From the Head of Senior School

Welcome back to all families to our final term of school. It’s always comforting having the girls return to school and hearing the normal buzz of excitement and welcoming atmosphere that creates. Thank you to all girls and their parents/carers for your support in the wearing of correct summer uniform. It’s crucial that all girls start positively with the wearing of uniform and get into a good routine from Week 1. I wanted to point out that in my earlier communication I had referenced the wearing of school tracksuit to and from school on the days girls have a timetabled lesson in PDHPE, dance or drama. With the warmer weather upon us, it’s perfectly ok that girls arrive or leave in PDHPE uniform, shorts and polo shirt. Girls are often reminded that there should not be any variations of this, with the wearing of non- MLC School shorts, shirts or hoodies.

As I write this week’s newsletter piece, I must confess to how it normally comes together. I will usually pick up on an aspect of school life during the week and send myself an email with a few ideas and then sit down on Thursday to type it up. I knew that one theme I wanted to reference this week was doing things with intent, or acting with purpose. It seems rather ironic that despite my motivation, I am now preparing this week’s offerings at the last minute on Friday morning!

That said, I often admire the way an MLC School girl goes about her daily business of school. On the most part, girls are acting with purpose and clear intent. I can observe this by the way they move around campus, by the way they are organised, by listening to their conversations and above all, the way they conduct themselves in class. At the start of a new term, now is the best time to do an audit of the way we are going about school. Is it with intent? Do we have a clear purpose in the way we are working? With four weeks remaining of the current academic year, it’s easy to assume that girls can just return to school and go through the motions. With a new academic year starting in Week 5 (Monday 9 November 2020), now is the opportune time to get organised and put in place all of the things that will bring success in the new academic year.

As I touched on briefly in this week’s assembly, when I spoke to the girls about the term ahead:

  • Look for the qualities that have helped you this year
  • Reach out to those around who might be able to guide you in moulding the new you (teachers, Luminaries, Heads of Year, peers, parents, older siblings)
  • Talk openly with someone at home about areas that need improvement (do an honest audit or reflection of what didn’t work well)
  • Establish positive routines, write them down and stick to them by telling someone what they are
  • Get organised, right from the start
  • Set some achievable goals for each subject
  • Set some boundaries that will help protect you (waking and sleeping time, exercise, screen time)

There are many other ways of ensuring girls strive for success and work towards creating a better version of themselves. One of the many great things about our school is that there are an abundance of good role models in every Year group that girls can look up to. I’ve always appreciated the culture of hard work that is in existence at MLC School, but admired even more the way that girls support one another in their quest to improve.

It was wonderful to acknowledge our 2021 School Leaders again this week as they were presented with their official badges. Also during this week’s assembly I had the pleasure of announcing the leadership team in both Sport and Music and I congratulate the girls on their appointments. For a full list of Captains click here.

I hope that Term 4 is a positive and productive term for all students and families. Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you require support or assistance.

– Neil Scotney
Head of Senior School