Deputy Principal

How Trying New Things Builds Social & Emotional Skills 

The MyMtA sliding banner at the top of the screen provides staff, students and parents/carers with all the happenings at Mt A. The 2026 Activities Schedule for Term 1 has really caught my eye, and this is why.

At Mount Alvernia College, we encourage our girls to participate in everything on offer. We do this for two reasons: we are aware of the mental and physical wellness it provides our girls, and a positive connection to school has a positive effect on academic outcomes. It is also part of our commitment to the educational wellbeing of our students. 

THE Executive Summary of the OECD Report, Nurturing Social and Emotional Learning Across the Globe, advises engagement in extra-curricular activities was positively related to all social and emotional skills in students aged 10 and 15. 

Look at the social and emotional skills outcomes of extra-curricular participation! The report also highlighted that only a third (or less) of 15-year-olds engage regularly in different extra-curricular activities. 

Unfortunately, we do see aspects of this ‘drop out’. Despite achieving record attendance at last Friday’s Interhouse Swimming Carnival, our highest absence/lowest participation year levels were Years 9 and 10. I think Erin Moffat, Head of House, summed it up beautifully when she wrote to Perugia House parents for the disappointing numbers in her Year 9 cohort:

“Adolescence is a critical period for developing resilience. Research indicates that young people who regularly participate in extracurricular activities report higher levels of wellbeing and school connectedness.

 

There will always be reasons why a day might not feel ideal – nerves, periods, social worries, or simply not enjoying the activity itself. However, learning to navigate those moments rather than bypass them altogether is what strengthens character and builds resilience. This is where our Perugia values of persistence and passion come to life: staying committed even when it is hard and showing pride in belonging to something bigger than ourselves.”

Trying things and showing up when things feel difficult are traits that benefit our girls long after they graduate. Aspiration, Persistence and Agency are three of the five learner attributes of the Mount Alvernia College Teaching and Learning Framework.

Mount Alvernia College truly has something for everyone. Our clubs, ensembles, committees and sports are listed on the ‘Co-Curricular Tile’ on MyMtA and families and their daughters are encouraged to take a look to find something that ignites a spark. I thank Claire Hatchman for her outstanding work as our Head of Student Engagement & Activities. 

We ask our families with girls in those critical years – Years 8, 9 and 10 – to have conversations about what their daughter can do to be more involved in College life and to point them towards school if they are keen to skip an excursion, interhouse event or reflection day because ‘it doesn’t matter’. It really does.

Every blessing,

Michelle Licina

Deputy Principal - Student Development & Wellbeing

Works cited:

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. (2024). Nurturing social and emotional learning across the globe. OECD. https://www.oecd.org/en/publications/nurturing-social-and-emotional-learning-across-the-globe_32b647d0-en.html