from the study As a young girl I read Little Wom en so often the book At Ruyton our vision is to inspire girls to be bold. nearly fell apart. Set during the American Civil War it was a time and place in history totally unfamiliar to me To educate girls to live lives of impact and purpose. in my Adelaide classroom. The main character, Jo, was my hero. With a strong sense of humour, a firm belief in equality and justice, and a hot temper that led her into trouble, she was a strong and wilful young woman. now I still get tingles up my spine. But what I realise At Ruyton our vision is to inspire girls to be bold. Little Wom en differed notably from the writing for girls now, with the benefit of hindsight and experience, is To educate girls to live lives of impact and purpose. at the time. It was an aspirational novel, presenting girls that it isn’t a perfect performance. Rather it is a with strong female role models, without the limiting recognition of excellence; the best we had ever seen; Why? Because, quite simply at Ruyton, we believe gender specific characteristics of the Victorian age. My the seemingly impossible. We were not presented with in girls. younger-self read it as a quest, a journey, an adventure. the full back story of her life at the time, which was The truth is, I wanted to be Jo. I wanted to be that brave. truly not perfect. It was this one moment of personal academic excellence best that was held high and glorified, not the journey As a School community we congratulate our 2016 In 1885, nearly 20 years after the release of Little of resilience, grit and determination that should have Year 12 students on their exceptional VCE results, with Wom en, a young woman sent the editor of her been celebrated. 54% gaining an ATAR over 90. Claire Smart (Dux) and hometown newspaper a spirited response to a letter Reshma Saujani gave a TED talk last year, titled Teach Rose Adams, Jiaye Chen, Jessica Lamb, Jiashi Li, Fan Su, the paper had published under the title ‘What Girls Girls Bravery Not Perfection. She highlights psychologist Liliana Testen and Yue Wang all achieved ATAR scores Are Good F or’, written by a patronising chauvinist. Carol Dweck’s study of how bright fifth graders handled over 99, accounting for 11% of our student cohort. The woman, Nellie Bly, titled her fierce and thoughtful an assignment too difficult for them. She found that Perfect study scores of 50 were achieved by Rose Adams response ‘The Girl Puzzle’, focusing on the social although bright girls routinely out-performed boys, they (Theatre Studies), Annie Gleisner (English) and Claire advantages afforded to boys but not to girls, and the were quicker to give up. Meanwhile the boys found the Smart (English). Sixty-eight per cent of our girls received need to foster an entrepreneurial spirit in young girls material challenging and were more likely to redouble their first preference. These results reflect the talent to mend this imbalance. their efforts. and hard work of our girls but also the quality teaching, counselling processes, support from families and the So impressed was the editor that Nellie was hired and Reshma presents evidence that women have been focus on development of our girls as independent went on to become a trailblazing journalist in a male- socialised to aspire to perfection, and subsequently may young women. We congratulate the class of 2016 on dominated industry, exposing horrific conditions for be overly cautious. She urges us to teach our girls to be their achievements and thank them for their factory girls, writing an exposé of asylum abuse, which brave in schools and early in their careers, when it has outstanding contribution to Ruyton, wishing them changed legal protections for the mentally ill, and the most potential to impact their lives and the lives of every success for the future. circumnavigating the globe in 72 days in a competitive others. To show them that they will be loved and response to Jules Verne’s Around the World in 80 Days. accepted not for being perfect but for being Nellie’s courage says as much about her character as it courageous. We all need to get comfortable with does about the tragedies of her culture. She is celebrated imperfection and refrain from letting anxiety as a hero because she defied and transcended the overpower curiosity. And we need to debunk the myth limiting gender norms of the Victorian era, which of effortless perfection for young women, so constantly promoted courageous and adventurous feats for men, reinforced in our society. while raising women to be diffident, perfect, and Prioritising responsible risk taking and fearless learning perfectly pretty instead. helps us to reframe failure and recognise it as a tool for Writer Caroline Paul, one of the first women on San learning, an opportunity for valuable feedback, de- Francisco’s firefighting force and an experimental plane shaming it in our homes, classrooms and work places. pilot, believes that not much has changed in the century The way we live is a consequence of the way we are since Nellie Bly’s pointed bravery. Beneath the surface educated. Now more than ever we need to encourage progress, our culture still nurses girls on the insidious our girls to lead their lives bravely: to be fearless and language of fear and boys on that of bravery and curious learners. resilience. In her book The Gutsy Girl: Escapades for Your This year on March 8, International Women’s Day, a Life of E pic Advent ure, aimed at girls but speaking to the statue of a defiant girl was placed facing the Wall Street ageless, ungendered spirit of adventure in all of us, she charging bull in New York City. She serves as a symbol explores what it means to be brave, to persevere, to for gender diversity in the workplace. The image of the break the tyranny of perfection, and to laugh at oneself girl standing up to the bull is powerful in its ability to while setting out to do the seemingly impossible. remind us of the power of women in leadership and the above: Claire Smart, Dux 2016, with Ms Linda Douglas imbalance of our current structures. As much as I want top left: Mrs Nicole Ginnane, Deputy Principal, Head of Junior School, I speak from experience, coming from a sport where the fearless girl to stay I hope she becomes an image of Ms Linda Douglas, Principal, Mrs Cathryn Furey, Assistant Principal, perfection was truly perfected. Nadia Comaneci the past long before 2186, which is when the World Directo r of Learning achieved the perfect 10 and when I watch that footage Economic Forum predicts the gender gap will close. top right: Ms Linda Douglas with Senior School girls on our cover: Our new Junior School 2 the ruyton reporter