Our teaching staff actively engage in a wide range of
training and development opportunities through our
Professional Learning programme. This year staff have
had the opportunity to participate in a wide range of
workshops and conferences.
Strategies for Differentiation
and Restorative Practices
were the focus of a whole School
Professional Learning Day at the start of Term 4.
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. One of
our Year 4 students remarked in the Accomplishments
Assembly,
‘
I used to think my life was ordinary and now
I know it is extraordinary’.
This realisation, coupled with
the determination to make a difference and improve
quality of life, enables our girls to care for others or for
those in our own community who are in need. Community
Awareness Days, Sustainability committee events, Maytime
Fair, Green Team and Junior School Care Bear efforts, as
well as the efforts of individuals in participating in the
World’s Greatest Shave, continue to demonstrate Ruyton
girls’ commitment to being caring and informed citizens
who make a difference. Their commitment to recycling
and waste reduction reflects responsible citizenship and
positive signs for our future.
This year 16 Ruyton girls participated in the International
Exchange programme, visiting St Peter’s School, Cambridge,
New Zealand; St George’s School for Girls, Edinburgh,
Scotland; Southridge, British Columbia, Canada; St Michael’s
University School (SMUS), British Columbia, Canada;
Havergal College, Toronto, Canada; Dana Hall School,
Massachusetts, USA; The Study, Quebec, Canada; and Priors
Field School, Surrey, UK. This programme was established
in 1989 and is open to every girl in Year 10. The girls visit
their exchange school over the September holidays and
into Term 4, incorporating the dates of the Year 10 Camp,
and then host their exchange sister the following year.
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.
This year we have established a new exchange opportunity
with Lycée International Georges Duby, a school just
outside Aix-en- Provence, France. Our first Ruyton students
will visit the school in December this year and we hope that
this will be the start of a long and productive exchange
programme between the two schools.
In the Year of the Dragon five girls attended the Chinese
Tour, with a focus on utilising their Chinese language skills
and extending their understanding of Chinese culture and
history. The tour, led by Mrs Danyang McAuliffe, visited Yu
Xin School, our sister school and four major cities, Beijing,
Shanghai, Hangzhou and Suzhou.
Again this year the Ruyton Foundation has continued
to provide strong support for our learning programmes
through its support of Master Class and the Indigenous
Cultures Research Award. The theme for Masterclass
this year was
Australian Remembrance
and the keynote
address, delivered by Mr TimWhitford, was a moving and
personal account of the tragedy of war, in particular the
Battle of Fromelles in 1916. Thank you to Mr Peter Kanat for
his ongoing commitment to Ruyton and his leadership of
the Foundation.
This has been a year of new projects for the Old Ruytonians’
Association (ORA). As well as the many reunions held
throughout the year Ms Caroline Jarrett and I met with
ORA members at Canberra and Sydney reunions. Interstate
reunions will now become part of the reunion calendar
and enable so many more of our ORA members to stay
in touch with their School. To maximise contact with
ORA members the ORA committee has developed the
ORAdvisor, with the first two editions being emailed
to members this year. Finally, on Sunday 25 November,
we celebrated the unveiling of the ORA Heritage Trail.
This trail commemorates many sites around the School
that are of significant importance to past and present
students. Congratulations to Ms Caroline Jarrett and the
ORA Committee for their wonderful work in developing an
extraordinary gift for the Ruyton community to enjoy now
and in the coming years.
The Parents of Ruyton are an integral part of the strong
sense of community at Ruyton. They concentrate on friend-
raising among the Ruyton community, but also provide
wonderful support for the education of our girls. This
year more than 230 people attended the POR Luncheon
at Kooyong, with money raised supporting the Ruyton
Community Scholarship. Thank you to the Executive and
members of the Parents of Ruyton, and all of our volunteers
for their continued support. Be it Mothers’ and Fathers’
Day Breakfasts, Drama and Music performances, Sporting
events, Questers stalls, second hand uniforms and books,
or special events, your contribution to the life of the School
is invaluable.
Principal’s Report (Continued)
Annual Report 2012
4