Q News | Issue 42: The Way Back

The Way Back Shakespeare’s Women

A Voice of One’s Own Creating Connections

Queenwood acknowledges the Cammeraigal people who are the traditional custodians of the land on which the School is built and we pay respect to Elders past, present and emerging.

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It may be cold, but a more normal life is resuming.

On campus we are again coming together as a community for assemblies, carnivals and house activities. We have re-opened our gates to welcome alumnae back for reunions and the public in for Balmoral Lectures. Our families are out on the weekends watching sport, enjoying picnics and events in the sun. In the following pages you will see the joy we’ve all found in the company of others. After long periods of lockdown and uncertainty, it is through re-connecting that our community thrives and we find The Way Back, the title of this edition of QNews.

Ms Elizabeth Stone, Principal

Features

Shakespeare’s Women

JOHN BELL AO OBE FRSN

“ It should be noted that no other dramatist of that time comes anywhere near Shakespeare in creating convincing, original female characters.”

“

A Voice of One’s Own KYLIE HOLMES

For the first time since 2012, the representation of women authors in Australian book reviews is on par with that of their male counterparts.”

Students participate in a portrait masterclass with artist & four-time Archibald finalist, Jordan Richardson.

“In

“A

“I

to help my

but didn’t feel I had the skill set to meaningfully support those with mental illness – and that many of my peers didn’t either.”

Contributors

John Bell AO OBE FRSN AUSTRALIAN ACTOR AND ARTISTIC DIRECTOR OF BELL SHAKESPEARE

John Bell is the founder of Bell Shakespeare and one of Australia’s most acclaimed theatre personalities. In a career of acting and directing, John has been instrumental in shaping the Australian theatre industry as we know it. John Bell is an Officer of the Order of Australia and the Order of the British Empire. He has an Honorary Doctorate of Letters from the Universities of Sydney, New South Wales and Newcastle. In 1997 the National Trust of Australia named him one of Australia’s Living Treasures. In 2003 the Australia Business Arts Foundation awarded John the Dame Elisabeth Murdoch Cultural Leadership Award.

Kylie Holmes

HEAD OF ENGLISH

Kylie Holmes has worked in independent schools for 27 years. An avid reader of contemporary fiction and theatre enthusiast, Kylie is currently completing a Master of Educational Leadership at Charles Sturt University.

Suzanne Kerr

DIRECTOR OF WELLBEING

Sue joined Queenwood in 2022, having completed her Masters of Wellbeing at Melbourne University. Sue brings to Queenwood a passion for the care, wellbeing and aspirational energy for young women. Having raised 3 daughters her life has been spent traversing the ups and downs of young adolescent girls. Her love of Schools’ also stems from her passion as a Geography teacher where she embraces storytelling and her love of the world.

Flora Munro

YEAR 12 STUDENT

Community Prefect, Flora, has attended Queenwood since 2017. Her favourite subjects are Biology and Geography, but when you read these pages you’ll see she can write too! If she’s not planning her next trip (to Italy… booking the tickets for 2023), then you’ll see her on the cricket pitch or the soccer field. Her Cavoodle, Crumble, is so energetic that he runs rings even around her.

Ruby Livingston

YEAR 12 SOCIAL JUSTICE PREFECT

Ruby started at Queenwood in 2017. Now in Year 12, she is a Social Justice Prefect responsible for organising schoolwide fundraisers. Ruby enjoys spending time with her friends, two cats and dog, and loves ocean swimming at the Bower. Next year, she hopes to travel widely and study Political Science.

Anna Trahair

YEAR 12 SOCIAL JUSTICE PREFECT

Anna started at Queenwood as a Kindergarten student in 2010. As well as fulfilling her duties as a Social Justice Prefect, Anna is passionate about student wellbeing at Queenwood. She loves Florence + The Machine and spending quality time with her dog, Boo Radley.

Nick Mavrogordato

SENIOR VISUAL ARTS TEACHER

Nick has taught at Queenwood for 20 years, having previously been Head of Art & Design at a UK state school. In 2008, he was Head of Art at the International School of Ho Chi Minh City, where he became an examiner for the IBDP. He has also been CAS Coordinator and ran the Cambodia Schools Project

Editorial

EDITOR Emma Macey

COPYWRITER Emma Macey, Rosa Morgan

LAYOUT & DESIGN Rosa Morgan

ILLUSTRATION

hellorosamorgan.com

PHOTOG RAPHY

jamesgreen.com.au

akphotos.com.au

Troy Savill

Mike Boyd Photography

With thanks to our contributors who gave up their time to share their insights, wisdom and experience with us.

Re: Thank you

I received my copy of Q News about two weeks ago, thank you so much. I so enjoyed reading it, being very impressed by its total professionalism. From the quality of the content and the breadth of coverage of the school life in all its aspects, to the lovely clean layouts and excellent photography, it was a joy to devour. I would like to congratulate everyone who took part in its production.

Thanks again!

ROSLYN GROSE (NEE OWEN), Q1958

MOST LIKED

Left: Year 9 learning about financial literacy and superannuation with a game of Bingo. Below: Junior School Cross Country.

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Do you have photos from your Queenwood days that you would like featured on Social Media? Please send them to communications @queenwood.nsw.edu.au

Re: Reading is vital

I enjoy every issue (of Q News). I am currently reading a wonderful article on Victoria Teo (Q41) who plays the violin, however, the articles about the importance of reading are what I am most passionate about. The physical contact with a book in your hand is vitally important.

Correction:

QNews Issue 41, p31 –32, Technological and Applied Studies was incorrectly labelled as Textiles and Applied Sciences.

HAVE YOUR SAY

Send a letter to the editor: communications

@queenwood.nsw.edu.au

LINDA MARGARET MCMILLAN, Q1962

“ Texts written centuries ago, such as Hamlet, retain relevance in modern society precisely because they serve this function, demanding that we think critically about important and timely aspects of the human condition.”

STUDENT FLORA MUNRO REIMAGINES THE FEMALE VOICE IN LITERATURE. MORE ON

PAGE 17.

John Bell is the founder of Bell Shakespeare and one of Australia’s most acclaimed theatre personalities. In a career of acting and directing, John has been instrumental in shaping the Australian theatre industry as we know it. This is an excerpt from John’s recent Balmoral Lecture; listen to the full presentation on our podcast here: queenwood.nsw.edu.au/about/balmoral-lectures

Shakespeare’s Women

by John Bell

AO OBE FRSN

Oh, these men, these men! ... Let husbands know Their wives have sense like them. They see and smell And have their palates both for sweet and sour, As husbands have. What is it that they do When they change us for others? Is it sport? I think it is; and doth affection breed it? I think it doth. Is’t frailty that thus errs? It is so too. And have not we affections, Desires for sport, and frailty, as men have? Then let them use us well; else let them know, The ills we do, their ills instruct us so.

Nowthat sounds like something out of a #MeToo manifesto. In fact, it was written by a man 400 years ago. It’s from William Shakespeare’s Tragedy of Othello and is spoken by the worldly-wise Emilia to her young mistress Desdemona. What makes it even more remarkable is the fact that these two women were being acted by men – a sixteen-year old boy playing Desdemona and a man about ten years older as Emilia. This was because, at the time, women were not allowed to appear on the public stage.

So, Shakespeare’s company (The Queen’s Men under Elizabeth I and The King’s Men under King James) included a troupe of young male actors adept at playing female roles; and they must have been superlative actors. You just don’t write roles as great as Rosalind, Juliet, Portia or Cleopatra for actors who can’t deliver the goods. Older men played the mature female roles and your older “character” actors played gems like Mistress Quickly and Juliet’s Nurse. It is amazing that many of the greatest roles in the theatre (roles coveted by female actors ever since) were originally written to be played by men and display such insight and empathy.

I want to trace Shakespeare’s development of his female characters and guess at how that reflects his development as a person as well as an artist. It should be noted that no other dramatist of that time comes anywhere near Shakespeare in creating convincing, original female characters. Those of Webster and Ford are fairly stock-in-trade; Ben Jonson’s females are stereotypes, or caricatures, and Christopher Marlowe never wrote a good female role in his life.

Admittedly Shakespeare’s earliest female characters are pretty butch, and it’s easy to imagine male actors swaggering around in them. In Henry VI Joan of Arc (or Joan la Pucelle) is a feisty tomboy and Queen Margaret a merciless she-wolf like Tamora, Queen of the Goths in Titus Andronicus. Others like Lady Anne in Richard III are helpless victims of male brutality. They have no choice. They inhabit a man’s world – a world of warfare and savage political upheaval, but they have little redress.

In the earliest comedies there is a trace of the harridan in Adriana in The Comedy of Errors and Katherine in The Taming of the Shrew. Both are rebels against the status quo and need to be brought into line to conform to society’s expectations of how a wife should behave. Kate the shrew is the more contentious of the two in a play that can still evoke outrage and accusations of misogyny.

Putting the gender politics aside for a moment, it has to be acknowledged that The Taming of the Shrew is a very funny and brilliantly constructed Comedy, and the roles of Kate and Petruchio much soughtafter and enjoyed by generations of actors. I have twice played Petruchio, directed the play for the Bell Shakespeare Company and seen various other productions, noting how the tone of the play can shift dramatically according to the zeitgeist and the director’s personal philosophy. Michael Bogdanov’s production for the Royal Shakespeare Company in the 1970s reduced Katharina to a washed-out zombie mechanically mouthing her final speech as one who has been brainwashed. It sure killed the comedy and was, I think, a far cry from Shakespeare’s intention.

In Katherine, he shows us a sprightly original young woman driven to distraction by the patriarchal mercenary world she is born into: a world where a daughter can be sold off to the highest bidder. She is branded as a wildcat, a shrew, for refusing to conform, and it takes an equally independent spirit in the form of Petruchio to recognise her qualities and put them both through a boot-camp of a courtship in order to thrash out a contract that can accommodate them both in a marriage that is a true mingling of kindred spirits, one more original and satisfying than the conventional marriages around them.

Now that he has entered the realm of Comedy, Shakespeare’s women begin to assume a more beguiling femininity and we have to wonder how much his personal situation was impacting on his writing. He was married at eighteen to Ann Hathaway who was eight years older and with her he had two daughters, Judith and Susannah. This must have had some impact on a soul as lively and sensitive as Shakespeare’s and given him fresh insights into women, as well as an increased empathy with them. The women of the comedies are, on the whole, smarter than the men, outwit them and teach them some valuable life lessons.

