IGS Learning Journeys 2.0 by International Grammar School

LEARNING JOURNEYS

International Grammar School, 40 Years Young: 1984–2024

2.0

LEARNING JOURNEYS 2.0

International Grammar School, 40 Years Young: 1984–2024

“TECH SAVVY IS A GIVEN. WORLD SAVVY IS THE

40 YEARS YOUNG

United Through Diversity | Vive la Révolution

IN THE BEGINNING

THE VISION IN ACTION

THE POWER OF LANGUAGE

How language shaped the School | Celebrating culture and diversity | Primary language camps | Language and world-readiness

GOING DEEPER

Kaleidoscope Kids | Digital learning | Creating lifelong learners | Global Scholars | The rise of the chatbots

INDIGENOUS LEARNING: A TWO-WAY STREET

Indigenous experiences | Koori kids write a Welcome to Country | IGS Indigenous scholars | On Country adventures | The Early Learning totem project

EMPOWERING STUDENTS

BLAZING

The ultimate social justice issue | Putting learning into action | Making a difference | Taking on ‘a wicked challenge’

EXHIBITIONS

LEARNING

How to become a high schooler | Culinary Fusion | The role of educators in wellbeing | Calm brains for good learning and the role of Therapy Dogs | Considering life after school

BUILDING

How families helped build IGS | Be kind | Stories from the world: life after school | The teams behind the scenes | In gratitude

At IGS, we acknowledge the First Nations Peoples of Australia

como los guardianes fuertes, resilientes e ingeniosos as the strong resilient, and resourceful custodians qui transmettent leurs cultures, leurs histoires et leurs chansons depuis des générations, who have passed on their cultures, stories, and songs for generations, 一直和国家相连，养育着土地，水和天空. always connected to Country and nurturing the land, waters, and skies. わたしたちは、ガディガルにけいいをひょうします。

We pay our respects to the Gadigal auf wessen Land sich IGS befindet und wo wir uns bemühen, die Perspektiven zu würdigen on whose lands IGS stands and where we strive to value the perspectives delle culture più antiche ancor oggi esistenti nel mondo. of the oldest surviving cultures in the world. Baranyin yagu barribu Aboriginal bimalgu. Yesterday, today, and tomorrow, this is Aboriginal Land.

UNITED THROUGH DIVERSITY

Among these streets, through these gates, within these walls

Every door opens to the world

United through diversity, we celebrate the differences That set us apart, yet make us one

Up and down these stairs, twists and turns and corridors

Every smile keeps this place alive

Where non-conformists thrive, not frightened by the challenge of life

Together we climb with an open mind

Because in here our journey empowers us

To explore our gifts, find our voice, who we really are

And you’ll be there beside us as we grow into this world

Together, united through diversity

Embrace this world and our best we will become We’ll go and face this world head strong

For we’ll know that we belong, part of this world

This is our time

On Gadigal Land, the beating heart of Ultimo

We are here through the sacrifice of those who came before To make a school out of nothing but a dream Takes a great community and a vision rare

Now look at all we can achieve

With the values that we live and breathe

And all the languages we learn

And at the heart of who we are and what we do

Will be our kindness, that’s IGS.

Music and Lyrics by Paul Jarman 2023

Commissioned by International Grammar School for the School’s 40th anniversary.

VIVE LA REVOLUTION

Celebrating 40 Years Young, 26 June 2024

“THE 40 YEARS YOUNG CONCERT TOOK OUR SCHOOL TO NEW HEIGHTS IN THE CREATIVE AND PERFORMING ARTS. IT WAS SUCH A BEAUTIFUL AND AMBITIOUS WAY TO CELEBRATE OUR SCHOOL’S 40TH ANNIVERSARY AND WAS A PRECIOUS GIFT TO THOSE WHO CAME BEFORE US.

“WHAT THRILLED ME MOST WAS THAT OUR STUDENTS NOW HAVE THIS EXTRAORDINARY EXPERIENCE FOREVER AS PART OF THEIR MEMORIES OF THEIR DAYS AT SCHOOL. MAYBE DOWN THE YEARS THEY WILL EVEN REFLECT ON BEING IN A SCHOOL WHERE THE STAFF CARED ENOUGH ABOUT THEM TO DEDICATE THEIR OWN TIME FOR HUNDREDS AND HUNDREDS OF HOURS, AROUND THE CLOCK, OVER A YEAR, TO BRING THIS TO THEM.”

Shauna Colnan, Principal

PASSION

JOY

“THE VIBE BROUGHT OUR WHOLE SCHOOL COMMUNITY TOGETHER. IT SPEAKS VOLUMES OF THE POWER OF MUSIC TO CONNECT PEOPLE THROUGH A CELEBRATION OF MUSIC, ART, DANCE.”

Darren Kuilenburg, Director of Music

“THE FOUNDATION STORY OF IGS IS A LOVE STORY. WE ARE GRATEFUL FOR OUR HISTORY. IT INSPIRES US.”

Shauna Colnan

SHAUNA COLNAN

IGS Principal since 2014

IGS was celebrating its 30th birthday when Shauna Colnan became the School’s seventh Principal. She arrived with a wealth of experience as an English, History and Drama teacher and having held leadership roles in high profile Sydney independent schools. With graduate and postgraduate qualifications in diverse fields including business, the arts and education, Shauna had also marked and set the HSC English examinations, supervised the largest English HSC marking operation in NSW, and worked on the national project team at the NSW Education Standards Authority (formerly the Board of Studies) to shape the NSW response to the national curriculum. At IGS, each week for her first five years, Shauna wrote inspiring musings, reflections and ideas for the School’s future. Her letters which she named Through Line arrived in every staff member’s inbox each Monday morning. Shauna’s arrival at IGS ushered the School into an ambitious new era.

I actually didn’t know all that much about IGS. I knew a bit, but not a huge amount, which at that stage was quite common. People from outside the School didn’t necessarily know too much about it. I had never applied for a Principal’s job before and I thought I had no chance of being selected, because, sadly, I’m monolingual. I applied because I love that it’s in Ultimo. I love the city. And it’s secular and coeducational, which was very appealing to me as well.

I knew the School’s strong reputation for the arts, which I believe is vital for education — the power of the arts. The idea that every child could be bilingual because they went to this school was astonishing to me; a gift that nobody could ever take away from a child.

IGS had all the things that I think are the best scenario for the education of a child. And I could see from looking at and researching the School that it had this enormous promise and potential. It was almost like it was going to be on the right side of history. IGS was where education was heading. And I thought, well, I’ll just throw my hat in that ring and see what happens.

And then I got the job. I was really shocked. I remember when Larissa Cook, the then

Chair of the IGS Board rang me and told me. I was driving home from work and she told me I had the job and I just screamed and said “thank you”. It was incredible.

My first impressions were happy impressions. I felt like I was home. Everywhere I looked, I’d think, “oh, that’s right. That should happen in every school”. An example would be something as simple as every Year 12 student having an academic mentor of their choice. Why doesn’t every school have that? And Tutor Group, that the kids love — it’s like a family. Why doesn’t every school have that?

Before I arrived, I came and sat out in the street in my car and I watched the kids chatting away and speaking with teachers, walking across the street and into the Mountain Street campus. Almost like we’re in New York and the kids are trusted and they’re safe and they’re comfortable in their own skin.

That was just a beautiful thing in itself — this open campus — because the rest of the school world outside of IGS was locking kids in for safety. Here, the kids are knitted into their environment and it’s just a beautiful

thing. I was struck by that. I was struck by how welcoming the School was.

“THE KIDS ARE KNITTED INTO THEIR ENVIRONMENT AND IT’S JUST A BEAUTIFUL THING. I WAS STRUCK BY THAT. I WAS STRUCK BY HOW WELCOMING THE SCHOOL WAS.”

One of the first things I did was interview prospective Head Boy and Head Girl candidates, and one student after another came into my office. They were all talking about the values, but not in a way that was, “I want this job and I’m going to learn the values off by heart and hothouse myself”. Students own this place. I absolutely loved that the kids were the ones who really owned it.

The other memory I have that was extremely formative for me was going to my first assembly when I was workshadowing the then Principal Michael Maniska, who was so generous to allow me to sit and watch him do his job for two weeks before I started.

I went into assembly and there was a student doing some way-out kind of thing on the stage in front of 600 kids and staff. He was up there free forming, doing some song, and you could see he hadn’t practised much. I was really worried for him. I thought everyone would laugh but the complete opposite happened. The whole assembly broke out into massive applause for this boy. That still makes me teary.

He just felt so happy and proud to be who he was. In many schools, that kid would’ve been laughed off the stage, but here he was embraced. And I thought, that’s what this School is all about. And I knew I had to help preserve that quality.

There were some things that I immediately thought we needed to work on. I could bring something of the experience of being in schools that were more than 100 years old to IGS, but on the whole, it was this feeling of a really special, beautiful culture.

I met kids over my first term. I met with 10 children from each year group and had lunch with them, and they told me about their School. I learned so much from them about how much they love this place and love being here, in Ultimo. There and then, I thought “we will stay in this place”. Even though the School has a history of moving around, we have to stay here because part of what’s so special about IGS is its location.

Until I understood the history, I couldn’t understand anything about the School. Now that I’ve been here for 10 years — and I haven’t been here as long as a lot of people — I feel incredibly protective of its history. I can see all these little pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, or patterns like stars in the constellation, that go into what the School is today. We have to keep telling those stories about where this School came from because it is unique.

“I THINK WE ARE, IN A WAY, IN A GOLDEN ERA OF IGS. THAT’S MY PERCEPTION.”

Kindness is a currency in this School, and I think that comes from people giving their all. Teachers worked for nothing to keep the School open. Josie Nardella told me, “Shauna, we were making a school. We were building a school”. The parents rolled their sleeves up and created a financial rescue package back in those earliest days. These are things that make the School what it is today, and we’re the recipients of that, we’re the beneficiaries, but we’re also the guardians.

It was just so exciting to be able to talk to Reg St Leon. In most schools, the first Principal is a painting on the wall. Here I actually got to meet Reg St Leon and I felt that he was mentoring me and he gave me advice about the School. He was driving me on. He said, “push it, go forward with this School. This School has so much promise. Keep going, keep driving it forward”. I felt so grateful to have Reg St Leon actually in my ear telling me to do that.

I think the School’s in this incredible position of momentum. I think we are, in a way, in a golden era of IGS. That’s my perception. There is no reason why this School should not go from strength to strength and continue this beautiful momentum. And it’ll happen in new ways that we haven’t even necessarily conceived yet.

It seems inevitable to me, with the growth of the area and the opportunities that are available here, that the School will continue to grow and flourish, but in really new and dynamic ways.

I think the future is very bright for IGS if everybody continues to honour the past and understand the history. Because without that, you lose everything. So we’ve got to protect that, and we’ve got a big responsibility to the past, I think, and to the future.

I’m very conscious that we’re in a nongovernment school. We receive government funding. Parents also sacrifice enormously to send their children to this School. These children are really fortunate. They are a very privileged group of kids in the world. Being

a school that prides itself on giving kids a global outlook, I think we would be failing if students didn’t have a strong sense of just how privileged they are. Because of the opportunities they’ve been given, because of how lucky they are to have landed where they have in life, I’d like to think that they feel they have an obligation to help other people. I often say to them, “the world needs what you have — you’re such fine young people”.

The kids here are just beautiful kids and they’ve got a lot to offer the world. I want, in every year group, for them to have an opportunity where they actually see the real world, see how lucky they are, and how they need to help others.

I think that’s another thing that makes education very powerful — that it’s not just what you’re getting, it’s what you’re giving to others. I got that message loud and clear also from parents of this School — that they wanted their children to know how fortunate they are and that they can help. Part of the empowerment of the student voice is about reaching out and helping others because they can.

That’s one of the initiatives in our current strategic plan. It’s quite a simple idea. IGS Connect. A program in altruism. Connectedness is one of our values. People love being in our community. That’s another common thread. The IGS community is a feel-good thing for many many people, including the students. They all talk about community. But I wanted to make sure that their sense of connectedness is about connecting with people less fortunate than themselves at this moment in their lives.

I don’t want to present IGS kids as this homogenous group either, because children in this School are in a whole lot of different situations at home.

When you cast our values in the light of altruism, there’s a kind of depth that comes out that’s very beneficial to students and to the broader world. I love when you see IGS kids really wanting to help. They go up to the Chris O’Brien Lifehouse and sit with patients. They take part in an intergenerational

“I THINK THAT’S ANOTHER THING THAT MAKES EDUCATION VERY POWERFUL — THAT IT’S NOT JUST WHAT YOU’RE GETTING, IT’S WHAT YOU’RE GIVING TO OTHERS.”

project with aged care facilities and come to appreciate the wisdom and stories of the residents. They just go in and talk in their sweet way — with their natural, confident, empathetic IGS way.

I still believe IGS has the most promise of any school I’ve ever encountered in my whole life. But to fulfil that promise, you have to keep moving forward. You’ve got to honour the past, and that means a lot — to honour the past. It’s really extremely important. Conserve the great things but keep pushing — and maybe even push beyond what’s comfortable sometimes. And dream big.

I could see this School could do a lot with where it was at 30 years, after all that work that so many people put in. The School was a labour of love and a love story from its very beginning. All that work sits as a sort of stored magic in the School’s DNA.

Let’s take that as this incredible force, and then push things into the future, because we can.

“THE SCHOOL WAS A LABOUR OF LOVE AND A LOVE STORY FROM ITS VERY BEGINNING. ALL THAT WORK SITS AS A SORT OF STORED MAGIC IN THE SCHOOL’S DNA.”

DR MARIE LEECH

Chair of the IGS School Board

Good governance means we need the Board working very well in a collegiate and trusting way, able to raise issues and have difficult discussions when necessary. The Board also needs a good relationship with senior staff, especially with the Principal, especially nowadays, in the very complex environments that schools operate in. That trusting relationship between the Chair and the Principal is crucial.

A Board also needs a good balance of skills for a complex environment like a school. Shortly after I became Chair of the Board at IGS, we advertised for Board directors. It will tell you something about the interest in IGS that we received more than 60 expressions of interest. This is a voluntary role – no pay,

“MY INITIAL IMPRESSIONS OF INTERNATIONAL GRAMMAR SCHOOL WERE OF COLOUR AND DIVERSITY; INCREDIBLE COLOUR, WITH LOTS OF CONVERSATIONS IN THE STAIRWELLS, THE STUDENTS SPEAKING TO EACH OTHER, AND YOUNG STUDENTS SPEAKING WITH OLDER ONES.”

lots of work – and we got all that interest. We were able to select people with the skills that we needed. We have a Board that’s working magically, together, and with senior management.

When I came to Australia in the early 1970s, I taught in a Catholic school in the Eastern Suburbs. When I joined the IGS Board, that was my experience of schools. I’d also been head of a college at the University of Sydney, so I had a lot of experience of young people coming from school to university, living at the college and all the issues they brought with them, both positive, and, occasionally, difficult challenges.

My initial impressions of International Grammar School were of colour and diversity; incredible colour, with lots of conversations in the stairwells. There was a real sense of terrific interaction among the students and the staff.

It seemed like a really interesting community overall – very different to a Catholic school in the Eastern Suburbs. We need this sort of diversity in our school system. I was

delighted to encounter something very different here at International Grammar.

My experience is in social policy and social justice, and I am able to use that background in my role as Board Chair. For example, my PhD research was in developing policies for vulnerable people. Schools are full of potentially vulnerable people. Policy development is so important for our students. IGS students have the notion that they, too, can influence policy, with, for example, their discussions about environmental issues.

Students today are very much into those sorts of issues, and especially a school like International Grammar where we’re aiming to make our students world ready. The world is intensely complex. I think one of the key things about this particular Board is that we look outward to our community and then beyond.

I met Reg St Leon a number of times and it was a privilege to meet somebody with such passion and determination. I think it leaves us with an obligation to ensure that the School continues to thrive, wherever it is located. We shouldn’t underestimate the trauma around constant moving, as we know from the early story. This leaves us with the challenge of stabilising without losing any of the sparkle that comes with that beautiful history. The aim is to keep the School settled here in Ultimo.

It’s a very strong education environment in this area. To be that perfect school set in this environment is a huge opportunity for us. The notion of a number of our own campuses in this area is something that fits IGS; that university-type environment where students are trusted to go from one building to another for their classes. They gain a great sense of independence and of guiding their own choices and decisions.

Every year I do exit interviews with the students who are leaving. Their wisdom and confidence and their ability to speak about their experiences is a measure of what they’ve been given in their education here.

“EVERY YEAR I DO EXIT INTERVIEWS WITH THE STUDENTS WHO ARE LEAVING. THEIR WISDOM AND CONFIDENCE AND THEIR ABILITY TO SPEAK ABOUT THEIR EXPERIENCES IS A MEASURE OF WHAT THEY’VE BEEN GIVEN IN THEIR EDUCATION HERE.”

It goes way beyond knowing formulas in chemistry and getting high marks. It’s a confidence, a learning that goes outside subject areas. You might find students with purple hair, big boots on, different versions of the uniform – always the uniform, but different versions of it. I like the diversity that we have at IGS and the fact we allow it to flourish.

The Board Chair brings everybody’s opinions together and encourages people to raise questions. It’s the whole Board that makes decisions. At a conference almost 20 years ago a professor of education said, “there’s something wrong in a school if there aren’t challenges every day”. We’re dealing with growing, maturing, young people, and with teachers – we’re dealing with such a complex environment.

It’s not the challenges that matter, it’s how they’re dealt with. At International Grammar we’ve got a team of teachers that is able to respond in a very sensible way. We have an open line between me and the Principal around the clock, irrespective of the issue. We can organise a meeting with our directors within hours. We have all the systems in place to handle crises and other challenges.

“THE THINGS WE DO SO WELL AT IGS – DIVERSITY, UNDERSTANDING INTERNATIONALISM, LANGUAGE EXPOSURE –WILL OPEN THE WORLD FOR OUR STUDENTS.”

The future will bring more complexities, more crises, more diversity, and more internationalism. A lot of schools are talking about how to give their students international experiences, which, of course, we’re very experienced at providing at IGS. It will become more complex in terms of young people’s needs and in a number of other areas. For example, at the moment, we’re looking at AI issues and how we deal with them.

Matters will arise, and we need to be ready to deal with them. The things we do so well at IGS – diversity, understanding internationalism, language exposure – will open the world for our students. They have confidence in themselves, and the ability to express their opinions. They are confident presenting themselves with authenticity – as they are.

The School is in a settling down phase, developing a solid footprint in our area. There’s a big strategy happening in Pyrmont to develop a very edgy quarter in Sydney. Our School is part of that development, and we suit it perfectly; developing new partnerships with businesses, social entrepreneurship, entrepreneurship in general. All those things are very much suited to our style of education.

We’re also keen to grow a culture of philanthropy. We’ve got amazing alumni who are in a very established career phase. The alumni are very attached to the School. Many of them went through the traumatic early years. Their attachment is deep

and they would like to give back. We’ve quite a program underway to develop that.

I’d like to share with you a story about my own family. I have a little grandson. His mother is my daughter, Lucy, and his father is Clinton who’s Aboriginal. Lucy is part British, part Irish, fully Australian. Clinton is Aboriginal through and through for generations. All I want is for their son to come to International Grammar. That’s not going to be easy because they live in the north of Western Australia. But this School is a place where I know he would thrive, with his outgoing, sparkly personality. I wouldn’t want to see him brought into a standard way of behaving. I want to see his unique personality continue to thrive. This is my personal experience of International Grammar, that so many individuals absolutely thrive in this environment. It’s pretty magical.

IGS Board members pictured L-R: Vince Tropiano, Dr Marie Leech, Judith Waldock, Lesley Harbon, Shauna Colnan.

Other Board members are: Jim Meynink, Dyranda Hortle, Elizabeth Grady and Michael Heenan.

“TAKE UP ONE IDEA. MAKE THAT ONE IDEA YOUR LIFE — THINK OF IT, DREAM OF IT, LIVE ON THAT IDEA… THIS IS THE WAY TO SUCCESS.”

Swami

reformer

Vivekananda Indian philosopher, Hindu monk and social

1863 to 1902

REG ST LEON OAM

IGS founder and first Principal (1928 to 2019)

It begins as an experiment. In 1974, Reg St Leon, professor of Germanic Studies at the University of Sydney, persuades the Department of Education to allow him to launch a pilot program teaching German to young students at Paddington Public School. It’s a huge success and the program extends to more than 20 other primary schools. St Leon writes “It is not only the first but also the largest experiment of its kind undertaken in this state.”

Inspired, he devises a bold plan to establish a bilingual school in Sydney. It isn’t an easy sell. In 1980 he presents a feasibility study to the NSW Department of Education for establishing a bilingual school within the state system. Although the study was commissioned by the then Education Minister Eric Bedford and had the backing of other education authorities and primary school principals, the Department shelves the idea with no official explanation of their decision. It seems such a school is regarded as a political hot potato — and perhaps even discriminatory. St Leon writes a letter to the Education Minister who is, by now, Paul Landa: “I now have no alternative but to report back to all interested parties that the proposal, at Ministerial level, has met with a combination of indifference and ill manners…” He decides to pursue his dream as a private venture. Here’s how he explained it in 2012.

The idea formed originally when I used to make a ritual telephone call to the DirectorGeneral of Education, Doug Swan, every month, asking if I could start experimenting by teaching a foreign language in primary school. And he always said, “No! We don’t have specialist teachers in primary school” Then out of the blue, one month he said, “If you can find a tame headmaster, go ahead”. I put a little paragraph about this in The Sydney Morning Herald and Bruce Sinclair, the Headmaster of Paddington Public School, rang me early in the morning and said, “If you are looking for a tame headmaster, I’m it”.

The teaching of foreign languages in New South Wales schools started much too late — at the very worst time actually, when kids were just entering adolescence and they had all sorts of other things on their minds. Children who start learning languages very early just absorb them as

if they were sponges, whereas later on it becomes sort of an academic chore and that’s counterproductive. If children learn a second language, it teaches them a lot more about their own. If you can talk somebody else’s language then you’ve made a great step towards proper education.

Australia is a very polyglot country. It’s a country of immigrants and to pretend that Australia is monolingual is ridiculous. A lot of children who go to schools like this one have parents who can’t speak English. That’s a very sad state of affairs when you grow up preferring to speak a language your parents don’t understand.

Back then, when we opened the School, we thought that there were all sorts of purely social reasons for the existence of schools like this because the children would integrate much more quickly than they would elsewhere and it would bring

“CHILDREN WHO START LEARNING LANGUAGES VERY EARLY JUST ABSORB THEM AS IF THEY WERE SPONGES, WHEREAS LATER ON IT BECOMES SORT OF AN ACADEMIC CHORE AND THAT’S COUNTERPRODUCTIVE.”

their families closer together. The great criticism that was directed at the old style of language teaching was that children were taught about the second language, they weren’t taught the language itself.

Very early in the piece I decided that the best way to teach the language was to use it to teach the curriculum. I would go into classes that were being taught their normal daily lessons and I would ask the teachers to leave their work, which of course was in English, up on the blackboard. I would then go through it with the children in German. Since they already knew what was there, they had no real trouble understanding it, but their German vocabulary just exploded.

When we started IGS, we realised that this is what children expect us to do. They understand instinctively that you use a language to do things with; it isn’t just an academic exercise or another school subject. You talk and you do with the other language what you do with your own.

“THERE’S A SENSE OF PURPOSEFULNESS AND THE KIDS, THEIR FAMILIES AND THE STAFF — THE IGS COMMUNITY — THEY KNOW THEY ARE DOING SOMETHING DIFFERENT. I THINK THE SCHOOL IS HERE TO STAY. IT’S GOT A LONG FUTURE IN FRONT OF IT.”

If anybody asks me what’s the most worthwhile thing I’ve done in my life, I would say founding the School — partly because it is unique, and partly because of the problems we had to overcome to get it up and running.

IGS is the consummation of an idea that people originally didn’t believe could be implemented. I can’t count the number of times people said to me, “You can’t do it”. That’s always a challenge when people say you can’t do something: to turn around and show them that you can!

What I feel particularly pleased about is the fact that the concept took off. That people enrol their children here because they know that this is what they want for their children. To look at the School now and know that it has waiting lists and that it performs well academically and does very well in examinations [is so satisfying].

What the kids get out of IGS, apart from the academic side, is something you can’t put a price on and which I think very few schools offer. I think it turns out very well-rounded personalities and young people who are well fitted to cope with the big world they go into.

It’s been the most satisfying thing I’ve done in my life. I came to understand that what I did with the School was going to have an impact on hundreds of parents and children, and that therefore it was a great responsibility. When you realise you carry that responsibility, it motivates you to do the best that’s in your power to make sure the School works.

IGS is so unique that it’s unlikely to be replicated anywhere. I think you can feel it, almost as soon as you come into the place. There’s a sense of purposefulness and the kids, their families and the staff — the IGS community — they know they are doing something different.

“IT’S BEEN THE MOST SATISFYING THING I’VE DONE IN MY LIFE … EVEN IN MY MOST OPTIMISTIC MOMENTS, I DIDN’T THINK IT WOULD DEVELOP INTO A SCHOOL LIKE THIS.”

I think the School is here to stay. It’s got a long future in front of it.

Founding Principal Reg St Leon and the School’s first pupils fight for their school to stay open.

Reg St Leon OAM with IGS Principal Shauna Colnan at Speech Night in the State Theatre 2018

Reg St Leon with former Principal Michael Maniska

Unveiling of Reg St Leon’s portrait by artist Dave Thomas

Reg St Leon visiting IGS following Shauna Colnan’s appointment as Principal

HISTORY 1980s TO 2000s

Part 1

“I

NOW HAVE NO ALTERNATIVE BUT TO REPORT BACK TO ALL INTERESTED PARTIES THAT THE PROPOSAL, AT MINISTERIAL LEVEL, HAS MET WITH A COMBINATION OF INDIFFERENCE AND ILL MANNERS…”

A DIFFICULT BIRTH

If you think of a school’s life arc in human terms, then IGS had a difficult birth, an uncertain infancy and a troubled childhood. The early years were tumultuous, beset by crisis after crisis and with Reg St Leon’s vision blinded by red tape. But they were also exhilarating years as the School took shape, fought battle after battle with bureaucracy, and ultimately triumphed to become a viable and thriving school.

Through all the events of the early years, Reg St Leon never lost grip of his one idea – to establish a multilingual school unlike any other in Australia.

THE EIGHTIES

A difficult birth

• St Leon seeks advice from the Schools Commission on establishing a multilingual school. He’s advised to test public interest.

• Hundreds of people turn up to hear St Leon outline what he calls his “educational experiment” – not just teaching languages but teaching the curriculum in those languages.

• 40 families sign their child up on the spot.

• St Leon issues a press release announcing the opening of the International Grammar School the following year.

• He takes steps to incorporate the School as a non-profit company and to secure provisional certification from the NSW Education Department.

• The search for premises begins.

• A week before classes are scheduled to start, St Leon enters into a lease purchase agreement on the former Catholic convent “Little Sisters of the Poor” in Randwick. IGS signs a 12 month lease during which the option to purchase the property must be exercised.

• The District Inspector of Schools inspects the site and curriculum documents; IGS is granted provisional certification, giving the School access to Commonwealth funding.

• In early February IGS opens its doors to 44 pupils. The School is officially opened a week later by Deputy Opposition Leader Rosemary Foote. Days later, financial issues loom; the first Commonwealth payment is withheld due to federal concerns about the impact on neighbouring schools.

THE FIRST IGS

A beautiful sandstone former convent, light, airy and perfect. But IGS was to be there for less than a year.

Manuela and Till Bachmann perform at the Randwick opening.

1984

• In June, St Leon calls a crisis meeting of parents and staff announcing that without government funding, not only will the School be unable to honour its agreement to purchase the Randwick property, it may have to close.

• Within 48 hours, IGS parents pledge $1.2 million in guarantees to the School’s bank.

• St Leon brings action against Federal Education Minister Senator Susan Ryan in the Federal Court for withholding funds.

• Ryan withdraws from the action prior to the hearing and later grants funding and a loan guarantee for purchase of the Randwick property.

• Unknown to St Leon and the IGS community, IGS is gazumped. The Randwick convent has already been sold to Emmanuel College. IGS needs to vacate by mid-December.

1984

• For the second time in less than a year, the hunt for new premises begins.

• In July, a second school inspection is conducted; the Primary School receives full certification until the end of 1989 and the High School is granted provisional certification until the end of 1985. Full certification depends on setting up a science lab and library. Plans for these are scuttled by the impending relocation.

• Until both the primary and high school have full certification, IGS cannot present students for public exams.

• Enrolments are on the rise; there are now 140 students at IGS with more than 300 enrolled for 1985.

• In November a lease purchase agreement is signed for the old Elizabeth Arden factory in Riley Street, Surry Hills. Plans are drawn up to convert the old building into a school.

• Within a month IGS moves into Surry Hills. Parents, staff and supporters spend their summer holiday turning the old factory into a school. They finish just in time for the new school year.

THE EIGHTIES

A difficult birth

“THERE WERE 40 STUDENTS AND THERE WAS JUST A REAL BUZZ OF EXCITEMENT BECAUSE IT WAS SOMETHING DIFFERENT AND NEW IN EDUCATION.”

Rita Morabito, foundation teacher

Dr Richard Matthews, foundation parent, later chair of the IGS Board

“I first heard about the possibility of the School in 1983. We had a daughter who was due to start school the following year and we saw an advertisement in the Wentworth Courier advertising a public meeting in the Paddington Town Hall in August 1983 about the setting up of a bilingual school. We listened to Professor Reg St Leon talk about his career and his experiences teaching German at Paddington Primary School.

“Reg espoused the theory of immersion in the language which meant that you would be taught by your ordinary primary school teacher about 60 per cent of the time and that you would receive the same lessons by a native speaker in your chosen language the other 40 per cent of the time so that you did not ‘learn the language’. You actually learnt ‘in the language’ and you absorbed it by immersion the same way that you’d absorbed your mother tongue.

“Places at the School could be secured by the payment of a $250 non-refundable deposit and I was convinced that this School would be killed in the bun-rush. So I went home and wrote out a cheque and put it in an envelope and stuck it under Reg St Leon’s front door in order to make certain that I secured a place for my daughter.

“Reg was a very persuasive man. In retrospect it may have had some of the flavour of a Billy Graham crusade because you were being sold a place in a school that didn’t exist. But it certainly raised a lot of enthusiasm in a lot of people at the meeting and we all waited eagerly for the site.

“The idea that there was a secular, nondenominational private school which wanted to concentrate on academic attainment, on languages and music seemed to me to be the sort of thinking we were actually looking for. In February 1984 our daughter Joanna commenced on the first day of the School. Little did I know at that time that it was going to come to dominate my life for years.”

Rita Morabito, foundation teacher

“It was exciting. I remember the first day. We arrived and there were no desks, there were no pens, there was nothing. There were 40 students and there was just a real buzz of excitement because it was something different and new in education. I was employed first as Italian teacher and I had two or three students in the Italian group to begin with in Term 1. By Term 2 the School had already grown enormously and I then became a Year 1 class teacher and the Italian teacher across the School.

“We were so young and fresh and knew that this was so important. There was a lot of freedom to try ideas out. Because it was groundbreaking we were setting the agenda. There was no curriculum to follow so everything we did was almost experimental. That was challenging and exciting, with a lot of possibilities. But there was already a lot of negativity out there, with people saying it couldn’t be done, it was impossible, we hadn’t got the teachers trained to do this. And Reg, too, had encountered a lot of negativity with the Department of Education.

“When we were first told that we were in danger of losing the Randwick site, I remember how devastated we were. By that stage Rita Fin had joined the School and she and I went to the Little Sisters of the Poor across the road and we waded through the clothes lines filled with black washing, the nuns’ garments, found the front door and pleaded and cried to the nuns, begging them to let us stay.

“In that first year Reg had a capacity to make us feel calm and at ease no matter the reality of the situation. We truly believed that we would be safe and return to Randwick the following year, sharing the premises with another school. It was not to be.”

Richard Matthews

“Before 1984 was out, there were a couple of kindergarten classes, there were classes from Year 1 to Year 6 and there was also a nascent high school. Many of those classes only had a few students but they all had teachers. The overheads involved in paying the rent and paying the staff were not being met by the fees and at that point the School had not attained the full certification and registration from the NSW Department of Education that was necessary to receive both state and commonwealth funding.

“Because of that, and because it was a business that had commenced without capital, it proved impossible to meet the terms of the one-year lease with an option to purchase. In other words we didn’t have the funds to purchase the Randwick site so we ended 1984 on the one hand extremely happy with the way in which our children

“WHEN WE TOOK OVER, THE BUILDING WAS AT THE STAGE WHERE IT SHOULD’VE BEEN CONDEMNED. THERE WAS NO SECURITY, SO I ACTUALLY SLEPT ON A MATTRESS ON THE FLOOR FOR I THINK ABOUT TWO WEEKS, WITH RATS RUNNING ALL OVER ME.”

Reg St Leon, founder

“SURRY HILLS WAS MADNESS IN THE BEGINNING. EVERYTHING WAS DONE ON THOSE TWO OR THREE FLOORS. OUR ASSEMBLIES, EVERYTHING, HAPPENED WITHIN THAT TINY SPACE.”

Dorothy Harding, foundation parent

were taught but without knowing where the School would open the following year.

“After a lot of telephone calls over the holidays, eventually a site was found and, unlike the previous site, it was far from ideal. It was in the middle of suburban Surry Hills, a disused former Elizabeth Arden perfume factory which had been built for industrial purposes.”

Reg St Leon, founder “When we took over, the building was at the stage where it should’ve been condemned. There was no security there, so I actually slept on a mattress on the floor for I think about two weeks, with rats running all over me.

“Once in the middle of the night I heard a noise at the back of the School, so I got up to see what it was. Apparently the Elizabeth Arden people had put a security system in which was operated by an electric current and I broke the current in walking through it. The next thing I knew, the front doors opened and two blokes with pistols in their hands walked in. They said to me, ‘who are you?’ and I said, ‘well, I’m temporarily living here but I run the School’.

“They didn’t believe me; it took a lot of talking to convince them. Eventually they bought the story, put their pistols away and went back home. That was one of the funny things that happened in that place.”

Dorothy Harding, foundation parent

“The School had absolutely no money and had no ability to borrow because it had no assets. So we decided to let Reg use our house as surety to borrow money to get into Surry Hills [on a lease/purchase basis]. I agreed to it at the time on the basis that the School would not dishonour the mortgage and my house was going to be safe. We had to move really, really quickly and that was the only option at that stage.

“At the time everyone was convinced that nothing would go wrong, that the School would prosper and the money would be repaid. Down the track it didn’t pan out quite like that and so other steps had to be taken. There were a lot of tears I can assure you, especially at one stage when I thought I was going to lose the house. But it’s what you do, isn’t it?

“It certainly wasn’t set up for a School. It had to be renovated and ready to open by the end of January, so we all got in there; we painted, we pulled out walls, we built walls, we worked with a skeleton staff of actual builders to put it all together. We had to create the preschool and we worked literally all through that summer.

“Surry Hills was madness in the beginning. Everything was done on those two or three floors. Our assemblies, everything, happened within that tiny space. When you look at the building now, it’s absolutely madness to think that a school operated there for so many years. The equipment was very basic and without the park up the road we wouldn’t have had anywhere for the kids to play.

“The School was always on alert from a security point of view. You certainly couldn’t arrive to pick up your kids and leave your car unlocked because you’d come out five minutes later and everything would be gone. And it happened, almost constantly. But we just sort of accepted it.”

Larissa Streeter, foundation student

Everyone turned up to this factory and there were classes in the basement with a garage door to close it off, so it was almost like a warehouse. Well, it was a warehouse.

“We used to call it The Dungeon because it was so cold, especially on winter mornings with the cement floor. Upstairs was just a massive area with pillars, and over the holidays they converted that into classrooms and toilets.

“It was very hard to visualise how this was going to turn into a school. It was like an empty shell. The assembly area was carpeted and there was no stage per se. They just taped off a section of the carpet and said ‘That’s the stage’!”

THE EIGHTIES

The trials of childhood

1985

• February: IGS opens on the first day of the new school year in its new home in Surry Hills, with 380 students.

• April: With lease payments of $21,000 a month and the School still not fully certified, financial issues intensify. South Sydney Council refuses the School’s DA for refurbishment of the Surry Hills building; the lack of DA approval prevents the School from accessing any state or federal funding.

Reg St Leon writes to parents “The point has now been reached where further delay will cause the collapse of the school, with attendant public scandal”.

• A rescue plan is devised. Parents are invited to make a taxdeductible donation of $1,500 to the building fund and an interestfree refundable loan of $2,000. The School needs close to $1 million just to serve its ballooning debts.

1985

• An IGS parent is reported to have loaned the school $125,000, later waiving repayment. Family donations raise $225,000 but it’s not enough. The School urgently needs new enrolments.

• August: A special meeting of parents votes 169 to 1 that IGS keep its doors open for Term 3 despite the dire financial situation. Fundraising efforts include a Survival Dinner, garage sales and concerts.

• December: The School is inspected again and certification is granted for Primary School but not High School due to deficiencies in some of the buildings and teaching programs. There is still no funding for High School students.

1986

• February: Another inspection and again the High School is denied certification. Inspectors outline six conditions that must be fulfilled for the High School to pass muster. Continued refusal to grant IGS official recognition is seen as a tacit accusation that it fails to meet educational standards.

• April: The Director-General of Education orders IGS to tell students under the age of 15 that they are liable to prosecution if they continue to attend the uncertified High School.

• Weeks later he writes again, warning that students in Year 10 and Year 12 will be ineligible to sit public exams if they remain at the School beyond Term 1. This is the first year that IGS students would be old enough to sit HSC exams.

• The School initiates legal action in the Equity Division of the NSW Supreme Court and engages James Farmer QC.

• May: There is a mass exodus of students from the School. Twothirds of the 110 high schoolers leave, along with a number of primary students, resulting in the loss of tens of thousands of dollars in fees.

• The School’s case against the NSW Education Department and authorities responsible for public examinations is heard in the NSW Supreme Court; the courtroom overflows with staff, students, parents and media.

1986

• James Farmer QC argues that without full certification the School may be forced to close down. He criticises the decisions and processes employed by Education authorities, suggesting they are in breach of the principles of natural justice.

• Justice Yeldham rules in favour of IGS, saying the decision not to certify and register the School is “null and void and of no effect”.

• The Department of Education appeals, further delaying funding.

• Education Minister Rodney Cavalier writes to Principal Reg St Leon granting provisional certification for the High School as ordered by the Supreme Court. However, his letter is worded in a way that still precludes IGS from federal funding.

• July: IGS takes the Education Minister back to the Supreme Court. Justice Yeldham finds that the Minister’s letter dated 29 May constitutes recognition of the School for funding purposes. He describes Cavalier as behaving “petulantly”.

• ABC Radio reports that “Mr Justice Yeldham said he had never heard such bureaucratic nonsense in all his life. He was very angry, he said, that bureaucrats in government departments had gone against the spirit of his initial judgment. It sounds to him, he said, like sour grapes.”

1986

• September: Back in the NSW Supreme Court the School is ordered to return the Riley Street property to its owners, due to arrears of $120,000 in rent.

• Children and staff arrive at school on 9 September, the first day of Term 3, to find themselves locked out.

• IGS enters negotiations with the landlord and late that night the crisis is averted when a parent puts up one month’s rent. Continued tenancy is granted until February 1987 with an option to then buy the building for $1.845 million.

• On 10 September staff and students are let back into the building and classes resume. But there are still significant woes; as well as $120,000 in back rent, IGS owes the bank $800,000 in unsecured loans. The School asks the Federal Government for $250,000 in emergency funds and a Commonwealth loan guarantee to encourage the bank to lend more money. Time Australia reports “The International Grammar School may be a scholastic hit but commercially it has been a rolling disaster”. On 24 and 25 September a panel of 13 inspectors carry out an intensive inspection of the School to determine its suitability for certification. The team unanimously recommends certification from Kindergarten to Year 12.

THE EIGHTIES

The trials of childhood

1986

• Education authorities overrule the recommendation, instead proposing provisional certification until the end of June 1987. The government funding, so vital to the School’s survival, is again denied. This also has the effect of cancelling the Primary School certification which has been in place since December 1985.

• 21 October: IGS issues a press release; “Sydney’s International Grammar School faces imminent closure as a result of what was described today as a carefully orchestrated campaign by elements in the New South Wales Department of Education to force it into bankruptcy. The Metropolitan Eastern Regional office of the Department, acting against the advice of thirteen of its inspectors, is recommending that the Minister of Education refuse full certification to the school. The school’s inquiries indicate this will be the first time a positive recommendation has ever been overturned. This decision effectively cuts the International Grammar School off from all State and Commonwealth funding and its last hope for survival. “It [is] final proof that…the Department [is] determined to make good their threat, of which the school has evidence, ‘to close the school down by Christmas’.”

1986

• Further action ensues. IGS takes the NSW Board of Senior Studies to the Supreme Court over the Board’s decision that four out of the five IGS students due to sit their HSC exams in a week’s time are ineligible. IGS claims this is unreasonable. The Board of Senior Studies argues these students have not demonstrated a satisfactory degree of participation in prescribed courses in the period the School was unregistered.

• 23 October: 300 students, parents and teachers gather outside Parliament House in Macquarie Street to protest against the treatment of their School and its imminent closure. IGS Principal Reg St Leon tells the attending media that the School will close on Friday because it can no longer continue without government funding.

• 27 October: Education Minister Rodney Cavalier announces he has certified IGS after reading the report by the Inspector of Schools. He tells The Sydney Morning Herald that in making this decision “I do not believe that I have been influenced by the public criticism and demonstrations that have taken place in recent weeks”. The School is finally assured of full government funding and must now start raising funds to buy the Riley Street building the following year.

• Five Year 12 IGS students sit their exams, four of them still unsure whether they’re eligible to receive their Higher School Certificate.

• November: Parents are again approached for donations to the School’s building fund. They call for a new management structure to oversee day-to-day management of the School. The IGS Board seeks a $2 million bank loan to purchase the Riley Street property, helped by $250,000 received in emergency government assistance and a $1 million loan guarantee for the site purchase.

• December: The NSW Supreme Court finds in favour of the School’s HSC students, acknowledging their participation in the courses set by the Board of Studies. This is the sixth court battle IGS fights and wins in 1986.

• All five HSC students pass their exams, and their results are above the state average. One student – a Polish refugee who’d arrived barely a year earlier – achieves in the top 10 percent of the State.

THE EIGHTIES

The trials of childhood

“WHAT MADE [THE SCHOOL] SURVIVE WAS EMOTION AND LUCK. EMOTION DROVE THE PARENTS TO PUT MONEY INTO SOMETHING WHICH, IF THEY HAD CONSIDERED IT IN THE COLD HARD LIGHT OF DAY, THEY PROBABLY WOULDN’T HAVE.”

Richard Matthews, foundation parent

Richard Matthews, foundation parent

“Crisis two occurred in 1985 when the School’s overdraft deteriorated to the point where the bank refused to honour the monthly salary cheques. The School was relying solely for its revenue on parent fees and still had no access to either state or commonwealth funds because it lacked the formal certification and registration. Provisional certification had been granted at the end of 1984 which allowed the School to continue operating but did not bring funding. The principal issues around certification and registration in the new site were to do with the physical amenity of the building, and the fact that, in all honesty, it did not meet the appropriate standards.

“When the bank found itself unable to pay the salary cheques, I became involved for the first time in the financial affairs. I went with Reg St Leon to the bank manager’s office and subsequently they agreed to pay that month’s salary, on the basis that I guaranteed the money by way of a second mortgage over my home.

“We needed some working capital not to purchase but to keep the School going. So we structured an arrangement whereby those parents who could afford it would make a $1,250 tax-deductible donation to the building fund and, further, could make the School a loan of $2,000 per family.

“We raised a considerable amount of money which went into the operating account. The School should never have survived. What made it survive was emotion and luck. Emotion drove the parents to put money into something which, if they had considered

it in the cold hard light of day, they probably wouldn’t have. I should say that many of the teachers agreed to forgo the next month’s salary in order to keep the School going and that was a considerable hardship for some.”

Reg St Leon

“Up until now I had been using my own money to keep our heads above the water. When [then Education Minister, Rodney] Cavalier said we weren’t going to get commonwealth or state funding, I called a meeting of the parents one Saturday afternoon and I said, ‘I have to tell you this, and it’s very hard for me to do, but because of the opposition we are striking with the NSW Department of Education, we’re going to have to discontinue the School.’

“I said that I was going to the bank on Monday but because I had no security to offer them, I was totally pessimistic on whether they would let us continue with our overdraft. I turned up at Westpac and there were three of our parents sitting there and they all had deeds for their own houses to pledge to the bank to support our overdraft accommodation. I still can’t talk about that without having a lump in my throat. I mean they were taking a terrible risk, because we still had all sorts of problems ahead of us. They could have lost their own houses.

“I thought it was just extraordinary that the School had so much support from the people who mattered — the parents and the kids — and that they were prepared to do this. I still find it unbelievable, but it’s a story that should be told because it just shows that when people believe in something, the lengths they’re prepared to go to.

“The staff worked without pay for several weeks. But they believed in what we were doing. My experience with human beings is that when they think they are being treated unjustly, they really dig their toes in and that’s what they did. They thought we were being treated unjustly and they knew that we needed their support so they worked for nothing. The children didn’t know this. It didn’t affect what was going on in the classrooms but it was just a wonderful gesture on the part of the people involved.”

Rita Morabito, foundation teacher

“We knew we were fighting for something that we believed in. We worked without pay for a period and I remember the Teacher’s Union saying that we were plunging the movement back in time and that it was a breach of Union rules.

“We stood by the decision nonetheless as it meant keeping the School open. The School was fuelled by a passion from young staff, parents who were taking risks, and a clear and articulate vision. It felt so incredibly rich, and I remember thinking that this was the place I wanted to be.”

Dorothy Harding, foundation parent

“It wasn’t until halfway through that year that the School found out that the NSW government was trying to close it down because it didn’t have the necessary accreditation to operate as a School.

“OFF WE TROOPED TO THE SUPREME COURT WHERE WE APPEARED BEFORE JUSTICE DAVID YELDHAM [IN MAY 1986], WHO FORMED A VIEW THAT THE SCHOOL HAD BEEN DENIED NATURAL JUSTICE.”

Richard Matthews, foundation parent

The name Rodney Cavalier is very strong in my head because he was the Minister for Education at that stage and no matter how much lobbying we did he just wasn’t prepared to listen.

“We all believed absolutely in everything that Reg was doing. It was very apparent that he might have been a great educator but he was definitely not a great administrative person — but as a parent body we were still very strongly in support of what he believed.

“I suppose it’s like all revolutions. If you believe in it, you’re going to stay there regardless.”

Richard Matthews

“The Education Department was conscious of the fact that the School had been operating for well over two years and that a decision not to grant the certification and registration would have significant repercussions. So this time they sent one of their most senior inspectors with a team of 12, which was pretty unusual if not unprecedented, and they went through the resources, the curriculum, the teachers and the amenity in 12 different disciplines.

“From memory it was a two-day inspection and at the end of it, while the Chief Inspector had extremely complimentary things to say about many of the teachers, he had some unflattering things to say about the curriculum development and about one or two of the teachers. As a result the School was refused certification and registration. That meant that the School could not legally continue and in particular, could not present candidates for public examination.

“We really thought that was the end. There was a celebrated march, where parents and students marched on Parliament House. But we learned that it was possible to take an action for denial of natural justice and so off we trooped to the Supreme Court where we appeared before Justice David Yeldham [in May 1986], who formed a view that the School had been denied natural justice and his judgment famously described the Minister for Education at the time, Rodney Cavalier as being ‘both peevish and petulant in his behaviour’.”

Rita Fin, Deputy Principal “Apart from the financial pressures, trying to get the documentation and the correct paperwork was the most overwhelming aspect of the early days; writing programs, policies, procedures — all those mandatory requirements that were constantly under scrutiny by the Department of Education.

“I remember once before a Registration check writing a Biology program from scratch overnight. The same year I remember coming into work on Christmas Day just to get everything done and ready because we had to prepare for another inspection. On this occasion, the Department of Education inspectors came in to look at all our programs, registers, rolls,

policies and procedures. It just hadn’t been properly put in place because it was such a new school and IGS was still a ‘work in progress’.

“I really do think that was surely the hardest thing — getting it all off the ground and up to the standard that would pass an inspection. We couldn’t just make it up. It had to be stuff that we were actually doing, and that didn’t quite fit with what the inspectors were used to because no other school was teaching that way. It was a real challenge.

