On behalf of the Queenwood Council of Governors, we are delighted to announce the appointment of Mrs Marise McConaghy as the ninth Principal of Queenwood, from Term 1 2024 onwards.
Congratulations to our Smart Study Research Team who have received a grant from the Association of Independent Schools to investigate the relationship between academic independence and wellbeing for girls in Years 9 & 10. We look forward to supporting our girls in developing confidence and motivation through a structured study skills program.
Queenwood is a school that was founded in 1925 on enlightened women’s aspirations for the leadership and education of girls and young women. It is with this heritage in mind that I write on behalf of the Council to announce that our Principal, Ms Elizabeth Stone, has been appointed as the next Head of Winchester College in the UK.
We need your daughters at school. We need them to spend time together in order to feel connected and fuel the tank of social relationships for the rest of the year. We also need to remind them that sometimes life is not all about you – it’s also about being there for others. Being present for each other is a gift and we want our girls to grow in this form of generosity.
A week may be a long time in politics, but a day is an eternity in a pandemic. Things are moving very quickly again and I am grateful for the engagement and support of our parent community in recent days as we have worked with you to formulate our response.
At a time when it is tempting to focus on what we are missing out on, perhaps we can encourage our girls to consider with gratitude what they have been given in abundance. And of course, this is when our School motto comes into its own: Per aspera ad astra – Through struggles to the stars!
The Premier outlined today a plan for return to face-to-face schooling, along with some changes to the timing of the HSC examinations. It is likely that Queenwood will take the same approach as that outlined this morning and, if so, it would look like this.
A few weeks ago, we were in a very different situation in NSW; yet as I write the virus is creeping closer. I am full of admiration for the management of this crisis so far by our medicos, public health experts and political leaders. Are they perfect? No. But in NSW we have been exceptionally well-served so far.
Any NSW resident who has visited Victoria in the last 14 days is required to self-isolate for 14 days once they return home. If your daughter has travelled to Victoria during the holiday break we ask that you keep her home for self-isolation and monitor her symptoms.
The staged return to campus has allowed us all to adjust gradually to the usual routine and also test the various measures we have put in place to manage hygiene and physical distancing.
The challenge for all of us, then, is to ensure that we maintain our sense of community. All relationships are founded on shared experiences and time spent together, and I hope we can ensure that we don’t sacrifice this in the name of efficiency.