Newsletter Term 3, Week 5 12 Aug 2021

Our students have mostly adjusted well to another period at home and are continuing to show an admirable level of resilience. I would say though that a pervasive sense of skepticism is obvious now. Our attempts to reassure them that all will be ok, and this will end eventually, is being met sometimes with a gentle roll of the eyes or with an outright level of cynicism that I haven't seen before during the pandemic. During classes this week, I am listening carefully and validating their frustrations about the serious impacts the periods of lockdown are having on their schooling, their friendships and their pathways. I am sure many of you are dealing with the same thing at home but on a super charged level. I am sure you too have used about every parenting trick in the book to support your children over the last difficult 18 months and may feel like you are running out of options when your daughters need you the most. 

With this in mind, I have returned to the work of Dr Lisa Damour, a leading Psychologist and thought leader in the psychology of teenage girls. Dr Damour's 'Under Pressure Confronting the Epidemic of Stress and Anxiety in Girls' and 'Untangled: Guiding Teenage Girls Through the Seven Transitions into Adulthood' are just two of her published works that present some practical and reasonable commentary for parents managing teenage girls at home. Whilst much of her work wasn't conceived with the overlay of the pandemic, her messages for parents are especially valuable right now. 

Dr Damour speaks of teenagers managing their feelings by dumping the uncomfortable ones on their parents, often their mothers.  Her advice for parents is that most teenage girls experience periods of extreme stress, and that whilst most parents cannot control when or why this happens, they can control how they react in that moment. She writes 

 'Decades of research tells us that our daughters read our reactions- right down to our most fleeting facial  expressions- for cues that will contain or increase their own discomfort' (Damour, 2019). 

Dr Damour's advice to parents for managing the emotional eruptions of your daughter, is to bear with her when she feels distressed or powerless. Accepting that an emotional and perhaps irrational meltdown is a way for her to work through her brain's turbulence in that moment. Damour concludes that your daughter is watching keenly for your reaction to ascertain if her turbulence is as terrifying as she thinks it is. A 'frenetic, all-hands-on-deck' reaction from you, can signal to her that this she is indeed having a full-blown crisis. And possibly she is, but in that moment, she is looking to her parents for reassurance and calm. There are ways that parents can de-escalate an emotional eruption that validates their child's distress and reassures them a way out can be achieved. A powerful way to do this is by acknowledging the problem and sympathising with the discomfort it is causing. Once your child has calmed down, there is great value in working on a plan together that helps them to take ownership over the solution. This ownership is a highly effective strategy that will help them manage future problems more independently, developing emotional tolerance and promote resilience in your daughter. And just maybe, the emotional eruptions will decrease or become less intense. 

I want to thank all our families for the support you are offering our staff and your daughters as we work together to manage another tricky period. We know that there is a lot of stress in homes right now as we all try to manage our competing responsibilities and we are grateful that you continue to hold tight with us. This will end, eventually! 

Damour, L. (2019). Under pressure: Confronting the epidemic of stress and anxiety in girls. Damour, L. (2016). Untangled: Guiding teenage girls through the seven transitions into adulthood.  

Warm regards, 

Mrs Amber Sowden, Dean of Students 

Board committee members play a critical role assisting in developing the strategy of the School. The Board invites expressions of interest from people with governance experience and competencies or interests in the area of community engagement and philanthropy, to become members of a new Special Purpose Philanthropy Committee. Philanthropy involves the giving of time, information, goods, services and money to improve the wellbeing of humanity and the community. The strategic focus of this Committee will be to develop the school's strategic direction in relation to developing all aspects of a philanthropic culture.

No Board or committee member receives any remuneration or reimbursement of expenses in their role. All positions are voluntary and contributions are greatly valued by the School.  All Board and committee members must declare any conflicts of interest.  

Expressions of interest and CV can be forwarded to the Board Secretary, Mr Jack Palumbo: jpalumbo@strathcona.vic.edu.au. 

Friendship is one of the greatest bonds anyone can ever wish for.  Friendship is one of the most important things because it teaches us a great deal about life. We learn so many lessons from friendship which we won’t find anywhere else. There is no doubt that friends help us through our problems and bad times.

When transitioning from primary to secondary school, the transition can put friendships to the test to see if friends are worth fighting for. My friend group certainly has changed tremendously from going into senior school but that doesn’t mean that I haven’t learnt from my past experiences. The friends I have made at Strathcona have certainly been ones to remember. Even though my friendship group has changed, it doesn’t mean that my past friends were necessarily bad people, they were beautiful girls, but I just didn’t have much in common with them as I do with the friends that I have now.

I’ve made new friends and lost some old ones too. Just because I don’t talk to them as often anymore, that doesn’t mean that there wasn’t a connection. For most of last year, being online and not being able to see family and friends face to face, made it more important to connect as much as we can. which is one of our main values at Strathcona. I have discovered some amazing friendships that genuinely make me feel happy and content, like transversing through a fresh field of flowers in an orchard. Each experience unique and joyful. 

