Introducing Ms Alexeena Murphy

Executive - Deputy Principal

"I am so excited to have the opportunity to work with the wonderful staff and Leadership Team to continue to build on the strengths, traditions and achievements of the school."

What do you believe are the core attributes of being a leader and how do you aim to use these qualities to help Loreto Toorak continue to strive for success?

At the heart of effective leadership is the capacity to listen and learn. This first term at Loreto Toorak has, for me, been all about finding out about this wonderful school, listening to staff and students so that I can best understand how I can have a positive impact as a leader moving into 2022. Demonstrating open-mindedness and being authentic in all that you do is also important, as that enables you to build trust with others and ensures that you can meet shared goals. I am so excited to have the opportunity to work with the wonderful staff and Leadership Team to continue to build on the strengths, traditions and achievements of the school, with a strategic and forward-looking agenda.

How do you plan on addressing the challenges regarding COVID’s impact on education?

It has certainly been a tumultuous two years, but it has also been a time of great learning and opportunity in education. Reflecting on, and reconsidering, our approach to schooling as we move into 2022 and beyond is essential. Along with the myriad of new technology skills we have all developed, teachers and students alike, I think we have been reminded of the broader important role of schools in ensuring the wellbeing and socialemotional development of young people in our society.

In this first term I have enjoyed the opportunity to sit down with groups of students and hear from them about what has been going well and the things they perceive as challenges, as we come out of these periods of remote learning. Continuing to activate student voice will be critical as we move into 2022, ensuring that the things we prioritise align with those that students see as necessary and worthwhile. I am certain it will, though, be seen as important to all stakeholders that we continue to plan for learning to be collaborative and to ensure that our programs, activities and events enable students to connect with each other and to feel a broader sense of connectedness to their school.

How are you hoping to reflect contemporary values in your position, specifically regarding issues prevalent in the news?

One of the things that appealed to me about working at Loreto Toorak was the fact that it is a school with a firm sense of direction and clear, shared values – which resonate with our contemporary society as much as they have done in the past. Ensuring I live the school values every day in all that I do is really important to me and coming into the school in 2021 I have certainly valued the notion of Felicity. Now more than ever, we see the importance of maintaining a cheerful and optimistic approach.

In my role I certainly hope to continue to encourage the young women of Loreto Toorak to be empowered agents of change who are inspired by the school values as they respond to the issues that arise in the news around us. In particular, I am looking forward to the focus in 2022 on Freedom: this value challenges us to be resourceful, to be creative and innovative thinkers and to be – at all times – solutions focused.

What made you want to become a teacher and what has been your most memorable moment?

Like many teachers, I have always had a great passion for my subject areas (Literature and History) and originally pursued these by undertaking a Bachelor of Arts at the University of Melbourne. I worked in industry for some years before deciding that I wanted to have an opportunity to share my love of subject and returned to study, to become a teacher.

I have had many wonderful and proud moments as a teacher. I think some of the most important moments have been where a student achieves a success that they perhaps thought was not possible. Some of my most memorable moments, though, as a teacher occurred when I was teaching internationally, in particular during my time in Abu Dhabi – which is an incredible place to live and where I was a personal tutor to children in the royal family, and so was able to learn much about local customs and traditions in what is an incredibly dynamic and rapidly evolving society.

QUESTIONS DRAFTED BY YEAR 11 STUDENTS