On Wednesday the 18th January, 2017, the annual HNC Handing Over ceremony took place. The outgoing Captains, Vice Captains, Prefects and Head girls welcomed the new leaders and presented them with their respective badges.
Before the ceremony, the girls shared their experiences of what is was to be leaders of the student population and gave some helpful advice for the new Captains.
House Captains
St. Dominic- Barbara Arjoon and Andrea Deosaran
1.What was, to you, the biggest achievement of your house, in the past year?
“We came first in punctuality twice, and first in the decoration of the notice board.”
2.How has this experience as a Leader, changed your character, for the better?
“I have become more confident, because you have to talk to a large group and try to get everyone involved, and this has also developed my communication skills. It also helped my time management skills, because you have to be able to balance House duties along with schoolwork and your social life.”
“I’ve also learnt to be more understanding and approach certain situations differently, because not everybody will respond a certain way, my communication skills have also improved”
3.What is something you would like the incoming Captains to continue pursuing?
“Last year we held the first St. Dominic’s feast day in Holy Name, so I would like them to continue that and I would like them to do more with the House and all of the girls involved.”
St. Catherine- Brittany De Freitas and Gabrielle Hassranah 
1. What was your greatest achievement as House Captain?
“Seeing the girls respond to our suggestions, and communicate with us and give constructive feedback.”
2. What was the hardest thing to do as House Captain?
“Besides giving up some of my lunchtimes, structuring my time properly, in terms of organizing certain activities for the girls and organizing in advance.”
3. What has this taught you about your character?
“It has helped me to build my assertiveness, be more confident in addressing people and putting forward my views”
St. Rose- Danielle Singh and Sydney Williams
1. What were your greatest achievements as Captains of St. Rose’s?
“That would be in Term 1 of our captaincy, when St.Rose’s came first in the hall, because we think our speeches really motivated them, also on Spirit Day when we won the Spirit Event.“
2. Did anything influence or test your character, more than usual?
“Patience, in understanding how to deal with people, how to approach them and get them to do what you want without being disrespectful, was quite challenging. We also learnt communication skills and to work as a team.”
3. Lastly, is there anything that you started, that you would like to see continue?
“The motivation of the children, to move back to the wall, [moving to the wall is a Holy Name tradition for houses that come 1st place in Mark reading] because, recently, we went back down to last, so we want to get back that first place position.”
St. Albert- Adesewa Imasekha and Whitney Mack
1.What was your most memorable moment or greatest achievement as Captain?
“For me, it was our Feast Day/ Spirit Day, because it gave the girls a chance to interact and get to know each other better and it was fun, so they all wanted to participate and came out on that day.”
“My greatest achievement, was St. Albert’s greatest achievement, which was our Feast day/ Spirit Day, we got a lot of girls to come out and have fun and actually get involved.”
2.What is one thing you could have done better?
“If I could be Captain again, I would make an extra effort to get know the other girls in the house better, because they may of had the potential to do things for St. Albert’s and I wouldn’t have realized it at the time.”
3. What was the hardest task you came across?
“Getting the girls of Lower 6 to contribute, so I would constantly have to message them or beg them, to get them to do things, because I feel like many of the girls get demotivated or lose interest as the year progresses.”
“Dealing with the children, because they all have different personalities and you have to approach them in different ways, one person may respond with a nicer voice but another person may need a bit more force. So you have to learn how to change yourself and how to communicate with them.”
The Head girl and Vice Head girl- Celeste De Silva and Amelia Edwards
1. What was the hardest thing about being Head girl and Vice Head girl?
“Time management and communicating with the people in my own year group.”
2. What was the easiest thing to do as a Head girl?
“Getting support from everyone and communication was my strong point, so I felt comfortable talking to people and getting them to talk to me. So, I really enjoyed communicating with the girls, from Form 1 all the way up to Form 6, though the Form 6 was a bit challenging.”
“Communicating with the girls and and finding out their stories and realizing that I can help them out, even in the simplest case.”
3. Is there something that you started that you would like the incoming Head girls to continue?
“I think we were successful in boosting school spirit, for example last year we introduced a Health and Fitness day, and I would love to see that continue because we really did see a lot of the students participate and the girls were generally happy. Also, it’s important to consult with the girls before we make any crucial decision and include them to just build their confidence.”