The teacher simply wants the best for their student. By Year 12, we would expect that the student recognises their role in changing the narrative, to take responsibility, submit the work and of course the next lesson is a new beginning.
It is a fact that we can use our voice to create change. This could involve speaking from behind a lectern about an issue which concerns us, or it might mean reflecting the world of the unthinkable in front of our eyes.
I never imagined as a 17-year-old that my own career would be so convoluted. It began with a somewhat disastrous choice of tertiary study but I have landed in the perfect role - one which didn’t exist when I left school.
With Junior School Parent/Teacher meetings this week, School Reports have been a regular topic of conversation within and among our families. School Reports are received by parents with mixed feelings – delight and pride if their daughter is performing well and concern if their progress is not as expected.
Often when discussing a daughter’s education and experiences at school, parents will indicate that their daughter’s happiness is high on their list of priorities.
In the course of this week, there has been much talk about leadership and this prompted one of the senior girls to ask me what lessons I’ve learnt about it.
We made it to the end of term but the girls are tired! We are also seeing high levels of illness at the moment – more from influenza than from COVID-19 – and this underlines the need for some proper rest in the upcoming holidays.
In Canberra recently, the Year 6 students learnt how to vote, ‘wrote’ new Bills, debated contemporary issues in the ‘Senate’, engaged in role-play as Members of Parliament and Government Officials, investigated the extraordinary lives of scientists, artists, architects, and heroes of war and interacted with each other and people they had not previously met – with utmost confidence that they were equipped to participate in these activities. They were, without doubt, demonstrating agency.
Australia is blessed with universal access to schooling and, earlier this year, we were reminded how lucky our daughters are. Staff heard a moving account from a parent whose family were forced to flee from the Taliban, and whose wife and daughters had to hide in the house basement secretly studying until they were able to leave Afghanistan.
You may have noticed that we’ve started introducing each of our 12 QPA Committee members and their roles, in the last few newsletters. This is not to flatter their ego or to satisfy a need for recognition – albeit it is always nice to be recognised for a job well done, especially when delivered by a team of enthusiast volunteers – no, this is so parents can reach out to them to give feedback, make suggestions, or simply offer your help. The purpose is also for you to understand what the committee does and what role each volunteer plays in creating an enjoyable journey for the girls and their parents during their years at Queenwood.
When we were in Year 7, the Head and Vice Head Prefects seemed to be an image of perfection, exemplifying Queenwood’s values of truth, service, and courage, and embodying everything we wanted to be. If we thought about it at all, we would have assumed that the path to those positions had been filled only with achievements and successes. Now that we hold the roles ourselves, however, we know how far this assumption is from the truth. We are all too conscious of the countless failures, disappointments, hat detentions, and nights filled with tears which we have both experienced in our time at Queenwood.