Queenwood was founded by women with a commitment to service – service to their students and, through them, to the world. The School’s strategic vision expands on this idea:
Our ultimate objective is to produce young women of character, generous in spirit and motivated to apply their gifts and energies in the service of others. We encourage our students at every level to contribute in thought, word and deed: responding to the vulnerable and marginalised with respect and compassion; speaking out for them with courage; and taking action in their service. We acknowledge that in so doing we ourselves are enriched and find true fulfilment.
Making this a reality for children is a challenge, especially when they are as blessed as our girls are in their environment, family and education.
The School has a significant role to play. One way we try to make our commitment to service a reality is by sustaining long-term engagement with communities and causes. An example of this is our long-standing relationship with the Cerebral Palsy Alliance.
The Spastic Centre was established in 1945 by Neil and Audrie McLeod, whose daughter had cerebral palsy, on the site of our Junior School. As demand for its services grew, it eventually moved to Allambie Heights and some years later changed its name to the Cerebral Palsy Alliance (CPA).
Queenwood moved its Junior School to Queen Street in 1990 and history came full circle in 2009 when the McLeods’ granddaughter attended Queenwood, strengthening our connection.
Over the years, the Junior School has held numerous fundraising events in support of the CPA, most recently the ‘Steptember’ challenge of completing at least 10,000 steps every day. The CPA’s 2020 campaign was (appropriately) called ‘20/20’: take up a new pursuit for 20 minutes a day for 20 days and donate $20.
This kind of campaign requires the support of parents and the generosity of our Queenwood community has been remarkable. 210 people, included mums, dads, grandparents and other relatives, signed up for new habits – everything from reading or practising times tables to knitting or walking the dog – and raised a total of $5040. It was a pleasure to see the variety of activities nominated by the girls and adults – learning songs off by heart, stretching, bird watching, cooking, doing chores at home or learning to play chess, to name a few. I wonder whether different things might have been chosen if this were not the year of COVID-19. I get the sense that there is much more connectedness in families with more time spent doing things together, rather than rushing from one commitment to the next. Special thanks must go to Ms Simone Massie and the Social Justice Prefects for helping to organise this event, and to all those who took part.
Some Queenwood families from both Junior and Senior School also took the opportunity over the holidays to visit Macleay Vocational College. Queenwood’s long-term partnership with MVC has had a profound impact on both sides – so much so that some of our families have chosen to visit the school themselves to understand more about this community. We have been hugely enriched by this relationship and our colleagues at MVC are grateful for the support that Queenwood parents have offered over the years. I am especially grateful that our parents are modelling the values of responsibility and service to their daughters.
One of our founders, Miss Rennie, described a life of contribution and service to others as a life of ‘high adventure’, calling for strength and courage and purpose. When the School and the family work together to model these values and create opportunities for service learning, we make it possible for our young people to live out these principles and, ultimately, find fulfilment.
Mrs Angela Toohey
Head of Junior School