“We were angry that something wasn’t being given a fair go, to try this concept of something that was innovative and completely new in education in Sydney. We couldn’t understand why we weren’t getting the support of the Board of Studies and people in the high positions in the Education Department.”

“APART FROM THE FINANCIAL PRESSURES, TRYING TO GET THE DOCUMENTATION AND THE CORRECT PAPERWORK WAS THE MOST OVERWHELMING ASPECT OF THE EARLY DAYS.”

Rita Fin, Deputy Principal

THE EIGHTIES

The trials of childhood

“SCHOOL INSPECTORS RECOMMENDED OUR SCHOOL NOT BE REGISTERED AND THEY GAVE A LOT OF VERY FLIMSY REASONS FOR RECOMMENDING THAT.”

Reg St Leon

Reg St Leon

“School inspectors recommended our School not be registered and they gave a lot of very flimsy reasons for recommending that. We immediately appealed against the decision and the appeal was heard by Justice Yeldham. Our barrister put nine points to him and he found in our favour on all nine points. It was a great loss of face for the Department.

“Cavalier then came out and said, ‘Well, you’ve got the decision that you’re allowed to proceed with this, but we’re not going to provide the funding that you’re entitled to. There were two sources of funding for private schools at the time, state and federal. You had to get state approval before you got federal approval, so Cavalier’s decision effectively cut off our funding federal as well.

“We had [six] different court cases all of which we won with costs, which cost the NSW taxpayer over $300,000 dollars and that was a lot more money in those days. Every time we won a court case the Department would pull a rabbit out of their hat to prevent us from doing what we wanted to. I mean it was scandalous, absolutely scandalous.”

“The next crisis was the great landlord crisis where the owner of the building, somewhat distressed that we were in arrears with the rent, entered the building on the very last Sunday of the school holidays. Reg St Leon was sleeping in the building at the time and they picked up Reg, still sitting in his chair and carried him out into Forbes Street and deposited him on the footpath, and changed the locks.

“The following day, all the students and parents returned for a new term to find themselves locked out on the footpath and Forbes Street completely blocked by motor vehicles, mothers, children — hundreds of people.

“Again luck played its part. There was a new parent whose daughter was due to start that very day who was a senior figure in the real estate industry and who knew the owner of the building. So we were able to enter into a negotiation with the owner. We negotiated from something like ten in the morning until about nine at night and finally we managed to reach an agreement with the owner about a more reasonable rent and payment schedule. And the next day the children were back into the building. That was yet another crisis survived.”

Larissa Streeter, foundation student

“I turned up to the School and the School was shut, literally everything was shut. And there was a TV crew. They were trying to talk to the students and the parents and get reactions. I don’t know how they’d come to be there, whether somebody tipped them off or if one of the teachers told them ‘You’ve got to come, they’re trying to close us down!’

“But I said to them ‘I’ve been at this School since the very first day and I’m not prepared to leave it now!’ and I walked off. I was about 16.”

“I TURNED UP TO THE SCHOOL AND THE SCHOOL WAS SHUT, LITERALLY EVERYTHING WAS SHUT. AND THERE WAS A TV CREW.”

Larissa Streeter, foundation student

Richard Matthews

“A VERY SIGNIFICANT COHORT STUCK WITH IT THROUGH THICK AND THIN AND PAID THEIR FEES AND PUT UP WITH SOME PRETTY TERRIBLE CONDITIONS AT SURRY HILLS AND A LOT OF UNCERTAINTY AND A LOT OF TRIBULATIONS.”

Richard

Matthews

Reg St Leon

“The parents felt so strongly that they formed a delegation to go to Canberra and talk to the Education Minister [Senator Susan Ryan] directly. I went with them.

“As a result of that parent mission, we were granted a one off, interest free, nonrepayable $300,000 lump sum to tide us over our problems, and that of course made an enormous difference to us. That was a purely parent initiative. They were prepared to do it because they wanted to see the School survive. Of course all of this was very much publicised.

“On one particular Saturday The Sydney Morning Herald’s main editorial was about us, and their main feature page was all about our problems with the Department. And that got us a lot of public sympathy.”

“The parents were pivotal. During that critical time in 1985 and 1986, people asked a legitimate question; ‘If I pay my school fees for next term, how will I know that the School will be open?’ What we had to say was, ‘if you pay your school fees for next term we can guarantee you’ll get next term. We can’t guarantee you anything after that.’

“A very significant cohort stuck with it through thick and thin and paid their fees and put up with some pretty terrible conditions at Surry Hills and a lot of uncertainty and a lot of tribulations.

“And they continued to send their kids. No parents, no kids? No school!”

Richard Matthews

THE GROWING YEARS

Throughout the trials and tribulations of the early years, IGS and its passionate community demonstrated enormous resilience as they fought for survival. Collectively, they were a dog with a bone! This says much about IGS and its founder –take one idea, live it, breathe it, never let it go. That attitude is in the School’s DNA and it persists today.

Finances were still tight but by the late 1980s IGS was ready to move through its teenage years and into adulthood, free of the terrible threats and challenges of the early years.

1987 TO 2013

The

growing years

1987 1988 1990

• January: Having been granted the title of “Founder” of IGS by the School’s Board as well as lifetime board membership, Reg St Leon steps down as Principal. At the age of just 27, music teacher and Deputy Principal Rita Fin is appointed Principal.

• April: 16 months after the School moves into the Riley Street building in Surry Hills, purchase of the building is settled. With premises now secure and the School’s registration and funding in place, IGS is finally safe for the first time in its life. A big celebration is planned.

• October: 14 IGS students sit HSC exams; four of them score in the top 10 per cent in language and one student is in the top 10 per cent of the state with a Tertiary Entrance Rank (TER) of 401 – the School’s highest score so far.

• December: In her Speech Day address, Principal Rita Fin tells the school community that the biggest achievement of 1988 has been the huge increase of High School enrolments – now up to 130 students compared to just 40 in the troubled days of two years earlier.

• Early 1990: IGS develops its first business plan; with the focus no longer on mere survival the School is now looking towards increasing enrolments, improving financial security and planning for the future.

• The Surry Hills campus is bursting at the seams and the search for a second campus becomes urgent. The School settles on an old Catholic College in Thames Street Balmain for Years 11 and 12.

1989

• Principal Rita Fin commissions leading Australian composer and IGS parent Ross Edwards to write a song for IGS based on the School’s motto Unity Through Diversity As tricky as it is to sing, this song (Universitas Diversitas) endures to this day.

Principal Rita Fin announces she is leaving IGS to take up a position as Head of Music at Sydney Grammar School. As a parting gesture she launches the first IGS whole-school publication showcasing students’ work. For the first time in its history, IGS finishes 1990 in surplus.

1991 1992 1993

• Marika McLachlan takes over as Principal.

• The Balmain Campus for senior students is opened by NSW Education Minister Virginia Chadwick. It becomes fondly known as “the country club”.

• Even with its senior campus, IGS has outgrown Riley Street; finding new premises becomes a priority.

• The School commissions a fundraising plan to generate funds for a larger site. The target is $2 million in two years, preferably from outside the school community.

• 33 students sit the HSC exams; almost half achieve in the top 25 per cent in the State.

• In April, Principal Marika McLachlan leaves IGS. Assistant Principal (High School) Eddie Jones steps in as Acting Principal from 1 June.

• The search for a suitable new building intensifies. The aim is to relocate in 1994, at the same time reuniting senior students with the younger students in line with Reg St Leon’s original vision of Preschool to Year 12 on one campus.

• Two anonymous donations are received, boosting the School’s prospects in its quest for premises. The first donation of $25,000 is specifically intended for the Music department. The second, $250,000, is for dedicated Science and Library facilities on the new site, wherever that may be.

• Having lost at least one promising site to another party, as the year ends, IGS enters negotiations with the NSW Police Department to purchase the former Police Academy premises in Redfern.

• February: The School celebrates its 10 year anniversary.

• March: IGS loses its bid to purchase the Police Academy and the hunt for new premises begins anew.

• August: David Wright, the founding Principal of Oxley College in Bowral, is appointed as the new Principal of IGS. A Rhodes Scholar who spent his formative years in Zimbabwe (formerly Rhodesia), he will take up the post in January 1994.

• After a fiercely fought contest with educational institutions around the world, IGS is selected by the People’s Committee of Ho Chi Minh City to set up and operate an international school on a three-year contract. It will cater for children of expatriates in preschool and primary school.

• 1 December: IGS Ho Chi Minh City is officially opened by Foreign Affairs Minister Gareth Evans. Former Prime Minister Bob Hawke – the new school’s patron – joins the celebration via phone link from the IGS Sydney Campus. IGS Ho Chi Minh City follows the NSW curriculum and every one of the 45 students learns Vietnamese. Several IGS teachers move there to take up posts.

• Back at home, the search for a new campus remains fruitless. Another potential site comes to light but it will take a further $1 million of fundraising to refurbish the property without going back into crippling debt.

1987 TO 2013

The growing years

Reg St Leon

“I handed over to Rita Fin, who’d been my deputy, and who was very efficient. I thought that I could withdraw and just be the grey eminence. It appeared to me the School was now going to live on.

“I got the Department’s backs up because the more opposition I ran into the more intransigent I became and I wasn’t a bit diplomatic unfortunately. Whereas Rita was. She realised that we’d had enough trouble and that it was time to pour oil on troubled waters.

“I thought things would be easier for the School if I weren’t involved, because, really, the opposition to the School was largely dictated by personal animosity to me. I think that was the right decision because things have gone very well since then.”

Stephen Laurence, Deputy Principal

“The basement where the high school was situated was terrible. It was the old carpark. There were no windows. It was damp and dingy. There were students, all down in this basement we called The Dungeon.

“There was a science room, an art room, a classroom and staff room. We all went up to Ward Park at lunchtime just to get away. The kids loved it but we used to call Ward Park ‘dog poo park’. Every time we’d bring them back after lunch, Kindy kids would have to leave their shoes outside because they had dog poo on their shoes. And we had to look out for needles.”

“THE BASEMENT WHERE THE HIGH SCHOOL WAS SITUATED WAS TERRIBLE. IT WAS THE OLD CARPARK. THERE WERE NO WINDOWS. IT WAS DAMP AND DINGY. THERE WERE STUDENTS, ALL DOWN IN THIS BASEMENT WE CALLED THE DUNGEON.”

Stephen Laurence, Deputy Principal

and Board Chair

“Surry Hills was an appalling place for a school but people went there in spite of that. When we first went to the School there was a lot of financial stress. I was invited on to the Board because I had a background in banking. At that time there was a threat to foreclose on the mortgage on the Surry Hills place because we were trying to sell that and find new premises.

“So I got involved and we managed to fight the bank off. We had a couple of false starts in terms of the buildings we hoped to be able to move to. There was a lot of disappointment when we weren’t able to move to what was the Mounted Police Headquarters in Surry Hills. It looked like a deal could be done there but then the State Government put that to a competitive tender and a religious group paid a lot more than we were able to. So then we had to go back to stage one.”

David Baker, foundation parent, board member

“BEFORE BEGINNING ENROLMENT INTERVIEWS I WOULD INVITE PARENTS TO ACCOMPANY ME TO THE BASEMENT. THEY NEEDED TO KNOW IN ADVANCE WHAT THEY WOULD BE LETTING THEIR CHILDREN IN FOR.”

David Wright, Principal 1994 to 2000

David Wright, Principal 1994 to 2000

“More and more high school students had to be squashed into the basement of the Surry Hills premises. Few classrooms had windows open to the sun’s light. Air was humid and musty. Dehumidifiers helped little. Mushrooms were sometimes found growing in the carpets.

“In one of my science lessons, I recall a mouse, to the consternation of everyone, plummeting from the ceiling onto a student’s book. Cockroaches thrived in the damp, dark cupboards. Levels of hygiene in the preschool were of mounting concern to parents.

“Before beginning enrolment interviews I would invite parents to accompany me to the basement. They needed to know in advance what they would be letting their children in for.”

Richard Matthews, foundation parent

“A number of parents took their children out because of the site. [Some] children developed asthma and people were actually in tears because they didn’t want to leave the School but their children were unwell. The whole time, as children left, more children arrived because everyone was imbued with the idea of this School which was new and different and extremely appealing.

“The quality of what was happening in the classroom was extremely high and one thing that the administration seemed able to do was to inspire enthusiasm and vigour into a whole generation of highly capable, young, enthusiastic teachers. And the children were far less perturbed about the physical circumstances than the parents. The kids couldn’t care less.”

“THE QUALITY OF WHAT WAS HAPPENING IN THE CLASSROOM WAS EXTREMELY HIGH AND ONE THING THAT THE ADMINISTRATION SEEMED ABLE TO DO WAS TO INSPIRE ENTHUSIASM AND VIGOUR INTO A WHOLE GENERATION OF HIGHLY CAPABLE, YOUNG, ENTHUSIASTIC TEACHERS.”

Richard Matthews, foundation parent

1987 TO 2013

The growing years

1994

• January: David Wright takes up his role as Principal of IGS. Also joining the School is Stephen Laurence in the new role of Deputy Principal. The student population now numbers 560, comprising 80 children in Preschool, 320 in Primary School and 160 in High School.

• Not long after starting, David Wright tells the Parent Support Group that he sees a need for changes in the economics of the School. He points out that the student/teacher ratio at IGS is “more generous” than at any other school in Australia.

• April: Having missed out on yet another property, IGS places notices in newspapers about the search for a suitable site. Former Acting Principal Eddie Jones works full time on acquiring new premises. In the meantime, the Riley Street property is valued at $2.5 million.

• August: IGS Ho Chi Minh City enrolments have increased by 500 per cent in its first 9 months of operation. Students now represent 21 different nationalities, with classes being offered up to Year 10, and the School has been accredited by the NSW Department of Education.

• Several more potential school sites have been identified, including one in Redfern and two in Pyrmont. One by one they fall by the wayside.

1994 1995

• October: In Ho Chi Minh City, IGS grows so rapidly it also needs a new campus. A new site is quickly found. According to Eddie Jones, who visits regularly, “At this stage, the school stands out as one of the most successful joint ventures in Ho Chi Minh City since Vietnam opened up its economy.”

• Late 1994: The search for new premises in Sydney is over; the historic Dalgety’s Woolstore in Kelly Street, Ultimo, is a turn of the century building ravaged by fire and owned by Sydney City Council. A deal is struck. South Sydney Council will fund the renovation and conversion of the woolstore as well as a new five-story building on an adjacent site. Works are expected to cost some $10 million and this outlay is built into the first 20 years of the lease.

• A predominantly female team of architects, led by UNSW Adjunct Professor Diane Jones is engaged to design the Kelly Street building. The School also leases a second property, in Mountain Street, to house the High School while the Kelly Street site is being developed.

• Over the next six weeks, the old woolstore is transformed into a school, ready for students at the beginning of the 1995 school year.

• 1994 is felt by the school community to be a most crucial year in the School’s development.

• January: High School students are reunited in the Mountain Street building, bringing together Years 7 to 10 from Surry Hills and Years 11 and 12 from Balmain. Although temporary accommodation, the building has an assembly hall, library and playground – a vast improvement on the Surry Hills basement.

• There are now 550 students enrolled and the aim is to build to 700 by the time the new Kelly Street building opens in 1997.

• Although the Council is funding the building works, the School needs money for fit out, furnishings and equipment. Parents are invited to make a tax-deductible donation or offer an interest-generating loan.

• Mid-1995: Principal David Wright designs a new school logo. He writes “I saw as one of my duties the redesign of the school badge. Something less explicit was required; a badge subtly representing what, fundamentally, the school stood for. IGS’s unique emphasis was to help establish a bridge across cultures, across the world. The arc represents a bridge, the markings a measure”.

• September: The Surry Hills building is put up for sale; it doesn’t take long for a buyer to snap it up for more than $2 million, significantly reducing the School’s debt.

• The fundraising drive has so far raised $121,500, with a further $44,650 pledged.

1995

• October: The Board of Studies conducts a six-yearly inspection of IGS and the School passes with flying colours. Inspectors report that there are other schools with good reputations that do not “come within cooee” of what IGS is doing and they believe that within five years the School will be widely recognised as a “very good” one. The School’s financial position is further improved by the steady growth of IGS Ho Chi Minh City.

1996

• January: Work begins on the Kelly Street site.

• Fees for 1996 range from $5,850 a year in Early Learning to $6,600 in Years 11 and 12. Scholarships are introduced for entry into Year 7.

In another revenue-raising exercise, IGS offers an intensive English course for any school-age children who are not fluent in English. Graduates are offered entry into the main school.

• Later in the year, IGS Sydney ends its involvement with IGS Ho Chi Minh City, having guided its rapid growth into a successful international school.

1997

• January: The proposed moving-in date for Kelly Street comes and goes, delayed by a few months as work continues. The final cost of the renovation and rebuild is $12 million.

• One of the final things to be completed is the iconic mural on the wall adjacent to the entry. Designed by artists Lloyd and Jenny Kelemen, the mural, Seeds of the Future, illustrates the optimism of the School. The mural includes elements created by IGS students and reflects aspects of the local Indigenous community.

• May: The Riley Street campus is officially farewelled with a student performance of the play The Journey, written by drama teacher Rita Morabito. The performance has both cast and audience moving around the campus, charting the School’s progress from the darkness of Surry Hills to the brightness of Ultimo.

1997

• July: On the first day of Term 3 –and six months behind schedule – staff and students move into the new building in Kelly Street. Although works are not quite complete, students from Preschool to Year 12 are reunited, together again for the first time in six years.

• 9 August: The new School is officially opened by South Sydney Council Mayor Councillor Vic Smith, in front of 1,800 staff, students, families and guests. In this year’s HSC exams, 25 students secure a Tertiary Entrance Rank (TER), with six scoring above 90 per cent. The School’s Dux, Rahul Parrab, who will become an IGS parent, achieves a TER of 98.1. In many individual subjects, IGS students perform in the top 10 per cent. It is the best HSC record yet and tops off a very good year for the School.

Image courtesy of City of Sydney Archives: A-00059572

1987 TO 2013

The growing years

Stephen Laurence, Deputy Principal

“Vic Smith, the mayor of [the then] South Sydney City Council very generously said ‘Well, we’ve got this old warehouse down in Kelly Street… It was a burnt out shell originally owned by Dalgety’s. You can still see the façade. We said we want to keep that because it’s history – you can’t knock down history’.

“The council agreed to pay for the renovations because IGS didn’t have any money. Why on earth would they agree to do this? Because they liked our philosophy and knew we could really grow the School if given the chance. I suppose they also saw it as a good business proposition.”

David Wright, Principal

“Miraculously a deal was able to be struck at that time with South Sydney City Council in which the School would vacate the Surry Hills premises and move into the site of a burnt-out wool store in Ultimo. It fortunately also happened that the Surry Hills premises were able to be sold for a very good price. It meant that IGS could begin life anew, the burden of debt lifted.

“The Council agreed to fund the development of the new School to a design of the School’s choosing and the premises would then be rented from the Council. Designing the Kelly Street site gave me the opportunity to discuss with our architects what I saw as a key condition: the need for the architecture to mirror the fundamental purposes of an enterprise.

“The U-shape reflected both the integrity and the openness of the style of education that I hoped would always characterise the School. The primary school would be accommodated in one arm of the U, the high school in the other, and art, music and library, being common to all sections, would be the bridge between them.”

Richard Matthews, foundation parent

“Once the deal was done on Ultimo [we began a] specific renovation, very carefully done, with appropriate architects as opposed to volunteers banging gyprock together, and actually created the facility.

“I think you can get so far with enthusiastic parents and fantastic teachers, but the facility is important as well and that was the final part of the journey, along with financial stability. By the time I left the Board, around 1998, you could confidently say that, barring the absolute unexpected, that this was now a school which was going to continue forever.

“I think there was only one risk — that as it became successful it would become mainstream.”

David Baker, foundation parent, board member and Board Chair

“There was a period there, during renovation, where the School was spread around. We had the bulk of the School still at Surry Hills, the building in Kelly Street was being built and we had a two-year lease over another building in Mountain Street where the bulk of the high school was.

“So that created a lot of stress for people running all over the place and teachers travelling between campuses. Eventually we did move into Ultimo and that was of course the transformational moment for the School.”

Paul Galea, teacher

“It wasn’t uncommon that sometimes you had to get from Mountain Street at the beginning of recess and be at Surry Hills by the end of recess. So it was a bizarre setup.

“And we had a separate campus at Balmain for Years 11 and 12 and for a while there you had to get from Balmain to Surry Hills in a certain time. So for a while it was — well, it was like ‘this School has always been like this! If you can’t improvise and innovate, you can’t last here’!”

“THE U-SHAPE REFLECTED BOTH THE INTEGRITY AND THE OPENNESS OF THE STYLE OF EDUCATION THAT I HOPED WOULD ALWAYS CHARACTERISE THE SCHOOL.”

David Wright, Principal

“THE BIG THING FOR ME IS HAVING VISION. IF YOU HAVE A VISION, SOMETHING EXCITING, PEOPLE GENERALLY WILL FOLLOW. MOST PEOPLE WANT TO BE PART OF SOMETHING SPECIAL. AND THERE WAS SOMETHING VERY SPECIAL AT IGS.”

Eddie Jones, former teacher and Acting Principal

Stephen Laurence,

Deputy Principal

“In July 1997 we finally reunited the high school, the preschool and the primary school. And that was fantastic. The move to Kelly Street was the great saviour of the School.

“There was excitement that we were going to get back together again and the School gradually started to grow and we could go up to people and say look this is what we are doing. We’re building a new school – go and have a look.

“Oh, we were happy. It was bright and colourful and it was unique with the rooftop playing area.”

Paul Galea, teacher

“When we moved we had 50 billion boxes of things, and it was chaos. Moving from where we were — which was like being in a dungeon where you could hear the water from the toilets flushing through the pipes and everything above you — to something like this, that was just wonderful.

“Because the light, and the newness of it, gave everyone a real lift. It was a new beginning. It was a very exciting time but also a bit of a nervous time because that’s when the School started changing just by sheer numbers.

“IGS couldn’t keep going the way it was going. When I first joined, basically the School was hand to mouth, and I know there were a couple of years where Aftercare was keeping it afloat. To survive, IGS had to get bigger.”

Rita Morabito, foundation teacher

“It’s been our lives. It’s been a huge investment. Sometimes you think that all schools are like this and it’s not until you go into other learning environments that you see some of the things we take for granted here.

“It was easy to build a sense of community and common purpose when we were fighting initially for survival. This turned into community events that marked milestones and celebrations. We were able to create events where everyone in the School was involved.

“When we moved from Surry Hills to Ultimo Dr Wright asked me to put something together. We created an event where the Surry Hills campus was turned into a theatre space, where every child from Kindergarten right through to high school and the parents all went on a journey, physically and metaphorically.

“I am very proud to have been here from the start and to have helped the School to grow into what it is today.”

Eddie Jones, former teacher and Acting Principal

“The big thing for me is having vision. If you have a vision, something exciting, people generally will follow. Most people want to be part of something special. And there was something very special at IGS.

“To create a school out of nothing, with no finances and no proper facilities … and to be able to actually make a school out of that! Reg created that vision and it’s something I will always remember for the rest of my life.”

Dorothy Harding, foundation parent

“There were many aspects of what happens in a traditional conventional school that did not happen at IGS and there were a lot of things that were overlooked because the resources weren’t there. But when I look at all the kids that came through that IGS system they’re all the most rounded, beautiful children. There are all these kids that are really good ambassadors for Reg’s original philosophy.

“The School has a reputation now because of its language but very few people would be aware of the early fight and the energy that went into making that School a success and its survival. I mean we didn’t just have issues with money. We had issues with the government. No one wanted that School to exist.”

Richard Matthews, foundation parent

“One thing you have to say about this whole endeavour was that it was definitely worthwhile. The idea that you would offer a non-denominational, multilingual school that also specialised in music was absolutely revolutionary at the time.

“Reg St Leon was an innovative revolutionary who had an absolute passion for what he was doing. You wouldn’t put money on it surviving, but it did.”

1987 TO 2013

The growing years

1998 – 1999

• August 1998: International Day marks the first birthday of the new campus. Prominent Aboriginal activist, soccer player and administrator Dr Charles Perkins AO presents IGS with a work from noted Aboriginal artist Dave Pwerle Ross in the hope it will further the reconciliation process. The painting, Morning Star and Kangaroo Rat Story still hangs in pride of place in the School.

• September 1999: The IGS Board signs an agreement with longtime Ultimo businessman Martin Biggs to lease a building in Bay Street adjoining the Kelly Street campus. As the School continues to grow, the new building will be remodeled to provide extra classrooms and a drama space and will become the Wright Building. It begins a long and happy association with the Biggs family.

• October 1999: With less than a year until the Sydney 2000 Olympics, the Sydney Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (SOCOG) holds a major media event at IGS, launching the Olympics torch relay schools program. Present is American actor Geena Davis, in Sydney to launch a pre-Olympics archery event.

2000 – 2001

• May 2000: Principal David Wright announces his retirement at the end of the school year. The search for a new Principal begins.

October: Students and staff led by Rita Morabito create and perform The Wright Way Home, a musical and drama piece honouring David Wright. Dr Wright finishes in December after seven years at IGS and 42 years of teaching. During David Wright’s tenure, the School has grown from 560 students and 60 staff spread across two unsuitable campuses to nearly 900 students and 80 staff in one new, purpose-built school. The School’s growth, security and stability is seen as Dr Wright’s greatest legacy to IGS.

• January 2001: Kerrie Murphy becomes Principal, having spent many years teaching and then serving as Deputy Principal at St Catherine’s School in Sydney’s eastern suburbs.

• June 2001: IGS students take their first international tour; 30 history students visit World War battle sites in France and Turkey with teachers Stephen Laurance and David Miller.

• August 2001: David Wright returns on the School’s most important day, International Day, to officially open the Wright Building in Bay Street. After extensive remodeling, the building houses six new classrooms and a performance space.

• By the end of the 2001 school year, Kerrie Murphy’s first year, the student population is nudging 1,000 and the School is in a solid financial position.

2002 – 2004

• August 2002: International Day is held to coincide with World Indigenous Day. Featured are 26 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders who give performances, workshops, storytelling sessions and a smoking ceremony. For Principal Kerrie Murphy this is a unique opportunity to forge links with local Indigenous communities and to embrace their culture.

January 2003: The IGS Indigenous Scholarship program begins with 7-year-old Tjarani Barton-Vaofanua starting in Year 2. She is the first of many Indigenous scholars to go through IGS.

• February 2004: A special Foundation Day assembly on the School’s 20th anniversary is held with Reg St Leon as guest of honour. The year will be marked with a series of events including a whole school photo and a birthday party for 600 staff, parents and guests.

• Jigsaw, a magazine reflecting daily life at IGS, is launched.

• December 2004: Contracts are signed for the purchase of a new site in Mountain Street to house the senior annexe for Year 11 and 12 students.

• Of the 62 HSC students who sit their exams, almost half achieve in the top two performance Bands of 5 and 6, representing marks of 80 to 100.

2005 – 2009 2010

• March 2005: The Sydney Morning Herald reports on its front page that Principal Kerrie Murphy has banned IGS students from using ipods at school because they lead to “social isolation”.

• September 2005: The purposebuilt Senior Annexe opens in Mountain Street, freeing up space for younger students in the main campus.

• During 2005, Preschool to Year 12 enrolments climb to 1,123 students.

• 2008: IGS approaches Sydney City Council to purchase 4-6 Kelly Street. The answer is a definite “no”.

• May 2009: As part of the School’s silver anniversary, a gala concert is held in the Angel Place Recital Hall to celebrate the School’s 25th birthday. The centerpiece is Symphony of the Child, written for the occasion by Australian composer James Humberstone.

• November 2009: IGS community cookbook Recipes from the Heart is released. A PTF initiative produced by IGS parents and carers, the book goes on to raise $75,000 for the School.

2012: With enrolments sitting at 1,195 students – capacity for the campus in its current configuration – IGS enters a period of consolidation after three decades of establishment and growth.

• The School’s first composerin-residence, Daniel Rojas, is appointed to mentor aspiring composers and guide senior music students in their courses.

• The Indigenous Scholarship Endowment Fund is established to seek philanthropic donations to expand the Indigenous Scholarship Program. There are now 11 Indigenous scholarship recipients which will increase to 13 within three years.

• July 2010: Construction of a new Primary School building commences, thanks to a $3 million grant from the Commonwealth Building the Education Revolution fund and another act of goodwill and generosity from Martin Biggs and family. The building, on the corner of Bay and Macarthur Streets, will become fondly known as the “swiss cheese” building.

• December 2010: Kerrie Murphy is farewelled after a decade as Principal.

Mid-2012: With the end of the 20-year lease on the Kelly Street property looming, IGS again approaches Sydney City Council about purchasing the property. Ultimately, once again, the answer is “no”.

2011

• January 2011: The School’s sixth principal, Michael Maniska, begins. He is a former French teacher and head of Le Lycee Franco-Australien de Canberra, also known as Telopea Park School.

• August 2011: The new Primary School building, now known as the Kerrie Murphy Building, is officially opened by local MP Tanya Plibersek with both Kerrie herself and Reg St Leon as guests. The building wins an award for Commercial Energy Efficiency and its iconic design pays homage to the traditional landowners, the Gadigal People.

• The NSW Board of Studies conducts a five-yearly inspection of the School, looking at policies, curriculum, assessment regime and facilities. The School passes with flying colours and its license to operate is extended until 2016.

October 2013: Indigenous Scholar Tjarani (TJ) Barton-Vaofanua, first recipient of the Indigenous Scholarship, graduates from Year 12. During her time at IGS she received a Future Leaders Indigenous Award for academic and leadership potential and a Zonta Highly Commended Achievement Award for a Young Indigenous Woman.

“Sydney now has at least one building from a predominantly female design team… Fortunately the building is terrific.

“The new International Grammar School (IGS) building simply reads as a fragment of inner-arrondissement Paris dropped unsuspectingly into Kelly Street, Ultimo. Goodness knows, Ultimo could do with a leg-up in the chic department

“IGS is an independent arts-based establishment, preschool-12, with a strong emphasis on music and language teaching.

“It makes for an unusual school community, united not by class, expedience, faith or even parental ambition so much as adherence to a broad but intensely humanist tradition.

“This … was the brief to the design team … and it is this sense of humanism, cultivation and optimism that quickens the architecture.

“THE RESULT IS A VIBRANT, SASSY REWORKING OF THE STODGY-IF-HANDSOME WOOLSTORE, ITS NEW, LITHE TRANSPARENCY RADIATING VIRTUAL SPACE THROUGH ULTIMO’S OVERBUILT CORRIDORS.”

Elizabeth Farrelly, architecture writer

Image courtesy of City of Sydney Archives: A-00059577

SEEDS OF THE FUTURE

When IGS acquired the derelict Kelly Street building in early 1996, Ultimo was not a desirable postcode. It was downtrodden, the streetscapes were dreary and it had a reputation as a tough area.

The brief to the mostly-female design team, led by architect and UNSW Adjunct Professor Di Jones, was to create a building that would engage both students and the neighbourhood. It would promote a sense of connection and provide spaces for every child to feel comfortable in, while acknowledging the building’s history as a woolstore. It would express the uniqueness of IGS, the realisation of Reg St Leon’s dream.

Architect Di Jones wanted to integrate public art into the new design as a way of “giving back” to the surrounding area. Muralist Lloyd Keleman and his partner Jenny were invited by the then South Sydney Council (now City of Sydney Council) to submit a design for a mural on the School’s front wall. Having won the tender, they set about designing, in consultation with the architects, a work of art which would find its audience not just within the school community but in local residents and passers-by.

As a lover of science, Kelemen chose themes for his mural that related to serious subjects such as the natural world, the progress of science, and technology. He invited IGS students to create elements of the mural with the loose brief that they were relevant to the evolution and progress of human endeavour.

The students crafted ceramic pieces such as a submarine, teeth, Einstein, creatures of all sorts, atoms, DNA molecules, a hammer and even a gun.

Lloyd Kelemen pictured below left with the mural and Deputy Principal Mary Duma in 2021, knew the mural’s title, Seeds of the Future, before he started on the work. A seed signifies many things. It felt right for a school. In an interview in 2021, Lloyd Kelemen said, “…it was just perfect. The young mind, its potential, its growth, it is all about the future. It starts here with schools and how kids develop and where they go to shape the world”.

Many thousands of students, staff, visitors and local residents have walked past the artwork in the past 27 years. If you pay attention you can see something new every time. As Kelemen says, “the more you look, the more you see”.

His hope when he took on the job was that the mural’s message “would last the ages”.

Image courtesy of City of Sydney Archives: A-00059575

Seeds of the Future is recognised as one of Kelemen’s major works and today he believes it is just as relevant as when it was created. “I think we succeeded in being able to have something that actually goes into the future,” he said.

Images L-R: Details from the mural.

THE GOLDEN RECORDS

In the top left of the Seeds of the Future mural is a circular piece which is identical to items attached to two NASA Voyager probes launched in 1977. Project managed by the man who made science popular, astronomer Carl Sagan, these are known as the Voyager Golden Records. They form time capsules containing photos, natural sounds and music including hits of the time, greetings in some 55 languages and an explanation of life on earth just in case any extraterrestrial life forms might stumble across them. The Golden Records were designed to be playable for up to a billion years. With the Voyagers now in outer space, more than 20 billion kilometres from earth, they are still transmitting to home base. NASA hopes to stay in contact with the probes until at least their 50th anniversary in 2027.

LLOYD KELEMEN KNEW THE MURAL’S TITLE, SEEDS OF THE FUTURE, BEFORE HE STARTED ON THE WORK. A SEED SIGNIFIES MANY THINGS. IT FELT RIGHT FOR A SCHOOL. IN AN INTERVIEW IN 2021, LLOYD KELEMEN SAID, “…IT WAS JUST PERFECT. THE YOUNG MIND, ITS POTENTIAL, ITS GROWTH, IT IS ALL ABOUT THE FUTURE.”

IGS PRINCIPALS

REG ST LEON

School founder and Principal February 1984 – January 1987

“If anybody asks me what’s the most worthwhile thing I’ve done in my life, I would say founding the School –partly because it is unique and partly because of the problems we had to overcome to get it up and running.”

RITA FIN

Principal January 1987 – December 1990

“The word ‘passion’ springs to mind. In the early days everybody was galvanised and going for the same thing. We all wanted this place not only to survive, but to thrive, and we just did whatever it took.”

MARIKA MCLACHLAN

Principal January 1991 – June 1992

“Each of us has a duty: as a citizen, as a student. The International Grammar School in its short history has developed a splendid tradition – one of involvement, striving for excellence and working together.”

EDDIE JONES

Acting Principal June 1992 – December 1993

“The big thing for me is having vision. If you have a vision, something exciting, people generally will follow. Most people want to be part of something special. And there was – and still is – something very special at IGS.”

“WHEN I AM GATHERED TO MY FATHERS AT THE END OF MY LIFE, I WILL THINK I DID ONE THING THAT WAS TERRIBLY WORTHWHILE, AND THAT WAS STARTING THE FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHING AT IGS. THOSE KIDS AT IGS ARE THE LUCKIEST CHILDREN IN THE WORLD.”

Reg St Leon School founder and Principal

1984 TO 2024

DAVID WRIGHT

Principal January 1994 –December 2000

“The sense of everyone having equal value added vibrancy to the School’s environment. Students would quite naturally drop into my office for a chat or to share some personal achievement or disappointment. The principal was never seen as being shut away in an ivory tower… It was uplifting.”

KERRIE MURPHY

Principal January 2001 –December 2010

“To me, Unity through Diversity embodies the concept of respect: you respect others no matter who they are, or what’s happening to them. And that sense of respect led to the way the students connected with the staff… We were a whole group of people who together were part of a community.”

MICHAEL MANISKA

Principal January 2011 –September 2014

“The first thing that struck me was just how nice the kids were. They are so willing to talk to you and believe in the right to their voice. They are respectful but certainly not intimidated. It gave me a sense that the kids were in an environment where they were deeply valued and where they were able to take risks and to grow safely. All good learning comes from stepping out of your comfort zone…”

SHAUNA COLNAN

Principal since September 2014

“I see school as a place of boundless opportunity where dreams really do come true. Every child is gifted. The School’s responsibility is to find those gifts and bring them to the fore. Our students are our greatest ambassadors. They are in the moment: happy, warm, open-minded, curious, kind and respectful. Speak to them and they will tell you what makes IGS a great school!”

“OUR STUDENTS ARE OUR GREATEST AMBASSADORS. THEY ARE IN THE MOMENT: HAPPY, WARM, OPEN-MINDED, CURIOUS, KIND AND RESPECTFUL. SPEAK TO THEM AND THEY WILL TELL YOU WHAT MAKES IGS A GREAT SCHOOL!”

Shauna Colnan Principal

“LIVES CHANGE ONCE STUDENTS START TO DO THIS SUBJECT. THE CONFIDENCE THAT I SEE GROW IN STUDENTS IS BEAUTIFUL.”

RITA MORABITO

Foundation teacher, Director of Dramatic Arts

Rita Morabito met Reg St Leon in the early 1980s when she was writing her Honours thesis on bilingualism. The daughter of multilingual migrant parents, she was passionate about the preservation of mother tongue languages. Rita interviewed Reg for her thesis and, on the hunt for teachers for his new School, Reg offered her a job. Today, Rita is the final original staff member from Day 1 in 1984 still working at IGS. Rita’s son, Jamison, attended IGS and graduated in 2021 with three languages, achieving Band 6 results in all three and topping the state in HSC Continuers Spanish.

Those early days were exciting because we began with nothing but an idea and a lot of passion. We had tiny numbers and only a couple of primary teachers for the languages that were represented — Greek, Italian, French, German, Japanese and Spanish. We started with ideas of how we were going to teach bilingually, studying different subjects in another language. It was all uncharted territory.

When Reg offered me the job, he wanted me to teach Greek because my mum was Greek. Dad was Italian, but also spoke French and Arabic at home because they’d lived in Egypt. I didn’t feel confident to teach Greek, but I said I could try Italian. That’s how I began as the first Italian teacher at IGS.

When I started, I thought I’d probably be here just for a little while and then move on, but the excitement of setting up a school was something that none of my peers were doing. In those early days, even though we had hardships — we lost the school site, didn’t have much money, didn’t have many things — it was that passionate fight to get something up, something new in education, and because of the languages, it became a labour of love.

Growing up in the ‘60s and ‘70s, speaking different languages was not something that was embraced. There was a lot of racism

and if mum spoke to me in a different language in public I’d get embarrassed.

“WE WERE EMPOWERING STUDENTS TO EMBRACE NOT ONLY THE LANGUAGE, BUT THE CULTURES THAT WENT WITH THEM. IT WAS — AND STILL IS — SOMETHING REALLY SPECIAL THAT WASN’T HAPPENING ELSEWHERE.”

What’s wonderful is that IGS kids embrace diversity. We were empowering students to embrace not only the language, but the cultures that went with them. It was — and still is — something really special that wasn’t happening elsewhere.

When I had my son, I wanted to give him the gift of languages because I’d lost my mum and dad not long after the School began. I wanted to give him that legacy of language learning, which opens up the whole world to you.

I developed a passion for theatre and drama that has really kept me going. When the School first began, we’d put on assemblies or acts to showcase what we were doing. The parent community had quite a few artistic people in it. I always remember one of the dads saying, “you know, you should be in theatre”.

So I started doing theatre for myself, and learnt all these wonderful activities that I’d try out on the students, and they’d love it. There were no behaviour issues because all I’d have to say is, “if you do this then we’ll do a drama activity”.

Rita’s son, Jamison Power

The parents asked me to start drama clubs. They were the first clubs at the School, and were incredibly popular. I went to Italy and studied at the University of Bologna in drama, dance and film. Umberto Eco was one of my lecturers in the semiology of theatre. That led to other things — collaborations with music, other theatrical school events and theatre at the School and also in collaboration with communities.

For a long time, I was a bit of a lone wolf, fighting to have Drama recognised and accepted as a course offering. In those early days, there were misunderstandings about the subject because it was completely new.

By the early ‘90s when we started offering Drama as an HSC course, I’d completed a Master’s in Theatre Studies at UNSW and another in English Literature.

Ultimo is a great location that really contributes to the School’s vibrancy. There’s so much happening around us, and inside the School, we now have beautiful places to inhabit. We worked very closely with the BVN architects to reimagine two floors of the Wright Building and create the Drama Centre.

We now offer Drama as an elective from Year 9 right through to the HSC. We’ve had excellent success at HSC level for more than 20 years. We expanded to include Dance in 2023 with our first HSC Dance group to graduate in 2024. We also offer a wonderful Film Studies course in Years 9 and 10. It’s exciting.

In terms of co-curricular activities, we collaborate with professionals where possible. Students love putting on Shakespeare plays with Damien Ryan of Sport for Jove. Every year, the feedback is so positive. We’ve also had great success with Theatresports, with teams in Intermediate and Senior levels of the state competitions.

A lot of the IGS staff have been given professional development in the “Literacy through Drama” program with Sydney Theatre Company and Sydney Uni, using picture books, novels and drama pedagogy to bring those texts to life. Other professional theatre groups have created shows or worked with the teachers to devise shows.

“WE NOW OFFER DRAMA AS AN ELECTIVE FROM YEAR 9 RIGHT THROUGH TO THE HSC. WE’VE HAD EXCELLENT SUCCESS AT HSC LEVEL FOR MORE THAN 20 YEARS.”

Lots of different practitioners come in to enrich what we do. I love it. It’s great to be able to share and collaborate.

All those 21st Century learning skills that people are now embracing, Drama brought in years ago — embodied cognition, collaboration, critical reflection, critical thinking. That whole idea of collaborating with other people to create something original and worthwhile for your HSC has been around since the early ‘90s for Drama.

Drama has been leading the way in critical thinking because you have to analyse and reflect upon what you’re making and what you want to say when devising content for these HSC pieces. The zeitgeist now is all about creativity learning, and Drama is a creative subject. It allows you to have a voice, to build your confidence, and support one another in ensemble work, creating something for others.

You can’t have drama unless you’ve got at least one audience member. It’s about what happens in that space and the relationship between the performer and the audience — what you give and what they receive. Everybody deserves to do Drama.

A lot of students don’t necessarily go into the arts but many do. For a long while, many were doing Drama to become whatever they wanted to be, just to have that confidence in themselves, to negotiate with others, to communicate and collaborate.

We learn about other cultures as well through the theatre we study. I try to embed languages and different cultural perspectives in theatre and drama. I think that feeds into world readiness. Together with languages, drama opens students’ minds. It also builds empathy in everything that we do, with texts we study and characters we create. Being able to walk in the shoes of somebody else is empathy, and that is a skill that we definitely need in the world more than ever.

Anytime we perform for an audience it builds community. Older students perform for younger ones. The Drama students love getting that audience response and the younger ones ask when they can see more performances. That kind of relationship is wonderful to foster.

I’m really proud of what we’ve built and delighted we have a beautiful Drama Centre now, and that Drama is one of the School’s strongest subjects. Lives change once students start to do this subject. The confidence that I see grow in students is beautiful, and staff are just as passionate about it.

IGS has expanded, we’ve got more space and access to resources, but at its core, a lot of things have stayed the same. The teachers are passionate, and the students are still very open-minded. They embrace diversity, they’re very street-savvy. I feel very privileged to deal with the students who study Drama because they’re always open to experimentation and new ideas.

One thing that has changed is that there’s no longer a fight for the arts because Shauna loves the arts and has allowed them to grow. I’m really grateful.

The beating heart of IGS is the languages. That has to be preserved. People have to know why we value languages. We can’t allow the story of how the School began to be forgotten – the passionate fight and the struggle at the start, and all the people who helped to keep it alive.

“THE CONFIDENCE THAT I SEE GROW IN STUDENTS IS BEAUTIFUL, AND STAFF ARE JUST AS PASSIONATE ABOUT IT.”

Reg had the idea that it was a rigorous academic exercise to impart languages, but for many of us, it was more than that. It was also about cultural connection, about all those things we were brought up with that we wanted to value, preserve, embrace and share as part of who we are as Australians in a global context.

“REG HAD THE IDEA THAT IT WAS A RIGOROUS ACADEMIC EXERCISE TO IMPART LANGUAGES, BUT FOR MANY OF US, IT WAS MORE THAN THAT. IT WAS ALSO ABOUT CULTURAL CONNECTION, ABOUT ALL THOSE THINGS WE WERE BROUGHT UP WITH THAT WE WANTED TO VALUE, PRESERVE, EMBRACE AND SHARE AS PART OF WHO WE ARE AS AUSTRALIANS IN A GLOBAL CONTEXT.”

IGSNESS

“It’s a magic potion that should be bottled.”

The idea of “IGSness” is buried so deep in the School’s DNA that, today, no-one is quite sure how and when it originated. But it remains a part of the IGS lingo and is used by students, staff, families and graduates to describe qualities that make IGS the place it is.

“IGSness” is many things to many people. But you know it when you feel it.

Community Relations

Manager Paul Galea

“IGSness” – that elusive, hard to quantify and all-important part of our School – has two sides. One is to be yourself. Two is to be part of our broader community. “IGSness” also means being open minded, even towards someone who has a different viewpoint to you.

Former IGS parent Lyndsay Brown

“IGSness” to me is encapsulated in the school motto Unity Through Diversity; IGS actually encourages diversity (rather than just tolerating it), recognising that difference makes the world an even more interesting and creative place to be.

Long-serving staff member Michelle Weir

2023 graduate Ava Wilkin

“IGSness” is giving up your recess to talk to your favourite Year 3s outside the Bib about the latest dramas in their overly complicated lives.

Long-serving staff member Lucy Howard-Shibuya

There is no doubt in my mind the foundation of “IGSness” lies in the School’s beginnings and its deep commitment to languages and appreciation of diversity. My kids were raised at IGS. They embody what “IGSness” is; open minded, accepting; a sense of belonging, a joyful approach to life, and a strong sense of community. It’s a magic potion that should be bottled.

2023 graduate Ruari Foster

PTF/P&C President and parent Hayley Dean

Teacher Tanika Belle sends individualised postcards to her students in the holiday breaks. She will write things like “I really love the way you were learning to read and I’m really proud of you. I can’t wait to see you next term and finish reading that book with you”. Every single one of those postcards is unique and different, exactly for that child. This is “IGSness”.

German teacher Brooke Fuerbach picked up on Patrick having trouble with his German and that he was obsessed with Pokemon. So she handmade him Pokemon cards in German and laminated them. From that day on, German has become his absolute favourite subject and he excels in it.

Year 6 Kuyal leader 2024

The students and my colleagues give IGS its “IGSness”! A Year 1 student wanted to buy flowers for her parents for their anniversary. Obviously not allowed to leave the School, she told her Year 4 buddy her dilemma. The Year 4 buddy told her Year 9 buddy who mentioned it to a Year 11 student in his tutor group. The Year 11 student went up to Broadway and bought the flowers, and back down the chain it went. When the mum collected her Year 1 daughter in the afternoon, she was presented with the flowers. This is “IGSness”!

“IGSness” is a hard concept to encapsulate because I don’t think it comes from only one thing. But If I had to pin it down – everyone respects each other here.

Parent Tim Bishop

Good leadership spills into the day to day that all our young perceive. When you walk in, the feeling is warm and everyone is happy to see you. You know people love being here.

Year 6 Music leader 2024 Penny Martell

To me, the word “IGSness” refers to the kind and welcoming atmosphere of IGS and its students. Everyone has different beliefs and opinions but we still come together to make up the wonderful diverse IGS community.

Matilda Bello-Vijeyarasa

My favourite thing about IGS is how we are in cohesion with our feelings and thoughts. We are always looking after each other and noticing when someone is not okay. “IGSness” means community and togetherness.

Former IGS parent Susan Morris-Yates

There is something about the School – its fabled yet indefinable “IGSness” – that empowers children to face daunting change with courage and optimism.

Gina Yu, Year 4 2024

“IGSness” is kindness, honesty and friendship.

Deputy Principal Wellbeing Mary Duma

That beautiful sense of whatever “IGSness” is; we have to nurture it and maintain it, and we have to make sure it never dies. That flame has to keep burning.

Principal Shauna Colnan

“IGSness” is a term of endearment. It alludes to the uniqueness of our School. There’s a certain X factor about the place that’s hard to pin down and is more about how the place makes you feel. “IGSness” is about the culture and the community.

Deputy Principal Academic Thom Marchbank

“IGSness” is a powerful, indefinable quality. It’s in the relationships between students and teachers. It’s about recognising the whole person, honouring the uniqueness or the identity that each individual brings to the School.

Year 6 Community leader 2024 Atticus Sampson

“IGSness” means to me the many cultures and languages that are used and respected here at IGS.

