Message from the Chair of Council

PLC Welcomes Ms Geraldine Drabble as Head of Junior School

Ms Geraldine Drabble is already getting to know staff and students in the Junior School. Although she doesn’t officially start until Term 1 2023, she is taking every opportunity to spend time on campus.

“Building relationships and making connections are my immediate priorities for Term 1”, she said. “I can’t wait to be part of the PLC community”. Raised in rural Western Australia, Ms Drabble boarded at St Mary’s Anglican Girls’ School. Now a mother to two daughters, she is a staunch advocate for striving for excellence in girls’ education. During her time as Deputy Head of Junior School at St Mary’s Anglican Girls’ School, she made significant contributions to the quality of education with the development of an award-winning primary STEM programme and a wellbeing programme that equipped parents with the tools to navigate their child’s social, emotional, physical, and academic needs. In one of her many visits to PLC in Term 4, she said, “As our world changes exponentially with technological advancements, and with the population at eight billion – our priorities in education must be future-focussed.” Ms Drabble recently confirmed her three initial areas of focus will be purposeful learning within the Primary Years Programme curriculum, learner agency, and connection. Within this purposeful learning, she sees a strong STEM focus – particularly on real world issues and STEM- related jobs – as well as looking for ways to connect with local community and organisations on sustainability and environmental programmes. Her second focus will be learner agency, as future-ready students need to exercise learner agency in their own education and throughout their adult life. “Student voice is so important. I love to co-create plans, learning opportunities, and assessment tasks to demonstrate learning,” Ms Drabble reflected and commented that she will be looking to include students in decisions about their learning and how their learning environments operate. Connection is Ms Drabble’s third area of initial focus. “In order to function and thrive in a fastpaced world, an individual’s wellbeing is paramount. Developing a person’s emotional intelligence allows them to understand different perspectives, connect to a wider group of people, collaborate cohesively towards a common goal, and communicate their own needs”. Principal, Ms Cate Begbie, noted, “I believe that we have secured the appointment of a leader and educator who is passionate about growing student engagement and enhancing the sense of belonging within our school community.”