In Love’s Labour’s Lost four young French women are wooed by the King of Navarre and three of his young male courtiers. The men moon about, adopt silly disguises and write rather bad love poems to their mistresses, but the young ladies take a delight in exploring their lovers’ pretentions and telling them to go away and grow up! If in twelve months’ time they show more maturity, the women will take them seriously. The severest stricture is put on Berowne, the wittiest and most audacious of the young men. His mistress, Rosaline, admonishes him thus:

Oft have I heard of you, my Lord Berowne, Before I saw you; and the world’s large tongue

Proclaims you for a man replete with mocks, Full of comparisons and wounding flouts, Which you on all estates will execute That lie within the mercy of your wit. To weed this wormwood from your fruitful brain, And therewithal to win me, if you please, (Without the which I am not to be won,) You shall this twelvemonth term from day to day Visit the speechless sick and still converse With groaning wretches; and your tank shall be, With all the fierce endeavour of your wit, To enforce the pained impotent to smile.

Berowne protests:

To move wild laughter in the throat of death?

It cannot be; it is impossible: Mirth cannot move a soul in agony.

Rosaline replies:

Why, that’s the way to choke a gibing spirit...

A jest’s prosperity lies in the ear

Of him that hears it, never in the tongue

Of him that makes it; then, if sickly ears, ... Will hear your idle scorns, continue then, And I will have you and that fault withal; But if they will not, throw away that spirit, And I shall find you empty of that fault, Right joyful of your reformation.

Berowne glumly replies:

A twelvthmonth! Well, befall what will befall, I’ll jest this twelvthmonth in a hospital. Our wooing doth not end like an old play; Jack hath not Jill: these ladies’ courtesy Might well have made our sport a comedy.

In other comedies too – The Merry Wives of Windsor, The Merchant of Venice, and The Winter’s Tale, the women are a lot smarter and more inventive than the men and turn the tables on them. In a number of the comedies women disguise themselves as men. This was a neat way of sidestepping the challenge for a male actor having to sustain a full-on female impersonation. But one also senses that Shakespeare is struggling to give women a voice in a male-dominated society; and the only way they can have one is by adopting a male persona and beating the men at their own game – the prime example being Portia in The Merchant of Venice.

In some cases the male disguise is adopted because it’s safer for a woman travelling on her own – as with Rosalind in As You Like It. Elsewhere the reason for such a disguise is less apparent – for instance Viola in Twelfth Night. She dresses in the same clothes as her missing twin brother, which of course generates a lot of comedy out of mistaken identity. Perhaps her disguise has a semi-mystical urge, echoing that of Antipholus in Comedy of Errors, who, seeking his twin brother, says:

I to the world am like a drop of water

That in the ocean seeks another drop, Who, failing there to find his fellow forth, Unseen, inquisitive, confounds himself.

A twin cannot feel complete until he finds his or her other half to make up a whole person.

Whatever her reason, Viola’s disguise unleashes romantic desire and she becomes a figure of Eros, like Cherubino in The Marriage of Figaro – an androgynous being desired by men and women alike. Shakespeare’s audience obviously savoured the erotic frisson created by cross-dressing and ambivalent sexuality.

This is echoed by Rosalind in As You Like It, who adopts the disguise of Ganymede, the shepherd boy abducted by Jove, a symbol of pederasty and the unofficial patron saint of Renaissance Florence, that hotbed of artistic homoeroticism. Rosalind too finds herself the love-object of both men and women, but in her adopted persona she is able to teach the various lovers in the play the real meaning of the word “love”. It is not, as Orlando thinks, mooning around in the forest and hanging love poems on the trees. No – it’s about being punctual, reliable; it is to be made of all faith and service, duty and observance, humbleness and patience. When Orlando swears he will die for love, Rosalind sadly utters one of my favourite lines in Shakespeare:

No, no, Orlando; men have died from time to time – and worms have eaten them, but not for love.

Like the French Princess and her ladies in Love’s Labour’s Lost and Helena in All’s Well That Ends Well, Rosalind’s purpose is to educate foolish young men as to the real nature of love. It certainly isn’t about mooning around writing sonnets. And this is ironic coming from the author of the greatest sonnet sequence in the English language. But Shakespeare’s real target is not the sonnet itself but the affectation of those who rattle off poems according to convention and worn-out formulas.

ABOVE: John and BFA grant recipient, Jordan Richardson, speak to a Queenwood student during a recent portrait masterclass. Jordan was recently a finalist in the Archibald for the fourth time.

Over the last fifty years feminist studies have had a huge impact on our reading of Shakespeare and on theatre practice. Female academics have given us new perspectives on the plays, realised in the work of female artistic directors, directors and designers. New generations of female actors have been empowered not only by reinterpreting the great women’s roles, but the men’s roles too. Recent years have given us female actors in roles including Hamlet, Richard II, Richard III, Prospero and King Lear as well as an all-female Taming of the Shrew

All of these ventures, some more successful than others, have reinforced Shakespeare’s capacity to move with the times and hold the mirror up to Nature. Taken all in all, I think we must conclude that here was a man

who appreciated women, and over a lifetime developed a profound empathy and understanding of them, creating the greatest female roles in English theatre. There is always a danger in taking any lines from one of Shakespeare’s characters and saying, “this is what Shakespeare himself believed... “. But occasionally one can take a chance on it; and if I were asked which lines in Shakespeare best sum up his attitude to women, I’d probably offer these lines of Berowne in Love’s Labour’s Lost:

From women’s eyes this doctrine I derive: They sparkle still the right Promethean Fire: They are the books, the arts, the academes That show, contain and nourish all the world •

John Bell is Chair for the Bouddi Foundation for the Arts (BFA). Sales from this Balmoral Lecture were donated to the BFA, which supports young people on the Central Coast pursuing a career in the Arts through grants and mentorships. To learn more or to donate visit: bouddiarts.org.au

Several articles in this issue grapple with contemporary questions about how to engage with our literary tradition. It was a great pleasure to resume our annual Balmoral Lecture series in May with a talk from the inimitable John Bell on Shakespeare’s Women, which was predictably well attended. We are, by now, familiar with the accusations of sexism levelled against the Bard. It is easy to construct the argument against him – from the entire plot of The Taming of the Shrew to these gems from Cymbeline :

[T]here’s no motion that tends to vice in man, but I affirm it is the woman’s part…All faults that…hell knows/

Why, hers, in part or all; but rather, all.

Yet while accusations of sexism (and other -isms) might have been ground-breaking some decades ago, they have been well studied since. Critics and theorists have had plenty to say but John Bell argues that, on this point at least, Shakespeare’s works can speak for themselves. For every time a man says, witheringly, ‘Frailty thy name is woman’, there is another time when women’s full dignity and humanity are affirmed, their ‘Promethean fire’ kindling the intellect and nourishing the world. While there are stereotypes of female manipulation or madness (Lady Macbeth or Ophelia), there are also strong and wise women, and quite a few (e.g. Rosalind or Viola) who escape societal constraints and, by dressing as men, enjoy the freedom to be playful or argumentative, to escape their parents

or even rise into positions of power.

On this last point, it is clear that a modern lens would decode, or perhaps impose, an additional interpretive layer. What used to be seen simply as dressing up as the opposite sex is now – in a time of cultural obsession with blurring the boundaries of behaviour and biology – seen as a fundamental subversion of gender. Our Head of English, Mrs Kylie Holmes, writes of the rise of female writers, ‘the subversion of male-centred narratives’ and the push to ‘destabilise the dichotomy between the old and the new’.

This is very much the mission of the HSC English curriculum which requires that all prescribed texts are studied in pairs, with classic texts compared and contrasted with a specific modern work. For instance, Margaret Atwood’s Hagseed might be studied in relationship to The Winter’s Tale, or James Joyce’s Araby with The Merchant of Venice. This interplay between old and new naturally sheds intriguing patterns of light and shadow on classic works such as Shakespeare, but it also means that students are, for the most part, encountering Shakespeare only in relationship to modern themes and writers rather than on his own terms. That is, in my view, a loss.

The expansion of the curriculum has had other effects. It would be unacceptable in contemporary Australia to study only canonical English literature. For very good reason, students must now study a wider range of authors, including those of Indigenous and multi-cultural background. The study of English has

MS ELIZABETH STONE PRINCIPAL

also extended far beyond the poetry, plays and novels of former years. It now includes the study of film, advertising, creative or persuasive writing and students might be expected to produce not just essays and the odd poem, but short films, podcasts, newspaper articles and posters.

All of this is good stuff, but the school day is no longer than it used to be and that means that curriculum is a zero sum game. To accommodate all this additional content, students typically have far less time to engage with any one text and in many cases must make do with extracts rather than full works. This makes it harder than ever to engage with Shakespeare, for which a slow immersion in the language is often required.

Another difficult feature of studying Shakespeare is the distance between reading the script and seeing the play. His language was crafted for the stage, where his words – however complex or unfamiliar – spring to

life. Studying his works only on the page tends to muffle the beauty and vitality of his language, and yet the power of his art in its natural habitat on stage is undimmed.

Here, too, we are seeing a major shift. When these plays were written, it was illegal for women to appear on stage. Now, as Alumna Anna Volska points out, ‘the pendulum is swinging so completely that it’s tough for men to get a gig’ as theatres are casting against type, colour and sex. We have no desire to deprive men of great roles, but for a little while at least, we can enjoy the opportunities afforded by these explorations. Flora Munro, Class of 2022, writes in this issue of both these features: the power of encountering Shakespeare on stage, and the insights gained when women are cast in male roles, and vice versa.

Even as our students are engaging with ideas that challenge the Western literary canon, they are participating in a process

of critical reflection which rests in a long tradition. One of the most distinctive features of the Western intellectual tradition is its capacity for self-critique. This is rare: many great civilisations with a rich cultural and intellectual history have not shown much interest, let alone enthusiasm, for criticising themselves. Doing so can undoubtedly be a strength, but it takes both courage and wisdom to do it well: courage to face up to uncomfortable truths; and wisdom to distinguish between productive criticism and self-flagellation.

Yet it is an exhilarating process. Every one of these writers – John Bell, Anna Volska, Kylie Holmes and Flora Munro – is excited and profoundly moved by the ongoing revelation in these works of what it means to be human. These are high adventures and it is wonderful to see teachers, students, Old Girls and even one of Australia’s ‘Living Treasures’ embarking on it together. •

“...students are, for the most part, encountering Shakespeare only in relationship to modern themes and writers rather than on his own terms. That is, in my view, a loss.”