Sarina Thomas, Year 4 2024

If, in the cross country, someone falls, many people will come and help. That’s “IGSness”.

Paris Quinn, Year 4 2024

It’s sportsmanship.

Ruben Bures, Year 4 2024

“IGSness” is about showing kindness and empathy to others. It’s about respect.

Primary Home Class Teacher

Catherine Swinton

As a School, IGS lets the whole community be themselves and from that you learn and grow freely, with the potential to give your best. IGS graduates are amazing young people, free to be themselves.

Jett Lee, Year 4 2024

“IGSness” is about kindness and safety. You let your teachers teach, and your peers learn.

Maya Lewarne, Year 4 2024

“IGSness” is about being kind and including others.

Oliver Tirant, Year 4 2024

“IGS IS A PLACE WHERE PEOPLE CAN BE THEMSELVES AND BE TREATED WITH RESPECT. WE ARE A LOVELY COMMUNITY, WITH BARELY ANY RUDENESS. THIS SCHOOL WAS MADE BY PEOPLE WHO NEVER GAVE UP, AND WE WILL ALWAYS REMEMBER THE STORY OF ONE MAN’S DREAM THAT CAME TRUE.”

Head of Campus Administration

Brittney Wedd

Paul Galea welcomed me into the School with open arms 14 years ago. I’m glad he’s still part of the School. He’s been the glue. You can still sense the closeness. Working with the same people for so long, they are almost like a second family. When you walk into the School every day, Patty Anthony gives you a huge smile.

IGS Canteen operator and parent

Patty Anthony

It’s a community. I love it here. I love the kids. It doesn’t matter how busy it is; I love coming to work. This morning I was standing talking to a parent, and I got hugs from 10 kids. Every day, it’s lovely. There’s a good balance of friendliness, authority and respect. It just works.

Zoe Lee, Year 4 2024

I think IGS is more relaxed with the uniform. It’s happy and free. We have freedom.

Harri Wood, Year 7 2024

It’s about diversity. I think it’s a really great school to be in. Once you learn a language, you can communicate with the world. You know more about what’s happening around you, and you feel you are becoming smarter.

Alex Bac ulak, Year 4 2024

It’s a beautiful school. Reg St Leon’s dream was really great. I joined in Year 3. I love this school a lot. It’s really become part of my life. All my friends and the teachers help me and I am lucky to have them with me. I never feel alone.

“I THINK WE ARE IN A GOLDEN ERA OF IGS. THAT’S MY PERCEPTION. I THINK WE’RE IN A KIND OF GOLDEN MOMENT IN THE HISTORY OF THE SCHOOL.”

Shauna Colnan, Principal

THE AGE OF AMBITION

The past decade of IGS history may not have had the drama of the early years but it has been a time of great change, within the School, in the broader community, and across the world.

With new and improved facilities, a larger footprint, a broader curriculum, a wider outlook and a larger student population, the School enters mature adulthood. Maturity brings many firsts for IGS.

2014 TO 2019

The age of ambition

2014

• At the beginning of the school year, student enrolments hit 1,200 –125 more students than a decade earlier.

• February: IGS celebrates its 30th birthday. Celebrations include a whole-school barbecue (with Paul Galea at the grill, continuing a grand IGS tradition), an IGS community party at a swanky venue in the city and the publication of Learning Journeys – 30 years of International Grammar School 1984-2014. The book launch reunites the staff, students and families who gave birth to the School and kept it going through dark times.

2014

• Shauna Colnan joins the School to become the seventh principal of IGS, after Michael Maniska moves to Los Angeles to take up the principalship of a multi-campus French school. Shauna arrives from MLC School where she has been Deputy Principal and Head of Senior School.

• The inaugural Red Earth cultural immersion experience takes students to central Australia in partnership with First Nations people. Approved by Michael Maniska in 2012, organisation of the trip has taken much time and consultation with Aboriginal landowners. It will become an annual event, much revered by students.

• Shauna Colnan announces a new tradition to recognise staff who’ve worked at IGS for 20 to 30 years on an honour board. She also introduces the IGS Global Scholar’s Prize, giving high school students the opportunity to write an essay on a recent world event. The inaugural topic is In the Shadow of MH17. The prize is awarded at Speech Night to a Year 10 student, Samuel Garratt, who goes on to receive the Global Scholar’s Prize for the next two years.

• October: The SAGE program, for students in Years 7 to 10, is announced to staff and later to parents at Speech Night. SAGE is a big step in taking learning out of the classroom and will become a highlight of the high school year. SAGE will be rolled out from 2015 starting with a Year 7 Shakespeare Bootcamp

2014

• Other initiatives announced include the inaugural IGS Broadway musical, Oliver! to be staged in 2015.

NEW ROLES SINCE 2014

• Archivist

• Coordinator of Primary Co-curricular Programs

• Deputy Principal Academic

• Deputy Principal Wellbeing

• Deputy Heads of School

• Digital Learning Specialist

• Director of Art and Design

• Director of Bibliothèque

• Director of Counselling Services

• Director of Dramatic Arts

• Director of Media, Communications and Marketing

• Head of Academic Data

• Head of Academic Care

• Head of Academic Operations

• Head of Children’s Programs

• Heads of School – Early Learning, Primary School, High School

• Head of Sustainability

• Head of Indigenous Education

• Head of Indigenous Partnerships

• Head of Staffing

• Heads of Stage (Primary School)

• Heads of Teacher Accreditation and Development

• Heads of Year (High School)

• School Nurse

2015

• February: Shauna Colnan announces Tasmania – Writing the Island, the capstone of the SAGE program. All Year 10 students will travel to the pristine landscapes of Tasmania each year for a literary, cultural, historic outdoor expedition. Planning commences for 2016.

• March: The School’s first comprehensive strategic plan, Into the World 2016-2020 is unveiled to staff, with the School’s mission “To equip our students to be world ready”.

• IGS and Masters students and staff from the UTS School of Architecture start collaborating on a design project to reimagine and improve the School’s campus and facilities.

• May: IGS purchases 77-79 Bay Street, across the road from the Kerrie Murphy Building. This is the School’s first property acquisition in many years but will not be the last. Ultimately, the entire Bay Street precinct will be dedicated to high school art spaces.

• July: New courses are announced –Year 7 Drama, and Physical Activity and Sports Studies (PASS) and Commerce for Years 9 and 10. Year 11 Mathematics students will be accelerated to sit their HSC early for the first time.

• The first coding projects take place and Science Week is celebrated for the first time at IGS.

• October: The inaugural Year 12 graduation dinner is held.

2015

• The first SAGE Year 7 Shakespeare Bootcamp is held on campus under the guidance of Sport for Jove. 100 students spend the week immersed in Shakespeare's world and preparing for a performance of one of his great works at the end of the week.

• Oliver! the musical is staged to great acclaim in the School Hall.

• The SAGE program continues to roll out, with the Year 8 The Rocks Quest and Year 9 Opera on Kelly in planning.

• The School establishes its first international Chapter, for IGS graduates living in New York.

• A new school bell plays through the campus at the end of each day: Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, with Summer, Autumn, Winter or Spring played according to the term and season.

2016

• Year 7 Drama and PASS and Commerce for Years 9 and 10 are part of the IGS curriculum for the first time.

• The first IGS Robotics Club is offered. Students build a robot they call Major Tom in honour of David Bowie who died earlier in the year. Major Tom and its creators are entered in an international robotics competition.

• High school students embark on their first trip to NASA.

• The Year 8 SAGE program, The Rocks Quest, commences. Over a week, students spend time with archaeologists in The Rocks investigating historical questions and collecting oral histories from the residents of Millers Point for an exhibition of learning at the end of the week. The Rocks Quest, designed by Shauna Colnan in consultation with archaeologist Dr Wayne Johnson, wins the National Trust Education Heritage Award in 2016.

• The School’s Master Plan framework, outlining Shauna Colnan’s vision for development of the campus, is put to the School Board. Its scope extends 20 years until 2036 and is based on the design collaboration with UTS School of Architecture. The first projects slated are the Fitness Centre on the ground floor of the Kerrie Murphy Building and the Peace Garden on Level 1 of the Wright Building.

• The Master Plan is accompanied by a growth strategy for the Primary School that will see the school grow to 1400 students by 2026.

2014 TO 2019 The age of ambition

2016

• Plans are prepared to upgrade the Science Labs, design the Year 12 Art Studio and create a new, dedicated Art and Design Centre for high school students.

• November: The Year 9 SAGE program, Opera on Kelly, starts. A week later the whole of Year 10 travels to Tasmania for Writing the Island, finalising the rollout of the ambitious SAGE program.

• The School’s first campus Master Plan is approved by the School Board.

NEW SUBJECTS SINCE 2014 2017

• Aboriginal Studies

• Aboriginal Studies via Compression

• Beginner Languages for Years 11 and 12

• Business Studies

• Chinese as a Second Language

• Commerce

• Critical Thinking for the 21st Century: for Years 9 and 10

• Dance

• Investigating Science

• Legal Studies

• Mathematics Accelerated for Year 11

• Philosophy for Years 5 to 10

• Photography and Digital Media

• Physical Activity and Sports Studies PASS

• The SAGE program for the Middle Years (Years 7 to 10)

• Science Extension for Years 11 and 12

• Textiles and Design

• VET courses (TAFE-delivered vocational education and training)

• Work Studies Year 11

Still to come:

Aboriginal Languages: New NESA syllabus in 2025. IGS to introduce in 2026 following community consultation.

• Chinese (Mandarin) is introduced as a core language from Preschool.

• February: Dr Marie Leech, an expert in social justice and policy, is appointed as the new chair of the School Board.

• March: Shauna Colnan announces Effort Grades on academic reports and The Principal's Outstanding Effort Award to amplify the link between perseverance, engagement and academic achievement.

• June: The School’s founder, Reg St Leon, now in his late 80s, is awarded an Order of Australia medal for his service to the multicultural community, and to education.

• July: The School engages BVN Architects, specialists in educational architecture, to redesign the campus, beginning with the Global Learning Centre which will occupy all but the ground floor of the Kerrie Murphy Building.

• August: Shauna Colnan announces the introduction of Heads of Year for every high school year group starting with Year 7. Teachers will be invited to apply for these roles, which aim to enhance the School’s wellbeing program.

• September: Shauna Colnan signs a memorandum of understanding with Principals of exchange schools around the world to formalise our global network of schools.

• The School’s first full Shakespearean production, The Comedy of Errors, is staged. Also delighting audiences is the musical Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Musicals and Shakespeare will be performed each year, giving students across the School new opportunities to perform.

• October: The Art and Design Centre, designed by Roberts Day Architects, opens. It comprises DT Lane with an original mural by Bradley Eastman and a series of studios to accommodate an expanding suite of art, design, technology and film courses.

• May: Major work begins on the Global Learning Centre for the Teaching and Learning of Languages, transforming the interior of the ”swiss cheese” building on the corner of Macarthur Street. Concept designs for the new library, to be known as the Bibliothèque, the Centre for Dramatic Arts and the Colleagues’ Lounge, are unveiled.

• August: A Sustainability Framework for IGS is prepared, meeting another key aspiration in the School’s Strategic Plan.

• The first IGS Giving Day is held. Surpassing all expectations, Giving Day raises more than $100,000 from the community, to support the School’s Indigenous Scholarship Program.

2019

• January: The new school year opens with its highest ever enrolments, a full-time equivalent of 1,272.6 students, 73 students more than at the same time in 2014.

• March: The School and community is in mourning for IGS founder, Reg St Leon OAM, who dies aged 90.

• April: Composer Paul Jarman is commisssioned to compose a new school anthem, to sit beside our much loved school song.

• May: The new Global Learning Centre in Bay Street is officially opened by Isabell St Leon, bringing to fruition the School’s most ambitious building so far.

• Another new Chapter of the IGS Global Alum community is set up in London. Shauna Colnan hosts graduates at the Chapter’s inaugural event.

• September: The School Board approves construction of the Bibliothèque, Centre for the Dramatic Arts and Colleagues’ Lounge.

• October: Sadly, celebrated musician and long-time IGS collaborator Richard Gill AO dies. Sydney’s music community gathers outside his house to sing to him at his passing.

• November: The first cohort of Aboriginal Studies students performs 15.38 per cent above the State mean, placing IGS as one of the highest performing schools in NSW in this course.

• Year 10 is the first cohort of students to complete all four years of the SAGE program.

• July: Long-time supporter and friend of IGS Martin Biggs, whose kindness as a landlord enabled major IGS teaching and learning spaces, dies at the age of 97. A Polish-born holocaust survivor, Martin was a pioneer in modern office products in Australia. A quiet day of reflection is held in The Peace Garden which Shauna Colnan had dedicated to Martin and Eugenia Biggs.

September: The School’s second Giving Day raises more than $91,000 for the Indigenous Scholarship Program and the new Centre for Dramatic Arts which is under construction.

• November: The celebrated IGS SAGE Program turns five.

• In the newly introduced Textiles and Design course, 37 per cent of students are awarded top HSC, Band 6 results, with the highest mark being 95 per cent.

Grease The Musical is staged by primary and high school students

SHAUNA COLNAN

Principal

I love to work with curriculum. My background has been very academic and grounded in teaching and learning and curriculum enhancement, and I love the NSW curriculum. I could see that IGS had a narrow curriculum and that was tied in with the history of its early struggles. We didn’t for example offer Commerce which seemed to me very strange because this is one of the most popular courses across NSW. Having a broader curriculum can be a more expensive undertaking for any school but we were now ready to expand our offerings.

I suppose my dream has always been this idea about giving students and teachers and staff life-changing learning experiences. For me, school is a place of endless opportunity and transformation.

My vision for principalship was that I would continue to teach. A lot of principals don’t. But I wanted to teach from Day 1 and I wanted to roll my sleeves up. I wanted to immediately get on the ground with teachers and create some new opportunities for students.

“I KEPT TALKING ABOUT CHASING LEARNING OUT OF THE CLASSROOM, INSPIRING THE CURIOSITY OF TEACHERS AND STUDENTS.”

I love strategic planning. When I arrived in September 2014 the School didn’t have a strategic plan, as I understand strategic planning to be. I thought, “wow, what a fantastic opportunity for me to come in and work this thing up”. For me, it was really about using Term 4 and the following year, 2015, to be systematic and strategic and meet as many people as I could.

It was such a labour of love for me because I got to meet students, having lunch, across the whole School. I met with every group of staff. I asked them all the same questions about the School. I met with parents. I asked them the same questions. I was coming in from outside and had the responsibility to lead the School while everyone here knew so much more about IGS than I did.

“Limitless learning” was one of our first strategic aspirations, aimed at broadening what we give students, because the School was ready for it. We still have the best of what we had at the very beginning, but we’re not that “struggle-street” school anymore.

We can be confident and robust enough to give our students what students are getting in other schools and so much more, limited only by our imaginations; to keep the great things that are unique to IGS, but to include other offerings. Limitless learning was about that.

When we came to the next strategic plan, which marked out my second five years, I wanted to continue limitless learning, and also to interrogate deeper learning. Kids need depth. All human beings need the depth of learning. When we learn something deeply, that is a very satisfying place to be, especially for a child.

Children respond to their teachers, to the material, and also to their learning environment. We needed to ask what environment we needed to create so that every child could experience deeper learning. The opposite of that is disengagement, and it’s heartbreaking to see any child disengaged at school.

I saw myself as the architect, or the conductor of the orchestra, pulling it all together and working so closely with my colleagues and especially with the Board. Their unwavering trust and support have been a huge highlight of my time at IGS. I’ve been incredibly grateful for that.

The School didn’t have a mission or a purpose that was written down. Together we worked this up as “equipping students to be ready for the world”. That’s what we’re doing. The strategic planning process was a conservation project as well. It was documenting IGS and its values, capturing it, questioning it.

We explored whether the values should be changed. Nobody wanted to touch the values – they were, as far as everyone was concerned, perfect. There’s no point in strategic planning unless you’re trying to improve and make progress. So we didn’t have “limitless learning”? We added it. The strategic plan had a lot of action words that would hold me to account.

There was also the idea that we’re a local school with a global outlook. But you can’t have a global outlook unless you know more about your own backyard. So I wanted students to have more opportunities in the local area and within Australia. I wanted to give them a really strong sense of what it means to be here in Australia and what’s going on around us. Sometimes the global is 10 minutes down the road. We now give them more of a sense of their own place, which enhances the idea of what it means to be a global citizen.

“THERE WAS ALSO THE IDEA THAT WE’RE A LOCAL SCHOOL WITH A GLOBAL OUTLOOK. BUT YOU CAN’T HAVE A GLOBAL OUTLOOK UNLESS YOU KNOW MORE ABOUT YOUR OWN BACKYARD.”

I kept talking about chasing learning out of the classroom, inspiring the curiosity of teachers and students – not being limited by four walls. Here we are in Ultimo with the resources that are all around us. It’s such a culturally rich place to be. I think back on my own schooling and some of the most memorable and life-changing things happened outside the classroom. IGS has always done that. Through the exchange program, we had been immersing students in language and culture overseas for many years. We’ve built on that.

At a think tank at Harvard University on global education that I attended early in my time at IGS, participants were challenged with the idea that for students to be globally competent, they need to know about the world in which they live.

Things like international days play a very important role, but more is needed. Learning must be grounded in experiences and content, and rigorous, engaging learning.

And I started thinking about creating a unique program. From this, SAGE was born.

Student choice

Authentic learning experiences

Global relevance

Exhibitions of learning.

The unique IGS SAGE Program began with our Shakespeare Bootcamp. I’m passionate about Shakespeare. I want students to love Shakespeare. I had done this kind of project in the past with the brilliant artistic director of Sport for Jove Damien Ryan. And I thought if we can get these world-class experts in, to work with Year 7 for a week, we will show everybody just how capable these kids are if they’re put in the right environment, in the right project, with very high aspirations for them.

Sure enough, the actors from Sport for Jove come in, chairs and desks are pushed to the edges of the classrooms, the kids start working, and after a week they’re word perfect on King Lear, Macbeth, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and they do a performance at the end of the week that blows everybody away.

SAGE taps into the middle years, Years 7, 8, 9 and 10, and gives kids a very inspiring, engaging project that is challenging for them. I’ve always said at IGS, “expect more, push these kids, they’re really bright”. So Shakespeare Bootcamp is for Year 7.

The Rocks Quest, for Year 8, takes them to The Rocks for a week, to drill down into the history of white settlement, and further back in time to explore how the Gadigal lived. For Opera on Kelly Street for Year 9 – the idea was that kids could write operas and work with famous Australian opera singers and composers.

We start with the concept of a soap opera, but by the end of the week, they are up on the stage, writing their own operas and performing them. The challenge places them right on the edge of what they know and what they don’t know.

And then of course the big one, Tasmania: Writing the Island. For me, that’s inspired by the idea of romanticism. You put people in the beauty of nature and they’ll write poetry. They’ll create art. They’ll write music. It’ll change them utterly. Sure enough, that’s exactly what happens. Students always remember it and they can’t get this experience anywhere else. Kids who come to this School can have that.

I’ve seen the direct impact of SAGE in so many different ways now on students over a 10-year period. I remember a boy saying he learned how to sing through Opera on Kelly Street. After the Shakespeare Bootcamp, the students were missing Shakespeare. They loved Shakespeare so much that they were holding Shakespeare parties.

What I love about SAGE is that when I leave, I believe the SAGE program will still be going. It’s beyond me. It’s about everybody who has made that program happen and every high school student who has been transformed by it, and every high school teacher involved. I love that. SAGE is now in our IGS DNA.

STORIES FROM SAGE

No noise, just sound. The wind slowly flows through my hands.

The birds sing like angels from the clouds.

The peace remains but slowly, The war is continuing.

Surrounded by the bright green grass. Slowly seeping through bright yellow moss

Stands the fiercest tree, for as long as the eye can see,

She conducts the sweet symphony of the sea.

But the war is coming to land.

The tree stands twenty feet high, With a million limbs reaching far and wide. Its wisdom comes from years of sight, And its branches hold on with all their might. But the war is coming for her.

The War Rages On (excerpt) by

Ryan Kitchin

Writing the Island 2018

When I went to Tasmania: Writing the Island last year, the drama group was genuinely the best school trip I have ever been on. I felt very independent. They were small groups and the teachers were very relaxed. Everyone had fun. We had three dress-up nights for drama; Gatsby girl flappers, a wild west murder mystery when we spoke in southern accents, and an ‘80s prom night with big hair.

11 2024

Tasmania: Writing the Island was very different to other camps. We chose activities based on our interests. Our accommodation was a gorgeous farm. It was really nice. It didn’t feel like a school camp.

Greta Gaertner, Year 11 2024

Anna Sulan, Year

Being out there for days as a group, you really learn a lot about your peers and understand how you can work with one another, combining each person’s strengths, to accomplish different goals.

Bridgette Malkovich, Class of 2020

It’s unbelievable. You feel like you’re in the middle of nowhere and all you can hear and see is nature all around you.

This SAGE trip to Tasmania changed my perspective in the way I think of nature.

Eliza Brunsdon, Class of 2020

Alek Markovski, Class of 2020

I have changed.

Like this land has changed.

Like this land has shifted and shaped itself from what it once was to a shadow of its former self.

A shadow cast by the building blocks placed upon it by those who do not belong here.

I have changed like the rivers that have been replaced with roads.

The waters once raced and now they lie still.

Streets waiting for the silver arrows of rain that echo remnants of the lakes.

I have changed.

Like the sea has changed.

Like the sea has changed from a once unstoppable force rid of sickly poisons,

To icy wetness containing pretty human venom.

Glass shards washing ashore like tiny stars.

I have changed.

Like the changes the Earth can never undo.

We must change.

I will change.

I have changed

I Have Changed by

Allegra Welsh

Learning about the Indigenous history of this land was very raw and confronting, but very important for us to understand. Tasmania truly is the master of beauty.

Felix Sharp, Class of 2020

I really liked The Rocks Quest. I learnt a lot about what really happened back in the day. I was in my own separate group with about 10 kids, learning about the Indigenous part. A lady took us to Barangaroo and taught us about soap plants. She showed us berries and bees and bush food and bush medicine. We presented our learning on the last day. It was so interesting. I loved it.

Chenelle Carr, Year 9 2024

I think the focus on creativity and allowing people to do what they wanted, rather than adults managing it, was great. I like performing and being on stage. It was fun to express that in something I’d made with my friends and classmates.

Kai Hook, Year 10 2024

The Rocks Quest was about learning how our city was formed. We were outside, with a whole new routine, and each day was completely fresh.

Callum Mitchell, Year 9 2024

Year 7 Shakespeare Bootcamp was such a fun experience. I was already predisposed to liking Shakespeare but lots of my friends were suddenly passionate about drama and literature through that one week of intensive training. The Tasmania trip in Year 10 was very special as well. How often do you get to catch a flight to somewhere else with your school friends? I chose the drama stream. Our task was to make a film. Even though it was just filmed on our phones, we ended up having this final product that was so special and I’ll be able to keep that forever. I grew close to people I didn’t know well before. And I got to experience this new place.

Head Girl Tiggy Marchbank, Year 12 2024

SAGE week is a huge thing at our school. Going to Hobart and soaking up the life there, that was electric to me. I really enjoyed being able to engage in my interests. I did creative writing, and that was so incredible to spend that time there with really passionate teachers. I found that a great experience.

Head Boy Karam Hartmann, Year 12 2024

I found Opera on Kelly really fun. I thought my House wouldn’t get along, but having to work with each other, playing a whole bunch of drama games and getting to know each other, you could see that people with no experience in drama were taking the initiative, painting scenes, playing characters. It was really nice performing with everyone.

Zainab Moloobhoy, Year 10 2024

I went on the Three Capes Walk for my Year 10 SAGE. It was one of the most special experiences I’ve ever had. I got so close with people. It changed who I am as a person and gave me a sense of perseverance and the ability to make new friendships. My teachers gave me whole hearted support on that walk. It’s such a big journey, but I think it was one of the best things I’ve done in my life so far.

Madeleine Hayen, Year 12 2024

With Opera on Kelly, we got to create a plot and perform the scenes. It was really cool because you got involved in all the elements of making the show. I am interested in music. It was a really fun opportunity to see how professionals compose the scores. There were 30 of us, with random ideas. The people who came in to work with us were open to everything. You could opt to build and paint the sets, or write or sing, depending on what people were passionate about.

Gretel Deutsch, Year 10 2024

2020

COVID emerges

In January 2020, as the decade turned and much of Australia was afflicted by bushfires, it became widely known that a novel corona virus had emerged from China. Though we didn’t yet know it, this disease would radically change school life – indeed all life – around the world.

JANUARY – FEBRUARY

• January: Work begins on a new five-year strategic plan for the School, Into the World 2021-2025 It involves wide consultation with staff, students, parents and other members of the IGS community. The refreshed strategic aspirations include: deeper learning, students striving and flourishing, and a strong and sustainable school. But the implementation of this plan is about to be stymied.

MARCH – APRIL

• March: On 11 March, the World Health Organisation declares COVID-19 a global pandemic, having previously categorised it as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern.

“I WILL NEVER FORGET MY FIRST ZOOM MEETING WITH MY CLASS. TWENTY-FIVE LITTLE FACES APPEARED ON MY SCREEN IN MY STUDY AT HOME AND IT WAS AT THAT MOMENT THAT IT BECAME VERY REAL FOR ME. I FELT A HUGE SENSE OF EMOTION AS I LOOKED INTO MY STUDENTS’ EYES. I COULD SEE THERE WAS A BIT OF EXCITEMENT… BUT ALSO UNCERTAINTY AS THEY LOOKED TO ME TO GUIDE THEM THROUGH THIS EXPERIENCE.”

Michelle Weir, teacher

• As news reports about a new virus snowball, Shauna Colnan has the foresight to set up a Critical Incident Team. In the first of hundreds of such updates over the next two years, Shauna emails all families ahead of the new school year with advice about what was being referred to as a novel coronavirus.

• February: Pushing ahead with the new strategic goals, Shauna Colnan announces the implementation of an inaugural Head of Sustainability and invites staff to apply. Geography teacher Carmelo Fedele is appointed.

• The Critical Incident Team meets daily as the COVID-19 crisis evolves.

• Tragically, NSW announces its first COVID death on 3 March. Soon after, events of more than 500 people are banned, shortly followed by indoor gatherings of more than 100 people; social distancing is introduced. On 23 March NSW goes into lockdown. Only essential businesses can remain open and although schools remain open to parents of essential industries, parents are strongly encouraged to keep their children at home and all citizens are advised to wear masks if leaving the house.

As March ends, more than 1,000 IGS students are at home. With fewer than 100 students still on campus, the IGS Critical Incident Team devises a plan to conduct classes online for all students.

• April: The IGS Off-Campus Learning program begins, with no end of COVID in sight.

MAY – JUNE

• May: students start returning to school in phases, certain year groups on certain days to maintain social distancing, starting with Kindergarten and Year 12 students. Sport and extra-curricular activities remain “paused”.

• In late May, all students in NSW can return to campus full-time with health protocols and social distancing in place. The state government gradually begins easing other restrictions. In coming weeks though, NSW will see a surge in COVID-19 cases. The term “contact tracing”, previously unheard of in the general community, is suddenly on everyone’s lips.

• The Centre for the Dramatic Arts opens on Levels 3 and 4 of the Wright building.

JULY – SEPTEMBER OCTOBER – DECEMBER

• July: IGS is registered as “COVID safe” by the NSW government, but within weeks, with infections growing daily, schools all over Sydney are shutting their doors again. The government restricts social events on campus, sports competitions and mixing with students outside the year group. Face masks are everywhere and staff and students with flu-like symptoms must show proof of a negative COVID-19 test result to attend school.

• September: The Year 12 Graduation Ceremony, always a very special day on campus, is live-streamed for students and families, with as many of the final week traditions as possible still in place, carefully carried out according to COVIDsafe guidelines.

• Shauna Colnan negotiates for a new exchange school at Évreux in Normandy, France.

• In late October, the brand new IGS Bibliothèque is bestowed a significant collection of the “greatest poetry and prose in the English language from the late 1300s to the present day” by former Chair of English at the University of Sydney Professor Anthony Miller.

• With campus visitors still restricted, the Bibliothèque’s official opening will not take place until April 2021.

• December: The Kindergarten to Year 2 end of year assembly, along with the Year 6 farewell, are live-streamed to families.

• Speech Night takes place in the State Theatre as it does every year, but with only a minimal audience. The event is live-streamed to the IGS community.

• Manuela Bachmann, a former ballerina from East Germany who has been part of the School since its inception, retires, having run the After School Care program for 25 years. She is celebrated at Speech Night.

LESSONS FROM THE PANDEMIC

From an article by IGS Principal Shauna Colnan which first appeared in Independence Journal October 2023

For our December 2020 Speech Night in the beautiful State Theatre, all but 200 masked graduates, prize winners and their parents, staff and VIPs watched the action from home, live-streamed. “We’ve been climbing a mountain,” I said to the camera and live audience, physically distanced across the ornate curved red seating.

As we watch unfolding events in Europe and America, we realise we are doing remarkably well. And yet, the mountain is there and we are still climbing.

In 2020 we experienced at close quarters the essential role that schools play in the life of a child and family. We saw that a school like ours, with all its energy and optimism, can lift us up and wrap itself around us with warmth and kindness.

2020 changed forever the way we think and behave. A global trauma. Yet we could celebrate our School in all its vibrancy, grateful for what we had achieved together.

“2020 CHANGED FOREVER THE WAY WE THINK AND BEHAVE. A GLOBAL TRAUMA. YET WE COULD CELEBRATE OUR SCHOOL IN ALL ITS VIBRANCY, GRATEFUL FOR WHAT WE HAD ACHIEVED TOGETHER.”

2020 changed forever the way we think and behave. A global trauma. Yet we could celebrate our School in all its vibrancy, grateful for what we had achieved together. For IGS, the impact of the pandemic was immediate. Approximately a third of our School’s workforce was born outside of Australia, and though most of our students

are local, their backgrounds include 37 cultures from all around the world. Newsreels of Italians in lockdown singing from their balconies, funeral backlogs in New York, and oxygen queues in China carried a particular resonance.

There was grief and fear, not just for our community, but for the children of the world. By March 2020, 87 per cent of the world’s students were out of school and 60 million teachers were working from home. During lockdown, half a billion children had no prospect of accessing remote learning.

Innovation is at the heart of IGS, founded in 1984 with just 44 students. Our School is nimble even on a normal day, with ideas rapidly shared and adopted. During its early years IGS faced many obstacles that threatened its existence, yet the pandemic presented one of our greatest challenges.

Not knowing what was in store, we began the 2020 year with a whole-school staff conference and goal to COLLABORATE!, to boost innovation and teamwork. As the conference closed, I returned to my office and noticed news of a rapidly spreading novel coronavirus, with several Sydney boarding schools in crisis talks about whether to open their doors to their international students returning to Australia.

I set up a Critical Incident Team. Within four days, there were confirmed cases of

the virus in NSW and I had sent my first coronavirus message, urging families to keep their children at home if they were at all unwell.

Many of our parents worked at the coal face, in health services. Everyone was at risk. As the pandemic spread, strange new words and practices marked the new and ever changing normal – social distancing, hand hygiene, cough etiquette, hand sanitiser, elbow bumping, ventilation, air purifiers, deep cleaning, restricted campus entry, masks, vaccination, testing centres, COVID spike maps, contact tracing, lockdown, COVID evacuation, HSC changes, and Rapid Antigen Tests.

Weeks passed. We learnt all we could about the virus and its implications for our School. Emergency Board meetings were called, dire scenarios brainstormed and pandemic plans agreed upon. We were united by the challenge. The Critical Incident Team responded rapidly to the evolving situation.

By March 2020, more IGS students were at home than at school and the government wasn’t telling us what to do because we were all learning at the same time. Systems were pushed and stretched to their limits. We tackled this astonishing adaptive challenge for schools together – creatively, proactively, openly, with purpose and a spirit of calm determination.

“INNOVATION IS AT THE HEART OF IGS, FOUNDED IN 1984 WITH JUST 44 STUDENTS. OUR SCHOOL IS NIMBLE EVEN ON A NORMAL DAY, WITH IDEAS RAPIDLY SHARED AND ADOPTED.”

On 26 March, with only 92 students on campus, well over a thousand at home, and teachers teaching in the classroom and remotely at the same time, we decided to take learning home.

We reimagined schooling at speed, and within a week, the IGS Off-Campus Learning Program was born.

Meeting our students via Zoom for the first time was a whole new experience. A muchloved Year 5 teacher described facing her students on Zoom for the first time.“There was a bit of excitement about the new reality but also uncertainty as 25 little faces looked to me to guide them through this experience.”

IGS parents and carers responded to the crisis with kindness, warm words, flowers, cupcakes, morning teas and lunch deliveries to keep us going. Our three fine Heads of School stood at the gate each morning, masks on, chatting to the children of essential workers and others who came to school every day. They modelled holding steady – despite the uncertainties of the world. Over this strange time, my colleagues put aside their personal worries for themselves and their families as they selflessly collaborated with a collective energy that was uplifting

WHAT DID WE LEARN?

1. Teachers can do anything. This is true of IGS teachers and teachers across the world. Despite the many challenges, they kept children’s learning going.

2. Mobilise your systems. Schools have complex ecosystems – human, organisational and technological –designed to meet students’ needs. We mapped those systems, amplified and adapted them as we reimagined and delivered a safe learning community for each child in our care.

3. Communicate, connect and seek feedback. We were an informed community, more connected than ever. Through different channels, to reach everyone, we told our community again and again what we knew in that moment, what we didn’t know, what we had done and what we were going to do – in a spirit of openness, curiosity and humility, with a clear sense that we would all need one another’s energies and ideas to do the very best by our students.

4. Put the students first. Students remained central and they were remarkable – cheerful, confident and feisty, yet with a certain gentle spirit, curious and philosophical about the world. They took COVID in their stride and continued to learn and grow. They gave us strength to keep going. At the pinnacle of our students’ creative endeavours were the Year 12 Major Works, shared through virtual exhibitions. Exhilarating, profound, artful and fine as ever, their work took on an awe-inspiring transcendence.

5. Look for strategic opportunities when change happens, and celebrate the milestones. Lockdown gave IGS opportunities to think deeply about our School. Putting the health of students and staff at the top of our considerations changed forever our understanding of the role of a school. We forged our 2022 to 2026 Strategic Plan – Into the World – with aspirations, areas of action and initiatives designed to ensure that each student is equipped for the challenges and rewards that our world will surely present to them. IGS remains a place to belong and a place of opportunity, where our students can learn and grow beyond even what they thought possible; where it’s safe to try, and fail, and try again. We celebrate our 40th birthday with a renewed sense of gratitude for all that we have.

6. Know that learning is robust. IGS continued to flourish, our students on the whole thrived, and our community was magnificent, living our vision of Unity Through Diversity The fierce protective instincts of teachers for their students’ learning carried us through.

At IGS, we weathered the pandemic with a deep sense of purpose and collaboration, yet who can count the cost of lost lessons for so many of the world’s less fortunate children? Let us note the heights we scaled together during the pandemic, remembering that for many, the climb continues.

IGS Principal Shauna Colnan

COVID INSIGHTS

DEPUTY PRINCIPAL WELLBEING MARY DUMA

COVID gave us one of the biggest learning curves I think any of us has ever had –learning how to continue an education for children not actually in a classroom.

COVID changed our perspectives on what is really valuable in life and made us focus on how important each individual is. Parents would call just to have a chat about how things were going with their children, to seek advice. Senior students would be ringing to find out what they could be doing to ensure that they were preparing well for their HSC exams. It was amazing how we could provide support to families who were in the medical professions. We had staff coming in here daily to help look after children while their parents were at the front line.

It was a challenge. The IT Department immediately went into action, setting up the Zoom capabilities of the School. That was a challenge because primary school children can’t be on a computer all day. One of the most beautiful things that I remember was that primary staff put together learning packages for the children. These dedicated staff stood outside the School on Kelly Street and had all the packages labelled for the families who drove by and collected them. The older year groups had Zoom sessions with their teachers. We tried to maintain teaching using their normal timetables, so that the school day wasn’t too different.

We instigated some wonderful wellbeing initiatives. The Personal Development, Health and Physical Education (PDHPE) Department put together the equivalent of a run around Australia for children and families to take part in. They visually displayed that online for

all our families, and the more the students and parents and staff participated in the exercise, the more you could see the line of IGS energy travelling all the way around Australia until it came back to Ultimo. It was a beautiful way of bringing everybody together and encouraging everyone to think about their wellbeing while they weren’t at school.

The way we use technology has really changed. Prior to COVID we were saying to parents “don’t keep your children on computers for very long”, and then overnight the computers became more important. It’s also impacted on the way we communicate with families. It’s helped us streamline some things we do. For example, a lot of the parent and carer meetings are now held online.

The other impact of COVID is we’re very much more aware of the importance of ensuring the wellbeing of our children. It is at the core of everything that’s happening. Because we put so much effort into ensuring that the education kept going at that time, I see that the children are continuing to achieve very well at this school. One big positive from the COVID years is resilient children. That’s what I’m noticing.

It is emotional. COVID times were pretty intense in many ways, but we also all came together as a community.

“THE WAY WE USE TECHNOLOGY HAS REALLY CHANGED. PRIOR TO COVID WE WERE SAYING TO PARENTS “DON’T KEEP YOUR CHILDREN ON COMPUTERS FOR VERY LONG”, AND THEN OVERNIGHT THE COMPUTERS BECAME MORE IMPORTANT.”

Early Learning Centre

Collection Point

Please queue here to collect your child. A staff member will assist you shortly.

Stay safe. Please keep at least 1.5 metres apart.

DEPUTY PRINCIPAL ACADEMIC THOM MARCHBANK

COVID really emphasised to us the asynchronous possibilities of learning. There’s the learning that’s taking place in the classroom and that’s collaborative learning, but then there’s the individual and experiential learning that’s going on all the time in students’ own micro worlds.

One of my defining memories of lockdown was attending tutor group and we were all on Zoom together; everyone brought their pets along. We would never have been able to do this at school. There was a snake poking at the camera. There was a chicken. There was a rat. There were cats, there were dogs – just this menagerie of creatures. That was IGS, all these weird and wonderful creatures gathering in the same Zoom pane.

I don’t think it’s impacted achievement at all. For the students who came into Year 7 at the beginning of the pandemic, their Years 7, 8 and 9 were challenging. You think about the cohesion and unity of a year group and the way that they know each other. They missed Year 7 camp, and they weren’t able to do some of the SAGE program activities, but they’re coming through and they’re shaping up into a really great year group.

Probably the most affected COVID year group was the Class of 2021. Their HSC was delayed that year, yet they performed really well. We pulled out the stops for them. We did their trials online. They didn’t want to graduate on Zoom. They wanted the ritual that signified the end of school rather than yet another thing that was video-conferenced. We put a lot of effort into creating something meaningful for students.

There was a lot of hand wringing over COVID and a lot of concern about social skills but I think kids fundamentally are pretty resilient. I think we’re resilient. And I think we overestimate the impact of COVID academically. Especially academically, but on wellbeing too. By and large, most kids bounced back and we were able to shepherd them through.

Staff and students must not enter an exam if:

They have flu like symptoms

They have been tested for COVID-19 and have not yet received their test result They have been directed by NSW Health to self isolate

They have tested positive for COVID-19

“THERE WAS A LOT OF HAND WRINGING OVER COVID AND A LOT OF CONCERN ABOUT SOCIAL SKILLS BUT I THINK KIDS FUNDAMENTALLY ARE PRETTY RESILIENT. I THINK WE’RE RESILIENT.”

2021 TO 2024

The Age of Ambition

• January: The goal for the year is “Build beautiful work”.

• The newly built Year 6 Centre, completed over the summer break, is ready to welcome students for the start of the new school year.

• Much Ado about Nothing is staged, directed by Damien Ryan of Sport for Jove.

• Matilda the Musical is staged in the School Hall.

• Wiradjuri artist Aunty Bianca Caldwell joins the Early Learning Language for Belonging art project and becomes an IGS Artist in Residence.

June: The highly infectious Delta strain of COVID emerges in Bondi, NSW. Government restrictions are back. Sydney-wide, no visitors are permitted at home and masks are mandatory indoors everywhere but at home.

• 26 June: Greater Sydney goes into full lockdown. Regional areas follow. The IGS Off-Campus Learning Program is revived. The entire state will be under lockdown from August 14 until the end September – much longer than previously.

• October: All students return to school following remote learning throughout Term 3.

• The student leadership team is expanded with the introduction of Portfolio leaders, adding to the existing House leaders and strengthening the rise of the “student voice”. Portfolio leaders will represent and guide important aspects of the School such as Sustainability, Drama, Music and Languages.

• January: The year’s goal is “Go deep and produce something great”.

February: Programs that have been on hold for two years due to COVID are gradually re-introduced, including assemblies, tutor groups, the beloved ArtsFest, the SAGE Program and global language exchanges. Students in different year groups can now mix again.

May: IGS enters negotiations to purchase a 16-hectare property in Kangaroo Valley, south of Sydney. The property is a former yoga retreat with beautiful grounds, a homestead and accommodation. The property, known as The Retreat, will provide a place to hold language immersion camps, field trips, outdoor education and other learning experiences.

• The annual IGS Giving Day raises more than $140,000.

• Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is staged by students of all ages.

• Senior drama students perform Twelfth Night under directorship of Damien Ryan of Sport for Jove.

• August: New student programs begin – International Ethics Olympiad, Earthshot and the Year 10 Creative Intern Program.

• Students in Years 7 to 9 win a silver medal in the Ethics Olympiad and are invited to compete in the International Middle School Ethics Olympiad final in early 2023.

• Isabella Matthews of Year 8 is selected as a finalist in the Young Archie competition, part of the Archibald Prize.

• September: Having acquired new spaces to extend the campus in Mountain Street, IGS begins work on the Renaissance Centre, housing a lecture theatre, dance studio and teaching spaces.

• December: The School secures the purchase of The Retreat, Kangaroo Valley – meeting a key strategic initiative, IGS in Nature, four years ahead of schedule. All staff and all students will visit The Retreat throughout the coming year. The vision is "every child, every year".

• January: IGS starts the 2023 school year with 1,325 students, the highest enrolments ever.

February: IGS hosts a Lunar New Year Festival celebration for thousands of IGS families, local residents and visitors. Kelly Street is closed off and transformed into an exciting display of decorations, food stalls and performances – all thanks to our PTF who worked with Sydney City Council to stage this celebration of diversity. IGS has made it through the COVID era and is re-discovering its vibrancy in the community.

• April: ArtsFest – high school students’ favourite day of the year – is held and found by students to be the best ArtsFest ever!

2021 TO 2024 The Age of Ambition 2024

• August: The Addams Family musical is performed over four sell-out performances at the Seymour Centre, the first IGS musical taken off campus.

• September: The Renaissance Centre is completed, ready for use from Term 4.

• IGS wins sustainability awards –the Eco-Schools Green Flag Award and the Highly Accomplished Award for Local Legends Keep Australia Beautiful Sustainable Cities Award.

• IGS begins consultation for the addition of Aboriginal Languages to the School’s curriculum, following NESA'S release of a new syllabus in Aboriginal languages from 2024. IGS expects to begin classes in 2026.

• IGS Koori student, Roscoe Mundine, becomes the face of the new Waterloo Metro Station to open in 2024.

• January: IGS sisters Elin Schmitz of Year 9 and Annika Schmitz of Year 10 represent Australia at the Winter Youth Olympics in Korea playing Ice Hockey and scoring 6th place. Elin is the youngest member of the Australian Youth Olympics team and Annike is assistant team captain.

• February: Kaleidoscope Kids, a podcast series hosted by IGS students from Kindergarten to Year 12, releases its first episode.

• March: Students of International High School in Japan visit IGS on exchange. A few weeks later, 30 Junior Japanese exchange students from Osaka arrive and are hosted by IGS families.

• Goodooga Central School (GCS) students visit IGS as part of the School’s Walking Together program, a partnership between IGS and the remote GCS in northern inland NSW.

• IGS students get active on the sustainability front: World Water Day is celebrated with an address from Year 12 Sustainability Leader Madeleine Hayen. Madeleine also speaks at the March for our Forests rally in the Sydney CBD, about her fears for the future.

• Members of the Sustainable Futures Club engage with South Pacific island nation Kiribati, which faces destruction and disruption from rising sea levels. Students make a video for authorities in Kiribati to voice their recognition and support.

• April: IGS high school students run a Climate Fresk workshop for staff, the biggest Climate Fresk ever held in Australia. A French organisation, Climate Fresk, equips and inspires people to take meaningful action against climate change.

• The Renaissance Centre and Manuela Bachmann Dance Studio are formally opened by Manuela, a former East German ballet dancer and foundational IGS staff member who started the School with Reg St Leon.

• May: The inaugural IGS Literary Festival is held, organised by Bibliothèque Director Patrice Marchbank. Its huge success sets it up to become an IGS biennial fixture.

• June: As part of the School’s 40th anniversary celebrations, a drone captures the first whole-school photo in 20 years, with 1,300 students, from the youngest to the oldest, and several hundred staff members converging on Wentworth Park.

• Vive la Révolution, an extravaganza of singing, music and theatre involving current and former students, is staged at the International Convention Centre (ICC) to an audience of thousands – another 40th anniversary celebration.

• Year 2 student Max Wang is a finalist in the Young Archie Awards, one of 70 selected from 4,000 entries.

• August: Year 4 student Claire Shu wins the Gold Award at the Superstar Broadcaster International Youth Mandarin Competition in China.

• September: Construction starts on the new Kindergarten Centre in the Wright Building. Designed by BVN Architects, it is inspired by the site’s cultural heritage as a community meeting place and honours the local Gadigal people The centre will open for students when the 2025 school year begins.

• IGS celebrates Shauna Colnan’s 10th year as Principal. As she moves into her second decade leading IGS she will become the School’s longest-serving Principal.

October: Year 6 student Jakob Lal, 11, sits the HSC Mathematics Advanced exam. He is among the youngest of 78,000 students undertaking the HSC in 2024.

• London-based alums gather in Mayfair for a joyous celebration of the School’s 40th anniversary, alongside Shauna Colnan and Paul Galea.

• Year 12 sustainability leader Madeleine Hayen is recognised as a finalist in the Young Legends category of the 2024 Sustainable Cities Awards.

• Year 10 student Annika Schmitz continues to blaze a trail in ice hockey. She’s selected for the Australian Women’s Ice Hockey squad for the World Championships.

• Claire Shu, Year 4, adds to her awards tally with her performance at the Hollywood Bound National Dance Championships, winning three categories including Platinum Gold Solo Dance (Junior).

• November: IGS sustainability students continue to spread the word, running a Climate Fresk workshop for students visiting from the Alfred Deakin School in Canberra.

“IF WE CAN POPULATE THE WORLD WITH PEOPLE WHO ARE GOOD HUMANS, THEN WE’RE DOING EVERYONE A FAVOUR.”

PAUL GALEA

Community Relations Manager

Paul Galea knows everyone — and everyone knows him. There is barely a corner of IGS that he isn’t familiar with and he has an encylopaedic memory bank of students who’ve passed through the School. And it’s no wonder. In his 33 years at the School he’s been a soccer coach, high school teacher, Head of Year, Head of Out Of School Hours Care including the Clubs Program (26 years), Deputy Head of High School (5 years) and in the classroom daily. Paul was Director of Advancement until 2024, encompassing alumni and philanthropy.

If you want something done, give it to a busy person!

If you’d have said to me 30 years ago, I’d still be working at the School, I would have laughed because I hadn’t been in any place more than about two or three years. Being at IGS has been a very long-term love affair. I loved the ethos of the School, what it stood for, and the international aspect of it. I loved the way that the relationships within the School were paramount.

We sent our three children to Early Learning, and they loved it so much we decided our twins would go on to primary school. And then when they had to make the decision on where they were going to go in high school, they said to me, “Dad we’ll run away from home if you send us to another school.” Our younger daughter followed in their footsteps three years behind.

I’ve been able to reinvent myself many times at IGS. I’ve done many different jobs and for a man with a limited attention span, that’s been pretty good, being able to start something new and exciting

Even when I started, a lot of it was about survival and we had a lot of international students. We had very small classes and we had pretty strict budgetary restraints. It was just a matter of getting through and being able to expand a little bit each year. When Dr David Wright came, he added a soul to the School. He added a dimension that

gave the School a way of looking at itself as a place that you wanted to be because the people there were good and kind. It was a really positive time. The School started to grow and began to form a more positive image under his leadership.

