Welcome from the Principal

Kalea Haran Principal

Almost 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. 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.

Everyone is accepted. No matter who you are, we all fly under the same banner here - as Penrhosians, or Penrhosies in our Early Learning Centre.

Penrhos is a place where hope and courage are defining characteristics. Together, they combine in the spirit of making a positive difference. This is the source of our strength and the essence of our Penrhos character. I encourage our girls to believe in their power to spark positive change, to appreciate the importance of being true to themselves and to others, to find the courage to always stand up and speak out for what they believe in.

Service

We talk about making a positive difference. What is most important is the contribution that everyone makes in the world; we encourage our girls in their regular community service, in offering support to those in need, in being positive and in helping others for the greater good.

Our staff and students are encouraged to use their talents to bring prosperity, happiness, meaning and purpose to both those around them, and to those further afield. To those who may have lost their way, who may be less fortunate or less supported. To be thankful for the privileged lives we lead, in so many ways, and to look out for and recognise those who may not be quite as ‘ok’.

I hope to connect authentically with our alumni, and I encourage our Old Girls to share their amazing gifts and talents with our next generation of young women at Penrhos. This could be through joining our Alumni Mentoring Network planned for 2022, running student workshops, talking about further education or career journeys, or simply giving time. Together, we grow each girl to be the best possible version of herself; together, we embrace diversity and celebrate all the differences that combine to make our wonderful, vibrant community.

Together, we are Penrhos.

Community

The Penrhos sense of community is quite unique. Our networks span generations and I consider myself extremely fortunate to have had the opportunity to engage with so many different community clusters in my first six months:

• I met with the magnificent ladies who make up our

Penrhosian Club - mothers and grandmothers of former students and past staff members.

• I lunched with our boarder families in country WA, and was thankful to those who travelled to come and meet me and share in quality time.

• I joined our Alumni Committee to share my vision of connectedness and visited Kobeelya College to meet with our affiliated alumni. I brought away with me memories of a beautiful place, with a long history that

Penrhos is honoured to share.

• I became established in our community of teachers, committed professionals who so generously share their skills and knowledge with the fun and smiles and laughter that I love.

Our connectedness runs through our programs, such as Maths Mentor - to see 80+ girls working together, older mentors with younger mentees, in problem-solving for fun is truly inspirational! And then to see those Maths Mentor alumni who are keen to come back to the College, to share their career experience and give back to the next generation of students, in recognition of the influence the Program had on their future study direction and life path.

I have heard so many inspirational stories and I still have so much more to learn about the foundations on which Penrhos was built. Ours is an ever-evolving, rich and colourful tapestry of community spirit, relationships, connections, memories and vision. Our girls are at the very heart of our connectedness - so passionate, articulate and energised in every way. Our students throw themselves into each opportunity with energy and positivity, fun and humour, curiosity and creativity. It is my goal, my hope, my vision that a Penrhos education grows the strength of the dragon within each of our students so that she may one day go out from here, this special place, and go on to be extraordinary in her own way … to live her life to the very best of her ability, with meaning and with purpose.

Penrhos is an authentic place, where our girls can immerse themselves in real experiences, make real connections and discover their real selves, their value set and moral compass, their passions, dreams and ambitions.

I am blessed to be here at Penrhos, and I thank the College Council, leadership team, staff, students, families and friends for making me feel so welcome over the last six months. I am sincerely proud and honoured to have the opportunity to lead such an exceptional and inspirational College.