The Growing of Courage and Confidence

by Miranda Liu

The library is abuzz with spirited conversation on a Tuesday afternoon, girls’ voices chiming in with ideas, suggestions, requests. Each student sits before a laptop, communally editing the same Google slide presentation as they discuss who will speak to each topic and how the presentation will flow. They are engaged and driven by collaborative responsibility as they diligently work towards their common goal… not a High School research project, not a special Student Council event, but the weekly Junior School assembly presentation.

When you think of nine and ten-year-olds, a plethora of images may come to mind—children swinging on the playground, skipping rope, playing tag, riding unicycles, or perhaps recreational soccer, ballet, or music lessons. But is the first thing that comes to mind taking on leadership roles?

At Sacred Heart, the answer is a resounding “yes”. Building valuable leadership skills is baked into the curriculum through our signature Grade 4 Monitors programme. Over the course of their final year of Junior School, all fourth grade students will serve as Monitors five to six times a year, a role of responsibility that gives them the opportunity to develop skills such as organization, public speaking, and time management through meaningful, age-appropriate tasks that help them build courage and confidence. 

The system is simple: six girls are chosen each week (three from 4 Green and three from 4 Yellow!), with one girl from each class serving in one of three different roles. Transition Monitors stand in the stairwells to help ensure safe and smooth transitions between the playground and the classrooms. Equipment Monitors bring the unicycles, balls, and other play equipment out before recess and are responsible for storing it safely afterwards. And Sweeper Monitors make sure that there are no stragglers in the hall after lunch, recess, and assemblies, ensuring all students get safely to class in a timely manner. But beyond these duties, the Monitors have one big weekly project: to lead the Junior School assembly each Thursday. 

Leading up to the assembly, there are three planning meetings, each humming with nervous excitement and vibrant energy as the girls put together their script and dole out responsibilities. “Who’s going to introduce the birthdays this month?” asks Ms. Ellen Yaegashi, Kindergarten and Junior School Principal, and when a few hands shoot up, she follows up with a gentle prompt: “Well, there are a few lines. Can you decide who’s going to say what?” 

“One of the big things I want the girls to take away from the Monitor experience is taking collaborative ownership for the project. At the beginning of the year, they all turn to me and ask, ‘Can I have this part? Can I do this part?’ but I always tell them to work it out amongst themselves. They learn to communicate and compromise in the planning process,” Ms. Yaegashi shares. “It ties back to our Kindergarten and Junior School International Mindedness framework, SPARKLE: the R stands for ‘resolve conflicts peacefully.’ All Grade 4 students really learn that firsthand through being Monitors.”

And it’s not just assigning the speaking parts—the girls have agency over much of the presentation, from designing the slides to selecting the prayer for the beginning of the assembly. Whether they choose to bring in a prayer from their own religion or select one from one of the school’s resources, they enjoy the chance to share something meaningful with the rest of the Junior School. It may sound like a lot of pressure, but the fourth graders are up to the challenge, and when Ms. Yaegashi confirms with them, “Is being a Monitor about being perfect?” they all heartily reply, “No!”

The Monitors programme has grown and evolved with time—what started more than a dozen years ago as a way to get the oldest students involved in the day-to-day tasks of the Junior School and experiencing responsibility for duties like overseeing safety in the stairwells and cleaning up equipment has now grown into something much more meaningful. “It was actually the Grade 4 teachers who first floated the idea,” Ms. Yaegashi shares, “One day about ten years ago, I recall Jo Mountford saying to me, ‘It would be great if the monitors could be involved in the assemblies,’ stressing the need for more student agency.” Ms. Mountford, long-serving Grade 4 Yellow homeroom teacher, also remembers the beginning of the programme fondly, reminiscing that she and teammate James Howell were looking for a way to replace a part of the monitor role that became obsolete with technological advances. “That led me to think about how we could restore a sense of responsibility and pride,” she reflects. “Having students lead assemblies felt like a natural way to help them step into leadership and demonstrate service to the school community.” Grade 4 Green homeroom teacher Mr. Howell felt the same way. “We were seeking new ways for these students to remain the glue of our community,” he elaborates. “Our goal was to provide them with a prestigious platform to develop leadership skills and master the art of public speaking.” And from that moment, the Monitors programme as we know it was born, growing and evolving over the past decade into one of the most beloved elements of the Junior School experience at Sacred Heart. 

Monitors prepare the slideshow for Thursday's assembly with Ms. Yaegashi
 

Students love being Monitors—after overcoming a few nerves at the beginning of the school year, they are reliably excited to be selected, engaged in the process, and reflective of the learning involved. “You learn to be confident,” shares G4 Yellow student Akiyo, “You get used to talking in front of people, because maybe you’ll need to talk in front of people more in Middle School.” Fellow Monitor Vivian of G4 Green agrees, commenting, “It teaches us responsibility.” Classmate Aria adds, “It teaches us to be more flexible. If something goes wrong, we can try to deal with it quickly.” Of course, there are bumps, as well. “If you’re a sweeper or equipment monitor, you can end up late to class,” Misha from Grade 4 Yellow explains, “So you really have to be aware of time management.” Ms. Mountford feels strongly that the difficulties are an important part of the programme, using them as an opportunity to exemplify Goal 3. “I talk to them about the idea of true service—sometimes it means stepping up and fulfilling a role even when it’s not something you feel like doing,” she shared. 

The impact of the Monitors programme extends beyond the students—parents notice the positive impact on their children as well. “One of the highlights of Grade 4 is the open invitation for parents to join the weekly assembly, where the girls were given a platform to lead,” shared parent and alumna Anne-Yoshié Narahara ’92. “The girls provide practical, cultural, inspirational, and sometimes spiritual content to the rest of the junior school in an organic and fun way. It speaks to the approach of empowering the students at a young age to develop innate tools that will certainly be of great use to them throughout life.” 

On Thursdays, Monitors present to the rapt attention of the entire Junior School community
 

And as for Ms. Yaegashi, she couldn’t be happier. “Working with the Monitors is one of the highlights of my week,” she shares with a sheepish laugh. “I love being a part of that special process as they develop those leadership skills, and they’re always really great to work with. I’m so grateful that Mr. Howell and Ms. Mountford made that suggestion all those years ago.” Mr. Howell agrees: “The monitors are the very backbone of our gatherings. They lead with such poise and autonomy that they can run assemblies entirely independently on occasion when Ms. Yaegashi is absent!” he praises.

When Thursday comes, the six Monitors stand at the front of the Duchesne room, mics in hand, their heads held high. The entire population of the junior school looks on from their place seated on the floor; parents watch eagerly from rows of seats in the back, and faculty gaze on proudly from the sidelines. When they open their mouths to speak, they know that they’re not just imparting necessary information for the week to come—they’re actively helping build community in the Junior School, and setting positive examples for the girls who will be standing there next year, and in the years to come. And Ms. Yaegashi knows that’s just the beginning. “That’s the beauty of the Monitors programme,” she shares. “They’re developing leadership skills here that they will carry on with them wherever they go.”