One of my very close friends left Strathcona after year six, and we are much closer now that we try extra hard to commit to meeting more frequently outside of school to sustain the friendship. The moments we spend together are much more precious than ever before, and isn’t that what friendship is all about? You shouldn’t spend meaningless time with someone just because you call them your “friend”. Friendship isn’t measured by what music you both listen to or what video games you like to play. Friendship is measured by how much you support each other, be kind to one another, being loyal, compassionate, giving, respectful, friendly, how much you make one another laugh and how happy you make each other feel. 

Phoebe Suttie, Year 7

Items in the Career News include:

• Dates to Diarise in Term 3
• MEGT Apprenticeships and Employment
• News from the University of Melbourne
o Guaranteed Entry Scheme
• Carlton College of Sport in Association with La Trobe University
• RMIT Open Day Next Fest – Thursday August 12th
• Preparing USA College Applications EDUSA ZOOM Meeting
• Exercise Science & Sport Degrees in Victoria in 2021
• Snapshot of the University of Queensland (UQ) in 2021

Please click here for this week's Career News. To visit the Careers page or view previous versions of Careers News click here.

Our Year 9 programs continue to run. More pitches last Friday and this Friday many of the businesses will launch their assorted products. Our entrepreneurial studies have been designed so that they may proceed regardless of whether we are at home or at school. In fact, working in such complex and continually changing conditions gives students even more opportunity to problem-solve, think critically and work creatively to develop a product to market.  

This week we have also had a pop-up Wellbeing session with School Psychologist Annie Yang talking about the importance of self-care and a range of activities in classes designed to engage and motivate young minds. Personally, I am enjoying teaching about the universal suffrage movement and the fight for women's representation in Parliament - some of it quite violent.  Soon we will focus on the colonisation of Australia and Federation - so much to debate, so many perspectives to hear. 

Our Year 9 SOUL Sisters have risen to a challenge to prepare activities for their Junior School sisters. Not only is this great for the younger students, but it also provides a purpose and sense of accomplishment when it is completed. I have been delighted to hear several students talk about continuing to log their hours for the Duke of Edinburgh whilst at home.

Finally, given that we are going to be home for a little longer, we are going to run a TC Fiesta next Wednesday 18th August- online at 5.30pm with Year 9s cooking their family's dinner. Narelle Cameron will demonstrate the recipe whilst as many Year 9s as possible cook along. We hope that all families feel able to join in the Fiesta spirit. The recipe is below to enable you to gather the ingredients. 

Best wishes,

Mrs Karyn Murray, Head of Tay Creggan

As part of their Duke of Ed service, a group of Year 9 girls volunteered to be Soul Sisters with our Year 4s. In Term 1 we wrote letters and visited Junior School, running fun group activities to foster a sense of belonging and connection. In Term 2 our plans ‘pivoted’ due to a lockdown, so we created short videos sharing ways we enhanced our wellbeing during remote learning – what things made us smile and feel good and encouraging the Year 4s to do the same.

This term we have put together a presentation, collating 20 short online videos to practice gratitude, positivity, mindfulness and kindness through singing, dancing, exercise, craft, meditation and storybooks. Sharon Turner, School Psychologist (Junior School), was so impressed with this resource created by the Year 9 Soul Sisters, she is planning to use it for the whole Prep -6 SOUL program.

Through this activity, Year 9 Soul Sisters have contributed to our whole school sense of connection even though we are physically apart during these times. Belonging, combined with gratitude, mindfulness, positivity and kindness are valuable for our social, emotional and mental health and wellbeing so we congratulate and thank our Soul Sisters for being fabulous wellbeing promoters!
 
We look forward to our Year 4 Soul Sisters coming to visit us at Tay Creggan later in the year, where we can participate in a range of fun activities together and further promote our wellbeing and connection.

Ms Michelle Holding, Wellbeing Leader - Tay Creggan

The Wellbeing program is also linked to the Strathcona school values. Each week at assembly we talk about a value and focus for SOUL and how this connects to our interactions at school and within our community at Strathcona. During our weekly whole school SOUL lessons activities are undertaken that challenge us to reflect on ourselves and others and build a sense of connection and positive support within our Junior School.

Five of our Junior School Staff reflect on Wellbeing and the SOUL Program. Read the full piece here.

Lisa Miller, Head of Junior School

Eleni Kyritsis, Deputy Head of Junior School

Sharon Turner, Junior School Psychologist

Mrs Karen Taplin, Year 5 Teacher

Eliza Nolan, Year 5 Teacher

It is a great edition for parents and adult carers with children across all year levels. 

Read the special report here.

Although life is always filled with uncertainty, the levels we are currently experiencing are unprecedented and it is becoming evident that this is taking a toll on our young people. The most recent research from Mission Australia makes clear the breadth and depth the pandemic is having on our youth across the nation.

It appears that lockdowns and tighter restrictions will be with us for some time, but it is important in such times of uncertainty to instil hope and remain optimistic. Adult carers can play a vital role in helping young people reframe their worries, encouraging them to see life as it is and getting them to focus more on the things they can control, rather than those they can’t.

Planning Liveable Cities event is tonight 5.30pm - 6.30pm. Register now! 