A Voice of One’s Own

KYLIE HOLMES HEAD OF ENGLISH

Earlierthis year, First Nations poet Evelyn Araluen won the Stella Prize for her debut collection of prose and poetry, Drop Bear. A descendant of the Bundjalung nation, born and raised on Dharug Country, Araluen’s poetry is a powerful commentary on the colonial history of Australia. Named after the mythical creature which, according to Australian folklore, is a predatory version of the koala, designed to terrify tourists, Drop Bear interrogates other myths of Australian history, literature and culture. According to the judges, Araluen’s text is ‘a breathtaking collection of poetry and short prose which arrests key icons of mainstream Australian culture and turns them inside out.’ 1 This is most clear in the poem titled Mrs Kookaburra Addresses the Natives, where Araluen deconstructs May Gibbs’ Snugglepot and Cuddlepie series and critiques the way Indigenous people are represented in her narrative. The announcement of Araluen’s success coincided with my teaching of Virginia Woolf’s 1929 seminal text A Room of One’s Own to a Year 12 IB Literature class. This prompted me to speculate on the progress that has been

made by women since Woolf first delivered her lecture and how this has influenced my approach to the selection and teaching of literature in the English classroom. Composed shortly after World War I, and during a time of awakening female consciousness, Woolf’s polemical essay examines the implications of women’s historical exclusion from education and material wealth due to their position of perceived inferiority. The fundamental idea of her text emphasises that the social constraints placed on women impacted their ability to flourish and excel in the world of literature. Woolf strengthens her argument on the inequalities of the female experience by drawing upon the fictive example of Judith Shakespeare. She asks us to think about Shakespeare’s hypothetical, equally talented sister and explores women’s lack of access to the opportunities available to men.

Reflecting on the strength of female authorship today, I believe the position of women and fiction has evolved in ways that Woolf could only dream about. Araluen is one of many female authors who are making waves in Australian

literature at present. Authors such as Alexis Wright, Melissa Lucashenko, Hannah Kent, Maxine Beneba Clarke, Chelsea Watego, Clementine Ford, Charlotte Wood, Diana Reid, Larissa Behrendt, Elfie Shiosaki, Randa Abdel-Fattah, Alice Pung and Bri Lee are asserting themselves as powerful instruments of change. These voices offer up a range of exciting opportunities in the English classroom as we encourage our students to grapple with controversial issues. I think about the gusto with which my classes have devoured the works of Margaret Atwood, Angela Carter and Carol Ann Duffy, all of which subvert traditional malecentred narratives. While there is no doubt that the canon is still weighted towards the dead, white man, it seems that this generation is challenging traditional literary voices more readily and confidently. By empowering our students to be active participants in conversations about texts (both classic and contemporary) and become authors in their own right, we are encouraging them to re-write the narrative. By engaging with the classics from a more critical standpoint (as Araluen has done with May Gibbs’ work and Leah Purcell has recently achieved with her stunning appropriation of Henry Lawson’s short story, The Drover’s Wife) we are encouraging our students to destabilise the dichotomy between the old and the new as they enter into dynamic textual conversations.

There are undoubtedly challenges that remain for female authors in the 21st century and Evelyn Araluen acknowledged one

of these when accepting her award this week, as she drew attention to the lack of funding for the arts. However, the momentum of these powerful female authors is growing. In 2019 and 2020, the Stella Count, which is a statistical analysis of gender bias in Australian book reviews, has noted that for the first time since it started in 2012, the ‘representation of women authors in Australian book reviews is on par with that of their male counterparts.’ Dr Melinda Harvey from Monash University noted that these findings are ‘a milestone to be celebrated because equal access to book reviews will make a genuine difference to the lives and reputations of Australian women authors.’ 2

In the final chapter of her essay, Woolf implores her audience to keep writing and to involve themselves in society through the formation of a unique cultural and political identity. She says: ‘Therefore I would ask you to write all kinds of books, hesitating at no subject however trivial or however vast. By hook or by crook, I hope that you will possess yourselves of money enough to travel and to idle, to contemplate the future or the past of the world, to dream over books and loiter at street corners and let the line of thought dip deep into the stream.’ 3 It is my hope that Shakespeare’s sister lives on in all the young women I teach, as they seek to use their writing and skills of critical analysis to empower themselves. •

1 Announcing the winner of the 2022 Stella Prize · Stella

2 The 2019 and 2020 Stella Counts crash through the gender parity barrier · Stella

3 Woolf, Virginia. A Room of One’s Own, 1929

Power, Thy Name is Woman

MUNRO YEAR 12 STUDENT

As part of their HSC English course, students write in a range of styles including imaginative, discursive and persuasive, and are expected to reflect on how their ‘craft’ has been informed by the prescribed texts. As part of her assessment, Flora Munro reimagines the female voice in literature as inspired by Margaret Atwood’s speech, Spotty Handed Villainesses

A few years ago, I was coerced into watching a performance of Shakespeare’s Hamlet at London’s Globe Theatre. I felt like an intruder in the dramatic theatrical space of rustic oak beams and tight rows of seats, but as the stage lit up, I became entranced. As the actors came on stage, I was struck by the casting decision to create a gender fluid production. With the foils, Hamlet and Laertes – paragons of chivalric masculinity – played by women, and the archetype of female passivity, Ophelia, played by an Indian-British man, the production could interrogate and play with gender roles. This privileging of the female voice and blurring of distinctions between the sexes was particularly prominent in a scene now imprinted on my memory. When Hamlet gazed into the skull of Yorick and the actress spoke the famous soliloquy about life and existence, which for centuries had been an iconic male role, it was a significant display of female power and intellect. I left the theatre that night with a re-envisioned

perspective on the construction of gender roles within society which forced me to reflect on prejudiced gender and left me wondering, what do other texts reveal about gender?

This experience highlighted an enduring truth: the power of literature in communicating stories, helping to educate and unite society. Literature allows us to see the world from the perspective of others, examining individuals past and present and what their experiences represent of humanity. Texts written centuries ago, such as Hamlet , retain relevance in modern society precisely because they serve this function, demanding that we think critically about important and timely aspects of the human condition. During lockdown, whilst perusing my mother’s bookshelf, I came across the poetry collection Ariel by Sylvia Plath and appreciated its radical presentation of the female experience. I adored the way her confessional poetry, composed at the dawn of the second wave of feminism, questioned gender >>

FLORA

roles in fundamental ways. The Applicant particularly stood out to me from this collection, a story in which the voice of patriarchal dominance and voicelessness |of the female persona were all too familiar. Like Hamlet gazing at Yorick’s skull and reflecting on his life, literature forces us to examine how society’s adherence to gender roles can erode the freedom of both women and men.

Literature has also been important in its essential role of challenging prejudices. In the 1990s, the introduction of intersectionality expanded the scope and interests of feminism by highlighting that women’s experiences are not universal and are profoundly shaped by other issues such as race and wealth. Alice Walker’s novel The Color Purple (1982) voiced the experiences of millions of African American women throughout her country’s history. The protagonist, Celie, confronts the horrific challenges of domestic violence and Black queerness – aspects of the African American experience

that had been largely unexamined. In one of her letters, Celie concludes: “I’m pore, I’m black, but I’m here.” That tone of defiance is the same as that which underpinned Sojourner Truth’s speech entitled Ain’t I a Woman, delivered at the 1851 Women’s Convention for women’s rights. Walker’s epistolary novel supported intersectionality, highlighting that the female experience is not homogenous and is intertwined with different factors including race, class and disability.

Literature has the power to direct our attention to the experiences beyond our own lives but does it always do so? Unfortunately, we live in a society where Black women’s stories too often remain untold, their voices unheard and their concerns unspoken. Even where stories of women are told, literature can be used to convey gender roles in ways which only reinforce narrow stereotypes and prejudice.

Is this any surprise? While there were many women amongst the

pioneers of fiction in the 18th and 19th century, most (apart from Austen) have been forgotten, while the names of the men (Defoe, Richardson, Swift, Trollope, Dickens etc) remain in public consciousness.

Men’s access to education and status allowed them to dominate, and too often representations of women were one-dimensional. This did not begin with the novel. As far back as the Greek mythological poem, The Odyssey, we see powerful stereotypes in play. Homer celebrates the protagonist Odysseus for his cunning, brave and courageous nature whilst he presents his wife, Penelope, as an individual of great loyalty, fidelity and submission to her husband, a character who was valued in society precisely for upholding these traits.

Literature has been used to limit women, promoting narrow gender roles which strip them of the flesh of humanity. But that evening at the Globe Theatre opened my eyes to the sheer power of literature to express the female voice. •

“ Texts written centuries ago, such as Hamlet, retain relevance in modern society precisely because they serve this function, demanding that we think critically about important and timely aspects of the human condition.”

TOP:

Exterior of Shakespeare’s Globe, a reconstructed Globe Theatre on the south banks of the River Thames.

BELOW: A performance inside Shakespeare’s Globe, featuring female cast members.

Speaking Up

RUBY LIVINGSTON YEAR 12 SOCIAL JUSTICE PREFECT

I’ve been a part of the School Strike for Climate (SS4C) movement since I was thirteen, which saddens me a little to think about. I have a sister who is thirteen now, and I can’t reconcile her concerns about pocket money and school camp with the urgent fear and sadness that prompted my involvement.

Allowing children a legitimate perspective on the climate crisis is in itself controversial. On one hand, the argument is clear: children are unqualified and lack the knowledge of the world necessary for a nuanced understanding of why climate issues are so difficult to resolve. This perspective is usually expressed as frustration that children are even engaged in political action at such a young age, and in a way, I don’t disagree with this view. I’m sure that I would have much preferred to spend my time watching a “good old-fashioned movie with a friend!” as Donald Trump recommended Greta Thunberg do in 2019.1 But unfortunately the alternative argument was that even at the tender age of thirteen, I felt I couldn’t trust the state institutions which were elected to make decisions with my interests in mind.

Nobody could argue that my judgment was infallible at an age when I genuinely thought My Chemical Romance was the pinnacle of music, but joining the climate movement seemed pretty logical to me. While I was burdened with crushing existential dread about humanity’s impending extinction, politicians were content to continue ignoring the climate threat at best, and actively exacerbating it through policy choices at worst. I couldn’t express this disaffection through a vote – I had no statutory outlet through which I could influence my own future. So, I turned to activism. To mark my dramatic entrance into the political sphere, I joined Queenwood’s environment club, Cleanwood, and began dabbling in vegetarianism.

Ruby Livingston discusses youth engagement in the democratic process, and why you’re never too young to get involved.

Over the years, my activism continued. I created the Youth Environmental Activism Hub (YEAH), 2 a climate forum for young people where I share achievable ways to reduce environmental impact and present important climate news in a readable way. I also organise beach clean-ups with my local community on the Northern Beaches. Today as Social Justice Prefect, I use my role to plan fundraisers and direct resources to relevant causes.

Although I try to limit my personal impact on the climate in these ways, I think it’s important to recognise that the majority of blame for the climate crisis rests with large corporations rather than individuals. In fact, the term ‘carbon footprint’ was coined in 2004 by BP, the second largest non-state-owned oil company in the world. 3 The scale of the crisis is now so huge, it cannot be averted through personal action alone, and this is why participating in organised, community action is so crucial for the climate movement’s success. For me, this is the role of SS4C.

