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From the Consuls
As the 2021 School Consuls, our aim throughout our last year of school is to create a holistic feeling amongst the Fintona community.
We believe that any leadership position is an opportunity for service and to initiate change, so we hope to further consolidate togetherness and trust amongst our peers, whilst leading comfortably and respectfully.
We are grateful for the opportunities we have been offered during our years at Fintona and are especially proud and honoured to have achieved the role of Consul. We aim to reflect the values of the School community by fostering compassion, respect, individuality, and inclusion.
This year, our primary goal is to build a greater sense of security and assurance within the student body; something that is vital following the challenging events of 2020. Through the organisation of fundraisers and whole school events, the encouragement of co-curricular activities and enlightening assemblies, we hope to further strengthen existing bonds and allow every Fintonian’s voice to be heard.
A significant endeavour the Fintona leadership team has embarked on this year, is to expand our understanding of the issue of consent, and how it is taught in the classroom. To achieve this, it was important to work collaboratively with Camberwell Grammar School, which ultimately offered both parties a larger forum where we could discuss and consider this topic. Through regular meetings, our communities were able to converse on this important matter, to find a way in which we, as school leaders, can positively cultivate change and enhance awareness of consent and sexual abuse. However, our journey to execute this vision is far from over. The leadership team will continue to meet with CGS regularly in the future, and via this co-educational setting we hope to develop strategies to provide younger year levels with information regarding consent, through student-tostudent teaching and learning.
Additionally, a priority for us is the cultivation of a safe learning environment for every student, while simultaneously promoting mental and physical wellbeing in and outside the classroom. We are planning to participate in the 2021 Push-Up Challenge, with many teams working together to ‘push-up’ for better mental health support. This year, the goal is 3318 push-ups to be completed over 25 days. This figure represents the number of Australians who died from suicide in 2019. Our aim is to fundraise for this very important cause and to create greater awareness about mental health in Australia.
For many years, Fintona’s participation in the Cancer Council’s Relay for Life has been a charity event we have been proud to be a part of, and this year is no exception. Our goal is to gather the largest Fintona team yet and encourage girls from all year levels to participate. It would be outstanding if we could raise $8000, a sum which has previously been raised by the School community through sausage sizzles, sit up relays and popular cake stalls. This event is one which is integral to not only Fintona, but the wider community, and as such it is a cause we strongly support.
As Consuls, our vision for Fintona is to continue to champion the values and ethos of the School: the virtues of hard work, the importance of friendship, respect and support, and the inclusion of the gifts and talents that every student possesses. In essence, to stay true to the School’s motto ‘Age Quod Agis’; do what you do well.
