Welcome from the Principal Kalea Haran Principal
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lmost eight months ago, I penned an article for the Penrhosian outlining my vision for the College I was excitedly coming to work at. I talked about my ideas, hopes and aspirations. Now, after six months, I can write about a community that I have come to love and call my own. Penrhos is a place where relationships and connections are at our very core, where there is a strong and immediate sense of loyalty, kindness, empathy and protectiveness. What I think I love most is that this sense of belonging completely permeates our approach to learning, as we leverage the positive relations between our wonderful staff and students in a teaching and learning experience that is full of depth, questioning, engagement … and fun! I would like to highlight four key areas that have stood out and resonated with me in my first semester as Principal. Genuine Penrhos is absolutely authentic. We give our girls real experiences. We encourage them to explore their passions and harness opportunities, nurturing and empowering them to become the best possible versions of themselves. Our authenticity is evident in our facilities and resources, as well as in the way we teach. The new Meg Melville Science Innovation Centre is designed to inspire student collaboration in solving real-life problems, as the girls work together in break-out rooms using state-of-the art technology.
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THE PENRHOSIAN
Our extensive outdoor education program offers a wide range of opportunities for girls to attend camps from Year 5–10, to discover more about themselves and to grow outside of their typical comfort zones as they are immersed in real-life contexts beyond their routine. The College’s participation in Round Square - an exclusive international collection of almost 200 schools across 50 countries inspires and exposes our students to cross-cultural and collaborative experiences that build character, competencies and life-skills in our students e.g. Leeuwin sailing adventures (as featured on page 18). Hope Penrhos is a place of hope – it is here we hope to do well … we hope to achieve. This is a place where our girls know their voice matters and that there is power in speaking up, in hoping to make a difference and having the courage to do so. Where there is hope, there is courage. I have seen great bravery in our community – including, notably, those members of our alumni who had the courage to speak out and stand up, for themselves and for others, in the context of the Royal Commission’s report in 2019. In the wider world, we learn of many individuals who bravely face all forms of trauma - abuse, challenge, crisis, hardship and suffering. We admire their strength and we acknowledge that it takes great courage to endure hardship and to overcome adversity. We recognise that, where necessary, it takes great strength to speak out boldly and stand up courageously for what is right and what is true.