I recognise that there is some legitimate criticism of the strikes. In response to the March 25 strike this year, the NSW Education Minister, Sarah Mitchell, told students that a more effective way of making change would be to stay in school and become “informed citizens”.4 While there

were perhaps less patronising ways of delivering this message, it highlights a conflict I have personally struggled with in the past.

The climate strikes do not possess the same leverage as a typical strike – unfortunately, no sector of the economy is disrupted by my absence from Geography. In this context, the key mechanism of a school strike appears to be somewhat self-martyring, where the losing stakeholder is the students. The theory goes that in missing valuable education we give real meaning to our action, but this message is clouded by less concerned students who simply see the strikes as an opportunity for a day off school.

As a Year 12 student that has missed large chunks of face-to-face learning, my attendance at school has become more important than ever. Skipping school is not a decision I take lightly at this stage of my education: in short, it’s important to me that the benefit of the strikes definitely outweighs the cost to preparation for my final examinations.

The decision to strike used to be an easy one. However, over the past year I have struggled to remain optimistic about my activism. 2021 provided a slew of disappointing results – even if countries meet the half-hearted targets set at COP26, global temperatures will still rise 2.4 °C above pre-industrial levels by 2100. That’s well above the

1.5 °C touted as the tipping point for widespread ecosystem collapse. 5 My personal tipping point into climate nihilism was when the Federal Court overturned the Class Action for Climate decision, ruling that the Australian government did not have a duty of care to protect young people from climate change.6

This result wasn’t particularly surprising, but seeing it stated so clearly was a destabilising moment. Having been part of the SS4C movement for four years, I began to lose faith in our ability to generate results. I felt completely powerless; like I was seeing the pointlessness of climate activism for the first time. I’m sure I wasn’t alone in wondering whether simply educating myself was a more effective route to a liveable future –but even this is beset with issues.

The career path to climatology recommended by the Australian government is a bachelor’s degree in environmental science, followed by a specialised masters and then a related PhD.7 According to the minimum estimations of when I can complete these qualifications, I will graduate in 2033. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has estimated that by 2030, damage to the climate will be

‘irreversible’8 and the World Bank estimates that an additional 100 million people will be forced into extreme poverty as a result.9 I clearly don’t have time to play the long game. However qualified I become, the world will be beyond salvaging by the time I can put such knowledge to use.

In many ways, focusing on my own education is a very individualistic approach to a problem of unimaginable scale. Anthropogenic climate change is not an isolated event. It is occurring due to the advancement of an ideology which champions a fantasy of unchecked economic growth at all costs, and in the context of an imperialist history of subjugating and ignoring the valuable perspectives of First Nations peoples. Powerful groups within society have a vested interest in pushing narratives which place the blame for climate change on everyday consumers, while the 1% continue to profit from the hyperconsumerist pace at which we are exhausting our last remaining natural resources.

Climate change is a feminist issue. It is a race issue. Perhaps most fundamentally, it is a class issue. We live in a world where

“ The climate strikes do not possess the same leverage as a typical strike – unfortunately, no sector of the economy is disrupted by my absence from Geography. In this context, the key mechanism of a school strike appears to be somewhat self-martyring, where the losing stakeholder is the students.”

Apple’s market capitalisation is larger than 96% of countries’ GDP.10 Many view Big Tech, with its capacity for innovation and freedom from government bureaucracy, as the answer to the climate crisis. But we cannot rely on multinational conglomerates to prioritise the interests of people they have no duty of care towards. Elon Musk, venerated for accelerating the transition to sustainable vehicles, claimed last year on Twitter that he would sell Tesla stock to solve climateinduced food scarcity. When he was presented with an opensource financial plan by the UN food program director to use $6 billion USD to do so – a mere 2% of his wealth – Musk did not follow through.11

However flawed the democratic apparatus may be, it is our best and last hope for a future. The coronavirus pandemic showed what governments can achieve through international cooperation. The Russo-Ukrainian war is demonstrating that nations can put aside their differences in aid of a greater cause. The function of the state is to make the best decisions for its citizens – if those citizens speak up about the urgency of climate justice, then the state is duty-bound to accommodate them. The government Australians elected in May has the responsibility of ensuring our future survival.

Like millions of other children in Australia, I did not have a vote in the 2022 election that defines my future. But at least through striking, I have a voice. •

1 Deng, B. (2019, December 13). From Chill out and watch a movie, Trump tells Greta Thunberg Retrieved April 28, 2022 from thetimes.co.uk

2 We are @yeah.nb on Instagram for anyone interested!

3 Solnit, R. (2021, August 23). From Big oil coined ‘carbon footprints’ to blame us for their greed. Keep them on the hook. Retrieved April 28, 2022 from theguardian.com

4 White, D. (2022, March 24). Education system ‘failing’ children on climate as students set to strike. Retrieved April 28, 2022, from smh.com. au

5 Masood, E., & Tollefson, J. (2021, November 14). ‘COP26 hasn’t solved the problem’: Scientists react to UN climate deal. Retrieved April 28, 2022, from www.nature.com

6 Slezak, M., & Timms, P. (2022, March 15). Environment minister wins landmark climate change case, overturning a world-first ‘duty of care’ ruling. Retrieved April 28, 2022, from abc. net.au/news

7 Hart, M. (n.d.). How to become a climate scientist | Australian Research Council. Retrieved April 28, 2022, from climateextremes. org.au

8 UN General Assembly. (2019, March 28). Only 11 years left to prevent irreversible damage from climate change, speakers warn during General Assembly high-level meeting Retrieved April 28, 2022, from un.org/press

9 World Bank Group. (2015, November 09). Rapid, climate-informed development needed to keep climate change from pushing more than 100 million people into poverty by 2030 Retrieved April 28, 2022, from worldbank.org

10 Wallach, O. (2021, July 09). The World’s tech giants, compared to the size of economies Retrieved April 28, 2022, visualcapitalist.com

11 Wattles, J. (2021, November 18). UN to Elon Musk: Here’s that $6 billion plan to fight World Hunger. Retrieved April 28, 2022, from edition. cnn.com

Creating Connections

SUZANNE KERR DIRECTOR OF WELLBEING

One of the most significant themes in school wellbeing literature is the power of positive relationships and school engagement. No matter the age of the child, whether they are 5, 10, 13 or 18, their feeling of connection to their school is one of the key protective factors in promoting high social and emotional competencies that allow young people to thrive. These include the ability to self-regulate, to develop strong coping and problem-solving skills, and to enjoy positive social connections.

One key ingredient for this feeling of connection is the nature of peer relationships. There is no doubt that your daughter thrives when she feels a strong sense of connection with her closest friends. Their experiences together teach them about honesty and trust and help to build their sense of identity and self-esteem. Yet our young people need more than their closest friends, and more than their “besties”. Building a network of different connections allows your daughter to continue to strengthen her own sense of self, to develop lifelong skills in building different relationships, and to witness and enjoy the diversity of others. In essence, different connections help your daughter build a social web that will support her as she grows and changes.

The journey of friendship can rarely be described as “smooth sailing”. A better description might be a “roller coaster”. For this reason alone, it is so very important for our students to engage with a range of young people, including those younger and older. Every day we see the power of these cross-year connections. It may be the friendship between the Year 10 and Year 12 student, which flourished during early morning rowing sessions and strengthened through the high and lows of regattas. Or it may be the connection between the older and younger girls through peer mentoring in the Senior School and Buddies in the Junior School –a connection which endures for years as each of them grows. The older girls who provide mentoring and leadership build their confidence and skills through being recognised and needed. The younger girls, in turn, grow in courage and resilience and feel a special sense of self-worth because they have earned the attention >>

of their idols.

When your daughters are young, their level of engagement in different activities has a lot to do with you. They are simply enrolled in a sport program, a drama lesson, or a music lesson. Rarely do they question our decision-making and we see them flourish, developing new skills and engaging with different people. There may even be the excitement of seeing them find their ‘thing’. Yet, as your daughters mature, their independence grows, their voice becomes that little bit louder and more definite. One or two of their activities may be put to the side and their web of social connection can become slightly more tenuous.

Generally, Queenwood girls tend to maintain high rates of participation through the last years of school but there is a tendency amongst at least some girls to use their studies as an excuse (or perhaps as cover) to pull back. On the surface, there is a logic to this decision, but our experience shows that, within sensible limits, busy girls study with greater focus and efficiency. More importantly, they stay connected with their peers and a wide range of activities that bring fun and joy and confidence. Experience also tells us that the four hours saved from Netball practice is rarely devoted to more study!

This is where we, both parents and teachers, need to hold the line. Conversations which offer this wider perspective can be the most powerful protection for our girls. By giving firm guidance we can ensure our young women maintain their diverse skill set and, most importantly, embrace the opportunity to build connections and flourish. •

Both Senior and Junior School participated in a range of wellbeing activities this year, with many more activities planned for Semester 2.

Year 12 student Anna Trahair is on a mission to make us all happier, healthier and more comfortable talking about mental health. She has been instrumental in helping the school shape a program that provides space to build confidence in discussing issues facing young people.

A Healthy Headspace

ANNA TRAHAIR YEAR 12 SOCIAL JUSTICE PREFECT

It’s a well-established fact that the Australian teenage population is facing a mental health crisis and has been for a long time. According to Beyond Blue, 1 in 7 young people aged 4 to 17 years experience a mental health condition in any given year.

If anything, this situation has been exacerbated by the long months of isolation and the uncertainty brought about by COVID-19, creating what Josh Frydenberg has referred to as a ‘shadow pandemic’ – the mental illness burden directly caused by COVID-19. You may remember seeing the horrifying headline of ‘more than 40 NSW children and teenagers rushed to hospital for self-harm every day’ in the Sydney Morning Herald a couple of months ago, which linked a spike in incidents of self-harm directly to the pandemic. Recently, The Australian National Uiversity (ANU) published a study on the impact of COVID-19 on the mental health of young adults, finding that ‘71% of parents and carers of Australians aged 15 to 18 reported worsening mental health conditions for their children’.

These statistics aren’t merely numbers on a page. They’ve affected me personally – over the past couple of years, I’ve supported people suffering from mental illness. I’ve had numerous

conversations about mental illness – many of which didn’t go to plan. I’ve been in circumstances where I’ve tried to be the best of friends; but where I’ve found that it wasn’t humanly possible for me to provide the kind of support needed.

I’ve found that there have been many situations when I and my friends have all been aware that someone has been going through a mental health crisis, yet where no one has known what to do, or what to say.

In Year 11, I came to the realisation that I wanted to help my peers but didn’t feel I had the skill set to meaningfully support those with mental illness – and that many of my peers didn’t either. I approached Ms Stone to outline my concerns, and I recommended that the school adopt an outsourced Mental Health First Aid program.

