Somersfield Academy head girl: A voice for students

Sweet Rewards: Somersfield Head Prefect Kelsea Williams enjoys the perks of her position as role model and student advocate with a dip into the candy drawer.

March 12, 2009 — Extra duties, but with rewards, sums up life as Head Prefect at Somersfield Academy. This academic year, Kelsea Williams heads the M4 and M5 students selected to be prefects at the Devonshire school.

To become a prefect she had to jump through the usual hoops: write an essay and attend an interview.

Once selected as a prefect, she, like the other successful candidates, was able to vote on the Head Prefect.

Her selection was then approved by the staff members responsible for the prefect selection process

Regular prefect duties include supervising the younger students in the mornings before school and at lunchtime and generally monitoring the students to ensure that they are where they should be at any given time.

She and her fellow prefects also take it in turns to read to a class of the youngest students once a month. She is available to assist new students in finding their way around the school, and helping with other challenges.

As Head Prefect, she is responsible for organising the other prefects, chairing prefect meetings and allocating responsibilities and ensuring they are carried out.

This is not particularly onerous, Kelsea explained, because, "The prefects are pretty good here.

"We're fairly well organised and communicate pretty good. And there are a small number of us, so it's easy to be organised and communicate and be ambassadors for our school."

Kelsea also sees herself as a voice for the student body as a whole, and an intermediary for students who may be facing challenges in class and who are reluctant for any number of reasons to approach a teacher directly.

And her thoughts on the position? " I think it's worth it. It's always nice to have something nice on your portfolio for the next school. And there are some fun moments."

Asked to elaborate, she said with a grin, "We get a candy locker. We all contribute candy to the locker, and Mrs. Young chips in too. It's in the Science Lab and only we can go into the locker.

"If a class is going on a field trip, we will help supervise — and get the opportunity to share the experience.

"And from time to time Ms Young will get us lunch."

There is, however, no special prefects' lounge to chill with her fellow prefects. The M5 classroom is open to all.

When not dealing with schoolwork and related responsibilities, Kelsea does "everyday, normal teenager stuff. I hang out with friends, go to movies and spend a lot of time on Facebook."

But there are also more structured activities, including piano and voice lessons at the Bermuda School of Music.

She's also involved in the after-school programme Youth in Touch, of which her mum is one of the organisers.

She enjoys Somersfield Academy but is looking forward to moving on, experiencing the wider world beyond its walls and Bermuda's shores.

Originally published in The Royal Gazette