It’s cool to be tested

In February 2021, a South Auckland high school became the epicentre of a Covid-19 outbreak.

Fronted by an inspirational student leadership team, Papatoetoe High School coordinated testing for the entire community. Principal Vaughan Couillault said the school was very deliberate in asking student leaders to take up the challenge of communicating with the student population in a way that worked for them.

“And what worked for them was comedy, collaboration, and a bit of consistency of message. It was an extremely powerful way to mobilise our student population and enhance community confidence in what we were trying to achieve. Student leaders, when empowered to lead, can create momentum.”

Watch Papatoetoe High School’s student leaders in action above.