International Women's Day

International Women's Day 2018

Gloria Steinem, world-renowned feminist, journalist and activist once explained, "The story of women's struggle for equality belongs to no single feminist nor to any one organisation but to the collective efforts of all who care about human rights”.

We had an excellent week of celebrations for International Women’s Day this year at the college! We ran a number of different activities and competitions in recognition of the amazing achievements of women around the world, and to raise awareness around issues of equality.

Ms Schmidtke and Ms McEwen visited each year level assembly throughout the week to explain the significance of International Women’s Day and for some fun trivia on women. Every correct answer won a prize! Do you know some of the answers?

What country is Malala Yousafzai from? Pakistan

Which female author has sold the most novels? Agatha Christie

Who is known as the world’s first computer coder? Ada Lovelace

Which well-known British actress said this quote during her 2015 speech to United Nations: "It is time that we all see gender as a spectrum instead of two sets of opposing ideals." Emma Watson

Which country was the first to grant women the vote? New Zealand

Who won the first ever Women’s AFL Best & Fairest medal in 2017? Erin Phillips

The Library Monitors and SRC Reps worked hard throughout the week to make over 400 purple, white and green ribbon pins for staff and students to wear. Ms Gatt also created a spectacular book display in the Library, which included some of our fantastic biographies and picture books about amazing women.

We offered a copy of the new book “Shout Out to The Girls: A Celebration of Awesome Australian Women” to the student who wrote the best paragraph about an awesome woman they admire. We had plenty of students write heart-warming entries and they were difficult to choose between!

Congratulations to the winner:

“I admire and look up to (well down because she smaller than me) my best friend Stella. She has been my best friend for 10 years, since prep, and we've stayed by each other’s side for those years. She's basically my sister from another mother! The real reason I admire her is that she is very strong and courageous. She was only 7 years old when she was diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder called Alopecia. She felt very uncertain and unloving to herself and thought that no one would love her again because of her change. But her condition only made her stronger. Her mum came in one day and talked to us about what had happened to her and that it was in the genes because her dad has it as well. Her happy smile came back and she regained her love of herself and was more confident to go out there and tell the people she loves and know about what had happened to her. When she moved to a different school than me, she told me that she talked to her class about her condition and why she has it. Every year, when she gets a new class, she talks to her fellow students about Alopecia and that it is not deadly but an immune deficiency and she participates in the annual Alopecia festival that is run by the Alopecia Foundation. This is why I admire her because she is an inspiration to me and us all and I love her so much. I couldn't live without her strong loving spirit.”

Georgia Wood-Freeman (9E)

And runner-ups:

“Someone who inspires me is my grandma. She can speak 3 languages. She is able to speak Cantonese, Mandarin and English. She has run a restaurant and can cook so many types of food. When she thinks my sister and I might be bored of her food (I never am), she finds something new to cook for us. She is always looking after us and is always caring for us. If she thinks we won't have dinner that night, or might want a nice breakfast, she always invites us over or brings the food around. She cares for us and loves us, and we love her too, so much. She inspires me to keep on going and she taught me how to love cooking and make some amazing foods and still wants to teach me more. That's why she inspires me.”

Caitlin Blair (8B)

“The important woman in my life is my great-grandmother, Margery. My great-grandmother inspires me because she was alive during war… and survived it! She got married to a French man she only knew from letters in her teenage years! They met for the first time on the 16th of April 1944 and then got married 3 months later. Whilst her husband was out fighting for his country she was asked to work as a teacher, and she wasn't able to see her husband at all. Back in those days women weren't allowed to work but she had to, it was called war effort. After the war ended she was finally able to see her husband again and she moved to France and lived happily ever after with him! My great-grandmother has inspired me to always help others even during the most difficult of times and to always choose kindness and love! To me my great-grandmother is amazing and she contributed enormously during the war.”

Anaelle Micciche (7B)

Finally, we held a morning tea on Thursday where the male staff were encouraged to bring a plate to share to thank the female staff at GEC for their contributions to the school community. We were all very impressed with the spread!

Thank you for celebrating International Women’s Day with us this year! On this day and every day, we acknowledge the achievements of all, and work towards equality for women in our society and beyond.

Karys McEwen - College Librarian &

Emma Schmidtke - Student Voice Coordinator