Joanne Ryan, Member for Lalor, hosted the inaugural Lalor SRC forum on Wednesday April 2^nd at the Werribee Secondary College.  This was a unique opportunity for more than 80 school leaders who attended from the local primary and secondary schools.

‘The students were great representatives of their school communities and the level of discussion was outstanding,’ said Joanne Ryan.

‘The students had the opportunity to meet and work with students from across the electorate, from large and small schools, from both the Catholic and Government sectors.  It was interesting to see many students had similar concerns regarding local school and community issues.  Many students also went away with action plans to address particular concerns for their school community.

Leadership was another much discussed point. Students recognised that with leadership came the responsibility to be a strong representative and advocate for the school student population, something they took very seriously.

‘Our community is fortunate to have this next generation of leaders already acting as strong advocates for their school and in years to come I’m sure many will be leaders in our broader community. A second forum is being planned for August this year and I welcome any school unable to participate in last weeks’ forum to come along next time.  I would also like to thank Werribee Secondary College for hosting the students and making us feel very welcome, concluded Ms Ryan.