The power of ‘old-school’ connection by Philippa Zingales

This week I took a special boxed lunch and visited one of my school’s longest-serving teachers. She taught drama at the school from 1959 until 2002, and in many ways is one of the most impactful and memorable teachers from our school.

Miss Keown (whose age it would be impolite to reveal) can remember almost every student she taught; their maiden and married names, their professions, often even the names of their children. Over finger sandwiches, I learnt more in two hours about some of the amazing women who have been through our school than I ever would through LinkedIn or our yearbooks.

Traditions and events that have kept our oldest alumni and community members connected physically to the school have been interrupted. Many are still not on email or social media. These alumni (and past teachers like Miss Keown) have such valuable contribution to give to our engagement programs. 

The knowledge that such teachers have takes time to learn and understand, but can bring depth to our work and, in particular, bring greater understanding of our communities, the milestones and major events that shape the histories of our schools, and the experiences of our students. In particular, it can help us find the gold—the stories of the impact that an ’insert XYZ school’ education can have upon a life.

Over the past two years, letters, Christmas cards, birthday cards, personal notes, phone calls, and when possible, visits like my lunch with Miss Keown, have been vital in ensuring that we don’t forget those members of our community who aren’t visible in our online-age. This has happened in partnership with our Ex-Students’ Union.  It’s time consuming, and yes, often expensive, but so very worthwhile. 

An example of the power of this connection is our Pen Pal Project. In 2020, Year 5 and 6 students were given the first name of an ex-student. They were asked to write a letter about their experiences as a student, what their favourite subjects are, what House they are in and then ask their Pen Pal to write back, answering the same questions.  We then wrote to our ex-students, many of our oldest and most dedicated ex-students, and invited them to join in the project. The response was overwhelming.

For months, letters were exchanged back and forth. The power of the shared experience of alumni—despite 30, 60 or more years between them—became visible on the page. Our ex-students were thrilled (and often helpful with their constructive criticism on modern penmanship!), and our students learned how to write a letter and experience the joy of receiving mail.

In these letters, our ex-students shared anecdotes and stories about their time a school—their trips on the train, the uniform, their favourite subjects, who they have kept in touch with. Information about their history as ‘PLC Sydney’ girls that can’t be learnt any other way.

The project was then extended to our Junior School at the end of Term 4, with each student creating a Christmas card with a special message for an ex-student, and they were sent out.  These were a particular hit! 

Yesterday, almost two years on from when we launched the project, I received letters from ex-student pen pals for students who are now in Years 7 and 8.  In time the girls will stop writing back, and that’s a part of life as we grow and move into the next chapter of our lives.

But the power that this traditional form of communication still holds shouldn’t be disregarded. 

And the even better news: the Junior SRC has specifically requested to repeat the project this year—a new tradition has begun!

Philippa Zingales

Director of Alumni Relations, PLC Sydney and member of the NSW/ACT Chapter