Then Kerrie Murphy came in and because the School was getting bigger, that “fly by the seat of your pants” and “it’ll be alright” methodology that had worked when the School was so small, was ceasing to be as viable. Kerrie put in processes. She was making IGS a grownup school. She started to say, “okay, well, we’ve got this beautiful soul, but having a beautiful soul that’s going to go broke and it’s going to have issues because we haven’t got proper processes in place, is not going to do us too much good”. So Kerrie made some very hard decisions. That was the toughening up we had to have.

Michael Maniska came in and he continued Kerrie’s work, but also had ideas about growth and taking the School to new places, which I think was very good. And then after Michael left, Shauna came in and she’s also had great vision for the School and for making the buildings of the School better.

The SAGE Program has been excellent, getting the School to grow, and getting more classes into some of the entry years. Our School is almost like a 40-year-old person.

It’s gone through its infancy, it’s matured a bit, then it matured more.

“ONE OF THE THINGS I’VE FOUND OUT IS WE’VE BEEN DOING A PRETTY GOOD JOB.”

My job is two pronged. One, it is increasing Alum or ex-student connectedness through social media and reunions, with the longterm view that when they have their own children, they will want to send their kids to IGS. The other prong is raising funds through our community to support the Indigenous Scholarship Program and some of the campus improvements.

Often we’re compared to other schools, but some of them are 120 years older than us and three times as big. Because we started off relatively late and started very small, we haven’t got a huge base to be working with when you’re talking about raising funds. Our Alums are very young, they’re all at the stage in their lives now where they’re buying houses, paying mortgages and paying school fees. Philanthropy is more than money. It’s also sharing expertise and goodwill.

Some kids used to laugh and count how many times I would stand up in assembly and use the word “community” but the message did get through. Basically everyone was on board with that message — be involved. That model spreads through the whole School. If you’ve got the basis of respectful, connected relationships between kids and staff, that filters down to everything. The model is, say hello to someone – treat them kindly, treat them with respect, accept who they are.

One of the things we managed to do was bring in vertical tutor groups in the High School, giving people a chance to connect with others, and co-currricular activities and clubs also helped people who are from different year groups to meet others with similar interests.

That idea of being part of something bigger than yourself but also being able to be an individual is a huge part of connectedness. Unity Through Diversity is a big part of being connected not only to your peers and the teachers, but to the School as a whole. That community vibe exists to this day and is massively important.

What is it about our School that people like and why do people come here? People send their kids here for a reason. There are many independent schools with unbelievable campuses and unbelievable opportunities and unbelievable possibilities. But people still choose to send their children to our School.

I think the reason is connectedness, relationships, Unity Through Diversity, being yourself, being confident being yourself, being accepted for who you are. All of those things add up to what it is to be an IGS person.

I interview ex-students. I ask them what they remember about being at IGS. They all talk about the relationships they had with their peers and with their teachers and their tutor group. One of the things I’ve found out is we’ve been doing a pretty good job. That is something which the School can be most proud of.

One of the advantages I have doing the job is I knew probably 85 to 90 per cent of the kids who’ve gone through the School, particularly in the final 15 years. Knowing them and them knowing me has been a huge head start. I’ve reached out by using a Facebook group, LinkedIn and Instagram to put out things that ex-students might be interested in, to reconnect, and we’ve really increased our reach hugely.

Our kids seem to be very aware of the importance of being respectful of other people. They value relationships. The idea that individuals can make a difference is a commonality that IGS kids have. When they went to uni, they felt they were a bit more able to deal with being independent than some of the peers from other schools.

We are producing, in my view, very high quality human beings; human beings who are going places in the world; CEOs, doctors, people who are making tiny little robots to put inside people’s bodies to help their health. Journalists, actors, artists, people from every walk of life.

The thing they have in common is that they’re good human beings. I’m talking about Alums who are making their way in the corporate world, but have still got those values. Some are in top positions in big companies. One of them is in sustainable farming and trying to make the world a better place. And the other Alum is a leader in workplace relations, making his workplace a great place to work. They both referred to the fact that these ideas came from IGS.

They’re progressive, they are thinking about the future, they’re worried about how their actions will impact on other people. They’re people who care about what’s going on. What I’m trying to say is I don’t think being successful in the real world and the cutthroat world means you have to lose your IGSness. If we can populate the world with people who are good humans, then we’re doing everyone a favour.

“PEOPLE ARE ALWAYS TALKING ABOUT PREPARING KIDS FOR JOBS THAT DON’T EXIST, PREPARING FOR A WORLD THAT IS COMPLETELY DIFFERENT... BUT MAKING THE CORE PERSON AS GOOD AS THEY CAN BE WILL THEN PREPARE THAT PERSON FOR THAT WORLD.”

People are always talking about preparing kids for jobs that don’t exist, preparing for a world that is completely different, that is facing climate change, war, world disruption. How do you prepare for that? Sure, you’re going to have to do that. But making the core person as good as they can be will then prepare that person for that world.

If we keep doing what we’re doing, that is what makes us different and special.

ROSALBA GENUA-PETROVIC

Director of Languages 2009 to 2022

After 14 years of running the largest department at IGS, Rosalba Genua-Petrovic became the School’s longest serving Language Director, retiring from teaching in 2022. She arrived at IGS as an Italian teacher in 1989 while the School was still finding its feet. Thirty-five years later she remains just as committed to Reg St Leon’s vision for a school that has, at its heart, the teaching and learning of languages. Rosalba’s daughter, Ana-Sofia, is the embodiment of Reg’s dream. She was Dux of the IGS Class of 2019, graduating with multiple languages under her belt and achieving second place in the state for English Extension 2, second in the state for Extension Italian and fifth in the state for Extension French.

Reg’s vision has held up beautifully. There have been some very strong people who have held onto that vision to keep IGS moving forward.

If we look at the basic idea of opening a school that gave access to languages to families who may not have been able to give that opportunity to their own children, it’s been brilliant. It’s also allowed families to continue the languages that they were speaking at home in a more formal setting.

I bumped into a former student of IGS just yesterday afternoon who told me he is going to Lyon to do six months of university there, and I know that’s because he came to IGS. These opportunities are due to those who believed strongly in Reg’s vision, across the School.

I was in the public system, teaching Italian and French to kids who, like many kids, didn’t want to be there. After working in that system and battling my way through, teaching at a very basic level, I went overseas. When I came back, I wanted to find somewhere where I could really get my teeth into teaching my languages. And I came across the tiniest ad in The Herald, so tiny — I think it was not even 20 words. IGS was looking for an Italian teacher. I rang around. Nobody knew about the School among my friends and colleagues, but I came anyway. I stayed 33 years!

I did have a little stint, many years later, where I thought maybe I should try another career. And I had a think about that, even almost got another job, but I just knew I wouldn’t be happy not being able to teach Italian and use the language all day long with kids, with parents, with students, with staff. It had a big impact on me, coming to IGS.

“WHEN WE WERE BUILDING SOMETHING AND WE WERE ALL THERE WITH THE SAME IDEA, IT DIDN’T MATTER THAT WE WERE IN A BASEMENT.”

In the very early days, we worked hand in hand with the teachers of other subjects. That was particularly true in the Primary School where we were teaching parts of the curriculum in languages. I think that really shaped the culture of collaboration at the School — camaraderie and collaboration and a desire to be as innovative as you could be.

Building something, all there with the same idea, it didn’t matter that we were in a basement.

“I THINK THAT REALLY SHAPED THE CULTURE OF COLLABORATION AT THE SCHOOL — CAMARADERIE AND COLLABORATION AND A DESIRE TO BE AS INNOVATIVE AS YOU COULD BE.”

As the School progressed, we got bigger. It wasn’t as easy to be working hand in hand, but we still forged ahead together. In many schools, people might say some colleagues stay too long, but my thinking was always that the staff who’d been there from the beginning were really invested. Whatever we needed to do to progress the School, we wanted to do. That has, I hope, had some sort of impact on the culture. It’s what keeps everybody here, the fantastic camaraderie and willingness to muck in together — and excitement about what they’re doing. People forged very strong friendships at IGS.

Learning languages may not have the importance it used to, grammatically, because you can use Google. But we need to keep investing in the connection between people. I know that the rest of the world is learning English very well. They understand us, but it doesn’t help us to understand them.

If you have insight into another language, you will have better insight into that person and their culture — their literature and their music and traditions. It’s so important to learn the language of other people. We’ve got to be talking to them, and not just in our own language.

One of the best things for me was creating and running the IGS exchange program and the delight that I would get, not just from the kids having a great time, but seeing what the families got out of being part of it.

A lot of families would forge friendships with the parents of the child that they hosted. They would all go back as a family and visit those families overseas. We have one student who became the best man at his exchange partner’s wedding. Then I’d have families who just loved having that other person in their house. They said that changed the dynamics, it made their own children think a little bit differently. Or the family who said it was great when their son came back, because his etiquette around the table after being with his Italian host family was so much better.

Our mandate was to keep that “languages” vision for the School. We put so much effort, time and energy into things like camps and International Day and our own really solid exchange program, because we believed in our School.

“ONE OF THE BEST THINGS FOR ME WAS THE EXCHANGE PROGRAM AND THE DELIGHT THAT I WOULD GET, NOT JUST FROM THE KIDS HAVING A GREAT TIME, BUT SEEING WHAT THE FAMILIES GOT OUT OF BEING PART OF THE EXCHANGE PROGRAM.”

IGS had faith in us to be able to pick the right schools and trust that we knew what we were doing, and we’ve ended up with very strong relationships with sister schools that have endured more than 20 years.

The thing about IGS is that every child is in an enrichment program because they’re doing languages. We’re unapologetic about languages. It’s a challenge, but it’s enriching.

If you learn another language we can start talking about that culture, the literature of that culture, maybe the history of that culture.

At the moment, there is so much going on in the world that if you’re not thinking critically, you’re in big trouble. When the kids learn Japanese and Mandarin they must think about the language very differently to how they think about English. They have to find a way to understand this language and unpack it so they can learn it. If you call that critical thinking, then it’s engaged spontaneously.

My daughter kept talking to me about how she saw languages, even English, as a puzzle. You just needed to know how to put that puzzle together with the right elements and then you had to get the right order. And she said when she came to learn Japanese, she realised it’s got nothing to do with English.

Languages give kids a sense of belonging. As soon as kids come to IGS they ask, “what language do you do?” “Oh, I do French.” “I do Italian.” “I do Japanese.” And they really do feel like they belong to that group. Kids love this school. They feel a total sense of ownership. They feel this wonderful sense of belonging, and I think that that is helped by languages. I really do.

I didn’t realise I had a career until I left, and that’s because I always felt like a team member. I felt like I had to lead from within. But when I left and looked back at the work I’d done, I thought, wow, that was actually a career. It was sad to leave that. Of course I had huge friendships. I’ve known people here longer than I’ve known my own husband.

IGS gave me so much. The School gave us a lot of freedom in teaching in the early years — an immense amount of freedom. I think that’s where we all gained a lot of skills to know what worked and didn’t work in the classroom, and in building the exchange program.

Being the Head of the Languages Department at IGS was a unique job — probably the pinnacle of the language jobs in Australia, thanks to the many strong believers in Reg St Leon’s vision.

INTERNATIONAL DAY

An annual festival of language and culture

VILMA ROTELLINI

Foundation staff member, Italian teacher and Primary Languages Mentor

We started International Day many years ago, as Carnevale. It’s become more and more spectacular. It involves many different activities for all our students from Kindergarten to Year 12. Kids come dressed up in different costumes expressing their culture, comfortable to express who they are and their own identity. It showcases our language philosophy and it’s a highlight of the year.

I’m very passionate about languages at IGS. It’s a unique place. We’ve kept the integrity of Reg St Leon’s dream. It’s wonderful that the value we put on language learning hasn’t changed. In 40 years, the School has gone from strength to strength.

I believe that nowhere else in Australia, perhaps the world, are there five languages offered for every child from Early Learning to Year 6 and well into the high school years. We’ve really become a beacon in the language education environment.

In Early Learning we immerse the students in their additional languages through games and storytelling and using props.

That continues from Kindy to Year 6, with explicit teaching in our classes and

immersion in the Language Camp and International Day — all of that is part of language learning. It encourages cultural understanding and acceptance, which is very important. We try to incorporate authentic experiences, authentic activities.

The sooner you begin to learn a language the better because it’s about time over time.In Early Learning we spend 30 minutes a day every day, and that increases to 80 minutes in primary school. It’s important that the students are immersed in the language from the beginning, and every day. Other schools might give language learning just 30 minutes or an hour a week. It makes us unique, and it’s an advantage.

“MY WISH FOR IGS IS THAT WE CONTINUE TO NURTURE REG ST LEON’S DREAM OF PROVIDING THE KIDS WITH THIS WONDERFUL GIFT OF LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY.”

I’m really pleased I was offered an opportunity to be a mentor for new and existing teachers. I spend time with them to talk about how they’re feeling and if they’re having any challenges in the classroom, to guide them and enhance their teaching skills.

Our School is unique. Eighty minutes a day takes a lot of preparation and thought. It’s

not just about teaching one skill. It’s about teaching all the macro skills. I want new teachers to feel part of our team because it’s special. We are passionate and committed and dedicated, and valued.

Languages are a passport for our students, to travel and to experience everything that’s different about their own culture. They also learn respect — something really needed in the world.

Every time we ask kids “what’s your favourite memory about primary school?” they say the Language Camp. They’re immersed in their additional language for three full days. That’s an amazing feat. They’re immersed when they go in their cabins, when we get them up in the morning, have breakfast, and have a shower. It’s all done in Italian or French or Japanese or German or Chinese. It’s as if they’re living and breathing their language with us. They come back telling their parents what fun they had. I’ve just had parent teacher interviews. Every single parent said that the Language Camp was such a success that kids couldn’t stop talking about it when they got home. It’s special to IGS and something I hope continues.

My wish for IGS is that it continues to be a beacon of language learning and that we continue to nurture Reg’s dream of providing the kids with this wonderful gift of language proficiency.

I never thought I’d be a language teacher. But coming into the School, and Reg giving me the opportunity to teach language, made me understand and be proud of my identity. My passion for what we do at IGS and my belief in the School has kept growing. The people I started with are my colleagues and friends — we’re on the same page. IGS is my home and my place. My son began here aged three, in 1987, and graduated. How proud I am that he’s also been given this wonderful gift! All of that has kept me at this School, because it’s something special, something unique. I’m so proud to be part of IGS.

Atticus Sampson, Year 6 2024

Language Camp is super fun; the food and activities are amazing and it teaches you the language while you are running around and having fun.

Harper Whyte, Year 6 2024

I really love being a language leader because my favourite subject is Japanese and I love learning the culture and language. When we are at Language Camp we do different activities that the language teachers set up. I love doing these activities with my group. It definitely helps our learning because it’s great to have a camp where we constantly speak our language of choice. It 100 per cent helps me with my fluency.

Penny Martell, Year 6 2024

I really enjoy Language Camp because there are always fun events planned that teach us more about our different culture. Learning about other cultures is a very important part of IGS.

GIUSEPPINA MUSTICA

Italian teacher since 1999, Head of High School Languages from 2010 to 2023

Giuseppina Mustica joined IGS in 1999 as a primary school language teacher. Notching up 25 years in the now 30-strong Language Department in 2024, she is one of the School’s longest-serving language teachers. Giuseppina has taught Italian across the School, headed up High School Languages from 2010 to 2023, worked as an HSC marker and curriculum coordinator, and handled disability provisions for students.

I started at IGS in the primary school. I’d been teaching elsewhere for just one hour a week, so to be in a position where I could immerse children in a language that wasn’t their own was eye-opening for me. It made such an impact, I’m still here.

To walk into a school where students are not afraid of hearing a different language was, for me, what it is all about. Languages open minds. To know that these children will gain a completely different perspective of the world and other people, remains incredibly powerful.

As a language teacher, normally in other schools you’re fighting for your survival. To come to a school where learning languages and hearing and speaking another language is valued, appreciated and highlighted –that is very rare.

This is such a multicultural country but historically, whole generations were disconnected from their own culture because it was denigrated. You didn’t want to be different, so you wouldn’t speak your language. Language is power. We’ve seen it. When you look at Indigenous languages, Aboriginal languages, one of the first things that governments did was take them away.

I came from a family that migrated here from Italy in 1963 and grew up speaking just Italian at home. I only started learning English when I started school, so I was thrown in the deep end. My name’s Giuseppina, a very traditional Italian name. When I started in Kindy, the teacher said, “okay, we’ll call her Josephine because that’s the English version”. And my mum said, “no, her name is Giuseppina”.

“LANGUAGES OPEN MINDS. TO KNOW THAT THESE CHILDREN WILL GAIN A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE OF THE WORLD AND OTHER PEOPLE, REMAINS INCREDIBLY POWERFUL.”

It was life-changing to be in a school where, as a language teacher, I could be creative and work with other languages staff. In the primary school you’re teaching language, but you’re also teaching ideas. You’re teaching concepts. As a teacher that was challenging – but so rewarding. I’ve had the opportunity to teach languages from Early Learning right through to high school. That’s been a real gift, to understand how a whole school works.

Learning languages opens people’s minds. It opens a person’s world. It is the pathway to connecting with other people. The moment that we learn a language, as a child or a baby, we connect through language. It’s how our first connections are made. Being able to do that, not only in your own language but in another language, you see how somebody else lives. In a nonjudgmental way you see another culture. You see the diversity of the world. And for me that is power. If, as a language teacher, I’ve done that with any of my students –“tick” – job done!

Whether they are good or bad at their languages, if a student takes an interest, that says to me they will respect somebody else’s differences. Those students will be in a position to make changes for the better in the world. For IGS kids, this is normal. There are schools that are bilingual, but only with one additional language. IGS has so many languages on offer.

From Day 1, the students are immersed in the language learning through a natural process. Of course, a child takes a while to learn to speak, but they will quickly begin to understand. The first thing is to develop those receptive skills. That’s why we use language all the time in the classroom. Then with practice, children develop productive skills.

They’re speaking, they’re writing, just as they do in their first language. It allows the kids to develop authentic pronunciation. A lot of the kids that start in Early Learning or the primary school have authentic pronunciation because they have been hearing it from when they were young.

In the primary school, content is the vehicle for learning the language so it gives greater meaning. Whether we’re doing emotions in Year 1 or transport in Year 2, these are all things that are in the normal syllabus, key learning areas, except that our students are learning it in another language. In the high school, it’s still that immersive approach but because we’re preparing them for the HSC it’s moving towards a more analytical approach, teaching the grammar and how a language works. Students can then have more confidence and independence in manipulating both their additional language and their English.

Always at IGS there’s been a big focus on communication. So it’s never just about learning to write. The moment that they walk into the classroom, they’re speaking their language. On the very first lesson, even if you’re a beginner in Year 7, you leave the class having spoken the language.

Whatever workplace you are in, you’ll find a mixture of backgrounds. The ability to connect or be open to other points of view comes from learning another language, in the sense of intercultural skills. In nearly every lesson a student is reflecting on their own language or their own cultural background and comparing it to another. The moment we’re just living in our world and we think our culture and our language is the yardstick for everything, it limits us.

People who have learnt another language are open to another person’s culture. The intercultural is about connecting with another person, but you’re also reflecting on your own so there’s an exchange going on. We call that reciprocity. Intercultural means that you’re open to that exchange and you’re treating somebody else with dignity.

Language options at IGS continue to expand. We now have six continuer languages and five beginner languages across Years 11 and 12, a huge suite of languages that the students who love languages can choose from.

The kids have done phenomenally well in their beginner languages, because they’ve already learnt how to learn a language. From that very first year we had first in the state in German Beginners, French Beginners and Spanish Beginners. There’s been quite a few “first in the states” and a whole class has achieved Band 6, 90 per cent and above.

In the past 10 years, high academic performance has really become a beacon in the School. That’s a real recognition of the quality of the language learning here and also the quality of our student set. When they love a language and they’re passionate about it, the language teachers here will do everything to make sure that they achieve their best.

“IN THE PAST 10 YEARS, HIGH ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE HAS REALLY BECOME A BEACON IN THE SCHOOL. THAT’S A REAL RECOGNITION OF THE QUALITY OF THE LANGUAGE LEARNING HERE AND ALSO THE QUALITY OF OUR STUDENT SET.”

We know through history the power of language. Nowadays, our kids are bombarded with so much social media –misinformation, disinformation, every kind of information. One of the things that we look at in learning a language is how to analyse language. What is the purpose? And that’s critical literacy. You can’t be “world ready” without language. We are global citizens and global citizens need to be able to connect with others. The easiest and the best way to do that is through a language, with intercultural skills. “World ready” is about engaging with difference and diversity.

We put kids on the spot and out of their comfort zone every day, because the moment they walk into the classroom they are confronted with difference. There is no other subject that demands or expects kids to be uncomfortable and to be open to difference.

To be world ready is to be flexible. To be world ready is to be open, to persevere and to be inquisitive. And that’s what learning language does.

REGINE BERGHOFER

Director of Languages 2024

IGS Director of Languages Regine Berghofer arrived at IGS in January 2024, becoming the School’s fourth Director of Languages. Growing up in Germany where language learning is prioritised, she studied French and English at school. An established language teacher, Regine has worked at NSW Educational Standards Authority (NESA) in curriculum development and reform, and has played a significant role in the redevelopment of national and NSW language frameworks. For Regine, honouring and promoting the importance of language learning is a mission.

Language learning was very important in my life from early on, but I’ve always seen a gap in the learning of languages in NSW, where only 100 hours of language learning is mandatory in high school.

When I saw the different approach IGS was taking to language learning, that really excited me, along with the creativity and the progressive thinking, and the strengths of the arts and drama programs. A lot of deep questions are being investigated in the School’s curriculum. Many IGS programs go beyond normal classroom teaching and are building not just the interests of students, but also their ability to think critically about the world.

“WHEN I SAW THE DIFFERENT APPROACH IGS WAS TAKING TO LANGUAGE LEARNING, THAT REALLY EXCITED ME, ALONG WITH THE CREATIVITY AND THE PROGRESSIVE THINKING…”

That aligned strongly with my own values. If I was young again, this would have been the perfect school for me.

I believe there needs to be a lot more done in other schools to recognise the importance of language learning. It’s not just the ability to speak a language; it does so many more things. Many people talk about the cognitive benefits, but I think what’s really important is diversity, understanding and empathy towards others.

Australia is a multicultural country. Language really builds that, especially in the early years — that real understanding of other people’s backgrounds, seeing things from different perspectives and acknowledging who we are as people. Through that, we are learning about our own identity. You only learn about who you are as a person when you remove yourself from your own little world. If every school had languages in primary school, we could build a more just and peaceful world.

IGS is unusually vibrant, with so much happening and so many extra opportunities. In some schools kids are very micromanaged, but here, it’s more about building students’ confidence through all the offerings. With choice also comes responsibility and more progressive thinking. I feel IGS students know who they are as people. They are confident in being different in the way they look and the way they carry themselves.

Languages have been part of my life from the very beginning. My dad was the captain of an oil tanker and I used to go out with him on the ship in my holidays. I heard my dad speak English at the ports and I heard others speaking in Finnish or Norwegian and all these other languages. I really admired my dad for being able to converse with everyone. Lots of people in Germany are multilingual and fluent because they grow up with a second language at home.

After school, I decided to study Japanese and Chinese as a translator and then went to Japan to live for a while, and finally ended up in Australia teaching Year 12 German and Japanese. I loved it, so I did my DipEd, then worked in different schools — independent, Catholic, and public schools — then came to NESA, in charge of a wide range of national and state-based language projects, including language syllabus reform.

“IF EVERY SCHOOL HAD LANGUAGES IN PRIMARY SCHOOL, WE COULD BUILD A MORE JUST AND PEACEFUL WORLD.”

New NSW Kindergarten to Year 10 language syllabuses have been redeveloped and modernised and are being implemented by schools this year. The curriculum is suitable, but the NSW government says you only have to teach 100 hours of language between Year 7 and Year 10. That’s it. That’s the issue.

The research is clear, and curriculum reviewers recommended that languages should be taught from primary school. The government agreed; they accepted it has cognitive and other benefits, but the reason they’re not going there is that we don’t have the resources, meaning the teachers. If there’s no jobs, no one is going to train to be a language teacher. All states have now mandated languages in primary school except NSW and Tasmania.

IGS is the only non-bilingual school in NSW that truly recognises the importance of language learning in their curriculum. Our founder Reg St Leon OAM, even 40 years ago, saw the need for this and, as we know, he approached the department to build a school based on this ideal — they just said no. Even until this day, there is no other such school. That doesn’t mean that every school is only offering 100 hours, but most of it is optional and languages are often marginalised. IGS is unique in what it’s offering.

In English-speaking nations generally, the attitude is everybody speaks English and you can get by with English and that’s true. But we’re giving our power away. For example, we can negotiate with the Chinese in English, but we put ourselves at a disadvantage when they understand English, but we don’t understand Chinese.

To encourage the uptake of languages, the new Kindergarten to Year 10 language syllabus includes the enjoyment of learning a language as one of its aims. Communication is the main aim, especially spontaneous communication. Another very important aspect is building intercultural capabilities. It’s not just about learning to speak that language, it’s about understanding others.

I think IGS does some wonderful things in terms of the enjoyment of languages. In Early Learning, there are more and more play-based activities, with intent, where children are doing what they like to do and learning the language along with it. Very skilled teachers use a lot of different approaches. The classroom doesn’t look the same every lesson. In a more traditional classroom, you would see a very similar structure of the lesson, every lesson.

It’s important to understand that communication is not about perfect accuracy. It’s about being able to communicate. I might make a mistake in English but I can still communicate with you.

Best evidence practice is to work with something called translanguaging, which means the student is allowed to express themselves the best they can using English and the target language. If a student speaks Hindi, bring that in as well. And then you correct them as a teacher, and that’s how they gradually build their skills.

At IGS we’ve got the integrated, crosscurricular and immersive approaches in primary school and then a more grammar and meta language approach in high school, to prepare students for the skills they require in the HSC. We need to adjust and align the different parts of the program, especially with regards to explicit teaching of language skills versus immersion, so that there is a more natural progression and to ensure that no student gets left behind.

Explicit teaching of language skills is evidence-based practice and it’s been proven over and over. You can live in Japan for 20 years and see Japanese characters around you, hear the language and never understand a single word. Explicit teaching of language also gives students the understanding of their own language. In high school, students can benefit from this by applying a lot of their language skills to essay-based subjects like English and History. It’s about deconstructing the language and being more critical thinkers about the language and what it means.

Perspective is expressed through language as well, opening you up to creativity. Nowadays, kids have to be more strategic thinkers and more creative and solution focused. I think language learning helps develop all those skills.

Over the coming decade, I would like our students to develop greater capability in using their target language to discuss ideas and to become more critical thinkers. If they’re developing those higher-order skills earlier, then the HSC should be easier for them too. But we shouldn’t just be learning a language for the HSC. It should be about learning to take your language and critical thinking skills out into the world to make a difference. I am trying to build the curriculum in the high school years around inquiry questions, to help with this.

To me, “world-ready” means having intercultural capabilities, a good understanding of the world and the ability to see things from different perspectives. We need creative thinkers nowadays and people who can communicate well. Being able to communicate with others — that’s important. That’s something you learn in languages.

“NOWADAYS, KIDS HAVE TO BE MORE STRATEGIC THINKERS AND MORE CREATIVE AND SOLUTION FOCUSED. I THINK LANGUAGE LEARNING HELPS DEVELOP ALL THOSE SKILLS.”

Renowned Canadian psycholinguist Frank Smith says “One language sets you in a corridor of life. Two languages open every door along the way”. Now, imagine what knowing multiple languages can do for you!

KIMBERLEY LAW

Digital Learning Specialist, high school teacher, Kaleidoscope Kids creator

I’ve been teaching for the past 14 years. I was speaking to a colleague and she said I should try and find a school that aligns with my values. I found out about IGS and how it’s a language school and I thought that fits perfectly. I speak English and my husband speaks French with our kids and I thought, wow, this is a school that I’d like to work for. Then the Digital Learning Specialist job came up and I thought, why not apply? It seemed like the perfect role that suited where I wanted to go with my career.

We’re very fortunate. Not all schools have this role. It shows how important technology is at IGS and where they’re wanting to move as a school. I help teachers with training and implementing technology into the classroom that’s authentic.

“THERE’S LOTS OF POTENTIAL FOR STUDENTS TO GET INVOLVED WITH DIGITAL LEARNING. WE DON’T KNOW WHAT JOBS ARE GOING TO BE AVAILABLE FOR OUR STUDENTS IN 20 YEARS.”

We started with this project, Kaleidoscope Kids, which is a podcast. I like podcasting and have quite a bit of experience. My background in teaching was with English as a second language. I had created a podcast because I thought there weren’t enough listening comprehension materials. I noticed how I could use that in the classroom with my students and how engaging it is. When I moved to IGS I suggested, as part of the celebrations for the 40th anniversary, that we could have a podcast, student led, but also using it within the classroom and recording students and teachers. Now it’s become a very big project.

There’s lots of potential for students to get involved with digital learning. We don’t know what jobs are going to be available for our students in 20 years. I put my hand up and said, I’ve got a lot of expertise in podcasting and is there something that we could relate to? It became this large project where a lot of people got involved and as we release episodes, it keeps getting bigger. We’re trying to find different ways that we can use it within the IGS community.

It’s a massive task. We’ve got so many students involved. Prior to launching the podcast, we spent five months preparing, meeting with the leadership team, asking them what they would like to feature. We really wanted a section focused on languages and we try to have a language featured in each episode. It is very language focused which represents the School and our diverse student body. We’re involved in the community. Kaleidoscope Kids is about global voices and community connections.

I am working a lot with the language department. One of our programs uses AI to transcribe what we’re saying. If I’m recording students speaking in Italian, it will transcribe what they’re saying and we can use that as a classroom tool. We work with students on pronunciation, so the tools that we’re using to create the podcast become tools which can then create authentic activities in the classroom.

We have a regular Kaleidoscope Kids afterschool club for primary students. They’re coming up with their own scripts and also helping present different segments of the episode. I am collecting content wherever I can. It’s a big task but any time a teacher asks me to come into the classroom or any time that something is happening or any special activities I try to record the students. At the moment we’re focusing on Kindergarten to Year 12 students, but Early Learners are definitely on the radar. We want it to be a whole school project.

“WHAT I REALLY LIKE ABOUT THIS IS IT’S NOT A COMPULSORY SUBJECT. IT’S THE STUDENTS WANTING TO BE A PART OF IT AND THEN ENGAGING WITH THEIR OWN LEARNING.”

I want to be a facilitator in this. The International Women’s Day episode was incredible because I heard the students asking interesting questions. It’s impressive.

It creates good habits for the primary students. We meet in the Bibliothèque on a Thursday afternoon and I’ll say, okay, next week’s Harmony Week, what can we look at? So while they’re in there, they’re getting content and writing their scripts. They have this free time to discover. For the International Women’s Day episode they found books about important women and they were telling me stories about women that I hadn’t even heard of. What I really like about this is it’s not a compulsory subject. It’s the students wanting to be a part of this and then engaging with their own learning.

In the beginning, it was very difficult, and I thought, what have I got myself into? I don’t like to quit a project. As each week happens, we have more staff involved, and more students. We’ve got a lot of support. This is IGS.

I’m very lucky to be here because IGS wants to move in that direction. Having the support from the School to be able to do this is fantastic because not a lot of schools have support to create a podcast, where they have time to train teachers and show them how to use this and how to embed this within the curriculum. It does say a lot for the School – for how diverse we are and how much we come together and how we’re making it work. The staff are always seizing opportunities when they can.

My son was asking me what I did for a job when I was a teenager and I said I worked in a video store. Those places don’t exist now. We have Netflix and other streaming services. We don’t even know what’s going to exist when our students finish school, so I think it’s really important to push digital literacy and to use this content in the classroom as real-world applications. Digital literacy is very important because our students will be using this in the future.

That’s one of the reasons we went for the languages focus because that’s what stands out about IGS. We are a multilingual school and Australia is multilingual itself. We want to show that we can do this not just in English but in any language.

I feel that as we’re going on more staff are seeing the opportunities. Carmelo Fedele, who’s the Head of Sustainability, messaged me and said, “hey, I recorded this audio from one of our meetings, do you think you could use it in a podcast?” He sent me 45 minutes of audio, we condensed it and it was brilliant. After that I had another teacher ask how to get on the podcast. In the beginning, it seemed to be my project, but as time goes on, it becomes more of a teacher thinking, “oh, that would be great to record”.

When I speak to schools, they think it’s impressive that we have this live podcast that’s regularly being updated. I messaged the general manager of the Alliance Française in Sydney and said we would like to interview you, but we’ll get the students to interview you in French. He was very excited by the project. I think the more we interview higher profile people, the more our podcast gets out there.

It’d be interesting to see where we are on the world stage because I don’t know a lot of podcasts that heavily involve teenagers. There are, I think, over 2 million podcasts in the world – anybody can make a podcast. We need to stand out and show people how we’re different.

Being “world ready” is very important. Things are changing. We’ve made connections with Ultimo TAFE; they have some certificate and diploma courses, and Screen Media, and they have a section called podcasting. We took the students there on an excursion to talk about the Screen Media course. Ultimo TAFE said it’s the first they’d heard of a high school having a podcast. They would love their students to work with us on podcasting as part of their projects. This is how we’re preparing students for the real world. We are constantly searching for different ways that organisations are doing things and we’re always at the forefront of new tech. That’s what we’re doing with our students.

IGS is always changing and we’re always adapting. We’re preparing our students to be realworld ready because we have connections with the outside world. We are making connections.

THOM MARCHBANK

Deputy Principal Academic

For Thom Marchbank, IGS is a family affair. Shortly after he joined the School, Thom’s daughter, Antigone, began Kindergarten in 2012. Tiggy went on to become Head Girl in 2024. Mum Patrice joined the School in late 2020 to work in the brand new Bibliothèque and a year later became its director. Between them, they’ve made quite an impact on IGS.

I had no idea the School existed when I applied. I was looking for permanency and I saw the job advertised for this interestingsounding school. I thought I’d throw my hat in the ring, and the stars aligned. I began as an English teacher.

In 2013 I took on the role of Head of House for Bamal, the youngest house. That was a beautiful extension of teaching. Teaching is relational, so the more you know about how someone’s going and what their life is like, then the more you can draw on that in the classroom.

I saw my passions directed towards the wellbeing space which is why I started a Psychology degree in 2018. I was also interested in curriculum so I threw my hat in the ring for that role as well. They’re intimately tied to one another.

I oversee teaching and learning across the whole School. It’s huge. I love it though. There’s an enormous wellspring of strength academically in the School and I love inspiring the Heads of Department to lead their teams with even more excellence and rigour, to engineer discussions about what scholarly excellence looks like.

We teach philosophy at IGS. That is something the students graduating from our school go out into the world with. You want them to take with them their critical

“IF YOU CAN SHOW KIDS JUST HOW DEEP THE RABBIT HOLE GOES, THAT’S PART OF THE JOY AND MAGIC OF ENGAGEMENT AND THAT’S THE WAY TO INCULCATE THOSE SKILLS.”

thinking skills, an ability to critique things, to be sceptical, and to have a moral compass. Philosophy started at IGS for Year 7 and is now taught in Years 7 to 10, and Years 5 and 6.

The acceleration we’ve offered to the students in languages and mathematics allows Year 10 students to begin their HSC studies earlier, to squirrel away those units so that they can have a more balanced pattern of study in Year 12. Why hold them back if they’re ready and raring to go for languages or for maths?

IGS also offers TAFE and vocational courses. The HSC is a fantastic credential and globally recognised. But an ATAR itself has diminished in importance with kids’ achievements in Years 10 and 11 and their opportunities to gain early entry access to university courses. It’s part of plugging into our local area and the education providers around us, curating opportunities for our students. Kids are loving the choice and flexibility. That goes hand in hand with becoming a senior student, I think. You have more agency over what you would like to study, and our students respond really well to it.

“IT’S THE QUALITY OF RELATIONSHIPS WE HAVE AT THE SCHOOL THAT IS THE HEART OF WELLBEING FOR ME.”

We have a packed curriculum. New subjects must extend core IGS learning offerings, giving kids who want to pursue something they’re really devoted to, the opportunity to do that. We must balance the needs of space and packed timetables with extension opportunities or possibilities to go further with things our students really love. And I think that’s part of knowing each individual student and taking them as far as they can possibly go, recognising something in them that they may not even see themselves yet.

You hear that phrase “lifelong learning” – our lifelong learners are endlessly curious about the world. In the old syllabus there were 21st Century skills and there still are, but I think those skills are best taught in the context of particular subjects. If you can show kids just how deep the rabbit hole goes, that’s part of the joy and magic of engagement and that’s the way to inculcate those skills. That’s what the best of our teachers do.

IGS does phenomenally well academically. Every year we celebrate the successes of our HSC cohorts across a broad range of courses. We’re not a selective school. It’s about how far we can take the kids in our care. I’m always impressed by the achievements of the Drama department. Music students, Visual Arts and Design students, too, are always impressive in their achievement. In terms of major works and performing subjects, I am consistently impressed and proud to be part of IGS. Speaking personally for English Extension 2, knowing that it’s a very selective course and the apogee of English in high school, we love what we’ve been able to do with that course. It’s beautiful. I would have loved to have studied a course like that when I was at school.

“ONE OF THE THINGS I THINK WE DO WELL AT IGS IS TO KNOW INDIVIDUALS. SCHOLARLY EXCELLENCE ARISES WHEN WE TAP INTO THEIR PASSIONS AND INTERESTS.”

Personal achievement is hugely important. There are a number of structures around celebrating achievement – prizes or awards that identify students who perform admirably. We’re always seeking to drive achievement in our HSC results and that’s through this deep process of investigating how courses are conducted and then taking a strategic approach for the next cohort, based on what we learn.

One of the things I think we do well at IGS is to know individuals. Scholarly excellence arises when we tap into their passions and their interests. Diversity and vibrancy –they’re characteristics of everyone at IGS. There’s a freedom to be who you want to be. It’s the quality of relationships we have at the School that is the heart of wellbeing for me.

It comes back to knowing those individual students and having at least one teacher who has recognised and seen a particular student. A kid who might lack belief in themself as an English student, say, will reach a level they didn’t think was

possible if they’ve had an empathetic and understanding teacher recognise what they need. We want to make sure that every kid has an opportunity to be recognised for the things that they want to and can succeed in, and challenged accordingly.

I think about us being a lighthouse for students who haven’t prospered at another school for whatever reason, whether it be their sexual orientation or gender identification, or for some other reason. Especially those kids that have joined us midway through the educational journey, in Years 9 or 10 or 11 – to see them arrive so reticent, and then to see them blossom and bloom and achieve academically, is special. I’ve seen it quite a few times.

It’s about being seen for who they are, and being accepted. At IGS, they can be themselves, and the learning comes with that because they’re not being forced to hide or mask. If your authentic self can be on show, then you can be vulnerable to take risks academically. If they trust their teachers, then there’s this kind of reciprocal understanding that goes on.

It’s part of the DNA of the School. It really feels as though our core values name the characteristics that exist here. They guide me and other staff in how we think about students and the learning that we’re trying to bring to each of them. The character of the conversations that we have in class and in the corridors and on excursions, pointing out interesting things, recognising little details about people – all these things make students feel accepted and included.

I think about my first encounter with IGS, coming for my job interview, to this interesting, vibrant building with the wonderful mosaic out the front. Not quite working out how to get inside, where the entrance was, how to find the gate ... Where was Reception? Being a little bit confused, but being surrounded by colour and life and light. There were little kids moving up the stairs at the same time as big kids, and this noisy, buzzing, exciting mess of kids and staff moving, all part of this cohesive whole.

Something of that character is in the School to this day. The flexibility and the creativity and the excitement that characterise our School are, I think, what make it wonderful.

GLOBAL SCHOLARS

The first thing Shauna Colnan introduced on her arrival at IGS was a gift to ambitious high school students – the annual Global Scholar’s Prize. Each year, Shauna selects a topic of world-wide relevance which reflects a current event or issue with global ramifications. Students are to write a 1,000-word essay and Shauna offers to mentor them during the writing process. Students submitting an essay for this award also write a reflection about their take on the topic and their rationale for what they’ve written.

SOME USEFUL SOURCES OF INFORMATION:

http://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2017-07-10/how-chrisuhlmanns-g20-takedown-of-donald-trump-wentviral/8695144?pfmredir=sm

https://www nytimes com/video/us/ politics/100000004879784/trump-is-sworn-in.html

https://www nytimes com/topic/person/donald-trump

https://www theguardian com/us-news/donaldtrump http://www.smh com.au/comment/when-trump-choosesbetween-country-and-family-family-wins-every-time20170717-gxcv66.html

https://mobile nytimes com/2015/10/06/us/politics/ donald-trump-twitter-use-campaign-2016.html

https://www google com.au/amp/s/www theatlantic amp/article/521430/

2014 winning essay: “In the Shadow of MH17” by Samuel Garrett (Year 10)

Reflection: I am honoured to have received the inaugural IGS Global Scholar’s Prize. Since a young age I have been fascinated by global issues and in the way nations and people interact and relate to each other. IGS’s international outlook has been a major factor in nurturing this interest, and over the 13 years I have attended IGS it has been, for me, one of the best aspects of the School. So, when the new Global Scholar’s Prize was announced, I was particularly excited and interested in it as a way of improving my writing, research skills, and analysis of global issues. I believe that this essay has allowed me to deepen my interests and given me a lot of experience in the writing process. It has been a great opportunity.

DONALD TRUMP The Rise of

2017 winning essay: “The Rise of Donald Trump” by Jessica Trevelyan (Year 11)

Samuel went on to win the Global Scholar’s Prize in 2015 with “On the road from Damascus” and again in 2016 with “Brexit: the tip of the iceberg”.

Reflection: I really enjoyed participating in the Global Scholar’s Prize this year. I have always been interested in the forces shaping our world and modern society, and this essay has provided a fantastic opportunity for me to explore complex global issues, as well as improve my essay writing skills. Through researching and writing my essay this year, I have learnt a lot about global politics and deepened my understanding of current political events. I am very grateful for this experience and would encourage all others interested in global events to participate in the prize.

2018 winning essay: “The #MeToo Movement” by Allegra Welsh (Year 10)

TheMeTooMovement

Reflection: When I first learned of the Global Scholars Essay Prize in Year 7, I was too young to enter, but I was immediately intrigued by the opportunity to write an essay on a global issue. I knew that when the time came and I was allowed to enter, I would write an essay on a topic I was truly passionate about. Human rights and raising awareness about rape and sexual assault are two things that are highly important to me and when I discovered that the 2018 topic was #MeToo, I knew what I would write immediately. I am honoured to be receiving this prize and humbled by the opportunity to write about something I am so passionate about.

#metoo

2019 winning essay: “Climate Change”

by Ruby Dragicevic (Year 9)

Reflection: I am extremely honoured and happy to receive this award, as I am very passionate about this topic. The severe effects of climate change and the reasons that stop people taking action in response to climate change have always been a point of

The IGS Global Scholar’s Prize Winning Essay

2020 winning essay: “COVID-19” by Sebastian Saltos Palmer (Year 9)

Reflection: “When I started writing my essay submission, COVID-19 was already a massive issue for the world. While many people were thinking of the effects on their immediate lives, I decided to focus my essay on COVID’s effect on world politics and trade moving forward, mainly focusing on China’s advantage coming out of the virus; and also about the effect on the 2020 US Presidential election. It was fun and interesting to research and write. Thank you so much for the award.

collection of news articles from The Conversation on social media.

COVID-19

2021 winning essay: “The Ramifications of COVID-19 on International Relations and Collaboration” by Alex

McArdle

(Year 12)

Reflection: Writing the Global Scholar’s essay proved a fun and interesting challenge. It gave me insight into various reactions towards COVID-19, and the clashing ideologies behind them, enabling me to form a more holistic picture of issues we face. I believe in our current society, split along so many axes, a well-formed picture is more important than ever to push humanity in the right direction. I am extremely happy to have won this award but more importantly, I am happy to have had the opportunity to investigate my world and enrich my understanding.

THE IN UKRAINE

THE WAR IN UKRAINE

2022 winning essay: “The War in Ukraine” by Rauri Foster (Year 11)

REWARDING

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJP5GqnTrNo https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/may/22/ai-jobs-policies https://arxiv.org/pdf/2211.13130.pdf https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s43681-020-00011-6 https://fully-human.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/6-AI-Risks.pdf https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/may/02/geoffrey-hintongodfather-of-ai-quits-google-warns-dangers-of-machine-learning https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-019-14108-y https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/05/230511164553.htm https://jair.org/index.php/jair/index https://www.artificialintelligence-news.com/artificial-intelligence-news/ https://www.theatlantic.com/category/ai-artificial-intelligence/ https://www.theguardian.com/technology/artificialintelligenceai https://www.nytimes.com/spotlight/artificial-intelligence https://www.abc.net.au/news/topic/artificial-intelligence https://www.sbs.com.au/topics/subject/artificial-intelligence https://www.sciencedaily.com/news/computers_math/artificial_intelligence/ https://www.wired.com/tag/artificial-intelligence/ https://news.mit.edu/topic/artificial-intelligence2

Reflection: For the first time since being at school, I was faced with a topic I felt strongly enough about to write an essay outside of a school assignment. Writing this essay made me look inwards and question why I believe Ukraine has the moral high ground in this war, and what a leader looks like in the face of adversity. Ukraine is fighting a war for their freedom, a freedom we often take for granted, and a freedom that we haven’t had to defend in a long time, so that we are in danger of forgetting how lucky we are.

USEFUL SOURCES OF INFORMATION:

Atlantic (2024) Social media [articles]. https://www.theatlantic.com/category/socialmedia/

Etchells P (2024) Unlocked: The real science of screen time, Piatkus, London. Available in the Bibliothèque, in Unlocked, Professor Etchells studies the way we use screens and how they can affect us. Miller D et. al. (2016) How the World Changed Social Media [e-book], UCL Press, London. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt1g69z35

A book analysing current research on social media exploring its impact. Each chapter covers a different topic, such as politics, gender, education and commerce.

Orben A (2020) ‘Teenagers, screens and social media: A narrative review of readers and key studies’, Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 55:407-414. https://doi.org/10.1007/ s00127-019-01825-4

Orben is a leading researcher on the impact of social media on teenagers.

Resnick B (17 May 2019) ‘Have smartphones really destroyed a generation? We don’t know.’, Vox, accessed 18 June 2024. https://www.vox. com/science-and-health/2019/2/20/18210498/ smartphones-tech-social-media-teensdepression-anxiety-research

2023 winning essay: “The Anxiously Revolutionising Rise of Artificial Intelligence” by

Ellie Sifis (Year 11)

Resnick’s informative overview of the current research with suggestions on what scientists should look at next.

Note: If you would like to discuss the topic further, please contact Ms Colnan at principal@igssyd.nsw.edu.au

collection of articles on topics in social media from The Atlantic, including Jean Twenge’s influential piece “Have Smartphones Destroyed a Generation?”. Chivers T and Ritchie S (30 Jan 2024) ‘Episode 25: Is it the smartphones?’, The Studies Show [podcast]. https://www.thestudiesshowpod. com/p/episode-25-is-it-the-phones A highly informative podcast that examines the research on both side of the harms of social media debate, including links to further reading. Commonsense Media (2024) Research [articles]. https://www.commonsensemedia.org/research Commonsense Media have been conducting research on the impact of technology on children and teens for over 20 years, including research such as “Teens and Mental Health: How Girls Really Feel about Social Media” The Conversation (2024) Social media [articles]. https://theconversation.com/au/topics/socialmedia-109

UNESCO (2024) Social media [collection]. https://www.unesco.org/en/tags/social-media

THE RISE OF SOCIAL MEDIA

2024 winning essay:

“The Rise of Social Media” by Isabel-Mary Keenan (Year 12)

UNESCO’s collection of articles, publications and news on social media

Reflection: The writing of this essay came easily to me as I highly enjoyed researching this topic. Artificial Intelligence has proved a grey area for many, especially with the major breakthrough of generative AI technology such as ChatGPT. In my essay, I wished to highlight both the excitement and hesitation surrounding the rise of AI technology.

We Are Social (2024) Digital 2024 Report. https:// wearesocial.com/au/blog/2024/01/digital-2024/ A detailed report of current and emerging social media trends globally with emphasis on economics and commerce.

If you would like to discuss the topic further, please contact Ms Colnan at principal@igssyd.nsw.edu.au

technology is a revolutionary and powerful tool which can help many people and be used for good, only in the hands of the right person. It is an honour to be selected as the winning candidate for the IGS

for

THE IGS GLOBAL SCHOLARS PRIZE

Reflection: Writing this essay allowed me to unpack the complexities of body image and self-worth in the age of social media. Reflecting on my journey during lockdown and the impact of influencers like Chloe Ting, I aimed to highlight how social media, though a source of inspiration, can also blur the line between motivation and selfcriticism. My research shed light on the immense pressures young people face today, particularly regarding unrealistic body ideals that are so often promoted online. This essay is a call to recognise both the power and potential harm of social media, especially in shaping young minds during formative years.

