The Educator speaks to Marise McConaghy about the outlook for girls’ education in 2020, the culture she has built at her school and the continued push to help cultivate strong leadership abilities in young women across Australia.
“To us, a leader is anybody who can make a difference big or small, who has the ability to see a problem that needs to be addressed, can think critically and creatively about a remedy, and execute that idea,” Marise McConaghy says.
How do you measure the success of a school? The work of schools is so complex and is not done in isolation, with families playing such an important role. There is no clearly defined product. There are many metrics parents and students can use to judge the success of their school: friendships and networks formed, curiosities aroused, sense of belonging, identification of strengths and interests, opportunities to engage in diverse experiences and many, many more. Education certainly cannot be reduced to a number.
The impression Strathcona Girls Grammar makes on parents of prospective students in just the few hours of open morning, fills principal Marise McConaghy with pride. One word invariably crops up, highlighting that all at Strathcona are on a worthy path.
We welcomed back our 2019 Duces, Bronte Coxhill and Tamsyn Lovass, who spoke at our Leaders and Scholars Assembly and shared their journeys and advice to the next generation of senior school students. Below is each of their speeches and words of wisdom.
I learnt about the teamwork, co-operation and trust needed between the astronauts and mission controllers, and that people of all professions can get a placement in mission control or at NASA.
In recent years there has been much made about the gender differences seen in academic results, university enrolments and career pathways. There are numerous research studies that show unequivocally that students in single-sex schools benefit academically from a learning environment free from gender stereotyping, unconscious bias and social pressure.
Students at Strathcona Girls Grammar School in Canterbury in Melbourne’s inner-east had an impressive median ATAR of 90.4.
In the media: Herald Sun Thursday 12 December 2019 Tamsyn Lovass has the world at her feet after scoring an impressive 99.9 for her ATAR. The Strathcona Girls Grammar student’s result puts her among the highest achieving Year 12 students in the state and she said while she was hoping for the best this morning, …
Catherine leads the way in the field of radiography and sailing. She is an inspiration to the next generation of girls.
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ABN: 75 073 413 626
CRICOS: 00577C