The greatest realisation was that my school community was already beginning to embrace this issue and develop skills and strategies that could assist all our community members. Ms Stone and the Executive had already started to consider the implementation of mental health first aid programs and amongst my peers, action was being taken –Jenni Lin had introduced a similar Mental Health First Aid course at her local youth centre, and Bella Lonie has worked on

projects to promote awareness of mental illness.

This year, the School began rolling Mental Health First Aid courses through MHFA Australia. The objective was to ensure that, as a part of our wellbeing course, every student at Queenwood, from Years 7 –12, has the opportunity to participate in an intensive, 3-hour long program focusing on developing skills and strategies necessary to support peers with mental health problems.

Over the April school holidays, Queenwood Senior School teaching staff participated in a rigorous, two-day Mental Health First Aid course – a precursor to the student program. This is distinct from many schools where usual practice is that a select few pastoral staff to qualify as mental health first aiders. Queenwood teachers are now well-equipped to support students in crisis and more confident addressing increasingly complex issues and conversations around mental health in young people.

The next stage of the program is to train students in Mental Health First Aid. We anticipate that this program that will bring significant benefits to the school community, fostering an environment where students and staff alike are able to engage in productive and meaningful conversations about mental health and wellbeing. •

On Mental Health First Aid Training for Staff:

The Mental Health First Aid course was invaluable professional development, as it centred on collegial conversations about the everyday struggles of our young people, and it gave us a platform to share how we would approach the management of mental health in our school context.

CARLA YOUNAN YEAR 8 COORDINATOR

The Mental Health First Aid course provided staff with an opportunity to extend their understanding of the myriad of issues that can impact on the health and, concurrently, learning capacity of our students. The course allowed us to draw on the extensive knowledge and experiences of health care professionals, gain insight into the specific nature of different mental health issues, and apply strategies to help our community manage those challenges.

GREG M c ARDLE HEAD OF TECHNOLOGICAL & APPLIED STUDIES

Having worked with young women for many decades, I have witnessed many elements of change and possibly the most significant is the increasing need to understand Mental Health. For all Senior School teaching staff, being trained in Youth Mental Health First Aid, was an incredibly powerful tool. Our teachers now feel equipped with both knowledge and skills, and this is a testament to the value Queenwood places on the wellbeing of our students.

SUZANNE KERR DIRECTOR OF WELLBEING

The Youth Mental Health First Aid course has been designed by Mental Health First Aid Australia. Learn more at mhfa.com.au

A Scientific Mind with Michelle Gleeson

Our Head of Science, Michelle Gleeson, tells us about her work in agricultural biosecurity, what led her to teaching, and the importance of critical thinking skills in today’s world.

What led you to become a science teacher?

I was very fortunate to have a series of enthusiastic and passionate science teachers in high school. My senior biology teacher was particularly inspiring, so it was a natural choice to go on to study Biotechnology at uni. I loved studying, soaking up new understanding and skills, and stayed to complete an Honours degree in research and eventually went back for a PhD. As a PhD student, I assisted in teaching undergraduate courses as a tutor and laboratory demonstrator, and discovered that watching the dawn of comprehension on students’ faces as they really ‘got it’ was wonderfully satisfying. After the arrival of my second child, the unpredictable nature of bench research sent me looking for another way to indulge my passion for science and life-long learning, so I re-trained to become a science teacher.

What was your first job when you finished university?

My first job after completing my undergraduate degree and Honours research year was at the NSW Department of Agriculture, working on the molecular biology of plant diseases. This might explain why I am better at killing plants than growing them! I got to experience and learn from scientists in a wide variety of fields, including chemists and biochemists, entomologists, mycologists, virologists and my favourite, microbiologists. Science is such a team endeavour, sharing our discoveries with each other is critical for advancing our understanding.

Tell us a little more about your previous research roles. What attracted you to this area of science?

I have always been drawn to areas where I could make a difference, working on research projects with practical applications. My work in plant pathology included developing a better test for detecting diseases in plants, helping to protect Australia’s valuable citrus industry and agricultural biosecurity. My PhD and postdoc work was in veterinary parasitology, studying important parasites of sheep, cattle and chickens, including a small part

towards developing a vaccine to protect chickens from the deadly disease Coccidiosis. It feels so satisfying to have helped to produce something genuinely useful and important.

What stands out for you about teaching at Queenwood?

So many things about Queenwood make it my favourite school of all the places I have taught. The emphasis on a liberal education, and in giving girls the skills to make a difference in the world, to make a genuine and valuable contribution in whatever field they choose, aligns closely with my own values. There’s an overall willingness to give things a go, and a wide range of cocurricular offerings to satisfy this drive – my current favourite is the QUTE solar vehicle project. There is a culture of high academic expectations, combined with the pastoral and learning support required for each girl to achieve their best. I love our core values of Truth, Courage and Service, in fostering resilience and independence, and in encouraging students to recognise their position of privilege and to give back to the wider community. Before arriving, I didn’t expect to find such a well-grounded and lovely bunch of students who are a genuine pleasure to teach.

“ Learning about the processes of Science teaches students to evaluate information in a way that will lead them to the truth.”

Why do you think it is so important to be interested in Science?

We need critical thinking and problem-solving skills more than ever! Learning about the processes of science teaches students to evaluate information in a way that will lead them to the truth. There is a bottomless pit of misinformation and nonsense right at their fingertips now, wellblended with genuine knowledge. The real skill lies in sorting the facts from the fake news, and being able to make accurate, informed judgements. Scientific discoveries have been changing our lives for hundreds of years, and the pace of discovery is only accelerating. Having the skills to understand scientific developments helps us to make wise decisions, for both the big-picture problems our world is facing including climate change

and the current pandemic but also for our individual health and wellbeing.

Anything further you would like to share?

The next generation of scientists have a massive job on their hands. They will need to come up with innovative solutions for problems that we can’t yet comprehend, to support a growing world population existing in a dynamic and deteriorating environment. This can’t be done without adequate funding and government support to develop our current and future scientists and provide a viable long-term career path so we can train and retain our best and brightest minds here in Australia. We’ve got an incredible track record of producing world-class results on a shoe-string budget,

THIS PAGE: Michelle teaches Year 9 Science how electrical currents work, via a range of practical experiments. OPPOSITE PAGE: Students participate in a practical biology lesson.

and on average, every dollar invested in Australian research and development has returned an absolute minimum of $3.50 1 We need to be willing to invest in and build our capacity, to reap these rewards for the benefit of all of us. It would truly give me the greatest satisfaction of my career to witness any of my students go on to achieve great things for Australian science. I have every reason to hope, because they continue to impress me every day! •

1 Wynn, K., Liu, M. and Cohen, J., 2022. Quantifying the economy-wide returns to innovation for Australia. Australian Economic Papers, [online] Available at: <https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/ doi/10.1111/1467-8454.12262> [Accessed 18 May 2022].

Our People

We asked our Science Department about why they love Science.

1. Sophie Spyrou

Knowledge is power. You can’t make informed decisions about your body without first knowing how your body works.

2. Michelle Gleeson

I love the pure creativity of Science. It provides students with the critical thinking skills to evaluate information for themselves; so valuable in an increasingly complex world. Plus, experiments are so much fun!

3. Sinead Harford

Science helps me make sense of the world around me. Studying zoology led me to not only understand our planet but to also greatly appreciate it and all the living organisms that call it home.

I am passionate about ecology, so being outside, observing the incredible colour and variation in living things of all sizes is very important to me. The evolutionary and genetic processes that lead to this diversity, and the importance of protecting it, are key to understanding how to sustain this biodiversity.

5. Peter Smith

I love the approach to thinking and problemsolving that science provides. I applied this thinking as an accountant, a strategy consultant and a risk manager and in all these cases I was better able to understand and solve issues than colleagues who had not been taught how to think like a scientist.

4. Merrilyn Lean

The essential skillset of a scientist, including adaptability, critical thought, data analysis, problem-solving, and time management, can be advantageous outside the laboratory environment.

7. Savi

I always think analytically. It makes concepts really clear if I can explain the reasons behind them. Science is all around us and I love to teach students how to relate new knowledge. I enjoy seeing young brains becoming more aware of their surrounding world and preparing for their lives.

Science provides a structured approach to analyse and provide potential solutions to the many problems in our world.

Not pictured:

Andrew Draper

There is a huge amount of pleasure in the linking of Science we do in school with things that affect the students. For example, with climate science or vaccines, the students can understand better and become more able to spot ‘dodgy science’ that pervades so much discussion about these issues.

Lye Chan Long

Science answers the ‘how’ things happen the way they do in the world objectively, and it appeals to someone like me who wants answers to life.

Katherine Wang

Science can be used to explain all the phenomena we observe on Earth and in the universe – or at least tries to! It’s a great feeling when you wonder why something is the way it is, and then realise you can find answers through the scientific method.

Nada Zaitoun

There is always something new to learn and discover with science, and I am always in awe at these moments. •

6. Dan Farrugia

Kaur

8. Ratna Ningsih

See a menagerie of birds, fish and jungle creatures in Junior School, read about an abundance of Greek sweets and be inspired by Senior School embroidery and appliqué.

There has been a lot happening both inside and outside the classroom; here is a quick look at what the students have been up to…

Student work

Senior students begin work on the QUTE in Term 1, by dismantling the engine and removing parts prior to an environmentally friendly re-build.

Loukoumia

This exercise in creative writing was inspired by Anna’s reading of Boey Kim Cheng’s Stamp Collecting Anna is the descendant of Greek migrants; this and Australia’s broader history of immigration inspired this piece.

I’ve never liked Turkish delights – or loukoumia, as they’re called in Greek. Yet whenever I see them, I’m compelled to buy them. Occasionally they’ll be stocked at the local supermarket in boxes with gold decals or Persian-inspired designs. Once, on visiting a Turkish deli in the outer suburbs, I was childishly delighted to discover that they came in flavours other than rosewater – like pomegranate, lime and mastic – and returned home with a paper bag full of bright, kaleidoscopic hunks of the stuff. David is amused, and then exasperated by how I’ll always have a tin of them, somewhere in the pantry, left to congeal for another year.

This odd habit of mine is a little like how my mother always kept a bowl of lemons in our childhood house; like her mother and her grandmother before her, in memory of a famine that took place in another country in another century. For them, there was comfort in being able to afford things that they’d never need to eat. For me, there’s comfort in tradition worn threadbare.

If anything, the loukoumia conjure memories as gelatinous and overwhelming as their sweetness. Whenever I catch sight of them stacked in pinkly glowing pyramids, heaped with mounds of sugar, I am immediately transported back to my godmother’s café. Although it’s long gone and a nail salon now stands in its place, I remember it so vividly. It was one of the few places that I thought would never change. My great-aunts always sat at the front table, permanent fixtures,

ANNA TRAHAIR YEAR 12 SOCIAL JUSTICE PREFECT

crocheting interminable blankets. Whirring fans barely moved the viscous air. There were framed photos of Santorini, and a plaster model of a Greco-Roman statue. He was nicknamed Mercury, after the god of shopkeepers and thieves and he served as a sort of repository for lost property – there’d always be a jacket draped over one of his arms, or a pair of sunglasses on his head.