THE RISE OF THE CHATBOTS

AI in schools

At the end of November 2022, ChatGPT was set free to roam the online world. It immediately went viral on social media platforms and within five days had more than one million users, 100 million by the end of its first month. Artificial intelligence was here and anyone could use it.

ChatGPT was developed by a collection of tech heavyweights who set up a non-profit research organisation called OpenAI with the goal to “advance digital intelligence in the way that is most likely to benefit humanity as a whole…”.

OpenAI was not initially looking for financial return; indeed when the project started in 2015 it already had US$1 billion pledged in donations. That year, OpenAI introduced itself, saying: “We believe AI should be an extension of individual human wills and, in the spirit of liberty, as broadly and evenly distributed as possible. The outcome of this venture is uncertain and the work is difficult, but we believe the goal and the structure are right”.

These days, an advanced version of ChatGPT is available via paid subscription which has, reportedly, netted OpenAI more than $1 billion. UNSW AI Institute Chief Scientist Toby Walsh describes it as “the greatest gold rush in human history”.

ChatGPT had several iterations in the development phase but AI wasn’t a new thing. The field of Artificial Intelligence dates back to the work of computer pioneer Alan Turing in the 1950s, researching and testing the intelligence of machines. GPT stands for Generative Pre-trained Transformer, and OpenAI has now developed a whole suite

of GPTs which can help us do anything from cooking and sorting laundry to creative writing and mathematics. In fact they’ll do the work for us.

Artificial intelligence has inherent risks. Many people find it threatening or frightening. Even OpenAI has its worries, writing on its website that “…harmful uses of AI will grow. One potentially harmful use, highlighted by researchers and policymakers, is the ability for AI systems to assist malicious actors in creating biological threats”.

Artificial Intelligence is already changing teaching and learning and, with tools such as AI tutors proliferating, some say it has the potential to reshape the role of schools within the next few years.

Following the launch of ChatGPT, most Australian states and territories quickly moved to ban its use in schools. But its pervasive nature and the inevitability of the rise of AI has led state and federal governments to reconsider.

Late in 2023 the Australian Framework for Generative Artificial Intelligence in Schools was developed, allowing public schools to use AI from 2024 according to certain guidelines.

IGS had already dipped its toe in the water.

“AI IN EDUCATION IS NOT A REPLACEMENT FOR HUMAN INTELLECT – IT’S THE CATALYST THAT AMPLIFIES OUR CAPACITY TO LEARN, INNOVATE AND LEAD.”

Bert Venhoeven, program director of Innovation and Enterprise, Flinders University

THE AUSTRALIAN FRAMEWORK FOR GENERATIVE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN SCHOOLS

The six principles:

1. TEACHING AND LEARNING

Generative AI tools are used to support and enhance teaching and learning.

2. HUMAN AND SOCIAL WELLBEING

Generative AI tools are used to benefit all members of the school community.

3. TRANSPARENCY

School communities understand how Generative AI tools work, how they can be used and when and how these tools are impacting them.

4. FAIRNESS

Generative AI tools are used in ways that are accessible, fair and respectful.

5. ACCOUNTABILITY

Generative AI tools are used in ways that are open to challenge and retain human agency and accountability for decisions.

6. PRIVACY, SECURITY AND SAFETY

Students and others using Generative AI tools have their privacy and data protected.

WHAT CHATGPT SAYS ABOUT IGS

What makes IGS a unique school in Australia and the world?

International Grammar School stands out as a unique educational institution in Australia and the world due to its focus on global citizenship, multilingual education, inquiry-based learning, holistic development, innovative teaching methods, and commitment to inclusivity and equity. By nurturing the next generation of compassionate, culturally aware, and intellectually curious leaders, IGS is making a profound impact on the future of education and society.

THOM MARCHBANK ON AI

Deputy Principal Academic

The advent of AI has challenged us. We were a bit of a lighthouse because a lot of the public education system threw up walls and said, “no, there’s going to be a barrier to using a technology like that”; that AI was a threat and an encroachment.

I understand the rationale because they wanted to survey the territory before making a decision about how to cope with that technology. But at IGS, we just embraced it from the start.

I’ve been watching AI for the past three or four years and it didn’t surprise me when ChatGPT was shared at the end of 2022. We held some sessions with teachers to think about creative ways that we could use it and incorporate it into teaching rather than being frightened of it.

Largely staff have been really wonderful in taking it on board. It puts a line through traditional assessment tasks, something that you work on at home and hand in. If you’re not considering AI from the get go you’re just setting yourself up for failure.

AI gives us so many things. From a policy point of view, we have to think about academic integrity. We have to really be clear on what we’re looking to see in the students’ work and the way that they’re going to use that technology. That’s an evolution of the existing policies that we have though, in terms of work being your own and being honest and transparent about the work you submit. But it’s such a powerful tool.

There’s a lot of work in upskilling students on great framing of questions that you ask those tools. For us as staff, AI can expedite our work, taking one hour instead of four. It can write programs, it can write assessment tasks, it can write syllabus documents.

AI still requires human engagement. So it’s not as though you can just type things

in and it’s done. And I don’t want to be too evangelical. There are lots of ethical concerns about the retention of data and the recursive nature of those text tools, because they’re taking a corpus of text and producing new text that will go back into that corpus. You can see these recursive feedback loops muddying the waters of what’s produced.

What I love about these technologies is that they place the onus or the emphasis back onto human beings. Think about those unfakeable products of learning; being embodied, having a voice, articulating yourself, performing — all of those things, at the moment, AI tools can’t do. They generate the text, but if you design assessment tasks in really clever ways, so that some of the grunt work is taken out of the product of learning, then the culmination of it is an articulation of the student’s own words, using their own voice.

I wrestled with it because ChatGPT is a text prediction tool. It’s really cleverly predicting what the most likely word in a sentence might be, given all the input that it’s been provided, and given the enormous corpus of texts that it’s drawing on. But that’s it.

It’s pretty incredible how it can ethically reason. You can pose some really interesting scenarios that you would give to Year 8, Year 9 or Year 10 — political philosophy questions. And it does a pretty astounding job of thinking through the implications of those from different viewpoints. You can test it or push it and challenge it and it will resist those challenges.

Of course I’m wary about abdicating thinking to a tool like that. How do we engage with AI tools, use them to the best of their ability, but retain something from ourselves? I know lots of people are threatened about their originality or creativity disappearing if you’re giving yourself over to tools like these, but I think they’re really interesting.

I think I’m a pretty capable writer. What I find interesting is that AI will give me a decent, workable answer, so the question becomes how to take that and go further with it. And that’s where I think some of our challenges lie as teachers. How do you get students to work with those tools but to have that zone of possibility that lets them push further? And then I think about that larger question, about human creativity. What is at the core of being humans? We can see lateral connections between things that might not be evident to an algorithmic tool that’s trying to optimise answers.

“WHAT I LOVE ABOUT THESE TECHNOLOGIES IS THAT THEY PLACE THE ONUS OR THE EMPHASIS BACK ONTO HUMAN BEINGS. THINK ABOUT THOSE UNFAKEABLE PRODUCTS OF LEARNING; BEING EMBODIED, HAVING A VOICE, ARTICULATING YOURSELF, PERFORMING — ALL OF THOSE THINGS, AT THE MOMENT, AI TOOLS CAN’T DO.”

Students love it. Some use it more than others. I think some students who have attentional or focus difficulties and who find it challenging to structure things, they’ve found it really useful. For students who might have their heads buzzing with a thousand ideas but don’t quite know how to start, having that avenue in can be great. It’s a great revision study tool.

It is a tool, and we can get over-zealous about precisely how radical it might be. I think people probably felt that about the internet. People felt that about the printing press, although this is an exponential shift further forward.

“I THINK WE WOULD BE DOING STUDENTS A MASSIVE DISSERVICE IF WE WEREN’T EMBRACING AI TOOLS, BECAUSE THEY’RE RAPIDLY TRANSFORMING THE WAY THAT THE WORLD WORKS.”

Use it, but be honest and transparent about using it. Submit the first draft that it gave you, but then show how you’ve taken it further. I think it actually does quite radically transform pedagogy.

Yes, there are ethical considerations at the heart of it. Choosing the prompts that you use requires thought, and you need to be honest about those things, be transparent.

You hear that truism — you don’t know the jobs that you’re going to be preparing the students for. I think we would be doing students a massive disservice if we weren’t embracing AI tools, because they’re rapidly transforming the way that the world works.

INDIGENOUS LEARNING: A TWO-WAY STREET

IGS incorporates on-Country Indigenous immersions as extracurricular activities and as extensions of the classroom. The concept is to privilege First Nations perspectives and centre their knowledge systems, histories, languages and cultures. The on-Country immersions connect us to Aboriginal ways of being, knowing and doing, thereby assisting teachers in the classroom to bring new perspectives to everyone and build cultural responsiveness.

Experiences include:

• Wiradjuri artist Bianca Caldwell works with Early Learning children and Primary School students.

• Year 6 students travel to Yuwaalaraay Country in northwestern NSW as part of the Schools Working Together Program, an intercultural exchange between IGS and Goodooga Central School (GCS).

• Goodooga Central School students spend time with our students in Ultimo. A highlight is the Indigenous Games played at Wentworth Park. Many more onCountry experiences take place on nearby Gadigal land, and on Dharawal Country at The Retreat, Kangaroo Valley.

• IGS and GCS students create art for each other’s school to honour their growing friendship and connection.

• Year 9 students spend time in the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands and on Arrernte Country as part of the Red Earth program.

• Year 10 SAGE students travel to Lutruwita to hear from the Palawa and Pakana people on the wukalina walk in Tasmania.

• Indigenous perspectives are included in local Sydney excursions such as the Botanic Gardens of Sydney and during The Rocks Quest.

• Indigenous guest speakers attend IGS incursions and events and visiting artists work with students of all ages.

• Indigenous scholars enrich every year group from Kindergarten to Year 12.

The IGS Aboriginal parents and community support many of the School’s events and programs. Their advice and input is deeply appreciated.

JADE CARR

Head of Indigenous Education Aboriginal Studies Teacher

I am in charge of the pastoral care of the Indigenous students within the School, from Early Learning to Year 12. At any one time we may have one or two of them in each year group. I look out for their social, emotional, and academic wellbeing. I like to think of IGS as their second home.

I’m a teacher, but I’m more like an Aunty at school, the bridge between home and school for the students and families and the wider community. We’ve taken a lot of time to build rapport and trust between each other, which is important for Indigenous people, particularly in regards to older people and their experiences with education, which may have been quite negative. We need to make sure that’s a positive interaction and therefore I’m there to support the family and the kids, not just the kids.

“FOR OUR INDIGENOUS SCHOLARS, IT MAY BE THE FIRST OPPORTUNITY THAT ANYBODY IN THEIR FAMILY HAS HAD EQUALITY OF ACCESS TO THE GOOD EDUCATION THAT IGS PROVIDES.”

I’m a non-Indigenous person. I grew up just 50 metres from the School, in public housing in Glebe, immersed in Aboriginal culture. My husband of 24 years is an Indigenous man from Redfern, and our two children identify as Wiradjuri and Gamilaroi kids. I came into my role after my children were enrolled at IGS as Indigenous Scholars.

I noticed that Indigenous kids needed to be supported more at school in terms of their social, emotional, and academic backgrounds and what they bring, walking in two worlds.

We want all our IGS kids to feel included. We want to make sure they’re supported in all areas, that school is a happy place for them to be, that they’re proud of their culture, and that their friends and peers are able to learn about their culture as well. We want all our kids to succeed in any kind of pathway that they choose to pursue.

It’s something you need to be immersed in. Simple things like symbols of Aboriginal culture – the flags, Aboriginal art and acknowledgements. It’s about embedding Aboriginal perspectives into the curriculum, making sure that Aboriginal histories, culture and languages are appreciated and given a voice within the classroom context, and

offering cultural immersion experiences such as excursions and incursions. There’s lots of professional learning available for all our teachers, and the staff at IGS really embrace that.

Our children are exposed to language as soon as they can come in and it’s something that is a normal part of day-to-day life. Acknowledgement of Countries isn’t just at a special event; it’s a daily thing here. The Indigenous kids feel really welcome and the non-Indigenous kids feel like it’s an important part of their culture and history as Australian people.

As recently as 50 years ago, Aboriginal people were excluded from school at 14, purely because they were black, if a white family didn’t want them there. It was called exclusion on demand. We need to be mindful of the poor educational experience of many Aboriginal families.

“ABORIGINAL STUDIES IS NOT JUST FOR ABORIGINAL STUDENTS.”

Aboriginal people make up only 3 per cent of the Australian population. We need to give them more equitable access. They generally experience poorer health, education and employment across Australia, with overrepresentation in the criminal justice system and lack of access to housing.

We know that education is the key to success. If we can give students greater access to education and therefore more access to equal opportunity later in life, then it’s a “can’t-fail” program. But to do that, we need to be supporting those students all the way on that journey. You don’t just enter a child into kindergarten and say, “here’s your educational journey – off you go”. There’s a whole lot of things that need to happen along the way.

I teach HSC Aboriginal Studies. We do extremely well in that and it’s an explicit part of our curriculum. It is a way to hone in on the particulars of Aboriginal culture and the shared history that we have as Australians.

With Aboriginal people, there’s evidence for 80,000 years of occupation here in our country. The Year 11 course lets us dive into Aboriginality and the way that Aboriginal people connect to land, sea, sky and heritage. We identify the government policies that have impacted Aboriginal people over time. This has been quite a negative experience since colonisation, invasion, settlement – whatever the students choose to call it.

Students can make their own decisions about what they see the experience to be by looking at government policies and the aftermath. We look at assimilation, protection, the Stolen Generations, loss of language, and revitalisation of language. And then we go into research and inquiry methods where we take part in genuine community consultation and work alongside Aboriginal people in the community to develop a major project for Year 12.

In Year 12, we look at the social justice and human rights issues that face Aboriginal and other indigenous peoples, such as the Inuit people, across the world. We then look at a specific study of both health and criminal justice. Many IGS parents work in these fields, both Indigenous and non-Indigenous. We’re lucky that we can have experts come into our class and teach us a lot about the health and criminal justice systems.

Aboriginal Studies is not just for Aboriginal students. In the first year, we had eight kids in the Year 11 class that then graduated in Year 12. By the third year we had 23 in the

HSC class and then we chose to offer it in a compressed delivery format as well, which is a big ask. It’s where you compress the whole two years, Years 11 and 12, into about 10 months.

Our kids have been extremely successful. In our first year, we topped the state in the HSC in this course.

“IT’S A VERY UNIQUE COHORT OF STUDENTS AT IGS. THEY’RE VERY SOCIAL JUSTICE DRIVEN AND THEY’RE VERY AWARE. THEY LIVE WITHIN THE LOCAL COMMUNITIES WHERE THESE ISSUES ARE DISCUSSED AND NORMALISED EVERY DAY.”

It’s a very unique cohort of students at IGS. They’re very social justice driven and they’re very aware. They live within the local communities where these issues are discussed and normalised every day. And to be able to do a unique subject where you focus solely on that, they flourish. That sense of social justice that our kids have –they want to make change. They know that education is the key to change.

I’ve had kids come back and say to me, after they’ve left, that Aboriginal Studies was the most useful course they studied. We have former non-Indigenous students doing degrees in Indigenous Law because they did Aboriginal Studies here at IGS. You can apply Aboriginal Studies to absolutely any career pathway. You want to be a nurse? You learn about Indigenous health. You want to be a psychologist? You learn about trauma. It’s endless, really, the application that it can have.

Aboriginal kids feel proud to come to IGS. And they showcase that pride when they walk through the School, when it’s NAIDOC week, when it’s Reconciliation Week, when we have jersey days and non-Indigenous kids are wearing Indigenous sports jerseys to school. It’s cool to be Aboriginal. These kids

listen to stories from their family members who had to shy away from recognising their Aboriginality because they’d be treated in a racist way, but our students can have pride in their heritage.

The School’s location, in the inner west, a pretty accepting community, really opens a lot of our students’ eyes. They see that Aboriginal people form an important part of our shared history. The Indigenous scholars enrich the non-Indigenous kids’ lives by being at the School and being proud of culture, and the non-Indigenous kids enrich the Aboriginal kids’ lives too, because they show them a whole other world.

For our Indigenous Scholars, it may be the first opportunity that anybody in their family has had equality of access to the good education that IGS provides. For Aboriginal families trying to overcome other adversities, knowing that the education is sorted for their kids is one thing that they don’t have to worry about. That then impacts on their extended family who may need their support in some way.

When you see a child coming through a great school, being successful, getting all the support that they need and being able to stay at school and sustain that, that’s a massive plus for a community. That’s very empowering.

If you’re giving opportunity to one or two students, that’s altering their future and can potentially impact their community. If you’re giving that opportunity to 25 students you’re altering, potentially, 25 separate families and 25 separate communities. If we’re thinking of extended family and the extended kinship networks of Aboriginal families, you’re having an impact on that group as well. It can only be positive.

We’re a lighthouse school in Indigenous education, projecting a positive image about Indigenous education. I’ve had interactions with lots of schools about our programs, hearing good things about us and wanting to offer what we offer. And I’m more than happy to share, because if every school can be that lighthouse for Indigenous kids, then there’s a lot more opportunity. Everybody benefits.

MEGAN SAMPSON

Coordinator of Indigenous Partnerships Teacher English, Drama, Dance Head of House, Kuyal

In 2023 Shauna reached out and invited us to get our Indigenous scholars together and come up with an Acknowledgement of Country to be permanently displayed at the Kangaroo Valley property, The Retreat. We talked about what the Acknowledgement would mean to us, and to the Wodi Wodi people of that land.

Acknowledgements of Country are opportunities for our students to talk personally about what it means to them. They’d all visited Kangaroo Valley, and they came up with some beautiful things about being On Country, about the past, and how Country can give us everything we need — food, sleep, sensory experiences and spiritual strength. It sparked so many brilliant ideas. Every time they get together it’s like fireworks.

“IGS STRIVES TO LIVE UP TO ITS ETHOS OF UNITY THROUGH DIVERSITY AND THAT DIVERSITY INCLUDES FIRST NATIONS PEOPLE.”

I put their ideas into three different versions of the Acknowledgement, in different styles.

I’m an English teacher; I couldn’t help myself! We were lucky that our next Koori Club meeting was a breakfast that we’d invited all of the parents to come to, and grandparents and aunties and uncles and cousins. Like a little democracy, everybody could have a vote on which one they liked best.

Once we had decided on the one we liked best, we sent it to the Land Council of the area in Kangaroo Valley. There’s a saying “nothing about us without us”. It’s always important, if you are writing about a particular group of people, to reach out to them. And they were really happy with it, thankful to be included.

On my father’s side I am from the Dharug People, a large Nation encompassing much of the Sydney basin, and my mother is from Northern Ireland. I have been lucky enough to have the opportunity to learn my language and culture as a part of language revitalisation programs.

IGS is the first place, in terms of my own education journey, that really celebrates Indigenous culture and voices. I’m grateful.

The kids really cherish their connections with each other and their teachers. They want to feel — and they should feel — safe and included, supported and acknowledged, and there’s a truth telling.

I took on the role of Coordinator of Indigenous Partnerships in 2023. The main goal is to create opportunities for members of the community to come into the School. Our students also go out and learn outside of the classroom and build connections. The larger part of the role is to create On Country learning, and to champion First Nations perspectives in our programming

and events, to engage the Indigenous scholars, celebrate culture, and embed that in learning.

We know that when students have the opportunity to learn On Country, it’s a much richer, deeper experience for them than if they’re just learning about Aboriginal histories and perspectives in the classroom.

The truth telling in our curriculum is also important. A lot of us are teaching things that we were never taught. My experience of learning about Aboriginal culture in school was a little footnote on what was a white Australia history. And that’s the same for a lot of teachers. IGS strives to live up to its ethos of Unity Through Diversity and that diversity includes First Nations people, and we’re doing a good job for all students.

Providing opportunities for our Aboriginal students is central, because it’s so important for them to find avenues within their school day to be able to celebrate their culture. But it’s also really important for non-Indigenous students. All our students will grow up to be members of the wider community, as parents and teachers and people working in all different industries. We want them to take what they learned here into those professions. They’re part of the future of the outcomes for Indigenous people.

What we’re doing is trying to instil in them empathy, a truth-telling about history, and a respect for First Nations cultures and people. Although it feels like we are one

school in this little microcosm of the bigger society, we’re focused on the long-term impact that can have. You plant a seed and from little things, bigger things grow.

“IGS IS THE FIRST PLACE, IN TERMS OF MY OWN EDUCATION JOURNEY, THAT REALLY CELEBRATES INDIGENOUS CULTURE AND VOICES. I’M GRATEFUL.”

WELCOME TO COUNTRY POEM

Tread lightly on this Country among the wallaby and wombats, where the river and trees hold stories of the past.

Tread lightly on this Country of the Wodi Wodi people, with respect to their connection to Country and Culture; they belong to this place.

Tread lightly on this Country where we come to connect, learn and grow together. While we are here, we will care for this place.

Written by IGS Koori Kids 2023

LUCY HOWARD-SHIBUYA

Japanese teacher, Coordinator of Indigenous Partnerships (on leave and working at Goodooga Central School)

Through my life of teaching, doors have opened; I’ve learnt Japanese, I found IGS in 2001 and came here, and my kids were educated here, which was such a gift. I’ve met some of the best people I’ve ever known, here at IGS.

My mother’s from near Brewarrina which is Murrawarri Country and my ancestors were Irish pastoralists. I’ve always really been interested in Aboriginal Cultures and histories. At IGS, I have worked with the Aboriginal students throughout the years and been committed to them. The journey for me as an educator has been wonderful. I’ve loved every second and I feel privileged and humbled. The Aboriginal communities that I’ve collaborated with have been so welcoming of me as an ally.

I was approached by Red Earth in late 2012 when Michael Maniska was Principal.

“I ACKNOWLEDGE THE TRADITIONAL OWNERS OF ALL NATIONS ACROSS AUSTRALIA, INCLUDING THOSE WHO HAVE GENEROUSLY HOSTED US ON THEIR COUNTRY, SHARING THEIR KNOWLEDGE SYSTEMS, CULTURES, HISTORIES AND LANGUAGES.”

He supported the Indigenous immersion in Central Australia for our students. It’s important. We must have those perspectives for our kids and staff and in education in general.

Aboriginal education is integral to who we are as Australians. Red Earth was the first step for me. It had to be a mutually beneficial partnership. A traditional owner in Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) lands where we went, Donald Fraser, an Anangu elder, said to me on my first trip, “education’s the key to reconciliation. Your kids need to go home and talk about what they’re learning”.

Red Earth is amazing because our students and staff can go right out of their comfort zone. They’re on Country, taking part in cultural activities, learning language, and fully immersed in something so different. The key is that the Aboriginal perspectives and their voices are at the forefront. All of a sudden, our kids see life through a different lens.

After a few years of co-ordinating the Red Earth trips, Jade and I started working together. Jade, now IGS Head of Indigenous

Education, started teaching Stage 6 Aboriginal Studies. Kids with Red Earth experience stepped up to do Aboriginal Studies. Then Jade and I applied to do our Master of Education Leadership in Aboriginal Education, and it was a game changer. I realised how much I didn’t know. You’ve got to unlearn a lot of white things, and you take on a new understanding.

I brought it all back into IGS. I’m a language teacher. I’ve had a lot of opportunities at IGS, particularly in the areas of wellbeing. I’ve embraced this journey and I’ve been given flexibility to work in the area, which resulted in me creating the Goodooga Central School and IGS intercultural immersion program, which has led to me now living out there and teaching. There’s so many opportunities for our teachers and our kids to benefit from this.

I did my major project for my Masters on this work with Goodooga Central School. A group of 30 IGS Year 6 kids go to Goodooga every year and we have a week of cultural activities back at IGS for those who don’t go.

With Aboriginal education, it is all about collaboration and establishing trust and working with community, on the community’s terms. My work with Goodooga has been through a friendship with Mindy Gibbs, a Yuwaalaraay educator at Goodooga, an elder and a very dear friend now. Another key person is IGS parent Glenn Price. The partnership is

integral. He runs an organisation called Connecting Communities Australia and organises the infrastructure to go out to Goodooga, and the funding to pay for the Goodooga kids to come to Sydney.

The Goodooga immersion’s premise was for kids from a remote Aboriginal community to mix with kids from an urban school in Sydney. It’s about bringing kids together, all the while privileging culture. Mindy takes them out on Country, and we have a day at their school. They go to the Brewarrina fish traps. They learn about loss of language, and the Hospital Creek massacre, yet they learn Yuwaalaraay language as well. City kids hear about the stars and the emu in the sky.

“COUNTRY IS THE CLASSROOM FOR ABORIGINAL PEOPLE.”

The Goodooga kids come to the big smoke and IGS. They’re overwhelmed. But it’s good, it pushes them out of their comfort zone. They join our Koori Club kids in games in Wentworth Park, and the Goodooga kids get together with Bianca Caldwell, the Wiradjuri artist in residence here. It’s this lovely story of two schools that are connecting in different ways.

Our kids see the truth telling. In Red Earth they go out hunting for Tjala, for the honey ants and they sit around and eat witchetty grubs. We sit in a yarning circle around the fire at night and they listen to stories. They take part in smoking ceremonies, they get involved in Bush Tucker or Bush Medicine.

I think IGS kids are the perfect kids for these immersions. These on-Country immersions really boost their understanding. Country is everywhere and Country is the classroom.

At IGS, it’s so crucial that we not only nurture our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, but we make sure that our non-Indigenous kids and staff have the confidence and knowledge to incorporate Aboriginal perspectives in the classroom. Aboriginal education can be a real battle because people see it as an add-on. They just don’t realise what it can bring to a community. We can’t be tokenistic. IGS has such a fundamental focus on culture,

inclusion, diversity and social justice. IGS is a very good school for this kind of work to happen.

I work in conjunction with Jade who is mentoring and caring for those Koori kid scholarship students and teaching Aboriginal Studies, along with Megan and me. It’s almost like an Aboriginal education unit. As a community, we need to work closely with the parents of our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students and we need to continue to support those kids in he classroom.

Education is really the ticket to any kind of reconciliation. We need to be closing these terrible gaps we have in all sorts of areas. A lot of these IGS kids are going to be out there being change-makers. That’s what I love about IGS children – they have a love of learning and I am convinced the languages they learn open their eyes to cultures.

I’m still very connected to IGS. Even in a fantastic school like this, we are essentially a very privileged middle class. I’m now living in a remote Indigenous community but culture is strong and they are fiercely proud of this. Goodooga Central School gives everything it can to the kids and so does the community. Working there, I’m getting a totally different experience. Working with Yuwaalaraay people and Murrawarri people and understanding their perspective is only going to strengthen my understanding of working with community.

“YOU’VE GOT TO UNLEARN A LOT OF WHITE THINGS YOU’RE BROUGHT UP WITH AND YOU TAKE ON A NEW UNDERSTANDING.”

I look back on the years of being at IGS, and what has worked well at IGS has always been relationships – relationships between staff, between the staff and the kids, and the parents. We have always built community. And Aboriginal education is all about community and understanding. Whether you’re on Country or teaching perspectives in the classroom, it is about knowing your

students and understanding these cultures and community.

It’s very important that we embrace the local Aboriginal community. Shauna often talks about equipping our children to be world ready. If we have our staff on board and our kids, Indigenous and non-Indigenous, all together embracing Aboriginal education, that is equipping them to be world ready.

“I HAVE HUGE FAITH IN IGS KIDS. THEY ARE KIND, THEY’RE EMPATHETIC, THEY’RE GO-GETTERS AND CHANGE-MAKERS.”

I am convinced that their language learning helps them with this, teaching our kids to be better people. I have huge faith in IGS kids. They are kind, they’re empathetic, they’re go-getters and change-makers. They can fit in anywhere. They are essentially good people and I hope these experiences build on their understanding of what it means to be an Australian.

A lot of research has shown that many teachers are afraid because they feel they’re not equipped to work in this area. It’s never too late to learn – as long as you are working in partnership with community and using authentic resources and encouraging our kids to do the same. We are really moving away from some sort of idea that we need to help Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. It’s solidarity, not charity.

It is up to us to walk side by side with communities to show them that we are allies and that we embrace and support their histories and cultures, and that we will listen to the truth telling. If you know what really happened – the stolen generations, the colonisation – you need to recognise the truth. And that’s what our IGS kids will do. Let’s move forward and honour these people and recognise what happened and who they are, so that they have the self determination they deserve. We need to be moving forward side-by-side.

AUNTY B

Language for Belonging: creating the Early Learning class totems

In 2020, Early Learning children embarked on a two-year journey of exploration with Wiradjuri artist Bianca Caldwell, alongside their educators and carers, their families and other staff members. The art-based Language for Belonging project aimed to build an understanding of identity, culture and place for the School’s youngest children. It involved sophisticated ideas such as First Nations knowledge, respect and empathy for others, fairness, environmental responsibility, cultural responsiveness and the ways of Aboriginal learning. Bianca Caldwell still visits Early Learning to make art with the children and also runs art workshops with IGS students in Years 3 and 6.

“I’M KNOWN AS AUNTY B. I’M NOT ‘MISS’, I’M NOT A TEACHER, I’M AN AUNTY AND THAT’S PART OF OUR CULTURE. AUNTY IS A LABEL THAT’S GIVEN TO US BY COMMUNITY. IN OUR CULTURE YOU’VE GOT TO RESPECT ELDERS SO CHILDREN SHOULD CALL ANYONE OLDER THAN THEM AUNTY OR UNCLE.”

“IN OUR CULTURE, ART IS THE MOST IMPORTANT FORM OF TELLING A STORY. TO UNDERSTAND OUR CULTURE YOU HAVE TO UNDERSTAND THE PAINTING OF THE STORY.”

“It’s about Aboriginal perspectives –bringing my culture into the classroom environment, giving the kids an opportunity to understand and tell stories through our language and culture.”

Director of Early Learning Victoria Kirkwood describes how the totems were created.

We invited Bianca Caldwell, a Wiradjuri woman and talented artist, to be our “Aunty in Residence” and create a totem image for each class while being a cultural mentor Through weeks of collaborating with children and educators and lots of yarning, each artwork developed new layers of deep symbolism. We learned so much alongside Aunty B, listening to her stories, shared so generously as we developed a trusting relationship with her; sitting, being still and creating together.

We had brave discussions about the stolen generations. We are passionate about our youngest learners being capable of understanding complex issues. We achieved this through telling the truth and being able to talk with the children openly and honestly at an age-appropriate level.

“It’s about building relationships. I come in as a stranger so it’s about building that relationship and then getting them on board with the ideas.”

The children used natural resources, learnt traditional weaving and discovered that Aboriginal people don’t need to write their knowledge down; they learn through yarning and doing. Children learnt about the concepts of respecting the land and observing customs according to seasons. We learnt that Elders can pass down knowledge but not all knowledge is passed to everyone.

The Ngurang artwork represents children who are at the centre of learning. Our families surround us. Our community is made of all people with diverse cultures and languages.

This can only be shared when we all come together. The lines moving outwards represent sharing knowledge. Language is power. Language is culture. Language is belonging.

“AT OUR TOTEM ARTWORK LAUNCH AND SMOKING CEREMONY, UNCLE TIM SAID, ‘THIS IS WHERE GENERATIONAL CHANGE STARTS’.”

“CLOSING THE GAP – THAT’S THE WHOLE POINT OF WHAT I DO. I’M TRYING TO UN-EDUCATE AND RE-EDUCATE A LOT OF PEOPLE, TO GIVE THEM A BETTER VIEW AND PUT OUR CULTURE AND ART ON BETTER PLATFORMS. I’VE HAD SOME HUGE OPPORTUNITIES AND TAKE THEM IN MY STRIDE AND JUST KEEP TRYING TO BREAK THE CYCLE. THAT’S WHAT I’M TRYING TO DO – CLOSE THE GAP FOR SOMEBODY WHO’S FOLLOWING IN MY FOOTSTEPS.”

Bianca Caldwell, Wiradjuri artist

Victoria Kirkwood, Director of Early Learning

SARAH HERBERT

Head of Children’s Programs, Head of Early Learning 2019 to 2023

The youngest children in Early Learning in the School’s 40th year will become the graduates of 2037 and beyond. Who knows what lies ahead or what education might look like when IGS is in its sixth decade.

We are very proud of our class totem project, which began in 2020. It came about because we moved the structure of our early learning classrooms from what was known as preschool and transition into classes of mixed age groups. We wanted the renaming of our early learning classrooms to be authentic and meaningful. We didn’t want to just pluck names from anywhere. We wanted them to come from the children and the families and our community.

As a languages school, this was a powerful opportunity to incorporate Dharug language into the names. The class teachers began a research project with the children around flora and fauna indigenous to Australia and, even better, to Sydney.

“OUR FOUNDER WAS AHEAD OF HIS TIME. HE UNDERSTOOD THAT YOUNG CHILDREN HAVE THE CAPACITY TO LEARN ADDITIONAL LANGUAGES AND LEARN ABOUT OTHER CULTURES FROM THEIR EARLIEST DAYS.”

Children are innately curious about animals. They began to research the qualities of those animals and to discuss whether those qualities could represent that group of children. Each class voted for the totem they felt could represent them. And so we have the Jungaa, the octopus, for the blue classroom. We have the Garrawan, the currarong bird in the gold classroom. We have the Bundaluk group, crimson rosella, in the red classroom and we have the Burraga, which is the koala, in the green classroom.

The children were very proud they had a part in naming those rooms. We saw it as a very powerful way to teach children about totems and their importance in First Nations communities, and to think about links to sustainable practice. For example, how do we ensure that Jungaa, the Sydney octopus, continues to flourish? Or that there’s still a habitat for koalas to live in?

Children are innately visual learners. We learnt lots about the First Nations stories and culture Bianca Caldwell so generously

shared. The end product was symbols to represent the classrooms, which we will continue to use, hopefully well into the School’s future.

It continues to be a powerful way of teaching First Nations culture and furthering our respect for language and culture generally. This is IGS. This is part of our values; encouraging children to express themselves. They were very proud.

Although our current children weren’t part of that group back in 2020, they’re still proud. It’s a sense of belonging. They belong to that totem, they belong to that class group and it’s another way we’re modelling language. They’re learning Dharug and using Dharug actively in their day. It’s very powerful.

The Early Learning Centre is right in the heart of the School. Intentionally or not, what it says to me and what I’ve come to know about our school and its beautiful history, is that Reg St Leon already understood the capacity and capabilities of very young children. Our founder was ahead of his time. He understood that language has the power of connection. He was already teaching very young children that there are many ways of speaking and many cultures. It fosters such a strong sense of belonging and connection. Reg understood the importance of language for belonging.

The curriculum document that informs the provision of early education and care today

is all about belonging, becoming and being. One of the big parts of that framework document is the importance of culture, communication and language. How lucky are we! Our founder already understood the power of language and the capability of young children to learn many things, including language.

The educators who are teaching the youngest children at IGS an additional language are also the educators who care for those children for the entirety of their day. We have the very best opportunity to intentionally immerse children in the language throughout the day, in their everyday routines, in our regular interactions, and while we’re sitting down at the Play-Doh table and talking about the colours of the dough, for example.

We use those opportunities to speak in that additional language in a way that makes sense for young children. That’s how children learn – through trusting relationships with their educators and through everyday routines and experiences that they enjoy.

“REG UNDERSTOOD THE IMPORTANCE OF LANGUAGE FOR BELONGING.”

The gift and skill of the educators in early learning is that they make the learning of language very natural and authentic and meaningful to the things that young children are interested in. When we can do that, when we have safe, secure relationships with the children, they will naturally start to absorb and learn.

There’s an increasing body of research that talks about the importance of the first 2,000 days of a young child’s life and the impact of high-quality early childhood education for long-term outcomes for young children. That body of research continues to reinforce the way that early education can set a child up for success in their future life. It’s all about connections, relationships, childfocused interactions, hands-on learning, and our image of children as capable and competent learners. We tailor our programs to support and meet the individual needs of

children and to create programs that foster everyone’s inclusion.

Their families are ultimately their first teachers. With that partnership with families, together we can work in every child’s best interests. My personal pedagogy and passion has always been around inclusion. At IGS I’m so proud to work in a school where one of the values is diversity. I see that every single day in many different forms.

“IT’S A SENSE OF BELONGING. THEY BELONG TO THAT TOTEM, THEY BELONG TO THAT CLASS GROUP AND IT’S ANOTHER WAY WE’RE MODELLING LANGUAGE. THEY’RE LEARNING DHARUG AND USING DHARUG ACTIVELY IN THEIR DAY. IT’S VERY POWERFUL.”

I’m proud of the journey of the Early Learning Centre. The Centre continues to strengthen its practice. The Centre underwent its assessment last year, and for the first time in its history achieved an “exceeding” result across all seven quality areas of early education and care. To have our work and programs validated by the Department of Education was a lovely milestone and wonderfully affirming. We are firmly committed to a cycle of continuous improvement. We’re never finished.

I feel honoured to work in this role that our school has created, the Head of Children’s Programs. It’s a symbol of the importance that our school places on the early education of our youngest children. The role involves working closely with the Early Learning Centre team. In addition to that I’m now working with the Out of School Hours Care (OSHC) program. We have 520 children from our primary school currently enrolled in that program. For many students at IGS, their day might start from 7.30am, and some of our students are still here till late in the afternoon.

The other aspect of the role is overseeing the co-curricular program for primary school students. Around 170 children attend a co-curricular activity in the afternoon; we call them “clubs” at IGS, which is really beautiful. Students can pursue their passions and connect with others outside of their own cohort. I think that strengthens

the fabric of our school as well. This role is a symbol of the School’s commitment to the importance of young children’s learning and ensuring that that happens in the very best way possible for them. It’s fantastic to be able to have an active role and an influence across a wider scope of the School.

I find it hard to think about what the world might be like in 2037. Our job at IGS is to prepare children to become ready for the world. What does that mean when we’re working with a three-year-old? Regardless of what the world becomes, it’s still about developing lifelong skills that start from the very beginning. It’s about learning how to interact with peers. It’s about exposure to different ways of doing things, different ways of communicating, and different ways of problem solving.

Those foundational skills don’t change. The way we might teach them might change over time, informed by new research or new approaches. But really those foundations, I feel, will continue to be the things that help children to be equipped for what comes next for them, which we can’t always predict.

It’s been a very busy journey, and one in which I have grown a lot. One of the things I really love about working at IGS in this role is the ability to learn from so many other people. What sustains me is that we’re all working towards a common goal together and it’s a team. In a school that works in that way, it’s incredibly rewarding. It helps you to keep striving for the very best.

PRIMARY CLUBS

Building passion and skills

Primary Clubs are in hot demand at IGS. They provide a different type of learning. Clubs are fun; they tap into children’s interests, trigger new interests, and build skills and relationships. Run by external professionals, experts in various fields, IGS teachers and former students, there are clubs for almost anything from Chess to Karate to Website Development. Co-ordinator of Primary Co-curricular Programs, David Engelbert, elaborates.

“WE’RE CREATING

ACTIVITIES

THAT ARE BASED ON THE CHILDREN’S STRENGTHS, INTERESTS OR CULTURAL BELIEFS. IT’S SO VIBRANT. THERE’S A LOT GOING ON. IT’S BUSY; IT’S EXCITING.”

“Children find their tribe. They can explore an interest without feeling they’re going to be assessed. It’s a place for them to explore something they may have not explored before, or continue building skills and passion for an area they already have an interest in.”

“A beautiful thing Paul Galea started when he ran the service was getting alumni involved. It’s a nice way of maintaining the culture and the values of IGS with the younger generation. It’s obvious how much these Alums care about the School and the children.”

“It brings a sense of community, of belonging. The relationship these children have with Alums is really nice because it’s not the same relationship they have with their teacher or their parents. These educators have a special sort of place in these children’s lives.”

“The environment of a co-curricular club is different to a classroom. A classroom is structured in its approach. In a club environment, the kids have an hour to work on their project and to create what they want or to be part of a team. It’s a space where they can feel a little bit more at ease perhaps, and meet likeminded kids. It’s not just about learning, it’s about social connections and building community.”

David Engelbert

COLIN BIRD

Head of Primary School, Philosophy teacher (Years 5 and 6)

“WHAT’S IMPORTANT IS TEACHERS WHO CARE, AND WE’VE GOT BUCKETLOADS OF THEM. I’VE ALWAYS HAD REALLY GOOD STAFF, BUT IT’S AN EXCEPTIONAL TEAM AT THE MOMENT.”

IGS still has an edge to it. There’ve been more and more initiatives brought into the School, especially things like the SAGE program and the musicals and many more learning programs that the kids seem to love. IGS is such a great supporter of things like Wear it Purple Day and R U OK? Day; all those social things clearly matter here.

I think that comes back to the School’s core values. The foundation story of IGS is fascinating – the way it started, the struggles with authority. IGS has become increasingly inclusive. It was always inclusive, but I think the culture of the place really is welcoming of difference. It’s a welcoming place.

When I first started here in 2002, it was a school that wanted to keep fees affordable for a great education. I still think that’s the case. The School has grown but that’s just a measure of its success. It’s very much a school that punches above its weight. You get good value for your time here. Having a constant improvement plan is part of the IGS culture. It’s at the forefront.

I was here when the School turned 20, and I tend to think that schools reflect the age of people. Now we’ve turned 40, we’re kind of adult. IGS always knew it was about languages and that’s never been lost. That’s something that started in its childhood and continued into adulthood. But many things have been added over the years, such as the formal Speech Night, a Graduation Dinner and an annual musical. They reflect the maturity the School has reached. If you’re 40, you feel like you’re getting somewhere. That’s where IGS is at the moment.

Since I started here, we’ve seen enrolments increase, especially bringing students into the school in Year 5 – such an interesting age. Pretty much all that has happened by word of mouth. We know that when we do new student interviews, we ask “why IGS?” and it’s usually “I work with someone whose kids go there and they just rave about school”, or “our neighbours go there and they seem like really nice kids”.

Working in the primary school, we get to see what happens next with kids as they grow into young adults in the high school. This is why our teachers stay so long. They see the importance of their work. What’s important is teachers who care, and we’ve got bucketloads of them. I’ve always had really good staff, but it’s an exceptional team at the moment. They put the child first, always. They just care. They care about the child, but they also care about their education and their progress. There’s so much research about the importance of the relationship between a teacher and child.

We just started Term 3, and the first day of students coming back to school the kids always walk in happy to be here. When I was growing up, none of my friends or I would have ever said, “I wish the holidays would end so that I could go back to school”. But IGS kids love their school and love to be here. Again, that’s all about the relationships they have with their teachers, with each other. If you’ve got good teachers, the rest is easy. And luckily I do.

Teaching Philosophy came about because I hadn’t taught much for a while. I knew it was underway in the high school here. It’s very IGS. Some of the kids, oh gosh, they just blow my mind with the things that they come up with. Kids in Years 5 and 6 are fascinated by the world and they love to think about things and ask questions. I often just throw up some scenarios and it’s then talking through the different possibilities.

Why I like it and why the kids like it as well, is that I tell them, okay, it’s time for us to do some slow learning. Life is busy and things move fast and when you can slow it down then it’s not always about your first thought or answer. Kids love listening to each other. I train them how to be respectful in listening to somebody and disagreeing with them. I love watching that. They say, “all right, now I have to remember when I disagree with somebody, I don’t use their name. When I agree with them, I can use their name, but when I disagree with them, I disagree with the idea, not the person”. Building that approach in primary kids is really good.

Primary kids love history. You explain that philosophy started way back, say 500 BC, and people were trying to work out what the world was made of; they didn’t know that the earth wasn’t the centre of the universe. The Year 6 students love all that and the stories about the ancient Greek philosophers and the virtues.

School is usually about coming up with answers, but we’re coming up with questions. The kids jump in. It’s what I love. These days in education, they are referred to as soft skills where in fact they’re a hard skill. The meta aspects of Philosophy in primary schools are about being open-minded, being reflective, accepting others’ ideas; accepting difference.

You have to have the culture in place for kids to feel comfortable to speak up. They tell me everything – we should be doing this. Have you thought about this? If it’s a good idea, it’ll get traction. We have the culture where it’s okay to speak up about things, but it’s better to speak up about things and then do something about it. The kids here always want to help. A big feature of IGS is there are always older kids who love to help younger kids, no matter what.

“THE META ASPECTS OF PHILOSOPHY IN PRIMARY SCHOOLS ARE ABOUT BEING OPEN-MINDED, BEING REFLECTIVE, ACCEPTING OTHERS’ IDEAS; ACCEPTING DIFFERENCE.”

We’ve got 24 primary leaders, close to a quarter of the year group. They’re community leaders with a portfolio –language leaders, music, IT, Bibliothèque leaders. It throws a focus on all those different areas, and kids in younger year groups hear what the older kids are doing and they buy into those things. That builds the culture. If you have kids who get up and say, we’ve got an IT code of conduct, and these are the things that we need to make sure we’re doing when we’re online, it just adds to that whole e-safety message.

It starts in Kindy. In Kindy, Year 1 and Year 2 the most important thing to do is set up a firm base of literacy and numeracy skills because that’s the platform that you need to spring into all areas as you keep going and growing. You want kids to finish primary school with good basic skills. They can communicate well. They can articulate well. They can perform calculations. You want kids who are moving to high school to be emotionally ready.

You see kids in primary school who may have struggled a bit, and they get into high school and they go, “oh, this is great”. Some kids who sailed through primary school and nothing’s ever been really hard, can get into

high school and be challenged for the first time. Both of those are things that we try to prepare kids for; having faith in the kids, making sure that they leave primary school feeling good about themselves and ready for the next step.

My time has gone fast. There are people on staff who’ve been here for longer and seen more. I think it is the strength of the School. Those people are the pillars – they know the past, know where the School is now, and still believe in the same things, the core things that really matter. The core things have always been here and still remain strong, and that’s the culture and the values.

IGS has changed, but it hasn’t changed. The things that were important are still important, and other things have become important along the way. I feel very privileged. I still remember my job interview. I pulled up in my car outside the front of the School. I did the interview and when I left I thought, I reckon I’ve got a bit of a chance here. And that was the way it worked out. Sometimes it’s more a case of a job finds you rather than you find a job.

This job found me and I’m really grateful that it did. I think I’ve contributed something worthwhile, I hope. It was one of those “meant to be” kind of things. It still feels like my second day here. It doesn’t feel like I’m walking into the same place every day thinking, oh, I’ve done this so many times. It’s always still that welcoming feeling of being home.

“I TEND TO THINK THAT SCHOOLS REFLECT THE AGE OF PEOPLE. NOW WE’VE TURNED 40 WE’RE KIND OF ADULT.”

ANTHONY DENNEHY

Head of High School, Geography teacher

Anthony Dennehy started at IGS in 2004 as a Geography and History teacher. He met fellow teacher Jodie Blacker and a few years later, when their son Ollie came along, they enrolled him in IGS Early Learning, thus joining the large club of staff members whose children have been through the School. Ollie grew up at IGS, graduating in 2024.

IGS is still about community and connection. As one of our core values, “connectedness” has grown in the past 10 years. Wellbeing is a real focal point of what I do. It’s much better understood, there are more staff involved, and there’s better training for people. It’s important, not just for the School, but for every single person that’s in it.

Wellbeing impacts every facet of people’s lives. We’re a School and we’re about academic performance. That’s one element, but we know that if you don’t have a focus on wellbeing, you can’t achieve the things you want to achieve. When there are interventions, strategies, assistance and support, people can function better and achieve the things they’re setting out to do.

“THERE IS THAT SENSE THAT IGS KIDS LIKE TO FEEL THEY’RE CONTRIBUTING … THAT’S SOMETHING THAT HASN’T CHANGED AT IGS FROM MY FIRST DAYS HERE. THERE’S NO SHORTAGE OF STUDENTS WHO CARE ENOUGH TO DO THINGS FOR OTHER PEOPLE.”

Students need a safe environment. They need to feel supported. We’ve always worked on an understanding that not all students will gravitate towards all staff, but every student needs a staff member they can connect with; someone that is there as a trusted adult, who can provide them with advice, who’s just an ear for them, someone they get to know really well.

With tutor groups and the Houses, each student has a scaffold for the programs and opportunities that we provide for them. If we get things right then students are in the right headspace to do the best they can. That’s been a bigger focus in the last 10 years. It’s not just for students. It’s making sure that staff are in the right space too.

