Welcome from the Acting Principal Rob Taylor Acting Principal
2020 has been a year like no other. The COVID-19 pandemic has dominated global events, although there is no doubt we have been extremely fortunate to have been less affected here in Australia — and even less so in WA. While we may not currently have high rates of infection, the tentacles of impact are still widespread — be they economic or personal — and the effects are with us, or very nearby. Who knows when this will be over? Perhaps we will need to adjust to a new normal; many before us have faced challenges and have looked to their personal compass to navigate a way forward in the face of all kinds of adversity. Although the experience of living with COVID-19 this year provided its challenges, it also delivered its own lessons to our community and has made many of us focus far more acutely on those things that are most important to us. The question I posed to our Leavers of 2020 was this — “What will be the enduring values or beliefs that you will live your life by and look to when times are both good and not so good? What are the values that will define you as a person, that will endure and remain constant long after school achievements, results and ATARs have faded?” They may not be evident to our newest graduates yet but, through the life experiences that lie ahead, they will become apparent. Penrhosians are all thoughtful, capable women, with the compass of our College values to refer to and our community always here for them; our 2020 Leavers have the love and support of family, and friendships all around — each should be incredibly confident about the future that awaits her… and the world is a better place because she is in it.
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THE PENRHOSIAN
We look forward to a fresh start in 2021 with some big changes ahead. Particularly, we will welcome the seventh Principal of Penrhos College, Kalea Haran, who is scheduled to arrive with her family in Perth just in time to see in the new year — you can read more about Kalea on page 6. We will open the new Science Innovation Centre to students at the beginning of the year, and we will also hold a naming ceremony for the building in Term 1 in honour of Penrhos' sixth Principal Meg Melville. I would like to thank the many generous members of our community who have so kindly donated to our new state-of-the-art flagship facility, whether through sponsorship of plaques on the giant Periodic Table which will grace two floors of the main central space, to taking the naming rights of labs and flexible learning spaces. Among the many other events we look forward to are the launch of the new Library and Digital Literacy department, designed to enhance the Library as a future-focused epicentre of information that better connects our Junior and Secondary schools; also, the implementation of our highlyanticipated Education Management System, Compass. My sincere thanks to the College Council, Parent Support Groups, teachers, staff and broader community for the year that was 2020; especially, I would like to extend my gratitude and appreciation for your support during my time as Acting Principal. We look to 2021 with great optimism and anticipation, as we embark on a new chapter in the life of Penrhos.