Whenever we’d visit, my godmother would let my brother and me pick sweets from the display cabinet humming bluely at the back of the store. The melting moments were my favourite. My godmother would always urge me to have a second, or a third, yet my mother would glare at me, shaking her head. I was too young to realise that everything had a price; that the shop was my godmother’s sole source of income. I couldn’t pick up on the tension between my mother’s tight-lipped courtesy and my godmother’s seemingly boundless generosity; I didn’t understand the social niceties and polite disagreements spilt between them on the tabletop like so much powdered sugar.

Once, I remember that I filled my plate with every type of delicacy I could see in the display cabinet as I thought it was the best way to please my godmother. In a childish way, I was trying to express my gratitude through greed.

After picking at jam-drops and chocolate-coated pistachio biscuits, I bit into the loukoumi. I was used to bubble-gum ice-cream and the chemical taste of strawberry flavouring – not something as rich and intense as this. It tasted like the midday sun in a foreign country or cut flowers on the point of rotting. I could barely swallow, let alone finish what was left on my plate.

I was nauseated as I suddenly realised how much food I’d wasted. The claggy way the remnants coated the insides of my mouth, the residual sugar sticking to my fingers were, to my seven-year-old self, as damning as spots of blood.

Yet there’s no need for this saccharine self-indulgence. I treat loukoumia like chunks of amber that will store my memories for another thousand years, when in reality, they’re little more than something to pass around on platters after a shared meal.

I stand up to clear away the plates, abruptly breaking from my reverie. The dinner party is dying down, and most have gotten up from the table, moved out of the snapshot frame. I’m much older now, we all are – my godmother relies on a walking stick. Some of my cousins have grey hairs and children.

I begin to stack the plates, some of them chipped from much use. In the kitchen, aunts and great-aunts are preparing coffee – there’s the clinking of cups and saucers, and the sound of English and Greek interweaving.

From the living room, I hear the crowing jubilance of my youngest cousin, granddaughter of my godmother – she lost her first tooth during the meal and is retelling the story to a crowd of adulators.

She’s left the tooth itself discarded on a plate, embedded in a gem-like, half-eaten chunk of loukoumi. The sweet glints, resinous, as moist and pink as a gum coated in saliva; it’s the catalyst for another childhood memory, already setting like jelly. •

“ It tasted like the midday sun in a foreign country or cut flowers on the point of rotting.

I could barely swallow, let alone finish what was left on my plate.”

Junior School Art Gallery

JESSIE, 4NDT

ALINA, 2CM KITTY, 5PAS

SLOANE, 5NLR

EMILY, 4LVL

ARIA, 4NDT

ALEXANDRA, 4LVL

JACINTA, 2KEM

SOPHIA, 5PAS

GEORGIA, 5NLR

Year 11 Textiles & Design

CLAUDIATOWNSEND

SIENNAJACKSON

ZARAPARSONAGE

LAYLAPARSONS

HOLLYRATHBORNE ELLAFORREST

BRIGITTEWHYTE SOFIAWATTS

Latest news

It has been an exciting start to the year: weve built bionic hands, sung in the choir, kicked a soccer ball on stage, joined a painting master class and hurdled our way to house points. And that was just the warm up...

Senior School’s drama production of The Wolves

Celebrating International Women’s Day

Queenwood parent, Amber Sherlock, set an inspiring example at the International Women’s Day Breakfast in Mosman. Her speech addressed the theme The Bias. Senior School students hosted an assembly about their female role models, and Junior School assembly addressed the history of the day. The girls shared letters and purple cupcakes to mark the occassion.

“

To the young girls here today: Dream big. Work hard. Believe anything is possible. Fight for your place in the world. Be the person you want to be. Make choices based on what YOU want, not because of your gender. Stand strong, don’t take no for an answer, speak up when you see injustice, know that other people’s choices don’t have to be YOUR choices. Look up, look ahead. The future is bright with you in it. Because I believe we all rise when women rise.”

AMBER SHERLOCK,

PARENT & NINE NEWS REPORTER

QUEENWOOD

Drawing to Learn

The inaugural Queenwood Just Draw festival recognised and celebrated the universal language of drawing across all subject areas as a tool for learning.

Drawing plays a significant role in our cognitive development. It can help us learn to write and think creatively, develop hand-eye coordination, hone analytic skills, and conceptualise ideas. ‘Drawing is the primal means of symbolic communication, which predates and embraces writing, and functions as a tool of conceptualisation parallel with language.’ (Petherbridge, 1991).

We first learn through our senses, and we express our connection to the world through the act of drawing before we learn to write. Any parent will have observed their children seeking to express and interpret their world through mark-making before they can communicate in other ways. Drawings are external representations of our thinking and when we were little, we were doing this all the time.

We have a word for being articulate with words: literacy. We have a word for being articulate with numbers: numeracy. But no widely accepted word for an articulacy with images. ‘Reading, Writing and Arithmetic, are generally agreed to stand for the important educational priorities of literacy and numeracy. However, writing itself is implicit evidence of another faculty of educational value: our ability to inscribe marks upon a surface to make meaningful representations of our experiences visible to others.’ (Riley, 2002). Thus, the development of visual literacy, ‘visualcy’ (Riley, 2002), should be just as important as literacy and numeracy in school.

Drawing can play a role in many different subject areas in school education, and later in the workplace. It has many purposes beyond simply rendering a likeness of something and, like any skill, can be taught and developed through practise. Our education system needs to produce innovative and creative members of society – students need be creative thinkers and problem-solvers. The key way they can be creative is by learning to translate thoughts and ideas into real and tangible things and the most accessible and direct method to achieve this is by drawing, the graphic way of expressing thought.

Drawing is used in fields like medicine to teach observation skills in diagnosis; in anthropology, as a method of taking field notes; in science, to document experiments and processes; in design, to conceptualise ideas; in architecture, to map out and explain spatial dimension and scale; and in technology, to develop prototypes and test ideas in the design process.

NICK MAVROGORDATO SENIOR VISUAL ARTS TEACHER

In visual arts it may be used to expand the imagination, express universal feelings, and record places, people and objects. In engineering and mathematics drawing is used as graphs and symbols to explain equations, coding and 3D modelling.

Everything that has been made or constructed originally came from a drawing. As such, drawing is fundamental to almost every field known to humanity. ‘You don’t have to be an artist to draw. This is what we mean by drawing to learn, not learning to draw!’ (The Big Draw).

You only have to imagine a world without the drawn mark to understand the vital role Visual Arts plays in forming and re-forming our understanding of our world. This is why we celebrate drawing at Queenwood. •

RIGHT: Glass drawing, inspired by Gosia Wlodarczak, on Senior Campus

Our 2022 Red GirlsShoebegan Kindergarten

House colours on display at the Junior School

Cross Country Carnival

Nota Bene

Welcome to Term 1, 2022 Whole School

Year 12 students welcomed the Year 7 students to Queenwood by decorating their lockers. Year 7 Orientation Day involved a smoking ceremony and stone carving with Uncle Laurie, weaving with Aunty Sheridan and dance with Alita. In Junior School, students were placed in their class groups and met their new teachers.

Team-building

Year 7

Year 7 participated in a range of teambuilding activities for their Orientation, such as sandcastle building, problem-solving and raft making on Balmoral Beach.

Semester 1 Prefects Junior School

The Junior School Prefects’ Induction Service was held in the Galaxy Theatre. Year 6 student, Minnie, welcomed staff and students. Year 5 student Rose performed a piece on piano. Congratulations!

Tie Ceremony

Year 12

In February, Year 12 students received their Prefect and Captain badges, along with their Year 12 ties.

Figaro, Figaro! Senior School

Elective Music students

Sammy, Misato, Chelsea, Bianca and Sara recently attended performances of The Marriage of Figaro and the ENCORE program of 2021 outstanding HSC performances and compositions.

Red Shoe Girls Junior School

Kindergarten students met with our Principal Ms Stone during their first week at Queenwood. They all showed Ms Stone their red shoes, red blazers and even the Qs on their tunics and blazers! More on page 50.

Raising funds for Q Emergencies Junior School

Years 4, 5 & 6 students organised a football match and bake sale, raising a total of $1,500 for the Q Emergency Fund. The proceeds will be donated to The Red Cross to assist those in Ukraine as well as flood victims in NSW.

Galentine’s Day

Year 12

February 14 is referred to by some as Galentine’s Day – a day to celebrate female friendship!

To share the love, Year 12 prefects gave out heartshaped stickers and chocolates to staff and girls as they arrived at school.

The latest news and events

Drawing Inspiration

Year 11

Snowboarding

Year 11

Year 11 student Maya continued her journey to the FIS Junior World Championships by competing in the FIS Women’s Races in the Czech Republic. Maya placed 3rd & 5th in the Women’s Snowboard Cross event, which is an outstanding achievement!

So QUTE!

Senior School

The QUTE Project officially began! Students donned their coveralls in their first session with Mr Draper in Term 1, assessing and removing certain components of the vehicle (like the radiator – won’t need that in an electric vehicle!). We look forward to watching its development over the coming weeks.

Year 11 Visual Arts had the wonderful experience of working with Jody Graham, an Australian multidisciplinary artist who uses unconventional tools and approaches to draw. Students visited significant sites around Balmoral to create artmaking tools and artworks.

Science of Design

Year 9

Year 9 Science of Design students have been building bionic hands as part of their Biomedical Engineering module.

Twos-day! Junior School

Tuesday 22/2/22 is not only a palindrome but it is also all twos! To celebrate, students in Junior School wore ‘two-twos’ and handmade crowns to mark the occasion. Happy Twos-day!

Row, Row, Row Your Boat Senior School

Queenwood Rowing dominated both the NSW State Championships (with the school’s best ever State Championship results), and the IGSA Schools Rowing Regatta. Congratulations to all rowers who took part in both events – it was a monumental effort.

Friendly Football Junior School

Students from Years 4, 5 & 6 played a friendly football competition at Queenwood. Wearing their house colours, Year 6 and the winning Year 5 team took on their coaches, to raise money for the Q Emergency Fund.

Nota Bene

Our Friends from Macleay Senior School

Students and staff from Macleay Vocation College visited the Senior Campus in Term 1. MVC students participated in a PDHPE lesson, screen printed at our art campus, enjoyed a wonderful lunch and wrapped up their week with some bowling and laser tag! It has been so wonderful to spend time with our friends from MVC.