In high school, one of the important things is maintaining connections with the primary school. We share the place; we share everything about the School. Every student is part of something bigger, part of a year group, a house, a tutor group. They can also

be in a club and have musical or sporting interests. Each person is part of the entire school. Trying to build that understanding within the students is important. It comes into wellbeing in terms of belonging to something that’s bigger than you and feeling that you have a capacity to contribute to it.

There are so many new courses that we didn’t offer 10 years ago, especially to the level of excellence that exists now. I think it’s pretty incredible. We’re providing our students with lots of opportunities that are inside and outside the classroom, allowing them to build on their strengths. If a student doesn’t have a sense of their strength – or can’t see anywhere at school where they can tap into that strength – then it’s never going to be the best experience. But if we provide lots of opportunities, they will find a place to exhibit that strength. That can contribute to a greater sense of wellbeing.

We talk about preparing students to be world ready. It’s important for us. Being world ready can’t necessarily be achieved sitting in a classroom. The task for staff is to teach the curriculum but also to look for opportunities for students outside the classroom. We offer real world experiences, some of which have a tight link to a curriculum area. We’re committed to making sure our students have those experiences.

We started the Seniors and Teens Empathy Program (STEP) in collaboration with the Opal Annandale Care Community in 2019. Since then, we’ve taken a group of students each term. They are assigned residents and they write a letter about themselves and then they connect with that person over 10 weeks. And the kids really love it, not surprisingly. It’s grown and grown and it’s still running every week.

There is that sense that IGS kids like to feel they’re contributing and doing good for people. We never have trouble here with students volunteering their time, their energy, their efforts for anything, whether it’s weekends or after school. There’s a real commitment to doing something that will help someone else, with not necessarily any obvious benefit for them. That’s something that hasn’t changed at IGS from my first days here. There’s no shortage of students who care enough to do things for other people.

It’s not a surprise, because when we think of the families associated with the School and you look at the careers and the interests of the parents and the reasons they’ve chosen IGS, apples don’t fall far from trees.

“WE SURVEY STUDENTS. THEY’RE NOT AFRAID TO TELL US WHEN SOMETHING ISN’T RIGHT OR SOMETHING DOESN’T WORK. AND THEY DON’T SUGAR COAT IT; THEY TELL US HOW THEY FEEL.”

The rise of the student voice is huge. We’ve always been a school that’s collaborated with the students. They don’t have to like everything. We always say that we’re doing things for the greater good. We had tutor groups and Houses, mentors and Heads of Year, lots of people with lots of contact with the students. But were we getting a representative voice in terms of what students would like?

We used to only have House leaders, but many more students had potential for leadership, and students asked for more leadership positions. We brought in Portfolio Leaders, covering areas such as Sport,

“THERE ARE SO MANY NEW COURSES THAT WE DIDN’T OFFER 10 YEARS AGO, ESPECIALLY TO THE LEVEL OF EXCELLENCE THAT EXISTS NOW. I THINK IT’S PRETTY INCREDIBLE.”

Art and Design, Music and STEM, and it’s been hugely successful. We’ve always had students vote for their leaders. In lots of other schools it’s not done like that. Our students respect the fact they are asked and given these opportunities.

We survey students. They’re not afraid to tell us when something isn’t right or something doesn’t work. And they don’t sugar coat it; they tell us how they feel. Sometimes that can be confronting. It takes a great deal of trust. To criticise how something is done, you’ve got to be pretty comfortable with the people who are receiving that feedback. We can’t run a school without allowing the students to be represented. Back then we probably thought we were doing a decent job of tapping into the student psyche. I think now we’re doing it so much better.

Success can be many different things. In Year 7, success for students can be learning how to study 11 subjects and getting all your assessments done. For our Year 12s, success can be securing early entry into a course at university, or gaining a particular ATAR. For others, success means completing the HSC.

Personal achievement is one of our values. For a number of our students, just coming to school every day is success. Being able to complete their work is success. Yes, there’s the academic performance and often that’s what we go to when we talk about success. We can look at league tables. That’s not about the individual. Success for me is when I walk around the School, when I talk to students and teachers, and I see those

connections and relationships and how they are improving things for people. Has there been an improvement in someone’s academic performance or attendance? Yes. It doesn’t happen by accident. So many different things can make up “success”.

I came to IGS almost accidentally. I had no intention of staying, I was looking at maybe a year. But I saw a place that was so different. New staff arrive and they scratch their heads a little bit and are like, wow, what is this place? How does it work? And I think that draws you in. You want to understand everything about it – how it started, where it’s going.

I’ve really enjoyed my time here. When I look back at 20 years – which seems like a very, very long time – I think of those people I’ve worked with and their contributions to the School. It inspires you to have a positive impact on as many people as you possibly can. Ollie has been here the whole time. He still sees teachers from over a decade ago. He remembers the effort they made to help him.

The history of the School is talked about far more frequently now. In the past, it was there and there were certain people that knew it, but you had to go out of your way to find it. In the past two or three years –maybe with the passing of Reg – the history behind the School and the importance of that, has been more prevalent. If we don’t capture and share that information, then it’s lost. Knowing that future generations won’t be able to access Reg, the School’s story becomes more important.

I joined IGS from another school when I was in Kindy and then I had to do Kindy again because I was younger than most of my year group. There was such a different atmosphere at IGS. At my old school, I would get made fun of for playing with boys’ toys but IGS was a lot more accepting and I made so many friends. And I think that’s what makes IGS so special. We’re a place that’s accepting of diversity in all shapes and forms.

We’ve had really special opportunities in high school. In Year 8, I joined a production of Much Ado About Nothing and it was this incredible experience where lots of crossyear group friendships formed. I made friends with Year 12s that I still speak to now. It ignited in me this passion for literature and the performing arts.

IGS has equipped me with a deep respect for everybody that I meet. One of the biggest things we were taught in Year 7 was to respect our teachers and our peers. It’s a good skill to have; this idea of separating

ANTIGONE (TIGGY) MARCHBANK

Head Girl 2024, Drama leader

your personal feelings about someone with the way that you treat them. Now that I’m about to leave school I think about that a lot. I’m sure I’ll encounter people in the workplace one day that I don’t get along with, but I feel IGS has helped us keep open space for people who don’t have the same opinions as we do.

The culture at our school is one that’s very open and encourages gregariousness across year groups and with teachers and students. I love seeing friendships form between different years of high school.

The Head Girl position, in terms of actual duties, is attending meetings with teachers and that’s pretty special because you get to have input on decisions that are being made around the School. Head Boy, Karam, and I are often at those meetings. Our job is to show up at special extracurricular events for the School and help in the running of those.

We try to be friendly to everybody and stand as figures that people can come to if they’re ever in need of anything. We are upholding the School’s values – respect for difference, such as openness to meeting people from different year groups. That’s what Unity Through Diversity means.

In all the time I’ve been here, there’s been a high valuing of student voice. If students at IGS ever have a problem with something, they never feel unsafe coming to people in our school to talk about what concerns them. Student voice is pretty powerful.

Respect goes both ways. Students are taught to respect their teachers and their peers, but I don’t think there’s a single teacher at IGS who doesn’t respect

their students deeply and care about them so much. Teachers here are often pretty friendly with kids and there’s great connections between teachers and their classes. I just think there’s so much love between everybody at this school.

I’m just nutty about drama. I love theatre so much, and that comes from an original love of Shakespeare that turned into something bigger. It did so much for me and my happiness at school. Now it’s something that I want to pursue into the future and if I had any chance of illuminating that kind of passion in somebody younger, well, that’s why I applied to become Head Girl.

“RESPECT GOES BOTH WAYS. STUDENTS ARE TAUGHT TO RESPECT THEIR TEACHERS AND THEIR PEERS, BUT I DON’T THINK THERE’S A SINGLE TEACHER AT IGS WHO DOESN’T RESPECT THEIR STUDENTS DEEPLY…”

I’m very aware that not all places in the world will be quite the same as this. IGS has changed so much while I’ve been here. One of the sadnesses I have about leaving is that I won’t get to see where this change keeps going. I just wish I got to stick around for longer to see what it’s going to become. What’s the School going to be like in another 40 years’ time? That’s what makes me sad about leaving.

I think leadership is setting an example by giving your best. It’s about pouring your all into every single thing you get asked to do.

Head Boy is a Jack of all trades sort of role; you need to meet it with a willingness to approach anything openly. That sets an example for the other students, and I think that’s what I’m most proud of.

It’s about being dedicated and hardworking; participating in every event, being there, showing up. The Bibliothèque leader role brings together the humanities and the English subjects. For me that spans all my interests. I get asked to preside at things like the ANZAC Day and Remembrance Day ceremonies. Being able to meet that respect takes a lot of trust and I felt I had those qualities. I knew I had the capacity to do these things and to do them well and that’s what I wanted to give.

My aims were to set an example and create connections between the students. That sense of community is inherent in IGS.

“IGS MAKES PEOPLE, RATHER THAN STUDENTS OR WORKERS. BEING ABLE TO LEAVE THE SCHOOL AND HAVE MY OWN PERSPECTIVE ON THINGS IS SOMETHING I WILL CHERISH.”

KARAM HARTMANN

Head Boy 2024, Bibliothèque leader

A lot of the role is participating as much as you can, speaking, being a face that people see around. I talk with students from all the different years, ask how they feel, how things are going. I try to set a good example; every single sporting event, every single school event, I try to be there and get in and do as much as I can. That’s something I’ve learned over my time here. You get as much out of it as you put into it.

I think that’s where the community comes from. ArtsFest is something which takes a tremendous amount of planning and effort on the part of the students and the teachers. This year all that joy and excitement was the fruition of all that effort being put in. That sort of connection and effort is what makes the IGS community so strong.

IGS is a very egalitarian place. Students have their say in what goes on. Recently there have been decisions on a new uniform and we are consulted with those sorts of things. I find that incredible. I can just walk into Mr Dennehy’s office and give my opinion on things. IGS is a school where teachers are willing to listen and hear you out. That aspect of fostering genuine self, I think, is a core aspect of the School.

As Head Boy, I’m a lot more open and outgoing than I might be otherwise. You come into IGS in Year 7 as this awkward 12-year-old and leave as a well-rounded young adult with your own opinions, your own views. IGS fosters that aspect of student voice – expression; being able to articulate yourself and be a well-rounded person. Genuineness is a skill, it’s not inherent. I think it’s something that can be taught.

IGS makes people, rather than students or workers. Being able to leave the School and have my own perspective on things is something I will cherish. Having that sense of surety in myself and who I am is something that I’m going to take with me forever. I learned these things here. I don’t think I would’ve been able to learn them nearly so well at a different place.

IGS is a place you get a great education, but it’s also a place where you learn to interact with people. You become a lot more adaptable. You’re someone who can meet any sort of challenge with a great ability. I think that’s what being “world ready” is.

Academics have been a big focus this year; I’m planning on going to ANU down in Canberra. I’m really interested in languages, and I apply that to my way of looking at the world, but my main focus is Politics, Philosophy, Economics – PPE – that’s what I’m really interested in. I want to keep learning and applying myself and putting myself out there, getting out of my comfort zone. That’s something I’ve learnt to do at IGS.

THE THIRD TEACHER

Master Planning

On a wet evening in early April 2024, VIPs, parents and carers, student leaders and staff gathered to celebrate the opening of the School’s newest space, the Renaissance Centre.

It was a challenging project, carving out a lecture theatre, dance studio, seminar room and several flexible spaces from a former warehouse in Mountain Street, Ultimo. To achieve this, a “box within a box” was built to protect the old building and provide for 21st Century technologies and services.

Guest of honour Manuela Bachmann, an IGS legend known to several generations of parents, students and staff, was a principal ballerina in East Berlin before migrating to Australia with her husband and fellow dancer, Till. Manuela and Till joined forces with Reg St Leon to provide dance classes for the earliest IGS students. These classes helped IGS to stay afloat in the cashstrapped days of 1984.

Manuela remained connected to the School and in 1996 was lured back to IGS to run the aftercare program, a position she held for 25 years until retirement in 2021.

During the workshopping for the design of the Renaissance Centre, Manuela contributed some of the things she’d like included: “The aura of an old fashioned dance studio but with 21st Century screens” and a place “where kids can sit around the piano and watch ballerinas like I did in 1975!” Her requests have been realised.

It’s in her honour that the dance studio has been named The Manuela Bachmann Dance Studio.

“Why a Renaissance Centre? Rocked as we were by the pandemic and that strange time when billions of the world’s children were out of school and had to learn from home, we planned this centre with a deeper appreciation of school as a physical place of learning…

“…this centre was to become a place where our students could explore what it means to be human and to experience why learning alongside others is one of life’s precious gifts.”

Shauna Colnan, Renaissance Centre opening, 9 April 2024

Having faced homelessness several times, “place” and “home” are important concepts for IGS. Within six months of taking up her Principalship, Shauna Colnan developed the School’s first comprehensive strategic plan, which included action to “secure, reimagine and redesign the campus”.

A Master Plan Framework was developed in partnership with the UTS School of Architecture, outlining guiding principles including efficiency of space use, mixing of students and staff across the campus, improving access to light and fresh air, improving sustainability and providing a stimulating environment for students to flourish.

BVN, an architecture firm with a reputation for innovative education architecture, was engaged in 2017 to oversee the campus redesign, following these design principles.

The overarching idea was a “sticky campus” to entice students and staff to linger – a campus that is exciting, vibrant, innovative, flexible and inclusive.

Speaking at the opening of the Renaissance Centre, BVN architect Nick Souksamrame described the lecture seating as a “sculptural element”.

For the design team, “it was important to create a memorable space by immersing the learners and teachers within inferences of Renaissance-inspired graphics that will provide a change of scenery to other learning spaces”.

In the past six years, BVN’s designs for seven new spaces within IGS have all been realised. And there are more on the drawing board.

THE THIRD TEACHER

Shauna Colnan, Principal

“OUR STUDENTS ARE BEING SHAPED PROFOUNDLY BY OUR COLOURFUL, BUSY, QUIRKY CAMPUS THAT KNITS THEM INTO OUR EDUCATIONAL AND CULTURAL PRECINCT HERE IN ULTIMO AND GLEBE.”

Shauna Colnan, Through Line, 19 March 2018

This School is a school. It’s also a multimillion dollar business. What I realised when I arrived at IGS, is that every single room counts for so much. This School is very space constrained, and every part of the place is worth a lot, financially and in every other way.

The School has had to be very creative and nimble about every single space. That’s been, I think, a source of our power and creativity – that everyone has to use spaces in multidimensional ways.

When I arrived, I saw that the physical environment was a source of great potential. The way the School had solved its space problems, I think, had been to create more little spaces, lots of cut-up little tiny spaces.

The potential was hidden by all these tiny little rabbit warren, labyrinthine spaces, and a lot of the classrooms were small and dark.

I walked into my office and I saw this glorious Edward Hopper view and the jacaranda trees and I thought, why am I the only one getting access to this? Everyone should see this, not just the Principal.

I believe that the physical environment is the third teacher. I have experienced that myself, as many of us have, if you’ve ever been taught in a cramped environment versus a beautiful environment. Here, we are in something that’s akin to New York City. I mean, we could be in Greenwich Village here. So I thought let’s do something more with this space. Parents pay a lot of money to send their children here. We needed to give the kids the physical environment that they deserved, and we engaged the best architects we could find.

I was lucky I’d already worked with BVN, and they make people’s dreams come true. So we created the IGS Master Plan. We engaged BVN. The idea was to mess with space, to open it up, to do the counter-intuitive, to knock walls down. We decided to expand and re-imagine the whole campus. This was after engaging in a postgraduate project with the great Professor Deborah Ascher Barnstone and her architecture Masters students at UTS. Deb opened our eyes to the ways in which our campus might be able to be transformed in the years ahead, and her students, working with our students, started to reimagine parts of the IGS campus.

The School needed some peaceful places, because it can be organic and noisy and dynamic and all those things. So we converted an unused concrete square into the Peace Garden. That was the starting

point where we could, in a very inexpensive way, create a new space. We put a fountain in the middle and children were skipping around it and the sun was shining down on them. I thought, wow, we need to do more of this. Next came the Fitness Centre and then the Art and Design Centre, designed by the wonderful team at Roberts Day.

For me, the Master Plan was a very important thing that we would start straight away to plan the physical future of the School. We had an obligation surely, at 30 years, to have a master plan.

Anniversaries help us to ask what we’re ready for. In our thirties, we created more than 30 additional teaching and learning spaces, flexible and beautiful. We’ve got brilliant architects and we’ve got a great planning and consultation process that allows us to do that.

That’s the “third teacher” idea. The concept comes from the Reggio Emilia approach that emerged out of post-war Italy. It is about the child. Children are strong but their development can be enhanced immeasurably by the environment in which you place them. So, as an educator, don’t underestimate the impact of the physical environment in which you put children.

If you put children in a space like our new Bibliothèque that has plants, that’s open, the light’s coming in and there’s rich technology, then there’s flexibility in how the space can be used. The recently completed Renaissance Centre is also extremely flexible in the diverse learning it makes possible.

This provides for limitless learning. This makes the learning environment inspiring for the child. I really believe that. For me, that’s what the third teacher idea is all about.

NEW SPACES AND PLACES

Art and Design Centre

Bay Street Visual Arts Studios

Bibliothèque

Centre for the Dramatic Arts and Commedia Playhouse

Colleagues’ Lounge Counsellors’ Suite

Fitness Centre

Global Learning Centre (language classrooms)

Imaginarium (flexible teaching and learning space)

Literarium

Peace Garden

Renaissance Centre and Manuela Bachmann

Dance Studio

Science Laboratories

The Retreat, Kangaroo Valley

Year 6 Centre

Year 12 Study Centre (Mountain Street)

Kindergarten Centre

In planning

Early Learning Centre Piazza

PATRICE MARCHBANK

Director of the Bibliothèque

The School’s largest and most ambitious new building project opened quietly and without fanfare amid the dark days of COVID. The Bibliothèque was the realisation of two years of consultation, design and building work to transform the tired old library and several smaller spaces into a two-level, light-filled hub for students of all ages.

With its intriguing nooks and crannies, the Bibliothèque is more than just a library – it’s the geographical centre of the main building and the spiritual heart of the School. Designed to spark enchantment and connectedness, the IGS Bibliothèque has been honoured with several architecture awards.

There’s often talk about libraries as a third space – not home, and not work, but a communal space where people come together and share ideas or seek out others with similar interests, or find support. That applies to the Bibliothèque here at IGS, smack bang in the middle of the School. We’re ideally placed to attract all sorts of students. It’s one of the things I really love.

I don’t feel we’re a segregated library at IGS. We have this lovely melting pot where everybody comes and interacts. It’s welcoming and inclusive – a learning hub, and a wellbeing space. Lots of kids come here when they need a bit of time out or they come for support or to seek other friends. At the beginning of each year, new Year 7s gravitate towards the library at lunchtimes, and they quickly make new friends, then you don’t see them again until about Year 9 when they may be less interested in clubs.

It’s beautiful watching these shy little kids come in and sidle up to each other and maybe play a game of UNO together or get a Dungeons and Dragons book. The next thing you know, they’ve formed friendships and off

“IT IS A SPACE THAT BUILDS COMMUNITY. IT ENCOURAGES INTERACTION WITH EACH OTHER.”

they go. They’ll come in sometimes just to have a chat about life, as well as to study.

It’s a welcoming environment where anybody can come in at any time for whatever they need, whether it’s learning support, a space to focus, a book they want to read, or just to find someone to have a chat with for a while. It is a space that builds community and encourages interaction.

Judging by the numbers that are pounding on the door at lunchtime begging to be let in, students welcome it as a space. We’re quite strict about making sure they don’t bring their phones out at lunchtimes. And it’s interesting to see what kids will come up with to entertain themselves.

A lot of people question whether libraries are still relevant, which comes from a misconception about how libraries operate. Libraries have always been at the forefront of technology. They were the earliest adopters of databases, for example, back in the ‘60s and ‘70s when we moved to online cataloguing. They’re technologically sophisticated places.

People are bombarded with information constantly, and it becomes an issue of not so much having access to information but knowing how to filter it, because it’s overwhelming. It’s overwhelming for adults who have been working in that environment for a while, let alone for children.

How do you know what’s accurate? How do you find information when it’s like having a fire hydrant squirting and trying to take a sip from it. How do you filter it down to something that’s manageable? It’s learning how to be discerning about the information you consume, and I think libraries still have a big role in that. That’s something librarians are good at because that’s our bread and butter, that’s what we do all day, every day. We filter through information. We find what’s relevant. It’s both a service that we can provide and a skill we can teach students.

What we do in the Bibliothèque ties in beautifully with the IGS philosophy program. It’s about asking critical questions and being curious, asking yourself, “Where’s this information coming from?” “Should I trust this?” “Do I need to dig a little bit deeper?” That’s one of the things that I love doing with the high school kids when they come in for research and that’s something that libraries are uniquely positioned to be able to do. It is a real skill.

It can be hard to understand just how many different hats a librarian or a library wears. There’s the wellbeing role, the communal space, and the library as a third space in a community hub, which is a huge part of any library, and particularly at a school like IGS where our space is limited. It provides an important space for people to come together and discuss ideas, to communicate and to connect with each other. Almost like a forum.

That’s one pillar of the library. The second pillar is fostering a love of reading. That’s important because as kids get older, they start to drop off with reading because there are so many things vying for their attention. The third pillar is research and information literacy – knowing how to find information and how to be discerning about what you find.

A lot of thought has been put into the IGS Bibliothèque. It’s got lovely cosy nooks like the reading tunnel. When you go down there and a whole Year 2 class has packed themselves in and they’ve all got their picture book open, their little feet barely dangle over the edge. They’re lined up in a row and all completely silent because they’re so transfixed by their books. I love the teaching aspect of being in a library. There’s nothing more fun than reading to small

children and getting them really engaged and hooked on reading and books.

There’s an array of spaces that encourage congregation, like the pond area for the little kids. Upstairs, the lounge area encourages people to sit and have a chat, but it’s also got spaces that are better for quiet contemplation and relaxation.

“WHAT WE DO IN THE BIBLIOTHÈQUE TIES IN BEAUTIFULLY WITH THE IGS PHILOSOPHY PROGRAM. IT’S ABOUT ASKING CRITICAL QUESTIONS AND BEING CURIOUS, ASKING YOURSELF, ‘WHERE’S THIS INFORMATION COMING FROM?’ ‘SHOULD I TRUST THIS?’ ‘DO I NEED TO DIG A LITTLE BIT DEEPER?’”

I love the Max Meyer Reading Room. That was Shauna’s vision after seeing the reading room at Harvard. The architects have done such a great job of it. The second you walk in, it’s soothing and calming and it inspires you to feel you’re in the hallowed halls of some university ready to get started on your very important research. I love that room, that’s probably my absolute favourite.

Knowledge is empowering. Education itself is empowering, and the thing that got me interested in education in the first place is I’m a second-generation Greek Australian. My mum and dad were both about 10 years old when they came to Australia and my mother was the first in her family to ever finish school. Her father before her wanted nothing more than to go to high school but it wasn’t compulsory in Greece and you had to have money to do it. His father passed away just before he was born and his mother died when he was about 12 years old and there was no way his older brother could afford to send him to school. You think about all these things that he couldn’t do because he couldn’t finish his education.

It’s a privilege and a joy here to see kids be able to do these things. To me, it’s so important and it doesn’t just finish at school. If we can help them to love learning and maintain that curiosity, that’s something they carry with them for life. You can do anything if you’ve got that curiosity and belief that you can learn something.That’s the kind of environment I strive to create in the Bibliothèque.

It’s a hub of creativity and knowledge and curiosity. As a wellbeing space it’s an environment where you know you are safe. We meet every kid in the School, so we get to know them over time, outside of a classroom setting.

The relationship we form with them – and it’s all about relationships at schools – is predicated on their interests and what drives them. We’re not trying to get them to finish an assessment; we’re here to help them if they need it. We’re here as a support and somebody who can take an interest in them for who they are without any pressure to perform.

We’re privileged to be able to provide a safe space for a lot of kids. It’s because we’ve built those connections over time. I love being in this position. Whether you’re the creative type, the serious and studious type, or whoever you are, there’s a way to connect kids to the bigger world, no matter their interest or passion.

“IT’S A HUB OF CREATIVITY AND KNOWLEDGE AND CURIOSITY. AS A WELLBEING SPACE IT’S AN ENVIRONMENT WHERE YOU KNOW YOU ARE SAFE.”

I try to find a way in for every student. In my role as the Director of the Bibliothèque, that’s something I can bring to the fore, making it a welcoming place for everyone.

DR BRUCE DENNETT

1948–2024, Teacher Critical Thinking and History, Historian in Residence

Critical Thinking in the 21st Century, a course developed specifically for IGS by the late Dr Bruce Dennett, was added to the High School subject offerings in 2015. Dr Dennett, whose sudden death in May 2024 shocked and deeply saddened the IGS community, spent more than half a century teaching history, developing the NSW History syllabus and marking HSC Modern and Ancient History exams. He also authored and co-authored 11 textbooks and his work earned him three NSW Premier’s History Teachers’ Scholarships. Critical Thinking is a 100-hour elective course for IGS students in Years 9 and 10. It is unlike any other subject in the IGS curriculum and is guided by the thinking of philosophers, Socrates and Plato, more than 2,500 years ago.

“TO ME, KNOWLEDGE IS NOT THE RIGHT ANSWER IN THE PUB TRIVIA QUIZ. THE RIGHT ANSWER – AND A DEMONSTRATION OF KNOWLEDGE – IS BEING ABLE TO EXPLAIN WHY YOU THINK A CERTAIN THING IS CORRECT. THAT’S WHAT WE TEACH IN CRITICAL THINKING.”

The academic definition of critical thinking is guiding people to make sensible decisions that will not do self-harm. It means being aware of logical inconsistencies in your thinking and being mindful that all of us acquire additional cognitive biases. Among the most common of these is the “one-to-all” fallacy – the assumption that a statement about a certain individual, country or group is in some way valid. It’s where we make sweeping generalisations that are harmful because they don’t interrogate the nuances of our circumstance.

Other biases include the anchoring bias. Psychologists tell us that the first thing we learn about a subject – an idea, a philosophy – often has a powerful and enduring resonance. It is often difficult to shake that anchoring bias.

Grownups who talk about children and peer pressure rarely acknowledge the peer pressures that they function within. It’s called the bandwagon fallacy. It’s okay to do this. Pauline Hanson has built a following in politics on the basis that she made it acceptable to say racist and unacceptable things. That’s a bandwagon fallacy. But if there are enough people who think it’s okay to put your hand up for that point of view, it becomes okay.

At the heart of critical thinking is both Plato and Socratic Method. Critical Thinking is kind of politics for the real world. The way Plato and Socrates did philosophy was practical.

There were conversations around the Agora, the marketplace. The equivalent today is the internet and blogs. It’s just a global Agora. And within that space there were people like Socrates, who would always interrogate thought.

Critical thinking starts with a consideration of the philosophy of ontology: What things are. What is fair? What is unfair? What is justice? What is morality? What is good? What is bad? Plato suggested that our world was very much a matter of confusion between knowledge and belief.

Throughout most of our society, and even in current curriculum from the NSW Education Standards Authority there is a confusion about knowledge. They suggest that knowledge is simply an accumulated memorisation of approved facts and truths. Plato would have a big issue with that. I have a big issue with that. To me, knowledge is not the right answer in the pub trivia quiz. The right answer – and a demonstration of knowledge – is being able to explain why you think a certain thing is correct. That’s what we teach in Critical Thinking.

So many people make decisions that prove to be against their own best self-interest. Why? Because they have never been taught to think critically and analyse their own assumptions.

Some of the things that we talk about in Critical Thinking are more important and more valuable to anybody of any age than any other subject: not making harmful decisions. Not making decisions that you go back and reflect on and think that damaged my future or that did harm to others.

“MOST EDUCATION IS DESIGNED TO PREPARE KIDS FOR TODAY BECAUSE WE ONLY KNOW ABOUT TODAY. WE ARE SENDING THEM INTO AN UNKNOWN WITH A WHOLE BUNCH OF FACTS THAT ARE OUT OF DATE, WHICH IS BELIEF MASQUERADING AS KNOWLEDGE.”

These young people are facing an existentialist environmental threat with global warming. They can go out and protest, but nobody will pay attention to them because they will be dismissed on the basis of a series of ad hominem fallacies, which is you attack the person making the case rather than looking at and listening to the case. The reality is for a long time our generation – and I mean the grownups –are responsible. Not always through acts of commission but what the Catholic church would call sins of omission, what we failed to do. We failed to protect our children. Critical thinking addresses that.

Why isn’t this a compulsory subject in every school? It is on the agenda that nuclear power for peaceful purposes be legalised in Australia. That will be decided by a generation of people who won’t be touched if they make the wrong choice. The kids at high school today, are the people who should make that decision. It will impact them.

Most education is designed to prepare kids for today because we only know about today. Every subject we do, with the exception of Critical Thinking, at IGS and at every other high school in the country, is preparing 18-year-olds for 2024. They are going to be in positions of power and influence in 20 years, coming out of an

education system that, when they get there, will be 20 years out of date. Examine the pace of change in the world around you and consider the fact that when those young people are in 2044, they won’t have the tools to deal with 2044. We are sending them into an unknown with a whole bunch of facts that are out of date, which is belief masquerading as knowledge.

Here’s the problem with standard education – and this is the beauty of the environment I’ve been allowed to work within at IGS. The topics we do will often be determined by what’s going on in the world. I teach argument. I can often win arguments but that’s not what I’m trying to do. When I teach argument, I don’t necessarily teach people how to win. If it’s a byproduct, fine, because if you happen to be right and the argument is more logical, you should win.

I break down the principles of argument as follows. First, look at a position. Form a hypothesis. Once you form that, put in order the main reasons you believe that to be true. The answer is not the knowledge. Can you sustain the answer with evidence and argument? That’s knowledge. Once you’ve done that, step back and assume you’re wrong. Pause a minute, be honest in your reflection, looking in an open, positive way at other arguments. I haven’t invented anything new in this course. All I’ve done is resurrected the thinking of a whole lot of old people.

The research says, across NSW, that in Years 9 and 10 many students disengage. They come in as bright little sparks in Year 7, with all that childish enthusiasm because everything is new, and they go through all those adolescent phases and puberty. The HSC and being an adult is still a long way off. “Teenage” was not invented until the 20th Century. You were either a child or an adult. The modern world invented teenagers. But the evidence is that kids then disengage. Critical Thinking is a way of engaging kids, and the idea is to talk about stuff that is important to them.

Communication is both transmission and reception. I spend time looking to kids for feedback, and I get that in class because there is a whole lot of conversation. Since we started the course, other teachers say to me they can tell the people who

are doing Critical Thinking and those who aren’t, because of the questions they ask. Critical thinkers don’t just give sweeping generalisations. At parent-teacher night I get feedback from parents. So far it seems to be working. I even have students who did it in Year 9 who will come back when they’ve got a free period and sit in on the Year 10 class. Critical Thinking works at IGS. It would not work in a very conservative, structured, traditional school setting.

“EDUCATION IS THE KINDLING OF A FLAME, NOT THE FILLING OF A VESSEL.”

Socrates, Greek philosopher, 470BC to

399BC

My classroom is more like Plato’s academy than any academic education. I believe this because it is common sense. Not everything that is important is measurable and not everything that is measured is important. It completely fits the philosophy and the idea of this school. This school lives and breathes the idea that we want to help each of these individuals fulfill their potential. And Critical Thinking is very much about that. It’s not a single rigid mode of assessment, it’s not a single mode of instruction. It deals with real world issues, good and evil. It deals with how you best prepare for the world of 2044.

This interview was conducted six weeks before Dr Dennett died. We are immensely grateful for his life-changing contributions to IGS and to education in NSW. The School has established the Dr Bruce Dennett Prize for HSC Extension History in his memory.

CRITICAL THINKING IN THE 21ST CENTURY

Year 10 2024 Critical Thinking students reflect

Kai Humphreys Critical Thinking student 2024:

Critical Thinking asks “what is knowledge? What is indoctrination? How do you separate that from learning?”

“CRITICAL THINKING HAS GIVEN ME BETTER GRADES, EQUIPPED ME TO ENGAGE IN BETTER CONVERSATION AND TO ENGAGE WITH POLITICS A LOT MORE.”

We have a convoluted society now with fake news, differing opinions and conflicting views on serious topics. I feel Dr Dennett was getting us to look critically and analytically at everything; to be confident in picking apart what other people say and our own ideas. Sometimes he would bait us. He would take one side, and then the other. He’d always give us both sides. I think it was important he never told us which side he

was on. We don’t know whether he thought humanity was good or evil.

It’s caused me to look more deeply into why I believe some things. Where do my opinions come from and am I justifying them correctly?

Critical Thinking taught me to listen. That’s the only way you’re ever going to be able to reach some kind of common ground. It really needs to be taught, especially at a young age when you are starting to become more confident in your opinion. It helps open your mind.

My History and English grades shot up because I learnt how to justify my arguments in essays. It’s really helped me look at what I believe in, why I believe in it and what my values are.

Critical Thinking has given me better grades, equipped me to engage in better conversation and to engage with politics a lot more. My dream job is to become a diplomat or a consul. I want to focus on helping Australians who are overseas and in trouble, by being able to negotiate. Critical Thinking has prepared me for a future career in diplomacy.

Critical Thinking was always something to look forward to. It was really hard to see Dr Dennett go. He was a very incredible man. Looking at his legacy and how many lives this person touched – he would always go on about how his generation were the people who destroyed the world, and how we are the ones who need to fix it or suffer.

I feel that’s his overarching legacy. We need to look at everything critically because that’s the only way we can ensure our future.

Linx White Critical Thinking student 2024: Critical Thinking is based on independent thought. It’s taught very much like a university subject. Dr Dennett had the rule that anyone could enter, as long as they were willing to answer questions. It’s a class where you have to think on your feet. The best way I’d put it is “philosophy on steroids”. There’s no set curriculum; no one knows what we are doing until the day, meaning we have no time to prepare. It was scary at first.

It taught me not to use logical fallacies. It taught me how to get around them, how to structure an argument properly, not to filibuster in argument, to keep it short, simple but devoid of fallacies, which is a hard skill to learn. I was getting better.

I looked forward to Dr Dennett’s class every single day. It was always the highlight of my week. He would say whatever came to mind and that brutally honest way of teaching helped us become brutally honest and more open and more outspoken. There’ve been times in class where I’m like, “oh, when’s Dennett coming back?” And then it takes me a while to realise that he’s not coming back.

Gabriella Klipin Critical Thinking student 2024:

I joined IGS at the beginning of 2024. I have always loved learning and I think it’s interesting looking at the way the world works, so when I saw Critical Thinking in the 21st Century, I thought this is a subject that I want to do.

I’ve been to quite a few schools in my years and Dennett, as a teacher, was inspirational. My first class, he walked in, pretty sure he sat on a table, and posed a question to us. “Are humans inherently good or bad?” There wasn’t any introduction to the class; it was just “hi guys”; super casual. That was shocking to me because it was just nothing I’d ever seen.

It was interesting seeing someone who’d been a teacher for 52 years and was not a young person, expressing his views and then hearing other views in the class and seeing how people’s lives impacted their response to that question. You’re taught to say what you think and prove an argument, which is an important lesson.

The first class I had with him, he pulled up a photo of himself wearing a Trump t-shirt. He was like, “I’m very against Trump”. And then two classes later, he said, “well, I support Trump”. I thought, this is very confusing. But that technique allowed us to go into our views more deeply and think critically rather than just making a statement.

I learnt more in 11 weeks in Dr Dennett’s class than I did in the 11 years that I’ve been at school. I learned how to think for myself, how to express myself. I learnt how to listen critically. In the school system, you sit down, you answer questions. You do as the teacher says and no matter what information they tell you, you believe it. That’s not really the culture at IGS, but it is at other schools I’ve been to.

Being in Dr Dennett’s class was such an opportunity for me to learn more about myself. It was a safe space for people to talk about things without being told that their answer or their view was wrong. That has impacted all my subjects. I’ll be in history and we’ll be talking about World War I and looking at reasons for it. In every aspect of my life now I’m asking “why?” That class has taught me to look at things more deeply, which will stand me in good stead for the rest of my life.

I never got to tell him how much I appreciate his class. I will remember Dr Dennett and his teachings for the rest of my life. Sadly, I only knew him for 11 weeks, which was way too short. But I am so unbelievably grateful that I got to meet him and know him because it means that I will now go through the rest of my life with his teachings in me.

Critical Thinking was unique and like nothing I had ever seen at my previous school. Dr Dennett was such an interesting person, and I felt you absorbed a lot of knowledge just by being in the room.

The topic we loved was, “is humanity good or evil?” A lot of it was analysing what happened in the news but we’d also take it back to famous philosophers, such as Plato. Around the time of the referendum on the Indigenous Voice to Parliament we spent a lot of time talking about the techniques used to push in either direction and analysing the implications and how it affected history, which was really interesting.

I do believe people are good and that a lot of things, like cruelty or racism and sexism, are maladaptive traits; protection mechanisms that go wrong. That allows me to see people with more kindness and more complexity.

I never would have realised these things if no one had dared to ask.

Dr Dennett always said, “hypothesis, evidence, counterpoint” and that was how he would tell us to structure every argument. I still think about him a lot. Critical Thinking has created the foundation for me to be the kind of person I want to be, where I really examine things and look at them with nuance.

Especially now that I can’t talk to him, I think “what would Dennett think?” You see the world in a much more analytical way. It really felt like we were in Plato’s academy. We would never be told what to think, but always asked what we thought.

“YOU SEE THE WORLD IN A MUCH MORE ANALYTICAL WAY. IT REALLY FELT LIKE WE WERE IN PLATO’S ACADEMY. WE WOULD NEVER BE TOLD WHAT TO THINK, BUT ALWAYS ASKED WHAT WE THOUGHT.”

His was the first major loss I’ve experienced. Going to his funeral and seeing how many people were there – they couldn’t fit in the room. I just think about the value of what one person can bring to so many people’s lives. It was deeply affecting, but the pain also became a positive thing about understanding the importance of all he did.

I feel his legacy is going to be all the stories we have to tell and the way we get to see the world in a kinder way because of him. He was jokey and a bit like a blokey nerd. Through all of that, there was just such extreme kindness that was a really big gift to us. It’s had a massive impact.

“EDUCATION IS TEACHING OUR CHILDREN TO DESIRE THE RIGHT THINGS.”

Plato, Greek philosopher, 427BC to 347BC

Anna Morrow Critical Thinking student 2024:

CARMELO FEDELE

Head of Sustainability, Head of Philosophy, Geography and Commerce teacher, IGS parent

“If we care about First Nations peoples, about forests, about living creatures, about the most disadvantaged people in the world, about our own health and wellbeing, and about the future of our children – then sustainability matters. For me, it’s the ultimate social justice issue.”

Carmelo Fedele, The Educator TV (online), March 2024

I love Geography. It’s a passion. Most people think Geography is about maps and flags, but it’s far more than that. We look at natural and human environments and how they interact, and all the implications of the decisions that we make in different spheres. Climate change became more and more important for us to recognise and understand.

Geography led me to understand the world in a different way; to value sustainability and become really passionate about creating a future that our children could inherit and we would feel good about handing down to them.

In 2017 I started an extracurricular sustainability club that we called Sustainable Futures.

Shauna created the IGS Sustainability Policy Framework and the role of Head of Sustainability, which became my role in the midst of the pandemic.

One of my Year 11 students, Hunter Forbes (2018), had leadership qualities and was about to do his Senior Geography Project but was unsure of his topic. I challenged him to find out how much energy the School

consumes and to use his results to make some meaningful change. A local energy engineer suggested we install an energy monitoring system in the School. What became the Sustainable Futures team fundraised towards it because it was a few thousand dollars. Hunter and the group launched the energy monitoring system for the whole school at an assembly. There was a lot of energy and excitement around it and students have continued to show an interest in sustainability ever since.

We needed a clear idea of what we wanted to do. I met with students individually and asked them four or five questions. From their answers, I drafted a vision, mission and goals.

Our vision became IGS being a lighthouse school for sustainability, doing great things and inspiring other schools. Our mission was to make meaningful progress in six key areas; waste, energy, water, biodiversity, resources and activism.

The ABC’s War on Waste show was an inspiration, and students had also been involved in organising and attending the School Strike 4 Climate protests. There’s a real passion for engaging as a citizen. Many schools avoided that and even prohibited students from attending those rallies, but Shauna embraced the fact that students were engaging with an issue that was important to them. They probably would have had more meaningful learning than a day in school, which was quite a contrast to what was being played out in the media at the time.

We recognise we’re an urban school and while it was challenging, we really wanted more greenery and to encourage local ecosystems where possible. Making meaningful progress incrementally over time was important. Our goal was to do one thing each term we could share with our community, and we’ve continued to make progress.

We’ve done waste audits. Students collect all the rubbish from all over the School; source it, count it, measure it and record it. All that data goes into a spreadsheet we’ve programmed to create graphs and a dashboard. The waste audit is so visual. We have this little shame pile where we put foods that have been untouched and thrown away, such as whole apples and sandwiches. Every time people walk past they can’t believe what’s been discarded. There’s this confronting and visual moment, for our whole community. People reflect on their own behaviours.

One of the first things we did as a result was to introduce a yellow commingled cycle. I invited the NSW Environment Protection Authority to come and see what we were doing. They sent an assessor who looked at our whole waste system, wrote a short report, made some suggestions and then provided grant funding. By the time we did our second waste audit we’d made a significant improvement. We’d gone from recycling about 18 per cent of our waste to recycling half of it.

Energy has been a big area. We started off with that energy monitoring system and then changed to a far more sustainable energy provider. We’ve also done a whole bunch of efficiency measures with the IGS Facilities Team, replacing all our lights with LEDs and installing motion sensors to find further efficiencies. We’ve had a water audit and installed a water monitoring system which tells us if there’s a tap left on or a leak. We’ve also introduced a sustainable procurement policy.

“PEOPLE REFLECT ON THEIR OWN BEHAVIOURS.”

For me, a lighthouse school for sustainability does its best to be sustainable and engages with the broader community – to help support them to do the same thing. Through the Heads of Independent Coeducational Schools (HICES), I helped set up a group called Educators for Sustainability. We meet regularly and talk about some of the issues and how we’re managing them. It’s great information sharing.

We have received several awards in recognition of our sustainability progress. When other schools see what we’re doing, they want to know how they can also improve. I’ve spoken at conferences. We’ve had a lot of opportunities to share what we’re doing at IGS. I’d like to think we’ve inspired at least a few schools to work in this space.

There are loads of challenges. A lot of people agree that sustainability and climate change are important, but these are wicked challenges. It can be difficult to devote time and energy to solving them.

I feel so fortunate to have this role as a teacher. I don’t know any other school with a Head of Sustainability; certainly not anyone who is allocated time to do this work. So many students have contributed their time and energy, not to mention supportive staff, from leadership and all through our community. I’m proud of what we’ve achieved.

There are a lot of opportunities to learn about sustainability and our impacts on the environment in Geography. I try to link those learning opportunities with the relevant challenges students see happening in the world around them, especially on a local scale.

Learning happens in and through the classroom, and also outside the curriculum, where there is freedom to look at our community, our facilities and resources and try to address those challenges. Sustainability as a co-curricular activity is powerful.

When we have a Sustainable Futures meeting, I ask what’s unsustainable about what we’re doing. And it’s this open forum. There are no right or wrong answers and there’s no test at the end. We brainstorm it and come up with a bunch of solutions and submit a proposal to leadership. This process builds some really important skills for students.

We’re empowering young people to make better decisions in a more uncertain world, by giving them these real world challenges to think about. They need to come up with solutions, knowing that sometimes those solutions don’t work, and have the resilience to come back to the drawing board and ask what else they can try.

“WHAT WE’RE ACTUALLY DOING IS EMPOWERING YOUNG PEOPLE TO MAKE BETTER DECISIONS IN A MORE UNCERTAIN WORLD, BY GIVING THEM THESE REAL WORLD CHALLENGES TO THINK ABOUT.”

Through that process – involving students in contacting a supplier and having meetings with experts in their field, taking a proposal to leadership – real world skills are involved. Ultimately that’s the great gift that we’re giving. It’s certainly not a perfect planet, but hopefully young people are more able to manage the complexities of the future.

We have the most incredible community at IGS. I’ve had countless conversations with staff, students and parents who see what we’re doing and want to engage with it. Parents come in and give talks.

What I do in sustainability strongly connects to the strategic vision of the School, because for me, that’s where it started. I remember my very first day of professional development at IGS in 2016. We had this new strategic vision, which led to me starting Sustainable Futures. Without that framework, there’s no way we could have achieved what we’ve achieved.

I am proud we’ve done something truly meaningful, not just in terms of environmental impact, but because of the impact it’s had on individual students’ lives.

Several students have contacted me years later and told me what they’re doing at university and their goals. As a teacher, there’s no greater sense of fulfillment than to see you’ve played some small role in the life journey that a young person has forged for themselves. It’s incredibly fulfilling.

HUNTER FORBES

Class of 2018

“I’VE ALWAYS FELT THAT CLIMATE CHANGE WILL PLAY OUT FOR OUR GENERATION. AS A YOUNG PERSON, IT’S CONCERNING AND SAD…”

I grew up watching David Attenborough and being absolutely hooked; my whole life I’ve loved animals and nature and spent heaps of time in nature. Very naturally that obsession with animals and the natural world turned into caring about it, and feeling strongly about human impacts on the natural world – and wanting to do something about that. It’s been a lifelong passion.

Straight after I finished at IGS, I moved down to Hobart to do a Bachelor of Marine and Antarctic Science at the University of Tasmania, and then did a year of Honours research. I did my thesis on the animals that live in Tasmanian giant kelp forests. Since then I’ve been working at the Institute for Marine Antarctic Studies as a marine ecologist.

Our work is rooted in climate change. It’s the reason we’re interested in these giant kelp forests. We’ve lost 95 per cent of them from Tasmania. This ecosystem has borne the brunt of the impacts of climate change. The oceans of Southeast Australia, and particularly Eastern Tasmania, are global warming hotspots. The oceans here are warming up at four times the global average. It’s a case study of the future.

A lot of the people I work with feel climate anxiety strongly – we feel we’re on the frontlines of this issue. It can be challenging, but we’re solution oriented and everyone’s working hard to overcome these challenges. People are committed to making our research improve the state of the world. I think that having something tangible helps to manage that grief or anxiety because we feel like we’re actively contributing to the solution.

I’ve always felt that climate change will play out for our generation. As a young person, it’s concerning and sad especially as I’ve started work on these ecosystems that are already so reduced. I think they’re amazing now, but I can’t even imagine what they would have been like 30 years ago. It’s sad to never have had the chance to see how these things could have been before climate change, and the idea that that will only get worse is upsetting.

I’ve always been very passionate about this, even before coming to IGS, but certainly at IGS it was a passion that was fostered and continued to grow. I had lots of opportunities to translate that passion into where I am today. Being involved in the Sustainable Futures Club was critical for me for gaining confidence and leadership skills. It’s the sort of experience that the School allowed us to do that gave me confidence to pursue what I’m working on today.

Being a young person and feeling strongly about all these things, I think activism comes naturally and, especially in the senior years of IGS, we were given freedom and encouraged to have a voice and to speak up about things we cared about.

I felt strongly that the School should reflect the values I had, and I think it does. That’s why

I went to IGS to begin with, because it was a school that aligned with our values as a family.

In the senior years of high school, my peers and friends wanted to make sure the School was reflecting what we really cared about. In Year 11 Geography, we had the opportunity to do an independent research project. I did this investigation into how sustainable IGS was and what could be done better. And I feel that was a launching platform – on a scale where I could make a difference and advocate for something I cared about in my community.

“I HOPE THAT’S SUPER EMPOWERING FOR STUDENTS WHO ARE AT THE SCHOOL, A LEGACY, A JUMPING OFF POINT FOR PEOPLE TO CONTINUE.”

I had three main questions: what had the School done already in the sustainability space? What were the perceptions around the School’s sustainability, and what avenues were there to improve the School’s sustainability? When I looked at it, the School had a good level of seemingly effective sustainability strategies that were making a difference and had contributed to positive wins – simple stuff like turning off air conditioning after school hours. But there was a lot of room for improvement.

My project survey showed sustainability to be an issue the IGS community cared about. People also felt the School should be doing more. The big one was waste management, which was an issue people were conscious of. The other one was energy sustainability and how we could improve that. The School had solar panels, a small set on one of the buildings, but was still mostly just on grid electricity.

