Leadership
Cardigan offers its students myriad opportunities to develop leadership skills in class, athletics, and extracurricular activities. These opportunities include Senior Leadership, the Student Senate, Peer Tutoring, and Big Brothers, and we encourage and support various student-led initiatives on campus.
Senior Leadership
Each spring, the school elects senior leaders for the following year. All rising 8th graders can apply for senior leadership and each member of the community evaluates the character and leadership potential of each candidate. The top candidates, as determined by the community, present brief speeches to run for school leader and assistant school leader, to be followed by voting from the faculty and students.
The faculty meets to select the school’s other senior leaders, including floor leaders and assistants to various programs on campus, and all titled leaders are announced at the Investiture Ceremony in mid-May. Ultimately, all 9th graders are called upon to set the example for their Cardigan brothers and to lead their school.
Watch: 2019 Student Leader Speeches
Student Senate
The Student Senate reviews policies that affect students’ lives, taking efforts to improve the school community for all. Although the Senate is an advisory body, there are times when their ideas help determine operating policies. The Student Senate is made up of the school leader, the assistant school leader, the elected senators from each grade level, a faculty advisor, and a faculty advisor.
Big Brother Program
This is an opportunity open to returning eighth and ninth-grade students to spend time helping new students acclimate to Cardigan. Each boy who meets the program criteria is paired with at least one new student at the year’s inception, and both informally and through scheduled social and community service events, the pair or small group forms a connection that typically proves beneficial to all involved.
Peer Tutoring
Students have the opportunity to serve as peer tutors to their fellow Cardigan brothers. This is a flexible, peer-mediated strategy through which students receive more individualized learning, and the direct interaction between students promotes active learning.
