Parents and Friends
International Women’s Day 2023
On Friday 10 March, the College celebrated International Women’s Day with an incredible group of students, teachers, parents and local community.
Beginning at 6.45am, guests were invited into the Sports Stadium to enjoy tea, coffee and some sweet breakfast treats. House Captain, Adrian Cole, welcomed all guests with a prayer and Welcome to Country. This was followed by Parents and Friends President, Kamila Kotowski, sharing some personal antidotes about her life, and how she continues to grow and strengthen each day. House Captain Austin Warfe followed with beautiful words about the #embraceequity campaign (transcript below).
We were honoured to host internationally renowned keynote speaker and author, Rachael Robertson, who inspired us with her account of her expedition to Antarctica, where she led a team of 18 people through 12-months stationed at one of the most remote areas on the planet. The impact she had on those who attended was palpable, and we've had wonderful feedback on her address, inspiring everyone in the room with her humour, stories and simple methods she used to create respect within her unique workplace.
The Parents and Friends Committee is immensely proud of its' inaugural International Women’s Day event at the College, and we look forward to improving and growing this event in years to come.
We encourage all families, whether you did or did not attend, to provide feedback regarding your decision to ensure that we can continue to develop and organise events that are tailored to our community. You may submit your feedback via the following link -
https://forms.gle/b8nCS19uiTh7Bjj6A
2023 Mother’s Day Breakfast - Bookings Open
The most anticipated event of the year is almost here!
For the first time, the Parents and Friends Committee will be running this event across both of our Campuses, which will ensure as many of our families as possible have an opportunity to attend.
In previous years, the event has sold out within days of being advertised. Due to capacity limits at both Campuses, the event will exclusively be open to Year 7 and 12 families.
Our two Mother’s Day Breakfasts will take place on the following dates:
Mentone Campus
Tuesday 9 May, 6.45 - 8.00am
(Year 7 and 12 families only)
Book here > https://events.humanitix.com/mentone-mothersday-2023
Bentleigh East Campus
Thursday 11 May, 6.45 - 8.00am
(Year 7 families only)
Book here > https://events.humanitix.com/be-mothersday-2023
This year, the Parents and Friends Committee are honoured to be hosting guest speaker, Liz Dawes OAM, Founder of the Robert Connor Dawes Foundation (RCD), who will be joining us for both events.
RCD Foundation’s flagship event, Connor’s Run, has become the country’s biggest campaign for paediatric brain cancer, with over $7.7 million raised to date. Liz has been crucial in lobbying the Federal Government to secure funding for paediatric brain cancer, which kills more young people than any other disease.
In acknowledgement of her efforts, Liz was awarded an Order of Australia Medal (OAM) in 2022, was a nominee for Australian of the Year in 2017, named in the AFR’s 100 Women of Influence in 2018, recognised as Electoral Division of Goldstein’s Local Hero in 2016, and received the Australia Day Award for Bayside Citizen of the Year in 2015.
This event sells out promptly each year, so we cannot stress this enough; please book your tickets as soon as possible to avoid disappointment (links above).
Lucy Turner
Parents and Friends Secretary