media usage. Thank you to parents, staff and students who
worked collaboratively to present these workshops.
Attendance was so overwhelming that workshops will be
continued in 2014.
Developing our girls as global citizens, with a commitment
to community service, sustainability and a global society,
is an important aspect of a Ruyton education. Community
Awareness Days, Sustainability committee events, Maytime
Fair, Green Team and Junior School CareBear efforts, as
well as the efforts of individuals, continue to demonstrate
the commitment of Ruyton girls to being responsible and
informed citizens who make a difference. This year the
introduction of the FareShare in the Kitchen programme
provided a unique opportunity for Year 9 students to learn
about the reality of hunger in our community and work
with community groups in solving this issue.
The Students for Sustainability have encouraged our
community to commit to act positively and reduce Ruyton’s
environmental impact. Participation in education,
awareness-raising and activism-campaigns, alongside
action both within and outside of the School, have enabled
students to make a real difference. This was recognised
with the School being announced as a finalist in four
categories of Sustainability Victoria’s ResourceSmart 2013
School Awards: Energy School of the Year, Student action
Team of the Year,Water School of the Year, and Teacher of
the Year. Ruyton was announced the winner of theWater
School of the Year.
There were 19 girls who participated in International
Exchange, visiting St Peter’s School, Cambridge,
New Zealand; St George’s School for Girls, Edinburgh,
Scotland; Havergal College, Toronto, Canada; The Study,
Montreal, Canada; St Michaels University School, Victoria,
Canada; Southridge School, Vancouver, Canada; Dana
Hall School, Massachusetts, USA; Lycée International
Georges Duby, France; and Priors Field School, Surrey, UK.
The programme is designed to allow our girls to develop
independence, resilience, leadership and life skills as they
experience life in another country, challenging their
ways of thinking and experiencing unique learning
opportunities. For the first time Year 8 students had the
opportunity to take part in an interstate exchange
programme. Four Ruyton girls exchanged with students
at Meridien School, Sydney and two girls exchanged with
students at Seymour College, Adelaide.
A group of Year 9–11 students took part in the French Tour
over the September holidays to improve their French
language skills and extend their understanding of French
culture and history. The tour, led by Mrs Pam Grant, also
visited Lycée International Georges Duby, and the students
were able to experience a taste of school in France.
A group of 22 Senior School girls took part in the European
Music Tour, performing 11 times across the United Kingdom,
France, Italy and Austria. The tour provided them with
amazing performance opportunities as well as memorable
cultural experiences.
In December some Senior girls will join Trinity students on
the Renaissance History Tour. In January another group of
students and staff will walk the Overland Track in Tasmania,
in a new initiative for the School to increase our challenge
activities for students.
The Ruyton Foundation has continued to provide strong
support for our learning programmes though Master
Class and the Indigenous Cultures Research Award.
The theme for Master Class this year was Asia Capability
and Intercultural Understanding and the keynote address
delivered by Dr Eeeqbal Hassim highlighted the value of
intercultural understanding and compassion as essential
life skills in the 21st century.We thank Mr Peter Kanat for
his ongoing commitment to Ruyton and his leadership of
the Foundation.
The Ball Committee worked tirelessly to present the Ruyton
Ball 2013. It was an evening of fabulous celebration with
a tremendous atmosphere of goodwill among the
assembly. Over $35,000 was raised on the evening and this
has been allocated to the first stage of our Master Plan,
the redevelopment of the Margaret McRae Building.
The Boroondara Council Urban Planning Committee
approved the Ruyton Development Plan this year, which
includes three major projects: development of a new
Performing Arts Centre, redevelopment of the Margaret
McRae Building, and extension and refurbishment of the
Junior School. The redevelopment of the Margaret McRae
Building begins in 2014 and will include state of the art
Science facilities, dedicated learning areas for Year 7 and 8
students, specialised Drama studios and an events space
for the Ruyton community. Thank you to our Ball committee
for all their hard work and efforts.
Last year the School was honoured to receive a bequest
fromMr Victor Lapcik of his house in Selbourne Road.
This generosity has enabled us to rethink some of our
Principal’s Report (Continued)
Annual Report 2013
4
