LORETO TOORAK
A Message from our
Chair of the Board Mr Gerard Dalbosco
We will never forget the year of 2020. We commenced the year looking forward to a new and innovative timetable and a significant new building project. It was going to be a busy year and we were both optimistic and energised at the thought of all that lay ahead. The challenges that then emerged with COVID-19 caused the year to play out in a very different way.
We now look back on the year, disappointed at the things we missed, but emboldened by what the School has achieved, due to the amazing strength of the Loreto Toorak community. I thank all parents for their amazing support of the School and its staff over the course of 2020. Our parent community remains strong and supportive and this was evident in many ways during the year, perhaps no more so via the many families that elected not to take up fee concessions that were offered. This enabled us to support families that required it and not increase fees for 2021; and for that the Board is very grateful. I congratulate our students for their resilience, their acceptance of and engagement in different learning models, and their extraordinary participation in programs. As always, our students showed their Loreto quality in doing their best and achieving much in doing so. I know that their teachers are extremely proud of them. Anticipating a fresh start in 2021, we are already planning to return to a more normal school life for families and students, albeit with some changed operations. We have learned a lot this year and some of the changes that had to be made, ‘the silver linings,’ will certainly be retained. The Board recently released the next iteration of the School’s Strategic Plan, Strategy 2025. Developed by the Board, in conjunction with the Leadership Team, Strategy 2025 outlines the School’s vision and strategic priorities for the next five years. It has been formulated to enable the School to continue to perform at the level of excellence that we have come to expect from Loreto Toorak, and in doing so, deliver the best outcomes for students, staff, and 4
the broader Loreto community. We are looking forward to working hard around its implementation in 2021. The new St George’s building, which will deliver stateof-the-art classrooms and learning spaces for our junior secondary year levels, as well as offices, a lecture space for the use of the whole school and more underground parking, has progressed on time and within budget throughout the year. When students and parents return to School following the Christmas break, the construction itself will be visible, giving a real idea of what the building will look like when completed. Excitement will certainly build over 2021 and we can hardly wait until the building is ready to be occupied in 2022. We were very excited this year to be informed of an incredibly generous bequest from the estate of Margaret Tutton, in memory of her sister Betty Ryan (Tutton). Betty attended Loreto Toorak in the 1920s and married a NSW grazier, John Ryan, who was killed overseas while serving in World War II. The Loreto community provided great support to Betty and her family at the time. Betty passed away in 2003 but Sr Ruth Winship ibvm remained a great friend to the family and her ongoing kindness inspired Margaret to leave a bequest to Loreto Toorak in honour of her sister, Betty. We expect to receive the bequest of over $3.5million by the end of the year. It will be a wonderful addition to our Give a Girl a Dream fund and will support a Loreto education for many, for many years to come. A big thank you to Peter Walsh, a fantastic Loreto Toorak supporter, for his assistance with this bequest and to Dr Stevens and Ms Judy Reid and Mrs Louise McNamara for their advocacy and ongoing focus on our bequest program, which goes from strength to strength.
