More than a thousand people visited Weyburn last week for the Canadian Student Leadership Conference. Weyburn Comprehensive School hosted students, advisors, presenters and trade show vendors from across Canada for five activity-filled days that won't soon be forgotten by the students, faculty, parents and the entire community.
Each year, the Canadian Association of Student Activity Advisors holds a conference for student leaders in a different city across the country. Students and faculty representatives from Weyburn, who have attended the conference in other cities in previous years, worked for two years to plan and organize this year's event.
From the 25th to 29th of September, 650 students were billeted and more than 400 other participants, including faculty advisors, presenters and vendors, were lodged in Weyburn's hotels. Weyburn's students even resurrected the old adage, 'Weyburn is the hospitality capital of Saskatchewan,' and feedback from the city's guests confirmed this sentiment. In fact, the school had such a great response from the community for billeting the students that not one single 'emergency billet' situation had to be used.
This year's theme for the CSLC was 'flat out leadership' - paying homage to the prairies while unequivocally stating that the conference is, in no uncertain terms, by and for student leaders.
"We wanted to make sure it wasn't adults planning a student conference," said Joanne Jensen, one of two faculty organizers of the conference. She noted that the students had the ultimate input in planning the conference.
WCS faculty advisors carefully selected 86 local students to be spirit leaders. Those hand-chosen students attended a number of training sessions. They were trained in cheers, managing and organizing groups, debriefing, doing count-offs and leading ice-breakers and team-building activities.
"What a legacy for those kids to learn those skills - as 16 and 17 year olds, to learn how to be in charge of 20 kids!" said Jensen. "Every aspect of the conference for all of those kids was directed to them through the spirit leader."
"Those kids did an amazing job of making each activity meaningful," she added.
In addition to the conference attendees, 325 kids from the school donated at least six hours of their time to assisting with various duties.
"Including those students attending, we had three quarters of our school population involved in the conference, which was great," said Jensen. "They would come back the next day and ask if they can volunteer more."
As a reward for the students giving their time, they were able to attend the Much Music Dance Party, which was held on the last night.
But before the party, as a way of giving back to the community of Weyburn for opening its homes and businesses, each of the conference attendees participated in two hours of meaningful community service projects.
Jacquie Williams organized a number of projects for the kids to do, including painting buildings, pruning trees, raking leaves, bundling seedlings, cleaning, assisting at the food bank, painting faces at Culture Days, harvesting gardens and tending to various other labour in groups of ten.
Some students also pushed wheelchairs for the Silver Fox Run on September 28.
One special treat for a resident of Crocus Plains Villa was being able to have a conversation in French with a student from Quebec!
The students who came to Weyburn have left a lasting impact on the community.
Since so many memories were being created, student reporters covered the conference events and composed a few newsletters that were sent to each of the represented school divisions.
One event that stood out for Joanne Jensen was when the students were waiting to have their picture taken within the maple leaf and they all spontaneously started singing the national anthem.
"It was a thousand people singing Oh Canada in that maple leaf," said Jensen. "That was probably the biggest 'ah-ha moment for the advisors. That is why we do this. That is why we work with these kids. It was a great moment."
The legacy of leadership that has left its permanent mark on these students will indeed benefit the community of Weyburn well into the future.