It all started on the Duke of Ed camp in Year 11 where my friends and I were talking about how we felt strongly about this issue. We felt it could be a real strength for the School and decided to advocate for that. We met with teachers and parents and explained what we’d found from my senior Geography project. Through that process,

we put together the Sustainable Futures group which was exciting. More and more people got on board, and we started to develop that club to advance a whole bunch of different aims that people were passionate about.

I’m proud of it. We put in a solid effort and in a way, it took over my whole Year 11 and 12. I was totally passionate about that. We did a whole bunch of stuff. The real showpiece item, that we decided from the start was critical, was to install energy monitoring software. You plug it into the School’s energy system and it’ll track the energy usage. A cool aspect of this technology is that it has a website associated with the software and produces easy to read graphs. It showed the School using this much energy, equivalent to however many tons of carbon dioxide, and the times energy use was peaking.

With help from the PTF, we raised money to contribute to getting that system installed, which was incredible. I never in a million years would have thought that was something we could achieve. It was fairly expensive and required a huge amount of support from the community. People were super generous.

We set it up just like we imagined, with a TV outside the library that showed how much energy the School was using so that people could, on their lunch break, be like, “oh wow,

we’re using way more energy today than yesterday” and directly see the School’s impact on global warming. That was the huge win in my final year of high school in the Sustainable Futures team.

I hope that has been a launching point for people. Hopefully this was a system that gave future students the ability to keep tabs on energy consumption and continue to identify ways the School could improve. I also felt it was an awesome showcase of what students could do. You can strive for these big changes and get something as crazy as that implemented. That is within the reach of a student.

I hope that’s empowering for students, a legacy, a jumping off point for people to continue. And that, even if it’s not about sustainability, people feel they can advocate for whatever issue they care about, and the School will listen and support them in that. Looking back now, it’s amazing that people gave us the time to listen to what we felt, that a bunch of high schoolers could pitch this idea and be given the space and respect to carry it out.

That’s such a core aspect of what IGS values – students being able to speak their minds and be respected. It’s such a values-oriented school and I think IGS students develop strong values. I feel the School has always placed value on standing up for your values.

MADELEINE HAYEN

Sustainability leader 2024

The sense of this big storm that’s coming has such an impact on me. I don’t think I’m ever going to lose that, to be honest – that sense that we need to take climate change action. We need to deal with it now. If we don’t take those steps, something bad is going to happen. In 30 or 50 years’ time, we might not be in the place we are now. This challenge is probably going to be with me for most of my life.

I joined the Sustainable Futures group when I was in Year 7. Outside school, I worked a lot on the School Strike for Climate rallies in 2019 and 2020 that were drawing attention to climate change and the negative impacts of our government decisions. I found that over time my passion for sustainability grew.

Being able to work with younger students has been something that’s driven me to take on the portfolio and have influence

“OUR USE OF CARBON IS GOING TO BE DETRIMENTAL FOR MY GENERATION. THE WORLD THAT WE’RE SETTING UP FOR YOUNG PEOPLE IS NOT THE BEST. THAT BEING SAID, WE STILL HAVE TIME TO CHANGE.”

Our use of carbon is going to be detrimental for my generation. The world that we’re setting up for young people is not the best. That being said, we still have time to change. You can still have an impact if you put the effort in. If everybody has an impact, those who aren’t changing are going to have to change. The mindset of the group will overtake the mindset of the individual. Supply and demand. If demand ceases, we will be able to cease use of big minerals like coal.

before I leave. I think it’s important. We’ve been able to bring more students in and achieve more. We keep pushing out these amazing projects and I think it’s having a really positive impact on our students and on the community as a whole. We’re the first school to ever get a Green Flag award, which is big in our school’s history.

It’s the relevance within our world that’s poignant to me. Climate change is such a big thing on the horizon, and any impact we can have is a good one. Even if it’s the smallest thing, like switching off a light or making the change to vegetarian or pescatarian, it’s impactful on a massive scale. If everybody takes that step then we’re having a bigger impact overall than we think we are. It’s something that’s really driven my passion. Bringing more people to the cause is really important.

I have experienced climate anxiety a lot over my years. Sometimes you need to take a break to cope with it. Taking a step back brings you a sense of happiness about what we have already achieved and what we’re capable of achieving. Things like the artificial sea walls along Sydney Harbour

are now bringing back life to our harbour. The ability that we have to control those projects and keep them moving means that we are able to make this change. We have seen that we are capable of doing it. We have the proof, we have the evidence. We just need to make the steps happen.

At IGS we’ve been looking at incorporating our climate goals into education. We want to make sure that everybody has a comprehensive understanding of what climate change is, because if you understand it, you’re capable of taking the steps to move away from negative behaviours. We also did a lot of reworking of the centralisation of the air conditioning units, making sure that our energy fund is climate positive. We’ve got purchasing policies in place. We’re seeing improvement happen in real time.

I spoke at a rally protesting against deforestation and its impact on native wildlife. We’ve worked with organisations focused on the world’s oceans, and I spoke recently at a world ocean youth forum. I’m so grateful I was able to do that. We look at projects in other schools, at how they are using the lens of sustainability to improve their school.

We’ve spent a lot of time taking the steps to be a lighthouse for sustainability. We engage in activism, and the School supports that wholehearted. It’s wonderful and it’s very supportive, but at the same

time, you have to think, we’re still students. It can be difficult to gauge what to be engaging with but I think if you’re speaking to the right people, engaging in activism can be beneficial to causes.

Student voice is really important, especially in our school. We’ve always been supportive of making sure that students are able to speak in a way that actively improves our school environment. Being able to leave the campus to take part in strikes, being able to engage with the media and work in conjunction with major days, like Park It

For The Planet and Clean up Australia Day –we’ve had a wholehearted hand from the School to achieve that.

I’m hoping to become a primary school teacher, when I go off into the world. The skills of leadership that I’ve received and

“STUDENT VOICE IS REALLY IMPORTANT, ESPECIALLY IN OUR SCHOOL. WE’VE ALWAYS BEEN SUPPORTIVE OF MAKING SURE THAT STUDENTS ARE ABLE TO SPEAK IN A WAY THAT ACTIVELY IMPROVES OUR SCHOOL ENVIRONMENT.”

that ability to talk to people, organise things efficiently and have a positive outlook are abilities I’m going to use later in life. Those are such important skills to have.

I’m really excited for what comes next. It’s scary and daunting, but I think IGS prepares you so well for it. Being in the position of portfolio leader and being able to have access to resources and work with the students and create positive change has made me realise – I’m actually ready for this.

In October 2024, Madeleine was recognised as a finalist in the Young Legends category at the 2024 Sustainable Cities Awards.

DARREN KUILENBURG

Director of Music

When I was a kid, music was a way of getting to know who I was as an individual. It might’ve been a moment to escape and be in a different realm that allowed me to express myself in a way that is different to talking. A lot of my emotions came through my music. So, for me, it’s a form of expression. Hopefully I share that with students. It’s not just an academic subject. It can be more powerful than that. You can say a lot through music.

When I was in Kindergarten or Year 1, Mum and Dad were storing a friend’s furniture, and I saw this old pedal organ. And of course, mum says, “kids you’re not allowed to touch any of their possessions” which was almost a license to go exploring. I jumped on this organ. I started to play a little melody and mum called out, “I told you not to use their things, but who taught you that melody?” I’m like, oh, I just worked it out.

“THAT SENSE OF COMING TOGETHER AS A COMMUNITY TO MAKE MUSIC COLLECTIVELY IS, I THINK, THE MOST BEAUTIFUL THING THAT WE CAN PROVIDE FOR OUR KIDS.”

I came from a school that was more constrained. Here, there’s an openness of so many different types of people, which was a culture shock at first. The physical structure of the School was different, too. I love the fact that down the corridor Kindergarten kids are walking past Year 12 kids and experiencing different interactions. This nice intermeshing of different year groups is quite unique to IGS.

The next weekend, Mum and Dad found a piano. That was the beginning of it all. The piano came into the house, and I had lessons with a lady I adored who was tough but got the best out of me. I studied with her from Year 1 right through to the end of Year 12 and then went on to university, studied piano as part of my performance degree and then moved into the Bachelor of Music Education.

I love coeducation. Great dynamics can be created when students of all different walks of life make music together. The reason I was drawn to IGS is the focus on music as the universal language. It wasn’t just in the classroom. There was also a richness of extra-curricular offerings. IGS embraces people from many different cultures to create one unique community.

I think school culture is really important to allow people to flourish as individuals.

If we look at what the kids do – they have their private lessons and they learn an instrument, but the real essence of it is when they come together and make music as a year group, or in an ensemble, or they make music as a whole school. That’s the power of music. That sense of coming together as a community to make music collectively is, I think, the most beautiful thing that we can provide for our kids.

What I love about my role is visiting the Early Learning Centre and seeing those moments of curiosity and intrigue as the children come across new concepts or learn a song. And they have all these questions – thousands of questions. We learn through doing and playing, using methodologies of Kodaly where you sing it and then you play it, and the Orff Shulwerk method where we look at patterns. Innately the kids will, over time, realise they’re playing a chord or a broken chord. You don’t actually teach them that. By doing and playing you’re developing skills without necessarily having to study the theory. That’s a way to build understanding.

Building a culture of singing has been a big focus over the past couple of years. Singing is a way in for all our students. You see it starting in early learning, through primary school and into the high school. We are strengthening our choral, our strings program, our bands program and orchestra program, and making sure there’s an offering for our contemporary musicians as well. That’s seen now in our rock band program and our jazz program across primary and secondary.

Music is more than just being on your own. In ensembles, it’s about connecting with other like-minded kids who love music as well. That’s the excitement that kids obtain when they come together to rehearse. Working with others, although you’re working on your own part, is still working together. Creating music together, you’re always looking at skills of collaboration. Kids are learning how to work with each other. When you create or arrange music, kids learn how to negotiate. They know how to identify the strengths of each individual.

A really great example is in our Stage 4 program, in Years 7 and 8, when they’re coming towards the end of that compulsory learning experience and the world of teenagers starts to emerge. Keeping kids focused and engaged is harder at that point. But I believe through creating experiences where kids get to work together, say to write pop songs, there’s a skill that they develop through those experiences that really sets them up for so many different experiences in life. Working together, identifying each other’s strengths, listening to one another, not just listening when you make the music, but listening to their perspectives and their ideas. And as the teacher, our role is to facilitate that process, to make sure that everyone has a part to play.

And that’s the beauty of music. You can have your advanced players carrying a sophisticated melody at the top. At the other end of the spectrum, a student who’s not as experienced, still has a fundamental role in playing a nice, simple baseline that ties the whole piece together. It’s the essence of any community – everyone has a role to play. And their contribution, regardless of what it is, is equally valued and equally important.

“KIDS ARE LEARNING HOW TO WORK WITH EACH OTHER. WHEN YOU CREATE OR ARRANGE MUSIC, KIDS LEARN HOW TO NEGOTIATE. THEY KNOW HOW TO IDENTIFY THE STRENGTHS OF EACH INDIVIDUAL.”

In Year 8, we take them into the world of the music industry. They are the sound engineers. They’re the producers. They find a piece that has potential and workshop it and create a performance. It’s giving them life skills and preparing them in readiness to take that into any industry, not just in the music world.

We’ve introduced the competition series – for piano, vocals, instrumental, composition and the rock bands. Students who are interested in those areas can present repertoire or a composition at different stages of their learning, to develop those skills.

It’s important for IGS and its diverse range of students and abilities and interests, that we have something for everyone. It’s not just focusing on western art music and developing good classically trained musicians. We have some incredible jazz improvisers and rock musicians that have a part to play.

All kids can communicate sound. They can be part of that journey in creating a mood or setting a scene or sharing an emotion. Music is the School‘s overarching language that allows students to communicate through playing music. It’s also a vehicle for developing their language skills, by singing in different languages. I love the fact that when we sing a Spanish song or we sing a song in French, the students can help with pronunciation and diction. That’s what

they’re passionate about. Their skills as linguists allow us to create a nice interaction between the students and the power of making music together.

Music is a form of extension. It’s an important subject that enhances learning in other subjects and adds value to students’ abilities to reason, to work with others, to collaborate. As studies have shown, music informs student development. How their brains develop through practice of music, links to mathematics and links to literacy. It really lies at the heart of building skills and creating students who are resilient thinkers, who can apply skills of practice and determination in music to their work in other subject areas. And that’s the ethos of IGS.

“MUSIC IS A FORM OF EXTENSION. IT’S AN IMPORTANT SUBJECT THAT ENHANCES LEARNING IN OTHER SUBJECTS AND ADDS VALUE TO STUDENTS’ ABILITIES TO REASON, TO WORK WITH OTHERS, TO COLLABORATE.”

It’s a fantastic time to be at IGS. The 40th anniversary is a milestone. We’re celebrating in true IGS style. I think for the School, there’s a beautiful new sense of recognising the past, yet taking what we have, re-imagining it, and projecting ourselves into the future.

“I WOULD TEACH CHILDREN MUSIC, PHYSICS, AND PHILOSOPHY; BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY MUSIC, FOR THE PATTERNS IN MUSIC AND ALL THE ARTS ARE THE KEYS TO LEARNING.”

Music is part of the curriculum for every student from Early Learning to Year 8. In addition, more than a third of IGS students join at least one of the School’s many co-curricular music opportunities, including more than 20 ensembles, choirs and bands. Mentors include an Artist in Residence and Composer in Residence. Students perform regularly both in and outside the School. Many excel in the HSC.

Plato, Greek philosopher, 427BC to 347BC

“THE MOST IMPORTANT THING ABOUT MUSIC EDUCATION IS THAT CHILDREN SHOULD MAKE THEIR OWN MUSIC. IT’S THE WAY THEY UNDERSTAND MUSIC BEST.

“IF YOU’RE LEARNING IN A FOREIGN LANGUAGE YOU’RE THINKING OUTSIDE A COMFORT ZONE, AND IF YOU’RE WORKING IN MUSIC, YOU’RE WORKING IN THE ABSTRACT – THE HIGHEST LEVEL OF THINKING. WORKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGES AND WORKING IN MUSIC WITH INTENSITY PUTS THE BRAIN AT A VERY DIFFERENT LEVEL FROM ALL SORTS OF OTHER LEARNING.”

Conductor and music educator the late Richard Gill, in Learning Journeys: 30 years of International Grammar School, 2014

“Music is a social glue that clearly enhances our sense of mental wellbeing. The more we study the neuroscience of music, the more we understand how and why music and language evolved alongside each other.”

“It is perhaps in the field of education that the power of music is most important. More and more research is showing us that musical education has a positive impact on social and cognitive development of children. The effects are long-lasting; better hearing, better motor skills, improved memory … better verbal and literacy skills – even, some suggest, better skills at mathematics.”

“And yet, music is disappearing from the curriculum in most parts of the Western world. Right up until the Middle Ages, music was a normal part of education. It was taught alongside arithmetic, mathematics, astronomy [and] geometry.”

“I am convinced that what we choose to do with this knowledge, this power of music, can help drive us to a more cooperative society and a far more connected world.”

Neuroscientist and musician Emeritus Professor Alan Harvey, School of Human Sciences, University of Western Australia, TEDxPerth 2017

NED MANNING

Drama teacher and actor

“MORE THAN ANYTHING, I THINK I’M TEACHING STUDENTS SELFCONFIDENCE. IN DRAMA, KIDS GO OUT ON A LIMB. TO STAND UP IN FRONT OF AN AUDIENCE IS VERY CONFRONTING FOR A LOT OF KIDS. ONCE THEY JUMP THAT HURDLE, THEY NEVER GO BACK.”

I love the theatre, I’m a person of the theatre; it’s my great love. I’m also a writer, an actor, a teacher. I went to uni, then I taught in Tenterfield, in northern NSW for three years and then moved to Canberra. I’d always had a dream of being an actor.

In Canberra, I did a lot of amateur theatre work. One of Sydney’s leading agents saw a show I was doing and asked me to come to Sydney. At the same time, I wrote my first play, about schools and teachers, and that began a journey. I taught for two years in Canberra and then became a full-time actor for 15 years.

I got back into teaching when I realised acting work was drying up a bit, as can happen. Someone told me about HSC Drama, and I applied to become a marker. I became a senior examiner in Drama the next year. That was the first year of HSC Drama so I was very involved in the whole establishment of that. In fact, I was the senior examiner for Ms Morabito’s students.

When I heard about a vacancy at IGS, my son Joe was already at the School, in Year 7. I was interviewed, and I’ve been here ever since. I could write a book about IGS. At its best it’s amazing. I’ve done three

productions now. I did The Tempest on the roof the first year I was here, which was so great. I just think it makes sense if you’re a drama teacher to be producing plays.

More than anything, I think I’m teaching students self-confidence. In drama, kids go out on a limb. To stand up in front of an audience is very confronting for a lot of kids. Once they jump that hurdle, they never go back. I love the light-bulb moment when you see a kid goes, “I get it, what you’re doing, what you’re talking about”. I find it very moving, and I’ve just experienced that with Alice Dreaming. Seeing a kid who, on the first day of rehearsal was shaking with nerves reading the script, then stand up and command the stage. That’s why I teach.

It’s why, when I went back into teaching, I realised how much I’d missed it. I love doing shows with kids. It’s part of my DNA to do shows. Although I’ve taught a few people who’ve ended up being quite famous actors, it’s about being kids who are acting. It’s a very different thing. It’s about selfexpression, and being confident. I see it at assemblies here. Our drama kids get up and they’re able to perform.

Productions are very democratic. No matter if students are in Year 7 or Year 12, they all sit in a circle. They all do the same thing. They all listen to each other; when we read a script we read it around the circle. It’s something magical.

“YOU PUT THE GOAL OF THE TEAM AHEAD OF YOURSELF, AND THAT IS THE BEST LIFE EXPERIENCE YOU CAN EVER GET.”

We teach them things like learning to shift focus on a stage. It might be as simple as opening a door on stage because that’s

what that character has to do. The vast majority of students lose themselves in drama, in a good way. By coaxing them and helping them and saying, you’ll be okay, you’ll get there, you can see that kid going, okay, “I will, I will”. And they do.

There’s a very good reason why IGS achieves such amazing results in Years 11 and 12. It’s because the kids are engaged. They love it. They love what they’re doing. The culture in the drama department is really great in this school. And that’s due to Rita Morabito.

The School also does very well at Theatresports, which is an improvisational game. They compete at intermediate and senior levels. Again, it’s good for their confidence. It’s fun. It’s really silly. I love working with the intermediate students; there’s something raw and unpretentious about them. I like working with the seniors as well.

I know how powerful drama is. I’ve seen it everywhere I’ve been. I know what drama does. I watched Year 8 perform Shakespeare last year and I was just knocked out. The student body is quite special at IGS – not surprising, given the parent body. They’re educated, they’re intelligent, they’re motivated, they’re socially aware. All these qualities are useful

“THERE’S A VERY GOOD REASON WHY IGS ACHIEVES SUCH AMAZING RESULTS IN YEARS 11 AND 12. IT’S BECAUSE THE KIDS ARE ENGAGED. THEY LOVE IT.”

for drama students. And IGS students are unafraid to express themselves if given the opportunity. Teaching drama is the same as coaching a sporting team. You form a bond that you don’t in a normal class.

What you’re teaching in drama is how to focus. You must think about what you’re doing and not what people think of you, which is pretty crucial for teenagers. They learn how to say lines of dialogue with a purpose. They learn about movement, they learn about the space, and where to stand in the space. They learn how to relate to an audience. You put the goal of the team ahead of yourself, and that is the best life experience you can ever get.

I’ve taught great kids wherever I’ve taught. I think what is special about IGS is the welcoming environment. Alice Dreaming is a good example. The kids’ and the parents’ response was amazing. People were popping their heads in and asking what we were doing, asking about the weird-looking set. Maintenance played a huge role in building the set. It’s the whole school. And the support from staff – I was chuffed when a whole lot of teachers turned up to see the show. I love the support.

I like to involve everybody. It’s the way I like to work. It really is about community. That production was totally community. You could almost feel it. And it’s cool when people see something they’re not expecting to see. An audience is a live, breathing, pumping thing that responds to what’s on stage. And if what’s on stage is good and exciting, they’ll respond appropriately.

I’ve never seen a bunch of kids come off stage without saying “that was the best thing I’ve ever done”. There’s something quite intangible about these experiences. The kids do well in drama because they love it. And they can see that I love it. When we do a show, we’re all doing it together and it’s very special.

Actors are teachers. The best directors are teachers. My favourite director, the guy who was my guru, was a teacher. I’m really glad I’ve come back to teaching. It’s been great. I’m at IGS because what I’ve just done with Alice Dreaming is as rewarding as anything I’ve ever done.

EXHIBITIONS OF LEARNING

ALICE DREAMING, 2023

Written and directed by Ned Manning, Alice Dreaming is an Aussie riff on the timeless story of Alice in Wonderland. Instead of a rabbit hole, Alice tumbles down a drain and lands in the Arafura Sea where she is rescued by an albatross who deposits her in Gondwanaland. There, she meets a parade of characters and learns some life lessons. Alice Dreaming was performed by students in Years 8 and 9.

Artwork by IGS student Audrey Storer

DRAMA PRODUCTIONS

SINCE 2014 INCLUDE:

The Magic of the Dream

The Wasps (Performed at the International Greek Festival in Dion, Greece)

The Little Prince

Boy Overboard

The Comedy of Errors

The Tempest

Change The Subject

The Dining Room

Twelfth Night

Much Ado About Nothing

A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Alice Dreaming

Popular Mechanicals/ Children of the Black Skirt

Commedia Dell Arte (Performed at IGS and in Italy)

Knock Knock

The Real Inspector Hound

Macbeth, 2024

Comedy of Errors, 2017

A Midsummer Night’s Dream, 2024 Co-directed by Isabella Milkovitsch (2017)

Twelfth Night, 2022

Comedy of Errors, 2017

Much Ado About Nothing, 2021

A Midsummer Night’s Dream, 2024

Twelfth Night, 2022

Theatresports win 2022

A Midsummer Night’s Dream, 2024

Macbeth, 2024

The Wasps, 2014

Comedy of Errors, 2017

Magic of the Dream, 2014

IGS MUSICALS

Oliver, 2015

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, 2017

Grease, 2019

Matilda the Musical, 2021

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, 2022

The Addams Family, 2023

Performed at the Seymour Centre, the first IGS production to be staged outside the School.

Mamma Mia, coming in 2025

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, 2022

Matilda the Musical, 2021

The Addams Family, 2023

Oliver, 2015

ARTSFEST

The day that defines IGS High School

ArtsFest is the favourite day of the year for many IGS high schoolers – and has been for decades. A kind of sports carnival for the performing arts, run as a House competition, it is an exciting and joyful day for the performers and audience alike.

For three years during the COVID era, ArtsFest was impossible. When it returned in 2023, students were ecstatic. ArtsFest 2024, A Moment in Time, trumped everything that came before it with students declaring it the “greatest of all time”.

JODIE BLACKER

Head of Year 7, Teacher History, Geography and Economics

A staff member since 2002, Jodie Blacker was appointed the inaugural Head of Year 7 in 2017, becoming the first Head of Year at IGS. She still serves in this role.

“IT’S GIVEN ME OPPORTUNITIES TO BE THE TEACHER THAT I’VE WANTED TO BE, TO BE THE HEAD OF YEAR THAT I’VE WANTED TO BE, AND THE FREEDOM, THE SUPPORT AND THE BELIEF THAT I CAN DO ALL OF THAT.”

At the time, we just had our wellbeing structure with the four House groups and Heads of House. The Head of Year 7 role was created to support the transition process from primary to high school.

From teaching Year 7, I had a good understanding of what it took to be in Year 7. There are a lot of what are probably called soft skills now, that need to be developed to be successful in high school. I felt I could support students in that process; make a difference to the experience of Year 7 students by understanding their broader needs coming into high school. Their experience in Year 7 pretty much defined their whole experience of high school. I felt I intuitively understood what some of those needs were and that I could provide those supports.

My role as a Head of Year is distinctly different to the other roles of Heads of Year although they’re both academic focused. A large part of what I do is the transition element and that means there’s a lot of teaching about what high school is. I’m teaching them what it means to be in high school; to navigate timetables, organise themselves, and manage multiple assessment tasks, which they’ve never done before.

I’ve been a big advocate of the growth mindset approach to learning and that clear relationship between effort and achievement. I weave it through my communication with Year 7. We have an external organisation that we work with who focus on developing that growth mindset. It’s less about their achievement and more about effort, because it’s the effort that will bring about future achievement.

The concept of growth mindset comes from this idea of neuroplasticity. The brain grows like a muscle through practice and

repetition; you can grow your brain just like you can grow any other muscle in your body. When you apply that to a high school context, it means that students understand that if I continue to practise or study, I’m actually growing the neurons in my brain. Therefore, I can improve my outcomes.

A fixed mindset is the opposite. Statements such as “I’m not good at maths” is a fixed mindset. A growth mindset would say, “if I continue to work hard at maths, then I can actually grow my understanding and be better at maths.” The starting point is teaching students about the way their brain works so that they understand the science behind it.

I teach them about the semester report, and what the achievement grades mean. At IGS, we also have an effort grade, so when I’m explaining how reports work, I talk a lot about effort and I link the idea of a growth mindset into the effort grade. We talk about the value of, for example, a D achievement grade with an effort grade of 1, which reflects that you are working with outstanding effort. Your achievement is not at a high level, but that’s actually better –to show perseverance and focus on effort –than if you achieved an A grade but with an effort grade which is just satisfactory. I explain what we value as a school in terms of effort and achievement.

Given that Year 7 students take 11 subjects they’ve never done as specific curriculumbased subjects, this idea of achieving across 11 subjects is probably somewhat unrealistic except for the very few. A predefined idea that they should have an A grade in all their subjects is not the thing to focus on; they should be focusing on the effort, because it’s the effort they can take into any future learning.

I teach that explicitly through Year meetings and the conversations that we have. We’re all always learning, and we will make mistakes along the way – we’re never at any one fixed point at the end of a journey. I think that that comes through in all the ways that I communicate with them, both individually and as a group.

There are strong correlations between a fixed mindset and achievement. If you have a fixed mindset, your effort grade tends to

“IT’S LESS ABOUT THEIR ACHIEVEMENT AND MORE ABOUT EFFORT, BECAUSE IT’S THE EFFORT THAT WILL BRING ABOUT FUTURE ACHIEVEMENT.”

be lower, and your achievement tends to be lower as well. The ultimate message is that they can control anything, and they can be anything through the effort that they put in. It’s a positive message for them to be getting as young people.

I think that high school is a huge challenge for most students. The challenge of transitioning from primary into high school is their age, and the developmental changes they experience at the same time. I am a massive believer in the importance of being organised at that age. For me, it’s less about what they understand of English or Maths or History or Geography. Their judgment of themselves, and their belief in their capacity is formed in that early part of their Year 7 experience. The mindset they develop in the early parts of Year 7 sets them up for their belief in their capabilities, moving forward.

The change is significant. It’s very rapid. We have students on Day 1 who go home in tears because they can’t remember the code for their locker and then in four weeks, they can do that without even thinking.

During our SAGE Week Shakespeare Bootcamp, it’s interesting to see how they can go from having a closed mind to becoming engaged and then really loving that as a unique experience.

You can see this growth and development. There’s a sense of confidence, and connection as well, from having someone who will advocate for them. I see that as part of my role; working with them to achieve academically. But there’s no way that you can separate the academic aspect from the wellbeing aspect. The team around each child includes me as the Head of Year in terms of their academic focus, and their Head of House for wellbeing. If your

wellbeing isn’t “well” then your academics are also going to be negatively affected.

Year 7 camp is an outdoor education camp and a transition camp. Typically, we run that in the very early part of Year 7 and we take our Heads of House on that camp so they can get to know the Year 7s. I think it’s super important given our structure, where we have an intake of students from outside of our primary school. That camp is important in helping students re-establish themselves as one Year 7 group. It helps to cement connections because it’s a shared experience. As soon as you have a shared experience those barriers get broken down. IGS students are very good at welcoming other students and being open to having new friends.

“THE CONCEPT OF GROWTH MINDSET COMES FROM THIS IDEA OF NEUROPLASTICITY. THE BRAIN GROWS LIKE A MUSCLE THROUGH PRACTICE AND REPETITION…”

This year brings the closure of a big chapter in my own life. I met Anthony Dennehy here at IGS, and our son, Ollie, has come here. The three of us have been here together. What that means for me, is how integral IGS is to my life. The School has given us a lot. It’s given me opportunities to be the teacher that I’ve wanted to be, to be the Head of Year that I’ve wanted to be, and the freedom, the support and the belief that I can do all of that. My personal values about education align exceptionally well with the essence of IGS.

I’m grateful to be in a place that has given so much to my life. To have a child that is so open and outward looking, with a quiet confidence – or a loud confidence sometimes. IGS has given Ollie an opportunity to believe that he can do things that he probably wouldn’t have experienced at a more traditional, competitive school. I’m grateful for the values this place has instilled in him. The value that comes in understanding other people through learning language here at IGS is immeasurable.

THE CULINARY FUSION EXPERIENCE

What could be more “real world” than learning to cook?

Added to the School’s extracurricular program in 2024, the Culinary Fusion Experience takes students in Years 7 and 9 into whole new kind of learning environment at the Sydney Seafood School at the Fish Market, just down the road.

It’s about learning culinary skills but also fosters creativity, an understanding of sustainable practices, teamwork, and respect for food, as well as for those who source and prepare it.

They watch, they listen, they do – and then they eat!

“IT’S A GREAT LIFE SKILL FOR OUR STUDENTS. THERE’S SUCH A THIRST FOR IT – BEING ABLE TO GO TO A PROFESSIONAL COOKING SCHOOL, LEARN SKILLS AND PRODUCE MEALS THEY CAN ENJOY. THAT’S A SKILL THEY’RE GOING TO NEED IN THEIR LIVES. IT’S A SHARED EXPERIENCE AND TAKES THEM OUT OF THE CLASSROOM.”

Anthony Dennehy, Head of High School

MARY DUMA

Deputy Principal Wellbeing

“IT’S RECOGNISED THAT IF A CHILD FEELS THAT THE TEACHER CARES FOR THEM IN THEIR CLASSROOM, THEY WILL GROW AS A LEARNER.”

Every educator goes through a period of finding what is the most important thing for them in education. Early on, I recognised that caring for children is what I really love doing and that’s why wellbeing or pastoral care has always been something I’ve pursued in my academic career. That’s what I pursued in my Masters degrees and it continues to really interest me.

The world changes but really, what children need as they’re growing up doesn’t change that much. They want to be loved. They want to be known by someone and cared

for, and they want to know that someone’s interested in them. Educators have a really important role to play as children grow. It’s recognised that if a child feels that the teacher cares for them in their classroom, they will grow as a learner.

I think we do a really good job here at IGS in looking after children. But it’s a job that’s ongoing. You can’t say that you’ve done it and it’s finished. We have more than 1,300 children and every child needs to be guided and cared for and nurtured. In my first few days at IGS about 16 years ago, I was quite taken aback because I asked one of the

children, what do you like about this school? What makes you feel happy in this school? And the child said to me, “I just feel really safe here. I know that I’m free to be who I am.” That’s exactly the essence of what good education is all about. If children can feel free to be who they are and feel safe, then they’ll learn.

We’re situated in a wonderful part of Sydney, in Ultimo, such a vibrant part of the city. Here we are in the middle of a city area but it’s very suburban. It’s nice to see trees being planted here. It’s nice to see the Sydney Fish Market being expanded into an area that will continue to be an educational precinct for our children. And to be able to refurbish our campus to continually excite our children as learners is really quite wonderful.

I experience IGS through the eyes of my own grandchildren who are here. The youngest one just loves going on an adventure path around the building to see what other little nook and cranny he can discover, and he gets so excited about that. That’s what it’s like for Kindergarten students. We want to continue that excitement of discovery in our buildings.

I’ve always believed in this school, and it’s been my connection to Reg St Leon and my love of languages. My children have grown up bilingual, and to see my grandchildren growing up multilingual thanks to IGS, is a great gift. If you read any educational literature, if you want to provide your children with any sort of extensive learning opportunities, do it through languages, do it through music. Extend them that way. That’s what we’re doing here on a daily basis. The Reg St Leon philosophy of education continues to grow and nurture many wonderful young people here.

When I was at Sydney University as a young graduate I got a scholarship to become a language teacher. My parents were post-

war immigrants to Australia. Education was very important in our family and to get a scholarship was remarkable. I studied both French and German at Sydney University. It wasn’t until my final year of teaching education that I came across Reg St Leon. He was one of my supervisors.

He told me about his dream for a school in Sydney that would be teaching children many languages. He was also the one who said to me I’d be lucky to get a job as a language teacher in NSW because we didn’t know where language teaching was going, but in his school, there would definitely be languages. I was inspired by him because I thought, wow, this is someone who’s trying to do something which wasn’t happening anywhere in the government system. His school wasn’t around when I started teaching. But it did come around and here I am now, in his dream.

The beauty of the IGS community is that it’s made up of families from all walks of life, from different professions. I think the one unifying aspect is what Reg St Leon actually wanted at the start, and that is the strong belief in allowing children to get to know the world through different languages and cultures. As a community, I think we’re truly diverse. We’re not from one culture. We’re not from one religion. We’re just like a mini United Nations, if I can put it that way.

There are so many programs that we’re able to utilise in the wellbeing area to ensure that our children are growing up with a sense of respect for themselves and as respectful and compassionate young people. There’s the IGS Connect program where we’re encouraging every child of the School, throughout their developing years, to do something for the community. We’ve connected with programs like Kids Giving Back where our children cook and help package all sorts of goods for children off the street. We’ve done a lot of fundraising for the Chris O’Brien Lifehouse and our children visit some of the patients who are being treated for cancer. One of our Year 6 children did a skipping program where she got her entire year group skipping for hours to collect money for that cause.

Another thing that’s emerged through education, particularly over the past 10

“THAT’S EXACTLY THE ESSENCE OF WHAT GOOD EDUCATION IS ALL ABOUT. IF CHILDREN CAN FEEL FREE TO BE WHO THEY ARE AND FEEL SAFE, THEN THEY’LL LEARN.”

years, is that the world really needs good people. The world really does need people who have had the opportunity during their school careers to reflect on what is a good leader. What is a good person? That needs to happen in classrooms and in families. Some of the messages that come to children through social media are challenging. Children are looking for the right path to take in life. House meetings, year group meetings, the study of philosophy and conversations that children have with staff in corridors, are all opportunities for them to grow as altruistic young people. There’s never a wrong question. You’ve got to question, and that’s the beauty of this school. We’ve never been a school which shuts people down. We’ve always encouraged children to ask questions and to seek answers for themselves.

It’s really part and parcel of growing as a human being. It’s an imperative part of teaching. Every teacher knows that as they’re teaching, they’re not just teaching a subject. They’re teaching young people to be good people. As someone who’s been in education for a long time, that’s something

we didn’t discuss when I was graduating. But when you’re put into a classroom and you’re in front of a class of beautiful faces and they’re all unique and talented young people, you know that the relationship that you’ve built with each one is what’s important.

“EVERY TEACHER KNOWS THAT AS THEY’RE TEACHING, THEY’RE NOT JUST TEACHING A SUBJECT. THEY’RE TEACHING YOUNG PEOPLE TO BE GOOD PEOPLE.”

The five core IGS values represent who we are as a School; our culture. They’re something we can continue to refer to because that’s what our founder wanted us to do, and I don’t think they’ve changed. We’re vibrant; we seek Unity Through Diversity. We want to reach our personal best. None of this changes. We can always refer back to these values to say this is who we are, this is who we’ve always been, and this is what we’ve always believed in as a school. We are our authentic selves. This school oozes vibrancy.

JOE DEGELING

Director of Counselling Services, Psychologist

One of the big building blocks of learning is good mental health. To be open to learning our brain needs to be calm, we need to be able to remember things, we need to be able to focus and concentrate. We need to be able to recall past knowledge, and utilise and change those memories as we learn new things. To do that, we need to have our anxiety in check. We need to feel safe and secure. Good mental health is fundamental to learning for young people.

Over the past couple of years, natural disasters and major conflicts around the globe have impacted significantly on a number of our students in different ways, including the COVID pandemic, with significant disruption. What I observe is that most kids do get through okay. Most people are able to manage by using the resources and people around them, but for some young people it has been challenging.

“WE ACT IN AN EARLY INTERVENTION ROLE WITH A LOT OF YOUNG PEOPLE. WE KNOW THAT EARLY INTERVENTION WITH MENTAL HEALTH AND MENTAL ILLNESS IS SO IMPORTANT IN THE LONG-TERM TRAJECTORY OF THAT ILLNESS.”

illness is so important in the long-term trajectory of that illness. Getting good care early on can really set young people up to be much more able to manage those symptoms. We get a lot of visits from young people who aren’t necessarily experiencing symptoms of a mental illness but are experiencing normal life things – death of a parent, death of a grandparent, family separation. Even the death of a pet can be a big thing for some students. If someone’s distressed, they need to chat, rather than go straight to class.

The school counsellor role is wellestablished these days, with a very long history in schools. Psychology in schools goes back to the early 1900s, mostly for testing and finding out intelligence scores.

These days, the role of a school counsellor is as a resource for students to use when they’re struggling with their mental health, either due to mental illness or because they’ve noticed a change in how they’re feeling.

We act in an early intervention role with a lot of young people. We know that early intervention with mental health and mental

More broadly, we have a role in responding to crisis incidents. We’re part of the crisis team to support the school community, whether that’s through counselling or some advice and recommendations to the school leadership team. We support the teachers in carrying out their role to help the kids as well. I think our biggest role, if we could summarise it, is that we help young people be mentally and emotionally well enough to be present at school to learn.

We take more formalised referrals that come through parents or teachers but about 25 per cent are self-referral, young

“SOCIAL MEDIA IS A REAL THING IN OUR LIVES. THERE CAN BE LOTS OF FANTASTIC BENEFITS TO IT, BUT LIKE WITH ANYTHING, TOO MUCH OF A GOOD THING IS NOT A GOOD THING.”

people just coming to us. If we’re free, we see them there and then, and that is a part of what we do every day.

Social media is a real thing in our lives. I think most kids, certainly teenagers, would be engaging in social media use. I certainly don’t think it’s all bad. There are some good things that come from social media use, and during COVID, that’s how a lot of young people got through. There can be lots of fantastic benefits to it, but like with anything, too much of a good thing is not a good thing.

“GOOD MENTAL HEALTH IS FUNDAMENTAL TO LEARNING FOR YOUNG PEOPLE.”

There are two elements to that. One is the amount of time that some young people are using social media. What seems to be emerging from the literature is that for some young people, social media use can lead to more symptoms. It’s meant to get us together, but social media can actually drive feelings of isolation and loneliness.

The other thing is how tech companies are building social media platforms. The algorithms and programs that make suggestions to you as a social media user are very targeted and they are, not surprisingly, designed to keep you using that product. That makes sense from a market perspective, but the human toll is yet to be seen.

We seek those dopamine rushes from things that excite us or are interesting. It’s amazing how many people I talk to who say that they have difficulty picking up and reading a

book these days. My own children have said the same thing to me and I certainly have found this too. Social media almost retrains our attention to want these short bursts of a good thing, thereby making it harder for us to apply our mind to things for a longer period of time. Long term, what will be the cost of all of that?

A lot of schools, particularly in the public system, have banned phones. That can seem like a good outcome for young people and for teachers. But that’s not all good either because that’s not teaching young people the skills to manage these things. I don’t think there is an easy answer. At IGS there has been a lot of talk about banning phones completely from school. I don’t think banning is ever going to be the answer. It does come down to education and there is a lot of education around healthy social media usage that happens within the PDHPE curriculum, for example.

The way students access information is different to when I was at school. The resources they go to in class are different. Students have always been distracted in the classroom, with or without tech. It’s not anything new. It’s just a different way that they can be distracted.

Dogs are described as man’s best friends. The Therapy Dog program is another way we can have a positive impact on young people and help bring calm and good feelings to the young people at School. We have an hour visit from either Charlie or Rocky every week. The effect is quite palpable when they’re walking around the school or visiting a classroom. It’s a great program.

Some of our young people might have 15 minutes or half an hour with the therapy dog, and we’re not thinking that’s going to lead to massive change for them. But it’s an opportunity for them to move away from the things in the classroom that might be a little bit stressful, and to sit down and pat or play with one of the therapy dogs,

or go for a little walk. It’s a small program and it has a bigger effect than just the one hour a week on those young people. It’s lovely to see those children with the therapy dog.

Sometimes Charlie and Rocky head to the Colleagues’ Lounge, where we hang out for an hour. People that are drawn to those animals come up with a big smile on their face and have a good pat. It’s just a little bright point, a very soothing process. If we think about those fight and flight systems that can be stressful at school for students and staff, things that help to soothe our brains, our emotional side, are welcome and that’s what the therapy dogs do.

We went to the Year 12 study space at the beginning of the HSC period at the time the students were coming to the hall for their exam. Later we heard from a number of them just how great it was that the therapy dog was there. It helped to calm their nerves.

Being in a school over a long period of time, you see kids when they start as little children and they go all the way through to Year 12. That’s a real privilege; really amazing. That growth that we see in the young people is probably the best thing for me.

AMELIA PHILLIPS

Careers

Advisor

My role is ever-evolving. In a nutshell, what I’m doing is guiding students through their senior years to ultimately make a decision about career possibilities and how to achieve their career goals. I’m helping facilitate decision-making.

Year 10s are deciding what subjects to study for the HSC, and part of that is understanding what their strengths are. We do a lot of self-exploration. We utilise an external company to help with a very comprehensive career profiling which produces a report about each student’s personality and interests, and gives them some career ideas to think about.

“THE POSSIBILITIES ARE SO EXCITING. AND THAT’S WHY STUDENTS ARE ALWAYS SO POSITIVE WHEN THEY’RE SITTING WITH ME. WHO DOESN’T WANT TO TALK ABOUT THE FUTURE? THEY WANT TO LEARN; THEY WANT TO KNOW WHAT’S OUT THERE FOR THEM AND THAT’S WHY THEY’RE SO ENGAGED.”

Year 11 is about focusing on understanding the skills of the HSC. Years 11 and 12 are quite different to what they’ve experienced from Year 7 to Year 10, because we’re ultimately setting them up for an HSC exam. I do more study sessions with Year 11, giving them tools to help them organise themselves and manage their time. We start thinking about what they might want to do but really, Year 11 is consolidating the skills they need to succeed for the HSC.

In Year 12 it’s a real focus on their next step. They’re stepping out into the world. What will that be? Will that be uni? Will it be work? Will it be a gap year? That’s the crux

of what I do for Year 12. There is so much information out there. I feel I’m acting as a sort of filter. What are the reliable sources of information? What’s a tax file number? I’m filtering down the key things they will need to take that next step.

For me to support them, I need to see them. The best way is by holding individual careers meetings, one-on-one. It is surprising how much you can get to know someone in a 40-minute interview if you’re genuinely present with them and asking the right questions. Their teachers are the ones that know them the best. My knowledge of them is different. It’s not them as a student, it’s

them as a person. It doesn’t necessarily take time; it just takes good questioning.

I always start with, “well, tell me about yourself. What are your interests? What are your hobbies? What subjects do you like?” By asking those more personal questions, I get a good understanding of where they’ve come from and where they’re at. It helps me piece together a profile of who they are and what they might be good at. I’m not telling students what they should or shouldn’t do. My job is to know them and to guide them.

Everyone tells them that life and careers are not linear journeys. I don’t think a 17-year-old can really understand that because their whole life has been linear up until that point. It’s not until you’re an adult that you really realise how squiggly life can be. My role is about helping them to understand, at that point in time, what they might want to do, and exploring that.

It’s about skills. Decision-making is a skill; filtering information, refining things. Students need to ask what suits them and what doesn’t, and to reflect. I’ve always thought students really know themselves. They’re going through a lot of change, but they know what they like, and they know what they don’t like. It’s so unique to be able to work with them, because all you need to do is say one thing that they can say, yep, that will work for me and they’re on it. That is a skill they have just by virtue of their age and stage of development. They’re open to advice and guidance. They’re not rigid, which is good. If they felt like they knew it all, they wouldn’t be open to new ideas. Their open minds help me to do my job.

I hope I help set them on a path where they feel in control. I always say, “be open to who you are going to meet, and the information that you’re going to have access to when you’re either at uni or TAFE. Your eyes are going to be open to so much when you leave. It’s making sure that you are listening and taking it in.”

I hope I set them up to know that it’s okay to change their mind. We can decide on something for now, but that might change, and they need to stay open-minded. Statistically, thousands of students change their courses after the first year out of school.

“THEIR TEACHERS ARE THE ONES THAT KNOW THEM THE BEST. MY KNOWLEDGE OF THEM IS DIFFERENT. IT’S NOT THEM AS A STUDENT, IT’S THEM AS A PERSON. IT DOESN’T NECESSARILY TAKE TIME; IT JUST TAKES GOOD QUESTIONING.”

On the whole, IGS students pursue tertiary study, generally at university. Some of them will do a gap year first. There’s always a good handful that want to travel for a year. Some might pursue work straight away. I want students to be happy, so if they’re not, or something isn’t the right fit for them, whether it’s a subject or they’re just having trouble engaging with school, I like to try to help solve that challenge. It’s looking at the person as a whole and thinking about all the different aspects of their life, not just their situation at school.

I think the narrative around where students should go after school is changing. The government has made a big effort to reinvigorate vocational education, and that’s linked to things like a skills shortage. It’s removing stigmas. Is university necessarily the be-all and end-all? More and more, when I speak to parents, they are more open about their kids doing something else.

Institutions around us are opening up more opportunities for our school students. Through the Wanago program, University of Technology Sydney (UTS) offers NESAdeveloped courses that would ordinarily be offered in a school. TAFE offers Vocational Education and Training (VET) courses such as Hospitality, Tourism, Electrotechnology or Construction. We’re so close, it makes sense. Why not engage with a partner who’s got great facilities and resources so children can study a different subject? There are a lot of benefits to sending kids out rather than giving them everything in the one place. The conversation has changed around it being okay to do other

things, which is positive for students.

Early entry programs for university assess students during Year 11. It’s an opportunity for students to sell themselves on any skills they might have in, say, leadership or teamwork, or to submit a portfolio demonstrating their creative skills for a particular course. It validates them in Year 11, and it takes the pressure off Year 12. Even if a student has high aspirations, exploring other opportunities is important because the one thing you don’t want students to say is, “I’m not smart enough for that, or there’s no money in that”.

The possibilities are so exciting. And that’s why students are always so positive when they’re sitting with me. Who doesn’t want to talk about the future? They want to learn; they want to know what’s out there for them and that’s why they’re so engaged. It’s diverse, there are new challenges to think about, such as increasing women’s representation in certain industries. I’m always on the lookout for visiting speakers and work experience programs.

“DECISION-MAKING IS A SKILL; FILTERING INFORMATION, REFINING THINGS. STUDENTS NEED TO ASK WHAT SUITS THEM AND WHAT DOESN’T, AND TO REFLECT.”

It’s a changing world. Being able to understand what issues they may face and how they will navigate them, is important. The world they’re going into is possibly less physically connected. They will need to be able to navigate how to build connections and relationships when everyone’s online. They will need to know how to make a decision. That means gathering information, and figuring out what outcomes they want. They need to constantly reflect on their goals. Being world ready is about being discerning, open-minded, self-reflecting, and flexible and adaptable to change. It’s my job to help them develop all those qualities.

BUILDING COMMUNITY

In June 2024, after four decades of supporting the School through infancy and into adulthood, the IGS Parents, Teachers and Friends (PTF) group was dissolved. In its place has risen the IGS Parents & Carers (P&C) Association Inc, a not-for-profit incorporated community group with a modernised constitution. The new group, still very much parent-led, will see IGS into its fifth decade and beyond, continuing its invaluable work of building and nurturing community.

“WITHOUT THE UNWAVERING DEDICATION OF PARENTS WHO COURAGEOUSLY OFFERED TO REMORTGAGE THEIR HOMES IN THE TUMULTUOUS 80s, IGS MIGHT HAVE FADED INTO OBSCURITY.

“The challenges of that era … were deeply felt. Yet, amidst the financial turbulence, we clung to a belief in International Grammar School and the profound impact it would have on our children’s lives. We dug deep then, and we continue to do so now.

“My own journey with the PTF has been a whirlwind. I wear this role with immense pride. I assumed it because I believe in kindness. That’s it. In the corporate realm, kindness often takes a backseat, overshadowed by pride and self-interest. But in our cherished community, kindness reigns supreme. I’ve always led with my heart, knowing that as a team, we’ve prioritised kindness above all else. May this ethos endure in the new P&C.”

