2 PLC in Prin t | Ma r ch 2 0 2 2
PLC i n P ri nt | Mar ch 2 0 2 2
Contents From the Principal
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Ye a r 1 2 R e s u l t s
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Junior School
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Early Learning Centre
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Senior School
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Boarding House
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Community News
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From the Principal
ON THE COVER Students enjoying early-morning yoga on Year 9 camp.
1. The class of 2021 celebrate their wonderful Year 12 results. 2. Stirling wins the 2022 House Concerts.
www.plc.vic.edu.au
I am writing at a very exciting time for the College with students and staff having returned to the campus after the uncertainties of the past two years. Despite some restrictions earlier in the term, PLC is back! I have so enjoyed welcoming families back and to see that so many new students and families are beginning their PLC journey. We were so happy to welcome new and returning boarders after all the past travel restrictions. Our much-loved House Concerts really helped the Senior School girls to connect across the year levels. Their performances were so enjoyable, of the usual very high standard and full of fun and creativity. Orientation days, House Concerts, Investiture assemblies, welcome events and other activities that occur at the beginning of each year bind us together and give us a strong sense of belonging and continuity. Our impressive history through the decades has given us a quiet confidence which helped us manage the very difficult challenges imposed by COVID. On 15 February, PLC turned 147 years old! It was on this day, in 1875, the Ladies’ College as it was then known, held its first classes with just 60 students, in East Melbourne. The College was built on two acres of grounds belonging to the Presbyterian Church, opposite Fitzroy Gardens, and was described as being “situated in one of the healthiest parts of Melbourne!” What would those early students make of our beautiful, large campus here in Burwood today? The College was built to house 150 day students and 30 boarders. Students did not wear uniforms but fashionable dresses of the day. I wonder how many of our current students would manage spending the last hour of every school day, restricted to reading aloud and doing needlework, as was the rule! Girls at PLC, though, were lucky. They were not confined to learning traditional female subjects like dancing, sewing and sketching. PLC was a pioneering school that
challenged these stereotypes by giving its students the best, most forward-looking education possible. Students were taught Physics, Chemistry, Maths, Greek and Latin which enabled them to attend university and to study for serious careers alongside male students. However, the privileged education which decades of PLC girls have experienced was not purely directed at academic glory, or equality of opportunity, but aimed to produce students who, equipped with strong Christian values, would go out to make a difference in their local communities, and globally, though serving others, whether as professional women, volunteers or through family life. What an honour it was to hear from one of these change-making women at our Foundation Day Assembly. Our special speaker was Professor Ruth Stewart, a former boarder from the Class of 1977. At school she loved literature and debating, and both these interests have made her an eloquent and passionate spokesperson as a country doctor and academic in the area of rural and remote health services. Ruth has worked tirelessly as a rural general practitioner with obstetric skills, devoting her career to improving mothers’ and babies’ health services. She set up culturally safe medical programs and training for Indigenous Health practitioners in very remote areas in northern Australia. She is a caring, resilient and informed advocate of better and more equitable access to medical care and facilities in country areas often facing shortages of doctors and possible closures of health and maternity services. Ruth was appointed as the second National Rural Health Commissioner in 2020, a challenging role well suited to someone like her who grew up and worked in the country, and has been an articulate, strong supporter and mentor of female medical students and doctors. Ruth has another passion of cycling and in fact her daughter, Grace Brown who was a boarder from the Class of 2010, is a professional road racing cyclist who participated in the Tokyo Olympics! It is a long way from the PLC Boarding House and her childhood home in Tatura in rural Victoria to living on Thursday Island in Queensland, where Ruth often flew by helicopter to bring medical help to remote communities, and now Roma, a town in the southwest of Outback Queensland from where she spoke so engagingly and candidly. We are so proud of PLC’s Class of 2021 for the outstanding results that they achieved in both the VCE and IB. Their results were an enormous achievement and are a witness to their resilience, patience and optimism over
the long periods of distance learning and to the devotion and creativity of their teachers. PLC had the pleasure of hosting the 2021 Victorian and Tasmanian IB Awards Ceremony at Federation Square in February. At this special evening, students who excelled in their IB studies and achieved scores of 40 and above were honoured and acknowledged. The guest speaker, Nicole TJ from the Class of 2008 attended this very same ceremony and celebrated her success in her IB studies 14 years ago. Her journey since then has been exciting and varied, first as a classical pianist and co-founder of a chamber music ensemble, anon., which she developed alongside her career as a highly regarded digital and innovations strategist and consultant. Nicole’s latest fascinating career step is as an entrepreneur, and she was named as one of the top 100 Innovators 2021 by The Australian. Nicole encouraged students to step out of their comfort zone and explore new career possibilities. I sincerely thank all students, parents, staff, and other members of our wonderful PLC family for their support and commitment to our College over recent times. It is so heartwarming to see our special PLC community connecting again and we look forward to all the riches, learning and fellowship that we will share during this school year. With blessings and best wishes, Cheryl Penberthy Principal
Ruth Stewart
Ruth Stewart Video
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