OSLCARS and "Honorable Mention" in the display contest of the 2014 year. This year, our school continued its award winning streak by winning "Best Overall Poster" for our display, which is now in the library.

Since coming back from the conference, the students who have gone are more energized than ever. We're all so excited to begin implementing everything we've learned and taking our involvement in the school and the community to the next level. OSLC is truly an amazing experience and I would highly recommend that all aspiring leaders at the school apply to go next year.