FROM THE BOARD

THE BOARD

Following the outbreak of COVID-19 in 2020 and extended periods in lockdown, Melburnians started 2021 with the hope that life as we knew it had adjusted to a form of ‘COVID normal’. Students and staff returned to Ruyton for the start of the school year and attended camps, small assemblies in Royce and much loved extra-curricular activities. Parents were invited back onsite to usher the new year in at Welcome Drinks, Old Ruytonians’ attended reunions in Henty House and the Parents of Ruyton (POR) reinstated the Second-Hand Uniform Sale (SHUS) and worked with Parent Reps to bring the community closer together after being apart for such a significant period the year before. It was lovely to hear the chatter of students in the playground and feel the joy of human connection that comes with physically being together after being apart for so long. By July the impact of the Delta COVID variant had a significant impact on our school. With mandatory quarantine restrictions placed on staff and students that triggered rapid changes to learning programs, Ruyton responded to the upheaval of the situation with cooperation and understanding. Then remaining in lockdown for most of Term 3, Ruyton sustained itself through this period on the strength of our engaged community, the quality of our teaching and learning programs and the individualised care given to our girls. Amongst the undeniable challenges of 2021 there have been many good news stories. At the Board level, we have focused on the development of our next strategic plan. Havingthe opportunity to consult with people from across our community about our school and their hopes and vision for it was highly informative and invigorating. I look forward tosharing this document and our goals for thenext five years with you. Poised to embark on the largest building project in Ruyton’s history, we are entering an exciting phase of our school’s story. Providing worldclass educational and enrichment facilities, theredevelopment of Royce Theatre and the Library will strengthen Ruyton's commitment and capacity to deliver an outstanding all-round education and support our girls to become confident women who challenge, shape and change the world. We have started to engage with members of our community to ensure we have the support to fulfil this vision through the Dream Now capital campaign and will ensure that everyone who wants to contribute to this project is involved. I encourage anyone seeking additional information about Dream Now to visit the School website orcontact our Community Relations Office. The end of each school year is bittersweet. Celebrating the achievements of academic and co-curricular endeavour, we also say goodbye to our graduating class, and any staff and community members leaving Ruyton. On behalf of the Ruyton Board, I publicly acknowledge and thank Dr Jim Watterston for his contribution to our School community. Standing down from the Ruyton Board after three years of service, Jim will be remembered for his wealth of education knowledge, strategic mindset and the generous way he has shared his expertise with Board members as well as the staff of both Ruyton andTrinity for the betterment of our school. Wewish Jim well and hope to see him back atRuyton again in the future. I have always been enormously proud to be a member of the Ruyton community, but never so much as over the last two years. On behalf of the Board, I would like to say thank you to our Principal Linda Douglas and her dedicated Executive team. Thank you to the staff for their commitment and passion. Thank you to our families for their significant support. Thankyouto our students for never giving up. Thank you toall in the Ruyton community. Virginia McLaughlan President, The Ruyton Board