What have been your favourite highlights about being back at Ivanhoe Girls’?

There have been many highlights so far this year! I have really loved being part of the House events again, the Junior and Senior School sports days and the swimming days, that’s been really great. I loved the Senior Production of Twelfth Night. It was amazing. The talent, dedication, and creativity on display was incredible. And just being back amongst the students and the staff and being in the classrooms – it’s been a really wonderful time.

What are you most looking forward to for the rest of the year in Junior School and Senior School?

Well, there’s the Junior Production that you’re going to be in! I am really looking forward to seeing Honk! Jnr, that’s going to be fantastic. Just spending more time in classrooms, and getting to know the School as it is now. And, I’m also really looking forward to working with our teachers and our professional staff. We have got lots of exciting projects on the go at the moment – thinking about how we want learning to be in the future and how we want to use technology better. I’m working with the Board to refine our strategy and thinking a lot about learning spaces, there are plenty of great projects on the go! 

When you think of all the past Principals of our school, what do you believe is the value or culture they would want you to uphold and keep?

I think all of our School Values have been very important to our past Principals. We may not have had them articulated in exactly the same way, but I know, as someone who has been at the School in the past, how right our values are for our school. But I think the number one thing they would want me to continue to do is to have the students at the centre of all our decision-making all of the time. That is the most important thing I am sure they would say.

How have you found your past experiences at Ivanhoe Girls’ has benefitted your role as Principal?

I think it’s allowed me to hit the ground running because I have a pretty good understanding of the culture of the School, which hasn’t changed. The culture is one of the things I’ve always loved about the School. I also understand the flow of the year. Often if you are in a new school it takes about a year to understand what really goes on and I feel like I’ve kind of been able to skip some of that and just get started, which is really helpful.

After observing classes from ELC to Year 12, what did you find most interesting about the classroom environment?

The range of learning that occurs across the School. You sit with students in the ELC and it’s all play-based learning, and then in a Year 12 Chemistry class and it’s just completely at the other end of the scale. I think it just really reminded me of the breadth of what we do and how the learning needs to be differentiated across all of those parts of the School; and also, what opportunities that provides us, to investigate different styles of learning and different styles of teaching and to really get creative and innovative with our teaching because we’ve got such a range of learners in the School.

In regard to our Open Day this year, what do you believe was the key message potential families left with?

I really loved the Open Day; I thought it was absolutely great. I think families would have left with the message that we actually do live out our values. That it is a really connected and inclusive community, it’s a place where everyone is kind, it’s really vibrant – I think that came across amazingly well on Open Day. There was such a buzz around the School. But I think more than anything everyone went away with an understanding that our students really do speak for themselves in every possible way, and that’s an amazing message to take away.