Principal's Message

Prayer

Dear Lord,

This Lent help me leave behind the distractions of my daily life and make this a time of spiritual retreat, of letting go all that holds me back from taking the risk of drawing closer to you, allowing your Spirit to lead me, and speak to my heart.

Amen

Student Leadership

In a new report, published in October last year by Plan International Australia and timed to coincide with International Day of the Girl, girls between 12 and 25 were asked to rank the women they admired for leading change. In the number one spot was 22-year-old Malala Youzafzai, who in 2014 became the youngest woman in history to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize after being shot in the head by a Taliban member for speaking out about the need for education for women in Pakistan. Harry Potter star and UN Women Goodwill Ambassador Emma Watson came in second, followed by 16-year-old Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg. Recently, we celebrated our Investiture Assembly where we acknowledged those students who have been appointed to leadership positions. So what is a definition of leader? Google comes up with a great deal of meanings for us to get our head around whereas a dictionary gives us “someone who leads.”

However, in taking the word “lead,” the dictionary offerings all fall into one of two main categories:

1. to direct the operations, activity or performance of; to have charge of
2. This is the usual meaning of a leader, that is, the most senior person in charge. The second category is more crucial:

     2. to guide on a way, especially by going in advance. To direct on a course or in a direction

          We know that the person with the title of leader is not always the person who is really leading the              team. We know that organizations with the best and the most leaders working together will                            succeed. In fact, we believe that anyone of us can lead.

Strong leaders have characteristics in common. They are accountable for themselves and their results and they take action. They have a vision for where they want to go. They believe in their own capabilities. They persevere, are committed to their work and they have a passion for what they do. They have never ending courage. Leaders, as human people, do need to overcome their fears and negative opposition in order to achieve their goals. We congratulate all those who have chosen to represent the student body in an official leadership position. However, we ask all our Parents/Carers to encourage their daughters to be involved in the life of the school and participate in at least one of the clubs, social justice groups, performing arts ensembles or sporting teams. There are many opportunities to take on leadership.