Newsletter Term 3, Week 1 14 July 2022

I am writing to you today to set an intention regarding something that has long been a passion of mine and, thankfully, is non-COVID related.

Over the holidays, I read a compelling article by ‘’Australians Investing in Women’’ by Julie Reilly OAM who is CEO of Australians Investing in Women – a not-for-profit organisation that advocates for gender-wise philanthropy. It outlined a recent shift in the momentum of discourse related to issues of women’s equality. It highlighted the record number of women entering the Australian parliament but also pointed out disturbing setbacks affecting the constitutional rights of women in some countries. At the time of reading this article, I had just met and listened to a woman who created a school for girls in Afghanistan and when the Taliban took over, she moved the school to Kigali in Rwanda. The mothers of these girls preferred they move away rather than face a life without the right to education or freedom.

Changes in momentum serve as compelling reminders of the need for us to do whatever it takes to maintain the advances won by and for women. It is also a reminder to be intentional in our advocacy for and contribution to the sorts of programs that progress issues of gender equality.
 
As parents, you all know the value of the education your daughters receive here. You ‘’get’’ what is special about Strathcona, from that intangible ‘’feel’’ of the place when you step onto the grounds, to our teachers who are so dedicated, and the unsurpassable pastoral care shown for every girl.
 
Later this year we will be launching an appeal to raise funds for our first general excellence access scholarship and for this we need your help if you are able to do so. Funded through the generosity of the Strathcona community, the Strathcona Centenary Scholarship will be a fully means-tested scholarship for a new Strathcona girl - it will be a life-changing opportunity for a girl where the opportunity would not usually exist.

Our short-term goal is to support a student or students beginning in 2024 (our Centenary year), however, our bold, long-term goal is to build a multimillion-dollar endowment to enable this, and other diversity scholarships to be offered to deserving and eligible students including rural, Indigenous and needs-based students, ongoing.
 
If you and your family are in a position to support this cause with a founder’s gift, I would love to hear from you. Our appeal will launch in October and these early gifts will set us on our way to achieving our goal of giving the gift of education to a girl who exemplifies the Strathcona spirit. It is a legacy we can join together in leaving for future generations of Strathcona students.

If the events of late have reinforced anything it’s that now more than ever is the time to invest in girls and women and to demonstrate our collective belief in the power of a supportive and appropriately challenging all-girls education.

I welcome your approach for more information about Founders gifts or the Centenary Scholarship and look forward to launching it later this year.

Also coming up in a couple of weeks is the annual Careers evening, which will return onsite on Wednesday 27 July 2022. The evening provides an excellent opportunity for our students and parents from Years 9-12 to hear the career journeys of a number of our alumnae. The 9 panels that are being organised for the evening are: Science & Technology; Engineering; Health; Humanities; Creative Arts; Education; Business; Law and Media & Communications. There will also be an opportunity to chat with staff from the University of Melbourne, Monash University, Deakin University, LaTrobe University, RMIT, Carlton College of Sport, Study & Play USA and the Australian Institute of Music who will be holding stalls in Featherstone Hall. Further details to follow but please mark this important date in your diary.

Kind regards

Marise McConaghy, Principal

The shop will no longer be open on Wednesday afternoons.

termSecond Hand Uniform donations are always welcome and can be left in the Donations Box at 35 Scott Street, Canterbury or at the Senior School Reception. Please ensure that any donated items are laundered or dry cleaned prior to donating them as the shop is run on a volunteer basis.

The Strathcona Family Association Uniform Shop has now moved many of our new stock items to an online “Click and Collect” service via the Flexischools platform - https://user.flexischools.com.au/home. Not all uniform pieces are listed as some items require fitting.

If you login to your Flexischools account, you will see there is now another window for our online Uniform Shop (directly next to the Canteen window).

To order items online please, Click Order, Select Collection Date, Choose the Uniform Item required (Select size if applicable), Confirm Order and follow prompts for payment using Flexischools Account or Credit Card.

The full list of “Click and Collect” stock items available for order has been included below and these items can be ordered anytime online. Once the order has been processed collection of the items will be available from the Business Office (after 10am on a Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday).

