By Wayne Revitt Head of Junior School
In recently asking our students to reflect on how they feel about their school, little Evie in Year 2 simply wrote ‘love grows here’ — she embellished her answer with a love heart and her signature. This is a beautifully succinct and revealing reflection of what our students cherish most — so much so, that it has become a motto for our new vision for the Junior School. In recent weeks, I have presented to various groups on our new vision including the Penrhosian Club (former staff and friends of Penrhos), our new families on Orientation Day and prospective families on tour events. I begin by noting the two facts that motivate me most in my new leadership role as Head of Junior School. Firstly, our youngest Penrhosies in Pre-Kindergarten will potentially still be in the workforce in the year 2090 — which takes them some way beyond our current
12
THE PENRHOSIAN
focus on 21st century skills! Secondly, by 2030, our little Penrhosies will be graduating from Secondary School at a time when the World Health Organisation projects depression and anxiety will be the greatest burden of disease across the planet. These are significant challenges for educators to consider. A proactive approach is required, to prepare our children for the challenges ahead — an approach that is backed by research (by the voices of 5,000 WA students from Year 4 to 12, in the Commissioner for Children’s report, February 2020). Significantly, female students rated their wellbeing lower than male students in areas of mental health, peer conflict, relationships, personal safety and independence — and this gap widened with age. Research like this clearly highlights how different girls are to boys, and why an all girls’ learning environment is of benefit from the outset.