Head of The River Senior School

Congratulations to all of the Senior girls who participated in the Head of The River on Saturday 26 March. The results are as follows:

3rd: Year 10 Division 3 4x+, 2nd: Year 10 Division 2 4x+

Schoolgirl 4x+ - Queenwood 1 placed 1st and Queenwood 2 placed 2nd

2nd: Schoolgirl Second 8 +, 3rd: Schoolgirl First 8 + Well done to the teams and coaches!

Cockatoo Island

Year 9

Year 9 Visual Arts visited Cockatoo Island. Exploring the theme of Transformations, students uncovered the complex history of the island. Students conducted visual research using cameras and drawing materials for a body of work in printmaking, specifically etching and collography.

An Irish Welcome Junior School

An Irish welcome to Junior School this morning as music teacher Ms O’Connor played the Irish Whistle for our K – 2 students in honour of St Patrick’s Day. An uplifting start to our day!

En-garde! Junior School

Congratulations to our Junior School Fencing students, who competed in the 2022 Sydney Olympic Cup.

In the U12 Girls Sabre, the girls placed: 3rd Sophia (bronze), 5th Helena.

In the U10 Girls Sabre: 1st Sophia (gold), 3rd Helena (bronze) & 5th Victoria.

Wellbeing Afternoon

Year 12

Our Year 12 girls were treated to a pizza lunch, hosted by the QOGA. The lunch kicked off a wellbeing afternoon, which included an engaging workshop on removing the stigma around mental health by Batyr. Thank you to student Anna for recommending Batyr, and to QOGA for the pizza.

The latest news and events

It was all smiles & sunshine in March as Kindergarten and Year 6 buddies spent some well overdue time together on school grounds!

Drama on Tour!

Year 9

Year 9 Drama performed for a full house at Junior School, entertaining them with their plays based on our values of Truth, Courage and Service

Harmony Week

Junior School

Junior School students wore orange to celebrate Harmony Week . Girls participated in a number of activities, to celebrate Australia’s cultural diversity. The week is about inclusiveness, respect, and a sense of belonging for everyone.

Easter Song

Junior School

The Medway Singers held rehearsals yesterday morning at St Clements Church, practising their beautiful singing ahead of the Easter Service.

Go Alice!

Senior School

Congratulations to Alice (Year 11), who was successful in making the IGSA Open Football Team. Alice will now compete at the NSW CIS Championships where she trialed for the CIS Representative team. Congratulations on an exceptional achievement!

Easter Crafts Whole School

Queenwood celebrated the Easter long-weekend with some Easter craft!

Senior and Junior girls were seen crafting Easter hats, rabbit statues and more over the last week of Term 1.

Walking the Walk

Year 9

Congratulations to Year 9 student Chloe (pictured, right) who represented NSW at the Australian Athletics Championships last week. Chloe placed 10th in the Under 18s 5km Race Walk Finals, which places her 5th in NSW. An outstanding result!

Beautiful Speech!

Year 12

Congratulations to Maeve (Year 12) who was awarded the Australian Speech Communications Association (ASCA) National Scholarship Award for Excellence.

Nota Bene

Run, Run, Run! Junior School

Junior School held their Cross Country Carnival early in Term 1. Students wore their house colours and cheered on their friends during the event.

Encore! Whole School

The House Music Festival, 331 & 113 Concerts were held at Senior and Junior School in the last weeks of Term 1. The girls put on stellar performances as they danced, sang, played and entertained their peers, teachers and parents. Well done to all the girls and to the Music Department.

Splish, Splash Junior School

The Junior School

Swimming Carnival was held at the Senior School Pool in Term 1. The girls had a wonderful day competing!

The latest news and events

Swimming Carnival Senior School

It was lovely weather for ducks at the start of the year – and swimming! Senior School students participated in their Swimming Carnival, which was held at Sydney Olympic Park.

Red Shield Appeal Whole School

Junior and Senior girls volunteered their time for the Salvation Army’s annual Red Shield Appeal. The students spent the day at Bridgepoint Shopping Centre collecting donations for the Salvation Army’s many services and programs that help those in need.

Drama is Back! Senior School

Our Senior Production took to the stage to perform The Wolves over 4 sold out nights. A play by Sarah Delappe, The Wolves centres on the experiences, emotions and lives of high school girls through their weekly Saturday morning pre-game soccer warmups. Well done to performers, crew and staff who helped bring Queenwood Theatre back with a bang!

Eco Warriors Unite! Junior School

The Junior School Eco Warriors hosted a Clean Up Australia morning. Students Ella, Sasha, Natalia, Ines, Eden (Year 6), Waverly and Abby (Year 3) and Sarah (Year 1) braved the cold and rain for a few hours as they picked up hard plastic, styrofoam, fishing lures, soy sauce plastic fish, plastic bottles, shoes, balloons, cans, plastic cups, lollipop sticks, tennis balls and more, to help make the area safer for our wildlife and for future generations.

Qantas Airways introduced a roundthe-world air service from Australia to London.

The Cahill Expressway in Sydney opened, the first true freeway in Australia.

The ANZAC Day Act 1958 received Royal Assent, making ANZAC Day (25 April) a national public holiday in Australia.

Bobby Fischer, 14 years old at the time, wins the United States Chess Championship.

The National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) opened in Sydney.

Above: As there was no curricular Drama program offered at Queenwood in 1958, pupils produced their own productions during lunch and after school. In 1958 The Importance of Being Ernest was produced and performed entirely by students (from left) D. Thompson, B. Lusted, A Plomley, N. Pizzey, M. Lindsey (aka ‘Dotty’), E. Durham, A. Dobrowolska (aka A. Volska), S. Jeffrey & J. Whistler.

Alumnae Queenwood Old Girls

This section of the QNews celebrates the contribution alumnae make to the community, both within the School and beyond. Connected by your shared values and formed by your shared experiences, your compassionate and accomplished peers follow a remarkable variety of paths.

In the following pages you will read stories about your friends and see images of them reconnecting. We would love to hear your news; please contact us via email community@queenwood.nsw.edu.au or by telephone +61 2 8968 7721

On the eve of John Bell’s Balmoral Lecture

Shakespeare’s Women, we talk to his wife and Queenwood alumna, Anna Volska, about her memories of Queenwood and what she’s learnt from her extraordinary career on the stage.

Anna Volska

You’re here with your husband, John Bell, who’s speaking tonight and have had a wander around the campus. What’s your impression of Queenwood now? How has it changed?

It’s sort of encapsulated by walking into that theatre. When I finished the Leaving Cert, as it was in those days, Miss Medway said to me What do you want to do? I said I want to go to Drama School and she said You should go to University I said I’d like to go to Drama School. I walk into that theatre that you have now, which is better than most commercial theatres, and it’s clear that Queenwood values the arts which is a shift. The focus back then was on sport: on swimming, and on tennis.

So was there any drama or performance when you were here?

My best friend at school was Margaret Lindsay, and we called her Dotty. Dotty and I would put on shows at lunchtime and made our friends come and see them. We put on The Importance of Being Earnest , Thornton Wilder’s Our Town, and Julius Caesar (Dotty was Cassius and I was Brutus). I remember going to summer school and coming back and making everybody do all the exercises I’d learnt. And they did; at lunchtimes, they all strode around doing acting exercises. It was totally student-led. (Images on pages 60 & 64 – Anna didn’t know we had these; we found them in Archive following her visit.)

You clearly loved acting from a young age. You’ve been on stage and on set; which do you like more? How do you think they differ?

Fundamentally, it’s theatre that is the basis of all of it. Television, you just have to do theatre very fast because you don’t get rehearsal time which is a shame because the rehearsal is how >>

Alumnae

you learn about relationships. The thing for television is that you learn your lines before you go on set because there is so little time. Filming television is like theatre out in the wild.

Did having a grounding in the Shakespearean tradition help you master other genres?

Yes, I think with Shakespeare the initial work is learning what you’re saying, because the language has shifted. Why do you think Shakespeare then stays relevant if it’s not immediately obvious what is being said?

If you ask John that question, it will open the floodgates.

I thought I might ask you. Why is Shakespeare relevant? Because he was such an humanitarian genius. He understood the things that don’t change: how we relate to each other, what we long for, how belligerent humans are, why they are at war, how they long for peace. Think about the relationships he explores: mothers and children, fathers and daughters, siblings,

clans, cultures. You name it; there’s something everyone can relate to. We’re going to hear about Shakespearean women from John tonight; you’ve played a few. Who’s your favourite Shakespearean woman and what has she taught you?

Beatrice in Much Ado About Nothing What did she teach me? She was a sunny woman. And then I think, A Midsummer Night’s Dream or what about The Twelfth Night or Hamlet Mind you, I played Gertrude and Ophelia. And my daughter is playing Gertrude at the moment, which is very nice. Gertrude has 50 lines, which is not very much. Look, I’m waffling now… there’s too many to name and they’ve all taught me something different. Ask me another one!

You’ve got daughters and grandchildren who are also involved in the arts. Do you have big theatrical Christmases or are you all introverts and you need to inhabit characters to express yourselves?

I’m just trawling through my

Alumnae

ABOVE, LEFT: The 1958 VA Latin Class at Queenwood, with Anna (front row, 4th from the right).

ABOVE, RIGHT: Anna, and her friend Margaret aka ‘Dotty’, during a drama rehearsal in 1960.

grandchildren in my mind and thinking, who’s the extrovert? I have one who’s a fantastic acrobat and one who’s a cook and they all care about drama. One of my daughters is an actress, one is a playwright and my grandson is a filmmaker in New York so we’re all involved somehow. It’s in the blood!

The proceeds of this evening’s talk go to the Bouddi Foundation for the Arts who support young people in the arts. What do you see as some of the challenges for young women in the arts?

It’s been so tough for women for a long time, but I think it’s very interesting for women now because the pendulum is swinging so completely that it’s tough for men to get a gig. I’m thinking of theatres like Belvoir who are casting against type, colour, gender. Eventually the pendulum will move back towards the centre, but it’s a very interesting time at the moment. Men, including my husband, are really wondering what’s hit them.

Speaking of novel casting choices: have you seen the Sydney Theatre Company’s production of The Picture of Dorian Gray with Eryn Jean Norvill? What did you think of that?

I thought she was sensational. Eryn Jean plays 12 versions of herself; the characterisation and the timing of that is a huge achievement. She’s really worth seeing. I’d avoided seeing the production for quite a while because I’m a bit bored with cameras on stage, but it’s extraordinary the way the director has set it up. Kip Williams directed the play and he’s a very good director; this is such an extraordinary conception.

I’m booked in, I look forward to it. Do you have any sage advice for our young women who are planning to be performing artists?

Develop a thick skin. Be prepared for

rejection. Follow your dream. What else can I say? Do what you need to do. But it’s hard. It’s hard because you are your tool, so if you’re criticised, it’s personal and it’s hard to take, especially for a young person. But that’s the job.

