From the Middle School

This week in Middle School, the girls have been getting back into routines and starting new units of work for many of their subjects. I’m proud to say that they appear to be confident and ready to take on the challenges of Term 2. Thank you to all the Year 7 families who joined us for Learning Discussions last Wednesday. It was such a great opportunity for you to meet with your daughter’s teachers and share feedback around their transition and academic progress.

This term, the College is continuing to focus on the value of Respect, foregrounding our Diversity and Inclusion pillar. We will be working with the girls to help them to better understand the impact of their words and actions on others and encouraging them to broaden perspectives and understanding by taking time to ‘walk around in someone else’s shoes’ for a while.

In Middle School, one of the tools we employ comes from Dr Mark Brackett’s (founding director of the Yale Centre for Emotional Intelligence) RULER, an evidence-based program and acronym for the five skills of emotional intelligence: Recognising, Understanding, Labelling, Expressing and Regulating. You can find out more here.

One tool in particular – the Blueprint – assists students to navigate challenges and develop an insight into the impact of their actions. We encourage you to have a conversation with your daughters about using respectful and inclusive language amongst their peers. Working together to underscore shared expectations is key to building a positive community.

The Autumn Family Festival held last Thursday was such a celebration of our diverse College community. Thank you to all those who participated and contributed to the success of this important initiative.

We have commenced interviews with the Year 7 students who have been shortlisted for positions of responsibility and look forward to sharing nominations in the near future.

The Tuesday and Thursday lunchtime Gloucester Gathering activities are off to a good start with many students joining in our weaving activities last week and the ever popular slime making on Tuesday.

Throughout lunchtimes this week, the girls have also had the opportunity to participate in and be an audience for our Best of PAC performances which showcase the incredible talent and confidence of students from across the College within a variety of mediums. There have been some inspirational performances that could easily find a spot at professional venues – thank you to all who are sharing their gifts.