21 Feb 2020
On Monday members of the Canberra Raiders were welcomed to Harrison School by an excited group of year 3-6 students to deliver a presentation on respect through the League Stars Inspire series.
The key message of the presentation, to treat others the way you wish to be treated, or “pass the ball how you want to receive it”, reflects Harrison school’s key values of respect, inclusion, teamwork, endeavour, resilience and integrity.
Students eagerly engaged with the Raiders by answering questions, participating in ball throwing activities and listening carefully as the players shared lessons on how students can treat themselves and those around them with respect.
Former Canberra Raiders Captain and co-producer of the program, Alan Tongue, spoke about the importance of the series in enhancing students’ learning of values and positive behaviours at school.
“It’s been fantastic to share our love of rugby league but also deliver that important social message, which is so important to the game but also to young people’s lives.”
“Being able to use the common language of sport to inspire and put the message into young people’s lives is really key. You’ll see that these young kids – they’ll never forget that message,” he said.
Raiders Forward Sia Soliola spoke about why it’s important to be respectful.
“To me, respect is everything. It’s a great foundation for whatever you’re going to do in life. Whether you’re going to start a career, or relationship, respect is very important.”
Soliola said sometimes it takes a different voice or delivery for a message to truly sink in.
“I know I was a kid once, I still am really, and my mum, my wife or friends will say man, I’ve been telling you that the whole time, but then you hear it from a different voice and it processes, you digest it quite differently, so I hope I have the same effect on these kids.”
“We connect with the kids in a different way than teachers and parents, so hopefully it makes their jobs a bit easier.”
The program was well received by Harrison School students, who left the gym with a new appreciation for what it means to act respectfully.