Given what you’ve just said; what is the greatest lesson you have learnt from your career in acting?

I guess acting has taught me about humanity because the job is investigating the way people think, the way they work, their motivations. It’s taught me to be accepting, rather than judgemental. It’s very hard not to judge people, and that’s what you have to do as a performer. There’s no point making up the audience’s mind before they see the show. You have to be that character and it’s up to the audience to have their own opinion.

Have you ever played a character that you despise? Is that fun?

I suppose what I’m saying is you can’t afford to despise any of your characters because that prevents you from understanding them. Lady Macbeth is not a nice person, but you can sort of see why she’s pushing her husband. It’s about love and what could be.

Is there anything you wanted to add?

I was just thinking about what I said about Miss Medway earlier. She was tough, but she was a fantastic teacher. I was thinking about her and thinking: what was the element that made her such a good teacher? And it was that she was prepared to be very simple. I remember her teaching me algebra when another teacher was away. I was terrible at Maths but she moved very slowly and made it very simple; she didn’t get frustrated with me. One very small step at a time. Did you get that step? Good. You didn’t get that step? Okay, I’ll just do it again. Do you see that? Got it? Good. Now we can move on. That’s a fantastic teacher. •

ANNA VOLSKA AND HUSBAND JOHN BELL ON THE COVER

“…acting has taught me about humanity because the job is investigating the way people think, the way they work, their motivations…”

Then & Now: Swimming Carnival

Students recreate a few of Queenwood’s most iconic swimming moments.

Year 7 Parent Daughter Paddle Polo

QPA Queenwood Parents’ Association

This section of the QNews is for our Parents’ Association who work tirelessly to facilitate and strengthen the parents’ partnership with the School. Your energy and goodwill is vital in building a school in which your daughters can flourish.

In the following pages we recognise the contribution parents make in organising social events, welcoming new families into our community, providing practical services like second-hand uniform sales; raising funds for equipment and programs, offering assistance for school events, and providing us with a useful sounding board.

If you would like to be involved in the QPA, please get in touch via email presidentqpa@gmail.com

Meet The 2022 Queenwood Parents’ Association Committee

With a new school year comes a new QPA committee.

1. JENNI HAGLAND SUSTAINABILITY COORDINATOR

Jenni joined the QPA in 2022. Jenni oversees the second-hand book and uniform sales and activities, helping embed a sustainability spirit in all the QPA does.

2. CATHERINE MACDONALD TREASURER

Catherine joined the QPA as a general member in 2021 and took over as Treasurer in 2022. Catherine manages the cashflow for QPA events and activities.

3. ALISON FRANCIS JUNIOR SCHOOL YEAR REPRESENTATIVE

Alison joined the QPA in 2022 after being a Parent Year Representative for four years. Alison coordinates all communications between the Parent Year Representatives, the QPA and the School, whilst also managing the QPA Junior School Year Events.

4. ADRIANA VIDAL CSR COORDINATOR

Adriana joined the QPA in 2022. She oversees the core responsibilities related to Environment, Ethics and Philanthropy. Adriana ensures the Committee has a positive impact on local communities and the environment, and assists in coordinating sustainable events.

5. CASS WILSON GENERAL MEMBER

Cass Wilson joined QPA this year as a General Member – a first year “apprenticeship” position introducing members to the QPA, and the opportunity to contribute to monthly meetings. Cass assists with QPA events, such as the Welcome Cocktail Party and general QPA business.

6. KERRYN DIVALL TRYBOOKING COORDINATOR

Kerryn joined the QPA Committee in 2020. Kerryn coordinates all QPA events on Trybooking.

7. TING PROUD GENERAL MEMBER

Ting Proud joined QPA this year as a General Member. Ting assists with QPA events, such as the Welcome Cocktail Party and general QPA business.

8. INGRID PICARD CHAIRPERSON

Ingrid joined the QPA Committee as Deputy Chair in December 2020 and became President in July 2021. Ingrid is responsible for the annual agenda, good governance, decision-making and collaboration.

9. CHRISTINA WU SECRETARY

Christina joined the QPA in 2022. Christina schedules and provides notices and minutes of all QPA Committee meetings.

10. NANCY WANG DEPUTY CHAIR

Nancy joined the QPA this year. Nancy shadows and assists the Chairperson as needed and is responsible for the oversight and coordination of QPA activities.

11. MARION SHEFFIELD SENIOR SCHOOL YEAR REPRESENTATIVE

Marion coordinates communications for the Parent Year Representatives in the Senior School. This is her second year in the role following a period as a Parent Year Representative.

12. ANTONIO GELONESI EVENT & PHILANTHROPY COORDINATOR

Antonio is working on the safe reintroduction of gatherings and events post-COVID. This is Antonio’s seventh year on the QPA, first serving as a Parent Representative. Antonio is also striving for more fathers’ events and gatherings to complement the events. •

2022 QPA Welcome Cocktail Party

It was wonderful to welcome everyone back on Campus with champagne, canapés and chatter at the QPA Welcome Cocktail Party.

Parent-Daughter Events

With the lockdowns over, parents and daughters have been out and about in the sun, reconnecting with each other and the community.

LEFT & RIGHT: Year 5 Amazing Race

BELOW: Year 8 Mini Golf at Holey Moley

BELOW & LEFT: Year 7

Paddle Polo at Balmoral Beach

Are you a numbers, words or pictures person? Which of these puzzles do you find easiest to solve?

A SHAKESPEARIAN CROSSWORD

Across

3. Shakespeare’s wife

7. Play that starts with a shipwreck

9. Prospero’s daughter in The Tempest

10. City where Shakespeare lived when he left Stratford-upon-Avon

11. Church where Shakespeare is buried

12. ‘All the world’s a stage’ is a quote from this play

14. John Shakespeare’s trade

17. Play featuring Shylock and Portia

19. King of the fairies in A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Down

1. Play about a Roman Emperor

2. Mother of William Shakespeare

4. Antony and _ ?

5. Collection of plays first published in 1623

6. Shakespeare was born here

8. Mischievous fairy in A Midsummer Night’s Dream

9. Shakespeare’s powerful Scottish play

13. Famous love story set in Verona

15. A play for the end of the Christmas season

16. Magician in The Tempest

18. Theatre originally built in 1599

Can you find the top view for each object below?

What we’re reading

We asked the Senior School Sports Department what books they were enjoying this semester...

Mindset

by Carol S. Dweck

This book says that success comes from having the right mindset rather than intelligence, talent or education. It argues that there are two kinds of people in this world, those that have a ‘fixed’ mindset, and those that have a ‘growth’ mindset. This really has helped my approach to work and my personal life to change and bring out the best in the athletes, coaches and people I work with.

The Girl with the Louding Voice

by Abi Daré

This book is a stand out for me at the moment. It is about a teenage girl born into a rural Nigerian village who wants nothing more than an education, but due to her circumstances is forced into marriage. This inspiring story has so many powerful messages about the power of fighting for your dreams and to never give up on the journey to happiness.

Legacy

by James Kerr

What I love about Legacy are the lessons in leadership, humility and, above all else, the potential of a team overcoming any challenges. I also love that it is a raw account of one of the most successful sporting teams in the world, yet it does not shy away from some of the most challenging and defining moments the All Blacks have faced.

Ice Station

by Matthew Reilly

I have always enjoyed the fast pace of Matthew Riley’s books and Ice Station is no exception. It is action packed with constant twists with an unpredictable plot. A cross between Mission Impossible and Indiana Jones, except this book also has killer whales! A book I cannot put down – I wish Just Read went for an entire lesson!

Lara Harvey is reading...

Anthony Khoury is reading...

Victoria Risby is reading...

Jasmine Palmer is reading...

The Resilience Project

by Hugh Van Cuylenburg

I’m currently reading The Resilience Project , which I’m absolutely loving. So many great reminders as a teacher and parent to reinforce empathy, gratitude and mindfulness in your everyday life.

Tuesdays with Morrie

by Mitch Albom

Mitch Albom

rediscovered his old college professor, Morrie, in the last months of the older man’s life. Knowing he was dying of ALS - or motor neurone diseaseMitch visited Morrie in his study every Tuesday, just as they used to back in college. Their rekindled relationship turned into one final ‘class’: lessons in how to live. I am enjoying how beautifully this book is written and its underlying messages about what’s really important in life.

Cilka’s Journey

by Heather Morris

Cilka’s Journey is the sequel to The Tattooist of Auschwitz . The book follows the story of Cecilia “Cilka” Klein. After surviving the Aschwitz concentration camp where she was used as a slave, she is arrested and charged as a collaborator with senior SS officers. She was then sentenced to 15 years at a Siberian slave labour camp, Vorkuta, just 25 miles south of the Artic Circle. Cilka survived another 8 years in these dangerous conditions by learning to be a nurse and working in the hospital. This book was so hard to put down.

It is unbelievable to comprehend what this young woman had to endure, with an endless fear for her life and being abused on a daily basis. Cilka’s character showed immense strength, resilience and determination to live, which ultimately lead to her survival in such extreme conditions. It is an incredibly sad but inspiring story showing the immense strength of this character, who ironically, was “chosen” by the senior SS officers at Auschwitz to be kept alive because of her exterior beauty.

Melissa Calandruccio is reading...

Krystle Maguire is reading...

Amy Clay is reading...

Queenwood is such a wonderful, busy and inspiring place; we want you to be part of the fun.

Puffs!

28 & 29 July, 4:00pm

27 – 29 July, 6:00pm

BOOK NOW: trybooking.com/886016

The Q Cabaret

Thursday 4 August, 6:30pm

Friday 5 August, 6:30pm

BOOK NOW: trybooking.com/910826

The Astra Gala Fundraiser

Saturday 20 August

BOOK NOW: trybooking.com/770906

Introductory Mornings

Junior School

Thursday 11 August

Thursday 27 October

Senior School

Thursday 25 August

Thursday 15 September

Thursday 13 October

Thursday 10 November

BOOK NOW: queenwood.nsw.edu.au/ book-a-tour

Junior School Book Fair, Grandparent & Special Friends Day

Friday 26 August

School’s 97th Birthday

Friday 16 September

Year 12 Valete Assembly & Valedictory Dinner

Tuesday 20 September

Arnhem Land Trip

Sunday 25 September –

Saturday 1 October

Junior School Twilight

Twinkle Concert

Wednesday 16 November

Infants Christmas Pageant

Wednesday 23 November

Speech Day

Wednesday 7 December

Q_Drama2022_Term3_Puffs_A0_Poster_v1.indd

This issue of QNews is printed on responsibly sourced, chlorine free, carbon neutral, FSC certified paper.

WELL MANAGED FOREST

CARBON NEUTRAL

CHLORINE FREE

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