At the recent Federal election there was a lot of interest around the “teal wave”- a term coined when referring to the number of women who ran as independent candidates. Five out of the eight successful candidates are graduates of ‘girls’ schools’.

In a recent article in The Age “Why girls’ schools succeed at producing women who lead”, written by Loren Bridge, executive officer of the Alliance of Girls’ Schools Australasia, she focuses on what it is that these schools are doing that is changing how women and leadership is being viewed.
In girls’ schools, like St Patrick’s, she states that the students ‘are equipped with the knowledge and skills required to overcome social and cultural gender biases’. To resist the pressure from society around stereotypes, girls need to be encouraged to take a “leap of faith” as this leap can be life-changing for a girl. Research shows that girls thrive in an all-girls environment – they do better academically, socially and emotionally.

And so, for our girls we need to continue to encourage them to “challenge” the ideas, the norms that society has held onto for too long – through education and social awareness our goal is to make sure that our girls have the skills and knowledge to speak out and to ‘break down the barriers’ towards creating a more balanced society.

As I write this article, the excitement level is building for this year’s combined College Musical “School of Rock”. Performances will take place from Thursday through to Saturday at St Gregory’s College. I know that a lot of time and energy has gone into this and so I wish the cast and crew all the best. To Mr Combes and Ms Randell, a big thank you for the time you have given over the year and for the care and support you have shown the girls in the production. I am sure like always, the girls will have a great time and the families will be proud of their efforts. I hope many of you take the opportunity to attend one of the performances.

On the last day of term, we will be celebrating Benedict Day- this day is always a great community day as we are able to come together to have fun and at the same time raise some much-needed funds for the Good Samaritan Foundation. The format of the day will be that we have Mass, followed by awards in the morning and from then it will be the talent quest, stalls and activities for the remainder of the day. More information will follow soon.

Finally, I would like to thank all members of the College community- staff, students and parents for their continued support over the last few weeks. We have had a number of staff unwell, and I know that many families are also struggling with illness and the impact of this on the household. We have a few weeks left until the break and so I am confident that working together we will get to the end of term and enjoy a well deserved break.

Blessings

Karen Wright - Acting Principal

The Optimist Creed
Promise Yourself
To be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind.
To talk health, happiness and prosperity to every person you meet.
To make all your friends feel that there is something in them.
To look at the sunny side of everything
and make your optimism come true.
To think only of the best, to work only for the best and
to expect only the best.
To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others
as you are about your own.
To forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the
greater achievements of the future.
To wear a cheerful countenance at all times and give
every living creature you meet a smile.
To give so much time to the improvement of yourself that you have
no time to criticize others.
To be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear,
and too happy to permit the presence of trouble.

Christian D. Larson