From the Principal 

Dr Nicole Archard

Year 12 Graduation

It is hard to believe that we have once again come around to the time of farewelling our Year 12 girls. It was such a special week for the girls with many celebrations. Starting with High Tea on Sunday hosted by the Loreto Old Scholars’ Association (LOSA), followed by a breakfast with Year 12 teachers on Wednesday morning, and then our very large day on Thursday which included Graduation Mass, Awards Ceremony, parent Morning Tea, Rose Giving, and Boaders’ Dinner, and then the grand finale on Friday Night with Graduation Dinner. The whole week was a beautiful celebration of the hard work the girls have put into their studies and an acknowledgment of the support they receive from their parents and teachers. We wish Year 12 Godspeed on their future journeys as they contribute to the world as the strong, independent women that they are. 

A Visit from Mr Ziauddin Yousafzai

On Wednesday this week we were very fortunate to host Mr Ziauddin Yousafzai, who many of you would know as the father of Malala Yousafzai (Nobel Peace Prize winner, 2014). Mr Yousafzai is currently in Australia to promote the importance of girls’ education from a father’s perspective. Mr Yousafzai is known globally for his commitment to peace and his ongoing efforts for the educational rights of girls in Pakistan and beyond. He is co-founder of the Malala Foundation with his daughter Malala.

Mr Yousafzai spent time with girls in Year 5 and Year 6 in order to hear their views on girls’ education, what it means to have a Loreto education, and social justice issues that the girls have studied in class. A group of Senior School students representing various groups within the College, including our Peace and Justice, Environment and Diversity Committees, along with our Social Justice Captains (2023 & 2024), Indigenous Leaders (2023 &2024), Head Girl and Deputy Head Girl/s (2023 & 2024) met with Mr Yousafzai for lunch and were able to discuss how they are actively pursuing social justice initiatives across the College in order to make a difference to the lives of others. I was particularly excited to take Mr Yousafzai to our Senior School Library where we very proudly have a quote from Malala on the library wall, “one child, one teacher, one book, one pen can change the world”. When I chose this quote several years ago as part of our library renovations, I never imagined that Malala’s parents would one day be standing reading it; this was a very special moment.

Dr Nicole Archard

Principal