It was fitting that the delivery of the large collection of toiletries and stationery to McAuley House fell on International Women’s Day (IWD). After the IWD breakfast, a van full of much needed goods were taken to McAuley House's brand new premises in Footscray. Thank you to all the staff, students and community members who donated to the drive. Your contributions will make a real difference to women who have fled family violence.
The Year 12 House Captains attended the annual Alliance Breakfast at Queen’s Hall, Parliament House. Each year the symbolism of the hall is not lost on our leaders - the hall contains portraits of all the leaders who have served as Premier of Victoria, but only one of them is a woman. The portrait of Joan Kirner gazes out across over one hundred young female leaders from girls’ schools, many of whom will go on to be community leaders and make a difference in our society. As host, Georgie Crozier, Shadow Minister for Families and Children, rightly pointed out that there may only be one woman hanging on the wall, but there is also a statue in the centre of the room of another exceptional female leader, Queen Victoria.
This year's keynote address was given by Ms Sally Capp. Sally spoke of her many great achievements as a female leader and discussed her newest venture, running for Lord Mayor of Melbourne. Her advice to our students about the importance of risk taking was sound: if we don’t stand up and have a try we may never reach our true potential. Sally’s biography is written below.
Sally Capp has extensive experience in CEO and executive leadership roles in the government and private sectors, including the Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, KPMG, the Committee for Melbourne and the ANZ. She was the first woman to hold the post of the Victorian Government’s Agent-General in London, where she represented the interests of the state in Europe and Israel from 2009 to 2012. Sally was the first female director of the Collingwood Football Club and has served on the boards of numerous private and public companies and not-for-profits organisations. Currently, Sally is on the boards of: Rowing Australia, the Faculty of Business and Economics at the University of Melbourne, the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Wellness and Research Centre and the Sport Australia Hall of Fame.
The fundraising for Project Compassion is in full swing. This week’s activity was House Nails. For a gold coin, staff and students were able to have their nails painted for the House Swimming Carnival. Some even chose to paint their nails purple and green for International Women’s Day. It was again pleasing to see so many of our Junior SRC Representatives and non SRC members supporting the cause.