The Shop stocks new Strathcona badged items including:
Bathers
Swim Bags
Sports Bags
Hats
House Swimming Caps
Scarves
Football Socks
Umbrellas
 

The creation and launch of Envision businesses gives us a focal point and allows for a great deal of creativity and problem solving. At the time of writing, 32 of our 41 businesses have received SEED Funding to provide them with the green light to launch their business creation. You will see from the business card photos below that a number of ingenious ideas have emerged.

Over the holidays, I was interviewed by the Wade Institute (The University of Melbourne) who teach entrepreneurship through the Upschool Program. In due course, the entire interview will be published, however, I thought that I would share this small excerpt below, as it is a salient reminder to us - parents and teachers, to allow our entrepreneurs the space to solve their own problems, making their own decisions and living with the outcomes.

"As their students develop and run their businesses, Strathcona teachers take a deliberately ‘hands-off’ approach, inspired by UpSchool’s ‘learn-by-doing’ ethos. “We resist the urge to intervene with our students’ businesses. While it’s tempting to jump in and ‘save them’, that doesn’t encourage authentic learning. So long as they can fulfil their brief, we let them run with it. Some of our students’ businesses make a lot of money and some don’t make much at all. But for almost all of them, the confidence-building is incredible.”

At this point in time, we remind our students that running a profitable business is only half the lesson. Learning how to think and be  entrepreneurial - to solve problems, to make decisions, to tackle issues, and to pivot, punt and persevere, are lifelong skills. We look forward to sharing our 2022 businesses with you throughout the term. 

Another group of Year 9 students welcomed their family and friends today to Afternoon Tea in the Ballroom. In Creatives classes, students have learned how to cook and prepare the food as well as food handling practices. It is always a pleasure to see Year 9 families at Tay Creggan - and for them to see us at work!

Dancing Classes begin next Tuesday afternoon, providing we have enough boys signed up.  If you know of any Year 9 or 10 boys who would like to participate, please feel free to share this link. Bookings for our girls have now closed.

Best wishes,

Karyn Murray, Head of Tay Creggan

Thank you to all of the parents and special friends who attended our Celebration of Learning morning. I hope you enjoyed seeing all of the learning that has been occurring in the Junior School. I particularly loved watching the joy on the children's faces as they shared their experiences with you.

Please ensure that your daughter is in the correct uniform each day. This includes the blazer when wearing the formal winter uniform. 

Best wishes,

Lisa Miller, Head of Junior School

Strathcona's annual OSA Careers Night for Years 9 to 12 students and parents is back in person on the evening of Wednesday 27th July.

Come along to the Expo to meet with university representatives and other tertiary providers, then choose three different career-themed panels to attend where alumnae will talk about their job and career area and answer audience questions.
Don’t miss this wonderful opportunity!

Times outlined below:

6.30pm – 7pm – University stalls in FH

7.05pm – 7.35pm – Panel Sessions 1

7.40pm – 8.10pm – Panel Session 2

8.15pm – 8.45pm – Panel Session 3

You are warmly invited to the next Strathcona Centre for Learning Futures event with guest Speaker, Tay Pappas.

Tay Pappas will speak about her fascinating international experience helping to build a range of businesses, leading to her current role as General Manager at Kip&Co. This will provide participants with insight into what it takes to build a company’s brand and the kinds of opportunities young people can explore as they build their own careers. Tay is looking forward to questions from the audience.

Tay Pappas is the General Manager of indie lifestyle brand Kip&Co. She has deep experience in retail and strategy and a passion for building incredible Australian brands. Tay began her career as a Management Consultant at Boston Consulting Group, before taking on strategy roles with the Just Group in Melbourne and pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk in Copenhagen. She joined Mecca Brands in 2012 to lead the four-person merchandise team, and in her eight years with Mecca helped to scale the business across strategy, store development and buying, finally returning to the Head of Merchandise role with a team of 45. In 2020 she joined Hairhouse Warehouse as Chief Commercial Officer, driving the merchandise strategy and Hairhouse’s private label brands.Pursuing her love of brand building, Tay joined Kip&Co in 2021 in the newly created role of General Manager, to work with the founders to scale the business, drive rapid growth and sustainably bring colour and fun to homewares and apparel for every corner of the home and every member of the family. Tay lives in Balaclava with her husband and three girls, and loves travel, food and all types of music.

We look forward to welcoming you to this event