The School motto, “Our Girls Speak for Themselves” is a powerful statement, illustrating the importance the School places on student voice, but is also an illustration of the strength and individuality of our students.

For 2021 School Captain Winona, it offers a sense of comfort and belonging. “It tells our students that you shouldn’t fear judgement”, she says. “You can genuinely do anything you want to do without being judged.”

Charlotte agrees, and suggests that the School cultivates “the kind of environment where you don’t need to be afraid to say what you like, to speak about your passions, and to really just be your true self.”

“It really enables us to follow anything we want to pursue,” she says.

This positive environment, which is shaped by the Staff as well as supportive families, gives students the opportunity to have their voices heard in meaningful ways, and this has an impact, suggests Winona. “What really stands out to me is the way we vote for our student leaders,” she explains.

This differs from other schools, where the Principal or Senior teachers decide the Student Leadership team. “The staff have given us an opportunity to know that our opinion matters. It shows us that we know our peers the best, we know what we want to look for in a leader. The students have the confidence, and they know they have the ability, to lead.”

“I think it reflects a lot about our school,” she says.

But being empowered to speak for yourself isn’t the same as actually doing it. That takes confidence and practice. 

“You need to be put in situations that can be challenging and that require you to voice your opinion and to believe in yourself,” says Winona. And the School offers lots of opportunities to explore those experiences, from Junior School right through to Year 12. “The School really encourages everyone to have a go,” says Charlotte. “It’s a really good environment to be able to stand up and speak your opinion.”

For younger students, the idea of “owning it” can be confronting, but the School offers a warm and welcoming environment where students really can explore a whole range of activities, and not be afraid to fail.

“As you get older, you do learn to regret things that you don't try,” says Winona. Looking back, she says “definitely, there are things I wish I had done.” Still, when she did push herself out of her comfort zone, she learnt a lot. “You might feel like it's a big fail and it's embarrassing, but those are the moments you cherish,” she says.

Charlotte regrets never trying out for Senior School productions. “I was very, very scared of performing. But looking back I think it would have been such a fun thing to do, such good memories, and creating bonds with people in other year levels,”

Building the inner confidence to be your authentic self takes time, and lots of practice (and sometimes a cheer squad behind you, encouraging you on). 

But at the end of the day, says Winona, “it comes down to what you think of yourself and your abilities and how you think you can achieve things.”

“There’s definitely been a lot of instances where I feel like I’m being overcome by doubt,” she explains. “But the second you change your mentality, and you say “give this a shot, I’ve got absolutely nothing to lose”, you do more than you think you can, and you achieve so much.”

Charlotte believes that a lot of confidence comes down to simply accepting who you are. “I’ve always played saxophone and been in bands and for a while there I thought it’s not cool to be in concert bands. But I love it so much!” she says. “So I think acknowledging that's part of who I am and owning it and knowing that it makes me, me.” 

“Once you realise that you are important and what other people think of you isn’t that important, you can really start to flourish,” she says.

Part of the role of the School captains is to empower students to have the confidence to speak for themselves. This year, with the slogan “Let’s Own It”, the Prefect team wanted to lead by example. “We acknowledge there are moments where we feel vulnerable and don’t feel confident, but having that slogan ringing in the back of our minds gives you a reason to ‘own it’”, says Winona.

“It has inspired other students to look at us in the School Leadership team and say, if they are able to own it, they are able to be confident then why can’t I?”

The Prefect team planned many initiatives and student-run Assemblies to encourage students to “Own It”. One such assembly was called “Let’s Share It,” with lots of students willing to put up their hands to get up on stage to perform.

“The Assemblies were an opportunity to really hammer in the idea of owning every single thing you do and not be ashamed of the qualities you have, because they make you unique,” says Winona.

“It was super cool that our slogan encouraged people to own their passions and want to share it with everyone,” adds Charlotte.

Unfortunately, due to COVID and lockdowns, many of those Assemblies and initiatives had to pivot to online, while the Prefect Instagram account became an important social connection where the Prefect team could explore their ideas and messages.

Coming out of 2020, with the pandemic still raging, was always going to be an uncertain time, explains Winona. “But actually being faced with it, having to spontaneously change your plans, not knowing what’s going to happen the next day, it taught us all a valuable lesson,” she says.

“I’ll definitely remember the challenges,” says Winona, looking back on 2021. “Not because they were challenges, but because we overcame them as a team.”

The Prefects are proud of their achievements, despite the number of initiatives and activities they had to cancel or change. “Our team is so capable, and they did it all with a positive attitude, and they triumphed!”, says Winona. “They’ve shown us how to lead, how to be good leaders and how to be good people. It’s hard to say how proud we are of all of them for being able to do that.” 

“We want to be remembered as the year level that triumphed through a pandemic for two years with a smile.”