From the Head

There is so much to admire about our students at the moment. My guilty admission is that I have often found myself taking strength from young people's agility to adapt to learning online rather than the other way around. 

In the virtual Black Box this week, our School Prefects responsible for the portfolio of Student Voice (Solomon Gibbs and Eliza O'Sullivan) hosted our first student "Black Box Soap Box" event. The metaphorical soapbox has a bad reputation. It is sometimes associated with someone having a self-serving whinge. But the concept of someone standing on a raised platform to make a public speech, be it a wooden crate originally used for shipment of soap or not, is an admirable one with good intent. 

After we went into lockdown, a link to attend the Black Box Soap Box event appeared in my in-box, as it did for other senior leadership team members. Together, we listened with interest to eleven students who shared their thoughts and ideas for school improvement. 

Each student was well prepared and spoke with the kind of enthusiasm and balance that we come to expect of Girton students. It was a relief in a challenging week to listen to the intelligent and reasonable ideas from our students and an inspiration that they were so un-phased by the format of the event or the task before them. 

I would like to briefly share with you the proposals that the students put forward to the leadership team, which will be considered in the first instance by the School Prefects. 

• Display the Torres Strait Island flag alongside the Australian and Indigenous flags to recognise the first nations people more fully. Additionally, consistent use of the correct Australian national anthem.
• Pedestrian crossings in Wattle Street to improve student safety
• More embedding of Christian values and more fun associated with learning about God's word
• Introduction of "Girton's Got Talent" in the Senior School, much like the current Junior School event
• A proposal that the Physical Education uniform be permitted to be worn all day by Senior School students when they have sporting commitments
• More student involvement and delivery of the school's Anti-Bullying and Harassment Policy from older students to younger students
• More immersive opportunities in Year 10 Careers subjects
• Greater use of electronic books and less reliance on paper textbooks to reduce consumption and increase environmental sustainability at the school
• Unisex toilets for students to better support our LGBTQI+ community

The creation of portfolio areas of responsibility for Prefects last year has had a wonderfully positive effect on the school this year. We have seen more accountability and direction from the Prefect group, who have organised themselves into areas for school improvement that suit their passions and ideas. 

I hope that the Black Box Soap Box event takes hold and becomes a regular forum for student voice. Students this week have affirmed that when we give young people the opportunity to be formally heard, they use the privilege responsibly and can be relied on to be there, no matter the circumstances around them. From this kind of student resilience, many of us take strength, which will come back to the students in one form or another. 

We will wait to see what news the weekend brings regarding the current lockdown. In the meantime, I will be trying to take the recent advice of many experts by swapping expectations for hope. 

Dr Clayton Massey

HEAD