4 minute read
Welcome to a new look Penrhosian for 2023
Halfway through the year, having officially launched our new strategy – ‘Courage Starts Here’ in January, I’m delighted to be able to share our new magazine with you – in line with our strategy and the pillars it is built upon.
You’ll still find the same content – news about our alumni, exciting school updates and more about how we are striving for the highest, across the academic, artistic, sporting and relationship fields.
Each of these great stories will be aligned with a pillar:
EMBRACE CREATE SOAR BLAZE IMPACT
showing how we are making progress towards our ambitious goals.
As I shared with our current families earlier this year, when we began the strategic planning process at Penrhos College, we were determined to build a plan that was a stretch, but also achievable, and that would resonate with our teachers, students and community, and allow us to inspire them to help us in our goals.
We believe this work has led to a new strategic direction which is respectful of our 70-year tradition, grounded in the present, and with an eye to the future.
Understanding that we have a crucial role in preparing girls for an uncertain and unpredictable future, we wanted not only to encourage them to see no limits in what they can achieve, but also play an active role in removing any boundaries that currently exist.
With a vision to revolutionise girls’ education to live a future without boundaries, we see our purpose as being limitless.
Living a life without boundaries requires a true understanding of oneself –knowledge of one’s talents, ability to push beyond comfort zones to learn new skills, and capacity for empathy and effective communication.
While our students consistently receive high ATAR outcomes, the College’s focus goes beyond a number, to each individual girl within the school community.
Our priority is to encourage each student to achieve their personal best. We aim to support students in exploring their passions, doing what they love and are interested in, and realising their full potential. Our staff support our girls in achieving these goals, with a focus on the whole person, not just an ATAR outcome externally.
To that end, when we reach the end of this year, and our wonderful Year 12 students have completed their studies, and received their results, we will not be publishing our mean ATAR score externally.
We are by no means the first school to make this change, and I’m confident we won’t be the last.
While we work closely with each and every individual student to ensure they reach their full potential, and celebrate their successes and their achievements with them, we believe our school, our community and our Year 12 cohort are so much more than a number.
You can read some of their stories in this issue of the Penrhosian. Learn about Junior School teacher Alisha McMullen who has created a new startup with a mission to equip 100,000 young people with the tools, knowledge and community to become the best version of themselves; about the recommencement of tours, opening up the world and a new perspective to our students; about our magnificent alumni achieving amazing things around the world; and our current students representing Penrhos, and Western Australia, with pride, across basketball, beach volleyball and volleyball.
You’ll read more about the Penrhos College Foundation, which provides the opportunity for all in our community to play a vital role in Penrhos’ future and make a real difference for future generations. I encourage you to consider supporting this year’s appeal to help share the incredible gift of a Penrhos education with others, who would not otherwise be able to access to amazing opportunities our current students have available to them.
Thank you for being part of our Penrhos community. It is a community I am proud to be part of and I look forward to all the wonderful things we will continue to achieve together.
