This morning, a group of Underdale senior students and teachers, together with our Principal, Mary-Lou Michael, attended the International Women’s Day Breakfast, the largest event in Australia celebrating International Women’s Day. At the same time, the event was live-streamed at school so that staff could also be part of this inspiring celebration.
The morning was a powerful reminder of the importance of creating a world where opportunities are shared more fairly. We agree with Katherine Bennell-Pegg, Australia’s first official astronaut, who mentioned in her highly inspiring speech, “talent and curiosity are everywhere but opportunity isn’t.*” as we actively create these opportunities by supporting our students, male and female alike, to explore their strengths, pursue their ambitions, and develop the confidence to step into future pathways, and so help them to “balance the scales”. At Underdale, we “strengthen resilience through inclusion” by creating an environment where students feel seen, supported, and valued, giving them the confidence to aim high.
Our ROCK values guide this work every day. Resilience reminds us that progress comes from persistence, after all, “kangaroos don’t go backwards, only forward.”Optimism helps students see challenges as possibilities, because “critical for resilience is optimism.”Courage encourages students to imagine themselves in places they may never have considered before — because “you can’t be what you can’t see yourself being.”
Events like today remind us that the future is already sitting in our classrooms. We understand that “the first person to walk on Mars could be a student sitting in one of our classrooms today.” Our role is to continue creating the conditions where every young woman, and every student, can see a future full of possibility and feel empowered to reach for it.