You are warmly invited to the Strathcona Centre Learning Futures event – Planning Liveable Cities.Hear about urban planning and the impact it has on lives now and into the future. Madison Robb and Yang Bai from Plan Melbourne will share about their careers in urban planning. We eagerly await their presentation where we will learn something that will have enormous impacts on our futures - the future of Melbourne.

Read more about our guest speakers below.

Madison Robb
Madison has over seven years' experience in urban planning, project management and Ministerial roles in State Government, delivering high-profile, large-scale planning and urban renewal projects, including Docklands and Fishermans Bend in Victoria and Perth City Link and Scarborough Beach in WA. Originally from Perth, Madison moved to Melbourne 4 years ago and took a short break from planning to explore cities as cabin crew for Virgin Australia, before COVID-19 hit the travel industry. Madison now works on delivering Plan Melbourne 2017-2050, the Victorian Government's strategy to guide the growth of Melbourne until 2050, including where people live and work and how we connect people to jobs and services.

Yang Bai
Yang Bai is a strategic planner working on the 20 minute neighbourhoods project in the Planning Department of Victoria. Her passion is in understanding the relationship between people and urban space, and also how we can create quality spaces. She is also interested in spatial data analysis and visualisation to facilitate communication and decision making. She was an engineer before moving to Melbourne to study Urban Planning. She is now also studying Urban Design.

Click here to register for this event.

Tomorrow at 7.15am is Strathcona's Green Evolution Breakfast. We hope that you can join us for what is going to be a very informative event. 

Hear from our panel of experts about climate change and rising sea levels, and be inspired by stories of action from local sustainability heroes. Learn about Strathcona’s own "Green Evolution’’ and commitment to a better Earth for girls and families everywhere.

Click here to register for this event.

Dr Kathleen McInnes ('79) - CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere 

Kathleen McInnes leads the Climate Extremes and Projections group of the Climate Science Centre in CSIRO's Ocean and Atmosphere business unit. Her work deals with how climate change will affect severe weather and coastal extreme sea levels through numerical modelling and climate model analysis with a focus on Australia and small islands. She has developed climate projections for impact and adaptation assessments to assist local government manage and adapt to climate change. Her contribution to this work was awarded Eureka award in 2003 and 2009. She has published over 200 refereed publications and other reports and articles and was a contributing author on the IPCC second, third, fourth and sixth assessment reports. She was a lead author on the IPCC Fifth assessment report chapter on Coastal Systems and Low-Lying Areas as well as a lead author on the IPCC Special Report on Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adapation in 2012 and the IPCC Special Report on Oceans and Cryosphere in 2019. She currently serves as a co-chair of the World Climate Research Program Grand Challenge on Regional Sea Level Changes and Coastal Impacts. In 2017 she became a Fellow of the Australian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society and in 2020 she was awarded the CSIRO Medal for Lifetime Achievement.

Ninna K Larsen, Founder and Director - Reground

"Reground exists to help businesses help the environment and not let coffee, chaff or soft plastic waste end in landfill. Reground creates a community around waste resources to educate us all on how to make our future more sustainable.Reground changes our current waste disposal structure making it more resourceful for our pocket, people and planet.Reground exists to create positive change."Ninna is an expert in behavioural design, marrying her passion for sustainability and practicality to create real change in the waste and innovation space. She founded Reground in 2014 after experiencing the unnecessary coffee waste in Melbourne. Determined to see businesses stepping into the circular economy, she is creating a movement of businesses that puts impact over profit.

Matt Jones, Director - Mamachi

Matt owns and operates a number of Energy and Technology businesses and is driven to accelerate Australia's Energy and Carbon Transition. His passion and experience in Sustainability and Renewable Energy drives Matt to create impact and value for the Education Sector and other large organisations across the country. Through increasingly intelling and automated Building, Asset and Energy Management technologies Matt has delivered large scale programs and portfolio wide data management strategies nationally, achieving meaningful energy, emissions and building outcomes across most sectors.

Hollie Fields - Head of House, Strathcona Sustainability Team Leader

Hollie Fields has taught the Geography curriculum in schools across Victoria and Tasmania. She is committed to giving students on active role in sustainability education by providing them with knowledge and skills to foster change. Currently she teaches at Strathcona Girls Grammar where she leads the Senior curriculum for Geography (10-12). Alongside this, Hollie is a member of the School's sustainability committee, oversees the environment club and participates in the Boroondara Indigenous Network. Having presented at the Australian Geography Teachers Conference in 2019, Hollie engages with an Australia wide network of teachers to consider the best approaches for raising awareness for an ecological mindset. She believes everyone has a key role and that significant change is required to reduce the impacts of modern lifestyles on the natural environment. 

Families are invites to the Junior School Family Disco!

Saturday 28 August, 6.00pm - 9.00pm. 

Ticket prices:
Adult ticket: $35.00
Child ticket:$20.00

Cost includes dinner & drinks will be available at bar prices. Please let us know of any dietary requirements when purchasing your ticket. Please note that every child must be accompanied by an adult.

Click here to book in.