Virginia Jowett

INTERNATIONAL WOMENS DAY 2021

Virginia Jowett, Office Manager

Tell us about a joy you have had in leadership?

I have loved having a role in building our Admin Team from scratch, creating a cohesive, welcoming and warm environment in which we help support our students, parents, teachers and leadership team.

What do you love about your job?

I love meeting our families and getting to know them so that I can help them to the best of my ability.  I love that our students feel comfortable coming to the office to ask us questions, have a chat, or whenever they need help.  I hope that our parents feel the same. 

Female role model and why?   

Jane Goodall. 

I admire Jane Goodall because her studies on primates and their habitats were undertaken in a field that was dominated by men.  Her passion and work for chimpanzees and their environment has been ground breaking and although she is now in her 80’s, her voice is still heard.

Below are a couple of quotes from Jane Goodall that really resound with me:

“Every individual matters.  Every individual has a role to play.  Every individual makes a difference”.

“The greatest danger to our future is apathy”.

Female who has influenced your life?  

My Mum.

My mum was a very strong and independent woman who basically raised six children by herself.  Our home was filled with love, warmth and laughter, even though we didn’t have a lot of material things. 

One of the best things my mum used to tell us was:  “Don’t be a sheep.  You don’t need to look like everyone else, do what everyone else is doing or have what everyone else has.  You need to be happy with your actions and decisions. You need to question, not just follow and be one of the herd”. 

Anything else?

I would like us all to be conscious of the footprint we as individuals and communities leave on our earth. I hope that we can teach our children to be conscious of their decisions and how our actions can impact our environment and the balance of nature.  I would like them all to realise that by taking the smallest action, they can either help or damage our environment.  I hope my generation starts taking action now in saving our environment and the wildlife and ecosystems that rely on its health.