College Open Day
This week we are experiencing the thrill of the swimming carnival and then Open Day on the Saturday. It is wonderful to see all the girls engage with these events and enjoy the opportunity to learn new skills or hone others. I encourage you to visit the College on Saturday and let those who may be interested in all girls' education for their girls to come and experience the St Pat’s atmosphere.

International Women's Day
In the coming weeks we will be celebrating International Women’s Day. We host a breakfast (7 March) at the College and invite past students to speak about their journey after St Patrick’s College. I always find this inspiring as we hear about the challenges the women had to face and the creativity and resilience they had to adopt to overcome those challenges. It is also very engaging for all the parents and students who are present to hear that they can reach their goals with will-power and persistence.

I recently listened to a podcast about Miss Matters. She was born in Adelaide and went across to England to work with the suffragettes. At that time, women in Australia had been given the vote and were also able to sit for parliament. We were viewed across the world as very progressive having given women both rights. Her campaign was extraordinary and whilst it was still many years before the women received that right in England, she was acclaimed as an Australian hero. I suspect you may not have heard of her?  There are in fact many women in our history who are not generally well known. Sadly, the contributions they made in forging this new nation have been overlooked or only mildly regarded which is largely because of their gender.

Today we are far more mindful of trying to expose gender bias in our communities, policies, infrastructure and interactions. The women of today are feeling more empowered to stand up against it and name bias where they experience it. Far more men are also now more attuned to any gender bias and discrimination and will challenge it for their daughters, their sisters, their mothers or partners.  There is a way to go but there is change afoot. If you would like to attend our International Women’s Day Breakfast, please call the office.

Farewell Mrs Foran 
This week we farewelled Mrs Petah Foran. Mrs Foran has been a great asset to the College as our RE Coordinator for the last seven years. We wish her well in her new school and thank her for the wisdom and the diligence she brought to the RE programs and experiences at the College. (photo below)

Gala Ball
Finally, if you haven’t purchased your tickets for the Ball on 16 March at the Cube I ask that you do so. It will be a fabulous night and all the funds go exclusively to the Scholarship Fund. More information is included in this edition.

I will leave you with a psalm on hospitality, our Benedictine value for this year:

                   “Guardian of the orphan, defender of the widowed, such is God, who gives the lonely a home”  - psalm 68

Blessings

Sue Lennox - Principal