Deputy Principal

While it’s not Antarctica, it is a community

On Sunday, our College Community celebrated International Women’s Day at our Annual High Tea. This event saw multiple generations of women within our College come together to celebrate this important acknowledgement of the advancement of women, locally and globally. 

Our keynote speaker was Rachael Robertson. On a whim, Rachael responded to a newspaper advertisement to join a team to Antarctica to care for the Davis Research Station during the gruelling winter months. 9 months with 24/7 darkness for most of the time and much of the time spent indoors with each other. 

Rachael was intrigued by the job description. It did not provide a list of skills but rather a list of values. Respect, empathy, courage… When she inquired at the interview about this, their reply was that skills can be taught but to truly thrive in this environment, all the successful applicants needed to uphold strong values.   Rachael was successful with her application and, to her surprise, was appointed Team Leader despite her belief that she did not possess the complex skills of managing a research station in such unforgiving conditions with no prior experience. The next months were spent learning those skills: putting out a fire; assisting in a surgery; managing assets sustainably and many more. There is no access to Antarctica for the duration of the stay. No in. No out.  

Choosing Rachael’s heart-centred values as the catalyst for team leader status turned out to be the very thing that kept her group thriving. The notes from her keynote that I took include: 

• Find a reason to celebrate. They are moments that build positive momentum. 
• Integrity always and a ‘No Triangles’ rule. ‘I don’t speak to him about her.’  Work through problems as they arise with each other.  It builds respect and improves morale. 
• Respect the tribe so the individual thrives. When everyone works together upholding the values of the group, each person knows they belong. 
• Look after the little things before they become big. 
• Leadership happens in many moments. When something needs to get done, get it done. Leadership does not need a title. 

As I listened to Rachael, my mind kept wandering back to Kedron. Her words of ‘values first before skills’ resonated and resonated. It affirmed our work as a College to uphold and make visible every day our Franciscan values – Courage, Joy, Respect, Service – to the point of mastery as the skills learned at school can be learned over time. (We have incredible teachers in place for this!) 

So, from time to time when we challenge your daughter on her choice to not uphold our College values, please know the challenge is coming from a place that is heart-centred and is designed to remind your daughter of the community of which she is welcomed and very much part of.  It is important we look after the little things, so they do not become big. We thank you for your partnership here. 

There is no place or country in the world where you can do whatever you want whenever you want. If there was, I wouldn’t want to live there. Our world thrives when communities thrive. On Sunday, I was reminded of how truly special the Mount Alvernia College Community really is. 

Every Blessing, 

Michelle Licina 

Deputy Principal Student Development and Wellbeing