Hayley

Dean, former PTF President and now President of the IGS P&C Association

InFocus 21/6/24

HAYLEY DEAN

President IGS P&C Association Inc

“WHAT WE WANT TO DO IS MAKE A NICE ENVIRONMENT FOR THE FAMILIES BY FOSTERING THAT SENSE OF COMMUNITY; ALLOWING PARENTS TO TAKE THAT JOURNEY WITH THEIR CHILDREN.”

We had always planned to send our children to the local public school. Somebody mentioned that IGS was good for rainbow families. Our local early learning centre insisted on using the terms “motherhood” and “fatherhood” which I found confronting – and not just for our family. In that group there was a single mother and an adoptee family, so those titles didn’t fit. I found it archaic.

At IGS it is “parent” and “carer”. Those little things really matter when you’re a rainbow family or you’re in a minority. At IGS, being a rainbow family is a non-issue.

Initially we planned to pull the children out after Early Learning and bring them back for Year 7, but we fell head over heels in love with the School and decided we would do whatever it took to find the money to keep our kids at IGS. We now have three boys at the School, and all of them just fit in.

I never felt I fitted in at school. I look at the social and emotional side of schooling and my partner, Lisa, looks at the academic side. IGS ticks the boxes for both of us. IGS is known in the rainbow community as being one of the best schools to go to. It’s so important that your kids aren’t marginalised because of their parents.

IGS Rainbow Families is quite a big community. We have picnics and catchups, and march together at Mardi Gras. We celebrate Wear it Purple Day and other events. For me, it’s another part of what makes IGS great – that embracing of community. All that matters is who you are as a human being, not where you fit in the categories. I don’t think people understand how rare that is. When you find it, you hold onto it.

I know how much my partner and I sacrifice to keep our three boys here. They are so lucky to go to a school like IGS. They don’t know nasty comments. They’re safe and secure and I don’t think they’ve ever been made to feel any different from their classmates because of their parents.

I wanted to be on the Parent, Teachers and Friends (PTF) committee for a long time. Our youngest had a lot of health issues after he was born so my partner Lisa joined as a class representative, because I was too busy. When I reached a point where I was able to become more involved, I was put into the role of Vice President Early Learning and Primary. Later I became President of the PTF.

We organise community activities and school-wide events to bring everybody together. We have always supported Speech Night by providing books for prizes. A wonderful volunteer parent runs Rue Kelly secondhand sales and does a phenomenal job managing donations of uniforms and helping us dispose of unwanted items sustainably. We also have our First Nations Co-ordinator who liaises between the Koori Club families and the Indigenous Education team. We are trying to learn alongside our kids in areas they focus on in class.

For the primary school kids, the disco is the highlight of the year. It’s a huge undertaking and takes months to organise, whatever the theme. In the leadup, more than 100 parent volunteers help with things like decorations.

It’s a great evening, and I love how that always involves the parents. The kids just go crazy; they love it.

The IGS Lunar New Year celebrations with the City of Sydney were spectacular. I worked very hard on that. I stopped my own job for three months to get it ready. We had an amazing team of PTF volunteers who helped. We asked local eateries, too, and the lovely couple that run the local print shop. We invited all the neighbours to join us. I wanted the kids to be proud of showing off their school to the community, embracing all cultures.

The parent body does so much. As Paul Galea once said, we fill the gaps in the School. That’s a really nice way of saying it. We do not get involved in the operational side of the School. We don’t want to control what happens in the classroom. What we want to do is make a nice environment for the families by fostering that sense of community.

One of the initiatives I’m incredibly proud of is fundraising for breast cancer. Several parents were undergoing their own breast cancer journeys. They inspired us to work hard, and we raised over $24,000. We held a sausage sizzle one morning and I asked people to wear pink and get involved. Parents were managing the barbecue when one of the students whose mum was fighting cancer came along and asked to help. Within 20 minutes a few of his mates came up and joined in. Half an hour later, there were no adults working that stand. It was all students supporting this kid, and for me that was one of my favourite moments. It was the essence of community.

A lot of us, as parents, didn’t have the wonderful education that our children have, particularly about First Nations. We have a lot of unlearning and new learning to do. In the past 18 months, the PTF has offered many education opportunities for families about First Nations. We’ve done workshops on understanding the difference between a Welcome to Country and an Acknowledgement of Country and how to write an Acknowledgement of Country. I’ve learnt so much, and I want to be able to support my kids in that journey.

We aim to facilitate not just community, but the right style of community. The whole

“ONE OF THE BEAUTIFUL, SPECIAL THINGS ABOUT IGS IS THAT PARENTS WANT TO HELP BUILD THE SCHOOL. I OFTEN REFER TO IGS AS ‘THE LITTLE SCHOOL THAT COULD’. WE DON’T HAVE MASSIVE ROLLING HILLS OR ROWING CLUBS, BUT WHAT WE DO HAVE IS A SENSE OF RESPECT AND COMMUNITY.”

family seems to get involved in the journey of schooling. With the private school I went to, it was very much just about me, and my parents weren’t welcomed. But IGS welcomes us. It asks what we want to do, and embraces our contributions.

Connectedness and kindness are values I think about all the time. My grandmother used to say, “friends to some, kind to all”. I try and come at my role as the parent body president with that view. We started the Greek Club so that the Greek families can come together. We hold Diwali at the front gate and the families that celebrate Diwali love finding each other. It’s not about segregating; it’s connecting people and then asking those people to teach us all. Nobody in this world is better than anybody else, and I love that IGS strongly supports that idea.

The IGS community is colourful and diverse. It’s amazing that you can be talking to somebody who is on the big screen or is a music celebrity, and not even realise that’s who you’re talking to. I see colour and fun. I see a lot of smiles and laughter. I often get thanked for being the President, but there is a passionate team beside me who work very hard to get things done. The class reps are the ones, in my opinion, who really create community. They are our

unsung heroes, because they’re not on the committee and they don’t get their names written in neon lights. But they work hard to bring people together.

We’re very conscious of the history of the original parents. Forty years ago they mortgaged their own homes to keep the School afloat. We all know that, and we hold that responsibility dear to our hearts.

One of the beautiful, special things about IGS is that parents have always wanted to help build the School. I often refer to IGS as “the little school that could”. We don’t have massive rolling hills or rowing clubs, but what we do have is a sense of respect and community and kindness and belonging, and a bunch of families that really want to help create and foster good humans.

We are a phenomenal group of parents; we passionately care about the School. IGS is a very different school to most, with a very different parent group. Moving into the future, we want to be fundraising more and more for the School but we always put kindness and community first and foremost.

My mum and dad enrolled me in IGS at the age of three. My older brother, Oscar, had been here since preschool as well. My IGS journey started there. I stayed all the way till Year 12. I didn’t feel I had to fit into any mould going to IGS. I could be whoever I wanted to be, and I think that’s the case with pretty much all kids going here. That’s a fundamental of “IGSness”.

Every memory I have is built off IGS. It’s a second home and I’m very glad I was brought up in this school. I now work at the school. When I’m walking around the halls, looking after kids at aftercare, there’s a sense of nostalgia. I built a lot of friendships at IGS that I will always cherish. I’m still very close with my IGS friends.

“THE LANGUAGE ASPECT OF IGS WAS IMPORTANT FOR ME. BEING ABLE TO SPEAK FRENCH FEELS LIKE A PART OF WHO I AM. IT WAS A FUNDAMENTAL PART OF MY UPBRINGING.”

Grace Truman, who was Head Girl, and I came into our positions during COVID. That became a bit of a hiccup in the road, impacting what we could do as leaders. Going into it we were both very excited. A lot of people think that Head Boy and Head Girl are just there to present at assemblies

ORLANDO READ

Head Boy 2021

or smile for pictures. But Grace and I were meeting up with Ms Duma and Mr Dennehy every week, discussing all kinds of things. I was surprised at how much say we had; our opinions were important to the IGS leadership team, Mr Dennehy, Ms Duma and Ms Colnan, and they took what we said on board.

You have these ideas of what Year 12 is going to look like. Because of COVID, the whole Year 11 and 12 journey was very much a rollercoaster of emotions. No-one could foresee what was going to happen. I was very grateful for the way IGS shifted to that online learning environment so quickly and smoothly. Because we’d grown up with technology, everyone adapted fast, which was good.

The language aspect of IGS was important for me. Being able to speak French feels like a part of who I am. It was a fundamental part of my upbringing. You get a different understanding of other cultures when you’re actually learning the language – especially

in primary school, immersed in it for 80 minutes a day. I went on exchange to France in Year 10 and that really solidified everything I’d worked towards. Growing up in such a multicultural environment expanded my knowledge of the world and my eagerness to want to learn about other cultures.

I’m in my second year of a Bachelor of Communication at UTS, majoring in Media Business and Strategic Communication. As part of that, I’m going on exchange to a university in Toronto for a semester to study a New Media program and then joining up with some IGS friends to travel in Canada and the US.

I think travel is such an important part of being human; getting out there and experiencing the world. IGS instilled that desire in me to experience other cultures firsthand. The biggest part of being world ready is to go and actually be out in the world. Being world ready also means that you’re ready and able to be an active member of your community, whether that’s a workplace, a local community or a national community.

“I THINK TRAVEL IS SUCH AN IMPORTANT PART OF BEING HUMAN; GETTING OUT THERE AND EXPERIENCING THE WORLD. IGS INSTILLED THAT DESIRE IN ME TO EXPERIENCE OTHER CULTURES FIRSTHAND. THE BIGGEST PART OF BEING WORLD READY IS TO GO AND ACTUALLY BE OUT IN THE WORLD.”

What I took away from IGS was the importance of being a global citizen – respecting other cultures and having that willingness to want to learn about other people; that desire to be a part of a community, and the importance of speaking up for what you believe in, and not being afraid of what other people might think. It’s taught me about the importance of never giving up – to keep shooting for the target. All of this, IGS taught me.

BE KIND

Excerpt from Orlando Read’s Speech Night 2021 address

“As I sat down last week to reflect on my time at IGS, while waiting for some cakes to finish baking, I couldn’t help but think about all that IGS has taught me.

“What it means to be kind, to be morally courageous, to reach for the stars, to be bold, to learn, to be passionate, to be vibrant and to celebrate individuality. I’ve built authentic friendships and connections with these people. I’ve developed a strong global appreciation for culture because of these people. I’ve uncovered my passion and found my voice because of these people. And above all, I have discovered exactly who I am. I am lucky enough to call these people my IGS family.

“This family calls 4-8 Kelly Street, Ultimo, home. While it’s gone through changes over the years, what hasn’t changed since I took my first steps through those big iron gates on the fifth of February 2007, with my crocs on the wrong feet and a bag that reached my toes, is the overwhelming sense of love. IGS has a way of not forcing its students into a mould, but rather helping them, guiding them to find what mould best suits them. This family nurtures tiny toddlers through to gentle giants to become authentic, vibrant and courageous global citizens, ready to take on any challenge they face.

“What IGS has taught me most is the importance of being kind to yourself and others. In the words of American poet, memoirist and civil rights activist, Maya Angelou, “people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel”.

“Let this be a reminder that no matter who you are or where you come from, you have a choice. A choice to be kind. The choice to decide whether you’ll remind that person that everything is going to be okay. The choice to hold that door open for a stranger or simply give them a smile. Be kind and people will be kind in return. Don’t forget to also be kind to yourself. Embrace all your quirks, imperfections and flaws. These are what make you special, and don’t let anyone make you think otherwise.

“For now, it is time to say goodbye, even though I know my IGS family will always be by my side in one way or another. Thank you.”

[IGS] has informed every day that I’ve lived my life because it has instilled in me a way of looking at the world and taking initiative with what I believe in. That is invaluable and I trace it back to IGS because it encourages students to have a voice, to believe in and think about what they want to say. It was so supportive, and I couldn’t have asked for a better learning experience.

I was at IGS from Year 1 all the way to the end of Year 12. When my parents enrolled me, I don’t think they fully understood how bilingual IGS was, but it was a great opportunity to throw myself into a world of language learning. I remember my interview with Mr Bird all those years ago. I was very excited to see this school, which was to me, at the time, so big. I hadn’t come across anything like it before.

I must’ve been very talkative at the interview because when I was asked what my favourite hobbies were, I went on and on and

GRACE TRUMAN

Head Girl 2021

Mr Bird said, “and you must like talking, too, Grace”. So that was probably a pretty telling start. I have so many fond memories of the amazing teachers from my primary school years. Each term we were given these amazing projects that we got to deep dive into, and they encouraged us to be creative and run with our imagination.

There was a dramatic shift in my life when, at the end of Year 5, my dad died very suddenly. IGS kind of just picked Mum and me up when we really needed it most. I was going into Year 6, and I landed in Mrs Weir’s classroom. Honestly, I don’t know what we would’ve done without the support of the School and Mrs Weir and Ms Colnan at that time. It was incredible to feel so embraced and wrapped up by so much warmth and care. From there, Mum and I felt more stable, because the School helped to stabilise us.

I was able, with Mum, to develop a web series, Amazing Grace, to honour my dad and my memories of him, and try and imagine his role in my life as I continued to grow up without him physically with me. The series tied into my school years, going into high school, and the School very generously provided a location for a lot of our filming.

I feel like the high school years rocketed along to Years 11 and 12. Being Head Girl

was a wonderful opportunity. It was such a different way of seeing the School that I had known for so many years. It gave me a new-found appreciation of just how much goes on behind the scenes to make IGS the school that it is. It was a real privilege to work with people like Ms Duma and Mr Dennehy on a frequent basis; meet with them, work alongside Orlando and see the collaborative nature of leadership.

“IGS ROLE MODELS KINDNESS. YOU LEARN KINDNESS THROUGH SEEING IT ENACTED AND BY BEING SURROUNDED BY PEOPLE WHO ARE ENGAGING WITH EACH OTHER WITH KINDNESS.”

Those years had their challenges because they were wrapped up in the pandemic. That really shaped my last year of high school. We were in and out of lockdowns and there was a whole lot of pivoting to the teaching that needed to happen. But there was such a sense of community throughout that whole time.

Even though we were separate and isolating, there was still this contact and checking in and knowing that people were there if you needed them. That was an interesting learning experience of how the world can change so quickly. It was a very uncertain time. But I think, again, to be grounded by such a strong school community made that time much easier to navigate.

Kindness is a form of respect. You can’t really be kind to someone if you don’t try and understand and see who they are as a person. That’s where it starts. Kindness is in action as well. It’s being with people, respecting them and then acting in a way that is generous. It is about listening. It is taking actions and initiatives when you can, when you have the capacity to make life better for other people in whatever way you can.

I experienced kindness every day at school. Kindness was in every interaction I had at IGS, between the teachers and students, and between the students themselves. Not to say that there weren’t times that people didn’t see eye to eye – there were those moments, of course, but overall people were willing to engage and have conversations that sometimes were tricky but were about understanding and respect and wanting to learn from one another.

I think the teaching community at IGS is remarkable. The respect they show to students, and the respect students have for the teachers, and their kindness, is incredible. The teachers really want to understand the students and make them feel heard and empowered.

IGS role models kindness. You learn kindness through seeing it enacted and by being

surrounded by people who are engaging with each other with kindness. It makes people feel better about themselves. It makes people more productive and more capable in the work that they do. It spreads out into the world. The environment of kindness at IGS rubs off on you.

I had been connected to the B Kinder Foundation through a family friend. It was an initiative I wanted to help support at the School. B Kinder Day was established in honour of Billy Kinder, an incredible young girl who tragically died in a horse-riding accident. Her mum has been sharing her incredible legacy through days and events like B Kinder Day.

IGS was one of the first schools to get behind B Kinder Day, which speaks volumes about the School. B Kinder Day is about sharing messages of kindness. Cards designed with art created by Billy Kinder are shared with students, who think about the story behind them and take a moment to reflect on who to write a message of kindness to. It’s beautiful.

Every time we celebrated this Day, there was an amazing kind of ripple effect of kindness through the School. Everyone was involved and they took it seriously because they realised the impact they could have by writing this message of kindness. That’s what IGS has instilled in its students – that your words and your actions have meaning and power. Since I’ve graduated, IGS has expanded its initiatives with the B Kinder Foundation to become a B Kinder School which, again, is a very apt reflection of IGS.

I’m in my third year at university, which is hard to believe because it doesn’t feel that long ago since I left IGS. I’m doing a science and arts degree majoring in neuroscience

and philosophy which I love as a combination because they feed into each other so well. I’ve had the opportunity to go on exchange for a semester where I studied in Berlin for six months. That was a great opportunity to live in the country of the language I had studied for 10 years at school.

IGS has given me a way of looking at the world. It’s shaped how I see the world and my perspective; it makes things feel approachable. IGS has made the world feel so close in terms of the issues that we’re facing and how we can connect to make change. In the future, I would love to spend time living and working in different places around the world because it provides such a wonderful opportunity to gain new perspectives and interact with new people.

There were a lot of formative experiences at IGS but I always think back to my classroom experiences and all my different teachers. Those are my fondest memories of IGS because I felt so encouraged to learn and to be curious, to ask questions and have those questions taken seriously. The time that the teachers took to have those conversations, for me, was really powerful.

It comes back to kindness and respect. To feel kindness and respect from such a young age was formative. It gives you confidence to go out in the world and to engage with other people, to feel like you will be listened to, and you have something to say, and something to learn. I think the openness that IGS instilled in me is what I’m most grateful for.

ACTS OF KINDNESS

Kindness is enacted in many ways. It is putting the wellbeing of others at the forefront, helping without reward, giving something of oneself, donating, volunteering, listening, understanding, and acting.

Through the IGS Connect program, students of all ages help others, within and beyond the campus. As the School’s early history shows, kindness has always been alive and well at IGS. IGS Connect continues to strengthen a culture of empathy and altruism.

R U OK? DAY

Supporting mental health and wellbeing

B KINDER DAY

Spreading words of kindness with cards created by the B Kinder Foundation with artwork by the late Billie Kinder, a keen young artist. Head Girl Grace Truman (2021) was a B Kinder ambassador.

SENIORS AND TEENS EMPATHY PROGRAM (STEP)

Building relationships across the generations

ANTI-BULLYING

Building a safe and inclusive learning environment with awareness and posters created by IGS students

LOU’S PLACE WOMEN’S REFUGE

Donating essential products for women in need.

“KINDNESS FLOWS OUT FROM OUR CORE VALUES – DIVERSITY, PERSONAL ACHIEVEMENT, CONNECTEDNESS, VIBRANCY AND AUTHENTICITY. WE CAN NEVER BE COMPLACENT ABOUT OUR PRECIOUS CULTURE. LET’S CONTINUE ENCOURAGING KINDNESS…”

Shauna Colnan, Through Line, 9 June 2015

CHRIS O’BRIEN LIFEHOUSE

Supporting in the fight against cancer

KIDS GIVING BACK

Helping people who are homeless with food and care packages

STORIES FROM THE WORLD: LIFE BEYOND SCHOOL

Excerpts from interviews with IGS Alums

recorded by Community Relations Manager Paul Galea

NAYSAN (NAYS) BAGHAI (2015)

Australian Film Television and Radio School graduate | Documentary filmmaker, specialising in underwater filming

Nays made his first short film while in Year 12. His second film, Descent, won best Australian Documentary at the 2020 Sydney Film Festival. Nays’ latest film, Diving into the Darkness, was released in 2024.

“At IGS, I had been experimenting with all sorts of film genres in primary school. Between Years 9 to 12 I began to take filmmaking more seriously as a career option. After I graduated, I went to film school, and that’s when the underwater cinematography bug really kicked in. It slowly snowballed into making feature films.

“A lot of my non-diving friends wonder why I do it. It got me thinking; the whole ‘why’ we do things is more interesting than the ‘what’ or the ‘how’. That evolved into a series

about people who go into the most hostile underwater environments and why.

“Even though it’s a decade since I began, I still feel very much like a student, curious about what’s next.

“My tips: don’t play it safe from a creative perspective; let your imagination run wild and take risks as long as it doesn’t compromise your health and safety; don’t be unkind, don’t be close-minded, and don’t compare yourself to others. Just go at your own pace, on your own journey.”

SEBASTIAN HANSCOMB (2012)

Barrister | Admitted to the Bar in 2023

“I decided to study Law at the end of Year 12 but didn’t get in because the ATAR requirements are very high. I wasn’t deterred. I did a year of a business degree then started picking up law subjects. By 2017 I had caught up.

“I’m the only person I know who, at 17, decided to be a barrister and 10 years later, had managed to line up all the ducks so that it happened. It’s been very good for me. I’ve never doubted what I wanted to do next.

“Everyone in their twenties needs to find at least one really good mentor. It makes an immeasurable difference not only to your career, but to your life. I hope to give back in the same way.”

ZOE RAWLINSON (2015)

Bachelor and Masters of Fine Arts at the National Art School | Art teacher

“It’s interesting having been through Years 11 and 12 and now teaching Years 11 and 12.

“You’ve got to make sure that you stay true to what it is you enjoy doing and follow those passions and subjects. Don’t feel deterred by anyone. And it pays to be nice to others and to be kind. I don’t think we realise how much of an effect that can have on someone’s day.”

STEPHANIE ROSIER (2009)

Bachelor of Languages, majoring in Japanese and Korean | Masters of Teaching | Language teacher

“I always remind my students that language is like doing exercise; you have to do it regularly to see the results. You practise to build up your language skills just like you build up your muscles. Keep going with it even if it’s tough, because it’s one of the skills that you can combine with any career and that a lot of adults wish they had.”

DINA VASSILEVSKA (2009)

Doctor

“I got a scholarship to do remote placements in the Central Desert in the Northern Territory. That solidified my passion for working in remote health and the Indigenous health sphere. As an intern in Darwin, I did a remote placement in Groote Eylandt. Going remote is very rewarding. It’s also challenging and isolating, and a tough environment. You learn to be very flexible.

“I really loved school. IGS was where I grew into what I am now. It fostered my love for social justice and equipped me with the right tools to be confident in my adult life.”

ERYK BAGSHAW (2007)

Investigative journalist, reporter and foreign correspondent | Winner, Correspondent of the Year, Kennedy Awards, 2023

“I started in primary at IGS and went all the way through. A lot of those old mates, I’ve still got today. That shows how strong that connection is, which I think is pretty rare these days.

“If you’re overseas and experiencing different environments, your perspective is so much broader, and that’s something IGS really instilled from a very early age.

“Following your passion and interests is critical. Ultimately, you’re going to be working for more of your life than not. Getting experiences outside of your comfort zone means you’ll be better equipped to handle a variety of scenarios when you enter the professional world.

“You’ll never know when some of those lessons at school will come in handy. The experience of doing a Japanese Home Stay when I was 10 years old was invaluable. I was reporting for 60 Minutes recently and had to ask some difficult questions on camera, in Japanese. It just came out in a way I didn’t think it would. Those lessons fifteen years ago – they stay in your brain in ways you could never imagine.”

MANAKON EAMMANO (2011)

Paramedic | Underwater rugby player

“I discovered Underwater Rugby in 2015, where I got to play and travel around Europe training with various teams for two years and even competing for Norway at a club championship in Berlin.

“I was selected for the Australian National team in 2019 and got a chance to play at the World Championships in Graz, Austria. Australia came 9th out of 17 teams which was Australia’s best result since joining the world stage.

“My second Underwater Rugby World Championship for Australia was in the lovely city of Montreal.”

SARAH STREET (2018)

Author of young adult fantasy books

Sarah’s first book, A Curse of Salt, was published in 2023 just five years after she graduated. A Sea of Wolves was published in 2024. Sarah was a guest speaker at the inaugural IGS Literary Festival.

“I started writing A Curse of Salt just before my HSC trials. I always knew that I wanted to write. It’s a young adult fantasy and a romance set on a pirate ship. That took a year to write and then I had to get myself an agent, a whole learning process in itself. It’s been a very exciting journey.

“Knowing your dream is such a big first step. My advice? Try to find those things that bring you joy and fulfillment. There’s a lot to be said for just doing what you love, even if it is a bit uncertain.”

JONATHAN (JONO) RIESEL (2023)

Contemporary dancer | studying for Advanced Diploma of Professional Dance

Jono completed an accelerated HSC Dance program while in Year 11, earning selection in the NESA Dance showcase, Callback. He is currently studying an Advanced Diploma of Professional Dance (Elite Performance) at Brent Street.

In 2024, Jono was one of 30 students selected by Brent Street to compete in America’s Got Talent. The troupe was awarded a “Golden Buzzer”, bypassing the lower rounds of the competition and shunting them straight through to the live shows.

He was guest dancer at the IGS Vive La Révolution concert.

DYON LEDDIE (2016)

Wine merchant

“I’ve lived, studied and worked in Shanghai, the US, France and Morocco. After a few years working in private equity, I realised the industry wasn’t for me and pivoted towards the wine industry, recently completing a double diploma in wine management at Le Cordon Bleu, Paris. I now work as a wine importer which has allowed for some amazing trips around Europe, meeting some of the most talented and kind people in the industry.

“I’m also incredibly lucky that most of my best friendships were formed at school. It’s nice that my year group is still so close. It’s not something I’ve seen in many other schools or places.”

ALUM OF THE YEAR 2022

IGS graduates making a difference

NICHOLAS JORDAN (2006)

The inaugural IGS Alum of the Year, Nicholas is a food writer and reviewer, and co-founder of Have you Eaten, an online, interactive map of Sydney cuisines and restaurants. Nick’s carved out a niche for himself in the Sydney food scene, writing for many high-profile publications.

In his many years completing a Bachelor’s degree in International Studies and a Master’s in Journalism, Nick nurtured a talent for, and commitment to, building connections.

ANONYMOUS NOMINATION:

“NICK IS THE MOST COMMUNITY-ORIENTED AND CONNECTED PERSON IN MY LIFE. HE IS ENGAGED WITH DIVERSE GROUPS”

MAXIM ADAMS (2016)

Head Boy 2016 | Scientist

At the University of Sydney, Maxim studied Evolutionary Genetics and Biology. In his ground-breaking research, he rediscovered a specific cockroach, long thought to be extinct in Eastern Australia, which is closely linked to fluctuations in Australia’s climate. Maxim graduated with first class Honours in Biology and the University Medal in 2023.

“When I reflect, I cherish the memories; the experiences I’ll share with my future children. Exam results aren’t the stories I’ll tell. It’s the scientific discoveries, innovations, and most importantly, the people I’ve encountered. That’s what truly matters. Remember, you have one life – you can have a bit of fun along the way.”

MARTIN BRANDEL (2015)

Board game creator | retailer

“After school, I entered the University of Sydney with a flexible first year engineering course, transferring to an Aerospace Engineering and Physics double degree, and then changed my major to Computer Science.

“During my university studies, I bought a fish tank; then I got two tanks, then three, then five and I started an online store.

“After graduating I got a software engineering job. After a year and a half I decided to follow my passion and run my own businesses. Since then, I’ve released two of my own board games through Kickstarter and opened an aquarium and board game shop in Pyrmont.”

ANNA KLAUZNER (2002)

Producer and creator, television and digital media | formerly with Al Jazeera in New York and the ABC in Sydney

“For me, IGS was a place where there’s genuine caring. My best friends today are all from IGS. Those friendships mean the world to me and that time is something I hold on to. The IGS community was special.

“Enjoy every moment because you don’t get these years back. It’s such a joy and a privilege to be taught; to sit and be able to absorb information, and not have any responsibilities other than just to be learning. There are so many new jobs that didn’t exist when I was in high school. Focus on learning, being creative and being a critical thinker because those are the things that will equip you to deal with the world.”

MI-KAISHA MASELLA (2018)

Head Girl 2018 | Awarded NAIDOC Youth of the Year in 2019 for her work with Aboriginal communities | Recorded Music degree from New York University | Performer at Sydney’s first South by Southwest (SXSW) festival in 2023 | Guest artist for the IGS Vive La Révolution concert | Singer, songwriter and producer

“Moving to NYC was a massive adjustment, but I quickly fell in love with the city. I’ve been lucky enough to bounce around the globe for songwriting camps and performances, working alongside artists like Maverick City Music, Dionne Warwick, G Flip, the Kid Laroi and Hillsong Worship.

“I am now living in Brooklyn, NY, working as a full-time artist, releasing music and playing shows in the city. I also signed my first publishing deal, songwriting, last year and am loving writing with and for other artists.”

ALEX JARKEY (2004)

Honours graduate | Mechatronics engineer

“I met my wife at IGS. We have two children now. I met a lot of my long-term friends through IGS as well. I still hang out with the people we hung out with in Year 12. It’s very good to have friends for so long and it’s one of the reasons I feel like my life has been so stable.”

CHI WING (WINGY) LI (1997)

Child carer

“I did not know what I wanted to do after graduating. I started working at IGS in afterschool and holiday care, and then went on to study more about education. Now, I’m running an Out of School Hours Care centre. I’ve been there for 19 years.

“All the people I met through IGS, either working or as a student, gave me a lot of experience and guidance. Without IGS, I wouldn’t have my wonderful family. While I was working at IGS I had an opportunity to meet some of the teachers, and one of them is now my wife. We’re very blessed to have healthy twin boys.”

JOEL DAVISON (2010)

Published poet and lyricist | Teacher of the Gadigal language | Creative

“Language carries and stores so much of culture, especially a language that had no written form. Today, we think that stories are only real if they’re written down. But for tens of thousands of years my people kept information integral to our responsibilities to each other in our ecosystem, in our language. That’s a powerful thing, important to being human in the 21st Century.

“I was contacted by the Sydney Festival. It was the first time that someone reached out to me because they were interested in giving me a platform to teach people about my culture. It got me thinking about the impact I can have. The ideal is that everyone in Australia should be able to understand the local Indigenous language.

“In 2018 I had the opportunity to give a Welcome to Country in language at the Opera House for the New Year’s Eve broadcast, watched by some three million people; historically, the most people that have heard my people’s language at one time.

“I was very lucky to go to IGS. One of the biggest things for me was the opportunity to be a student leader in Year 12. I thought that was so brave of the teachers, to be honest, because when I was in high school, I really did not have any sense of discipline. Being exposed to the responsibilities of leadership, I was able to accurately dissect the gap between the leader I wanted to be and the leader I was being, and to work on myself to close that gap.

“Nobody’s perfect. Feel free to make your own mistakes, but make sure that you learn from them.”

ALUM OF THE YEAR 2023

IGS graduates making a difference

BEN GRAN (2009)

After studying a Bachelor of Health and Movement (Sport) and a postgraduate degree in Education in Sydney, Ben Gran moved back to Finland to start his compulsory military service. Settled in his home country, he then studied and trained as a nurse. In 2022 Ben delivered a TEDx talk, Why nurses are the key to medical innovation which, to date, has had more than 1.5 million views. He now works as a Therapy Specialist.

ANONYMOUS NOMINATION:

“Ben is a Nurse anaesthetist at Helsinki University Hospital, on breast cancer surgeries. He is also the Community Developer at Metropolitan Entrepreneurship Society, which aims to develop a new generation of innovators and entrepreneurs to build a more positive and sustainable future.

“Ben has a passion for the future of healthcare development. His TED talk makes a compelling case for integrating nurses and their invaluable insights and experience into health tech innovation to help make care (and the process of providing it) better for generations to come. As the globe grapples with a healthcare crisis in the form of the pandemic, and Australian nurses are leaving the profession in unprecedented numbers due to overwork, burnout and low wages, Ben’s work could not be more needed. The School should be very proud of him!”

KLARA DECKER-STEWART (2019)

Musician

“I am studying a Bachelor of Music Performance and Medicinal Chemistry at the University of Sydney and Conservatorium of Music, and am now the concertmaster of the Sydney Youth Orchestra, with whom I travelled around regional NSW and the UK.

“I was part of the Sydney Opera House’s first performance in the Barkandji language alongside Leroy Johnson.*

“It’s great being able to practise my German with our guest conductor Stanley Dodds from the Berlin Philharmonic. I have performed with the Australian Youth Orchestra and regularly play chamber works around Sydney.”

*Barkandji is the language of the people in the Darling River basin in far western NSW where Leroy Johnson is a musician and chairman of the local Aboriginal Land Council.

ALUM OF THE YEAR 2024

IGS graduates making a difference

MIRO ASTORE (2014)

Miro completed a Bachelor of Science in Physics and Mathematics with first class honours followed by a PhD in Biophysics from the University of Sydney. He now lives in New York and is continuing his potentially life-saving research.

ANONYMOUS NOMINATION:

“At the University of Sydney, Miro discovered a keen interest in biological physics. In his postgraduate studies he investigated rare forms of Cystic Fibrosis using computer simulations of atoms within cells. These simulations allowed Miro and his colleagues to determine which kinds of drugs would best treat which forms of Cystic Fibrosis. This work is helping those with rare forms of the disease to access lifesaving medication.

“After graduating with his PhD, Miro moved to New York City to begin a postdoctoral fellowship at the Flatiron Institute where he has been working on new methods to study the physics of biomolecules with electron microscopy. For this work, Miro was awarded the Young Biophysicist Award from the Australian Society of Biophysics in 2023.

“Miro and his friends in New York run a soup kitchen on Sundays as part of a movement called Food not Bombs, serving about 100 meals a week. Miro uses the French he learnt at IGS to converse with many refugees from West Africa.”

JULIA GLASS (2003)

Bachelor of Music Studies from the Conservatorium of Music | Worked with Australian Chamber Orchestra and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra | Inaugural IGS Alumni Officer | Florist

“It was exciting to start something up that had not been done in the past. It was so nice to be welcomed back into the community, and exciting to see how many alumni want to come back and work in OSHC at IGS. It’s a real testament to the positivity of the School. There is a mutual respect between teachers and students.

“I’m pursuing a dream to do floristry, creating floral designs for weddings, events and gift arrangements. It’s important to be open to learning in all sorts of ways – just be open to the world because that’s what awaits you. The endless possibilities out there are exciting.”

DAMON PETRIE (2003)

Chartered accountant, working for a UK-based private equity fund which invests in sustainable food production.

“A lot of my personal views around sustainability were shaped from the years at IGS. Food production is responsible for 30 to 40 per cent of all greenhouse gas emissions. My job is about allocating capital to companies that are shifting the needle in how we produce food more sustainably.

“All these kids coming out of IGS now understand the damage that things like our food are doing to the environment.

“IGS was a fantastic school. I think of it regularly and I’m grateful for the opportunity to have gone to IGS. Oscar, my little boy, is now enrolled in Early Learning at IGS. My wife, Elena, was a student at IGS as well. We’re both incredibly proud that he’s able to attend IGS.”

DR SHERIDAN GHO (2002)

Head Girl 2002 | PhD in Biomechanics | Graduate Certificate in Research Commercialisation | Founder and CEO of a medical technology company.

“We use research and engineering innovations to create devices that improve people’s lives. We’re currently focused on the technology for the assessment and management of a condition called lymphoedema.

“Coming up to the end of my PhD, I was encouraged to do a medical device commercialisation training program.

RACHAEL DELANEY (2013) Farmer

“Graduating from IGS, I moved to Byron Bay to learn to farm. I spent time at market gardens, permaculture and agroforestry educational spaces and flower farms, and worked with livestock, poultry and horses.

“I learnt many practical skills and with help from another IGS alum, Dan Herbert, built a house truck which I lived in for two and a half years.

“I now have my own slice of paradise in Nymboida, southwest of Grafton, where I have set up my little house truck permanently to run farm stays. I built my own market garden from which I sell produce, eggs and ferments at local farmers’ markets. I also raise sheep, cattle and chooks for meat and my beautiful cows’ milk makes cheese and yogurt.”

I was fortunate enough to win a fellowship to go to San Francisco for two years with my co-founder, a good friend with a background in Mechatronic Engineering. It was life changing.

“I came to IGS for Years 11 and 12. In Year 11, it was my birthday, and I had just migrated to this new country and come to this new school and was feeling a little bit out of sorts. Some of my friends walked in with this huge bunch of flowers and wished me happy birthday. I didn’t even know that they knew that it was my birthday, but it just struck me as such a beautiful thing to do.”

ILANA ORLIEVSKY (2003)

Recruiter, established and runs a recruitment agency focussing on law, financial services and blockchain technology.

“What I loved about IGS is that it attracts a diverse array of people, from multiple different backgrounds. I’m from a RussianJewish background. I am so grateful that I went to IGS. I think the open-minded, worldly view that I got, the type of people that I went to school with, the teachers and the exposure to languages, made me a much more well-rounded person.

“Just the other day I met this wonderful young man, and we had this amazing conversation. We were laughing and got along so well. It was a completely random meeting and I thought this guy was such a worldly, interesting, curious, funny person. And then it turns out he went to IGS!”

ISABELLA KEARNEY-NURSE (2009)

Bachelor of Music | Singer and songwriter with Sony Music Publishing | Nashville resident | As an Irish passport holder, represented Ireland in the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest | Voice of Lucky you’re with AAMI commercials

“IGS ArtsFest was the coolest thing in the world and that was the beginning of me performing. I very much appreciate that culture. It was just a great school. People have different experiences of high school –mine always feels very nice to remember.

“You’ve got to find your niche so take all the opportunities you can, even if they’re not paid.

“I worked with everyone I could when I was first starting. That helped me a lot because I was kind of doing everything. Once I decided to concentrate on songwriting, a lot of doors opened.”

ROMAN KEREKES SHAW (2013)

Designer

“I moved to New York six months after high school where I graduated from Parsons School of Design with a degree in Strategic Design and Management. I lived in NY for five years studying, DJing and starting a fashion label.

“Now back in Sydney, I’m working on different projects including a collaboration with Nike, a suit store co-founded in 2019 with my Kelly Street bestie, Ziyad, as well as dabbling in music management, which landed me a #1 ARIA album award through one of my artists.”

REBEKAH HAWKINS (2010) Archaeologist

“Archaeology sounds like something you do in Egypt but there is heaps of work here. I did a Bachelor of Arts majoring in Archaeology and a Bachelor of Science majoring in Geology, and then Honours in Archaeology. I got a job straight out of uni.

“I wanted to do more Aboriginal archaeology, so I changed companies. It’s a privilege to work in this space. I’ve learnt an endless amount talking to people about their culture and working out ways to reduce the risk of destruction of sites.

“I focus on analysing Aboriginal stone artefacts, which is a pretty amazing job, looking at these things that were manufactured thousands of years ago.”

“After years of pursuing many creative fields, I’ve finally found my niche – handcrafting distinct, freeform jewellery.

“After leaving school and travelling extensively in Europe, I completed a Diploma in Graphic Design before moving to Melbourne to start a jewellery design course. COVID hit so I started teaching myself jewellery-making skills through YouTube videos.

“Being able to create bespoke pieces for others has brought me a great sense of fulfilment.

“I launched my business, morphstudio, in 2022. Two years on, it has grown beyond what I expected. As well as custom orders, my designs can be found in shops in Melbourne and Canberra.”

RAPHAEL WEIR (2016) Jeweller

JUSTIN KING-LACROIX (2003)

Bachelor of Science in Computer Science | Honours in Physics | PhD in Computer Science and Computer Security from the University of Oxford | Computer scientist

“It’s been a wild ride. I left the UK in 2016 to move to San Francisco to work for Google as a site reliability engineer. Later my team moved to New York and I went with them.

“In high school at IGS, whenever anyone said the word ‘computer’, my name came up. There were two or three of us who, for teenagers, knew our stuff and had a habit of breaking into the school computer systems. The IT staff knew what was going on.

“At some point, I was paged on the school PA system, which is one of those experiences that makes your heart leap into your throat. They called me to the library and said, ‘You know all that stuff we keep telling you to please not do? Well, we have an HSC music student who has forgotten her music. We need you to find a copy of these songs. Do it. Don’t tell us how you did it. And don’t ever do it again’.”

JESSE PRESS (2004)

Caravan park owner and airport manager

“It has been one wild ride since graduation! When the pandemic hit, my wife, Gemma, and our two little adventurers, decided to take on Australia in an epic 11-month caravan journey.

“We explored the Top End which captured our hearts so much that we made a lifechanging decision. We bought a property 25 minutes outside Darwin and set up a caravan park in our backyard.

“Gemma manages the park while I put my marketing expertise to work as a manager for the Airport Development Group, overseeing airports in Darwin, Alice Springs, Tennant Creek, and other key areas in the Top End.

“Talk about living life to the fullest! My journey from IGS to the Australian outback is a testament to taking risks, following dreams and embracing adventure.”

KAIDYN WRIGHT (2020)

Professional soccer player

“I am a proud Dunghutti man who embarked on a remarkable journey from IGS, where I spent Preschool to Year 11, to pursue my lifelong dream of becoming a professional football player. I ventured to Germany, leaving behind my family and friends to chase this passion.

“For the past 19 months, I have called Cologne (Köln) my home, immersing myself in the vibrant football culture of Germany. Currently, I proudly represent SpVg Frechen 20 in the German 4th division, embracing every moment as an opportunity for growth and a step towards playing in Division 1.

“My journey is a testament to the power of determination and the pursuit of one’s dreams. As I navigate the world of professional football, I remain rooted in my heritage, carrying the spirit of resilience and cultural pride with me every step of the way.”

OUR STAFF

THE TEAMS BEHIND THE SCENES

“IT’S A VERY CAN-DO ENVIRONMENT.”

Clare

MEDIA, COMMUNICATIONS AND MARKETING

“I’VE BEEN HERE FOR 14 YEARS. I’VE BEEN LUCKY ENOUGH TO WORK IN MANY ROLES. WE WORK SO WELL TOGETHER.”

Brittney

“IGS IS SUCH A WELCOMING PLACE.”

Janaina

“I LOVE WORKING WITH TEACHERS AND STUDENTS. IT’S A FUN ENVIRONMENT.”

Ted

RECEPTION AND ADMINISTRATION

“I LOVE BEING PART OF A TEAM AND INTERACTING WITH THE STUDENTS.”

Katie

“I WAS A STUDENT HERE THEN STARTED IN RECEPTION. I REALLY LIKE MY TEAM.”

Tara

“IT FEELS REALLY INCLUSIVE. I WISH MY KIDS HAD COME HERE.”

Robyn

L to R: Rebecca Harris (Student Reception), Brittney Wedd (Head of Campus Administration), Katie Crease (Student Reception), Tara Goodridge (Reception), Robyn Armstrong, (Technical Assistant Art & Design) Absent: Amanda Carter, Caitlin Maruno, Nicola Chatfield, Jarryd Scully, Jill Carter, Pek Wood

L to R: Clare Bailey (Director of Communications, Media and Marketing), Georgia Barnes (Communications and Marketing Manager), Phoebe Chin (School Archivist), Janaina Souza Da Silva (Senior Marketing and Content Specialist), Ted Pearson (Marketing Officer)

“I LOVE IT. I’M STILL HERE AFTER MORE THAN SIX YEARS.”

Sophi

ADMISSIONS

“I ENJOY SHOWING OFF THE DIFFERENT THINGS WE HAVE TO OFFER FAMILIES.”

Kristy

“AS A FORMER PARENT I’VE SEEN THE OTHER SIDE WHICH WAS A GREAT EXPERIENCE.”

Angela

L to R: Sophiany Wijaya (Admissions Officer), Kristy Biddle (Admissions Officer), Kamila Marshall (Acting Director of Admissions), Angela Amoruso (Admissions Officer)

“THERE’S A LOT OF POSITIVE ENERGY WHEN YOU WALK AROUND THE SCHOOL.”

Kamila

“EVERYONE’S VERY RECEPTIVE, VERY FRIENDLY. I’M LEARNING A LOT.”

Andrew

“IT’S

FUN. IT’S NICE WORKING WITH STUDENTS AND TEACHERS.”

Max

FACILITIES AND MAINTENANCE

L to R: Max Utatao (Maintenance team member), Kishor Rajbhandari (Assistant Facilities Manager), Andrew Exten (General Hand), Bishnu Shrestha (Maintenance team member) Absent: Pramod Mainali (Facilities and Maintenance Manager) (Pictured inset)

“I REALLY LIKE WORKING IN A DIVERSE ENVIRONMENT. THEY’RE GOOD PEOPLE.”

Kishor

“IT’S A MULTICULTURAL PLACE AND YOU HEAR LOTS OF DIFFERENT LANGUAGES.”

Bishnu

EXECUTIVE ASSISTANTS

(“SHAUNA’S ANGELS”)

“NEVER A DULL MOMENT!”

Lesley

“THE STUDENTS ARE ALWAYS FULL OF ENERGY AND SURPRISES.”

Jenny

“IT’S REFRESHING, HAVING COME FROM A CORPORATE LAW FIRM. THE TEAM IS FANTASTIC.”

Robert

“A LOT OF BUSINESSES SAY THEY ARE INCLUSIVE. HAVING WORKED IN MANY PLACES BEFORE, IGS IS THE FIRST ONE TO PRACTISE WHAT THEY PREACH.”

Chris

“I SEE A LOT OF SMILING FACES AROUND IGS.”

Ming

L to R: Kimberley Law (Digital Learning Specialist), Robert Pelikan (ICT Service Delivery Coordinator), Paul Bourke (Head of ICT Infrastructure), Aoibheann McGahan (AV Support Officer), Chris Baroni, (Director of ICT), Ming Shen (Database Manager) Absent: Andrew Whiskin

L to R: Lesley Rodgers (Senior Administration Officer), Jenny Khan (Executive Assistant to the Principal), Fiona Jiao (Senior Governance and Administration Officer)

“SOMETHING THAT STANDS OUT COMPARED TO OTHER SCHOOLS IS THE CONFIDENCE STUDENTS AND STAFF HAVE TO BE THEMSELVES.”

Alec

FINANCE HUMAN RESOURCES

“BEING AT A SCHOOL MEANS BEING PART OF A COMMUNITY.”

Rene

“I LOVE THE CULTURE HERE AT IGS.”

L to R: Alec Openshaw (Head of Staffing), Rene Steenkamp (Human Resources Manager), Marta Carvalho (Human Resources Officer), Stephanie Luford, (Human Resources Officer) Absent: Vivien Watson

“IT’S A UNIQUE, ECLECTIC MIX OF PEOPLE. IT’S SO DYNAMIC AND FAST-MOVING.”

L to R: Raewyn Harris (Accounts Receivable Officer), Hannes Roos (Head of Finance), Joanna Albani (Financial Controller), Hannah Yeoh (Accountant), Sasikumar Karalasingham (Accounts Payable Officer), Tram Tran, (Payroll Officer) Absent: Clarissa Cole

“IGS IS VERY DIFFERENT TO CORPORATE LIFE.”

Hannes

Stephanie

Hannah

CANTEEN

“MY SON HAS BEEN HERE SINCE EARLY LEARNING AND GRADUATED THIS YEAR. I'M PROUD OF THE PERSON IGS HAS HELPED SHAPE HIM TO BE.”

Tracy

LEARNING JOURNEYS EDITORIAL TEAM

“IT’S THE COMMUNITY ASPECT THAT I LOVE ABOUT IGS. BEING NEAR THE GATES ALLOWS US TO INTERACT WITH THE COMMUNITY AND MEET EVERYONE.”

“IGS LIBERATES AND EMPOWERS. #GRATITUDE.”

“FOR 14 YEARS, AS A PARENT AND STAFF MEMBER, IGS HAS BEEN MY SECOND HOME. THE LEARNING JOURNEYS PROJECT HAS BEEN A JOY TO WORK ON.”

Alex

“AS AN IGS PARENT MY PRIORITY WAS THAT OUR CHILDREN ARE RESPECTED AND SUPPORTED AS INDIVIDUALS. IGS HAS DONE THIS SO WELL.”

Allison

L to R: Tracy James (Art Director and Designer), Alison Handmer (Copy Editor and Proofreader), Alexandra Peters (Author and Managing Editor), Allison Lee (Portrait Photography)

L to R: Patricia Anthony (Canteen Manager) and team members

Patty

Alison

IN GRATITUDE

This book provides just a glimpse into International Grammar School’s 40-year journey to adulthood, and the many endeavours and achievements that have contributed to the School it is today. To cover everything would take volumes.

Hundreds of dedicated teachers and supporters over 40 years and across departments, from Art and Design to Mathematics, PDHPE and Science, have created the School’s learning environment and culture – a culture of inclusion, of community and kindness, and of enquiry. Together, they have built the School we celebrate today.

More than 6,000 students have graduated from IGS since the School opened its doors in 1984. Each of these students has taken a bit of IGS into the world with them; an attitude, a way of thinking, a world view and an additional language or two.

In How We Think, first published in 1910, education reformer and philosopher John Dewey, regarded by some as the “father” of modern education, wrote: “The outcome, the abstract to which education is to proceed, is an interest in intellectual matters for their own sake, a delight in thinking for the sake of thinking.”

This idea is alive and well at IGS. The School’s credo has always been to engage students, to give them purpose, to inculcate kindness, to help them grow, thrive and discover and, ultimately, to set them up for meaningful lives.

We hope that Learning Journeys 2.0 reflects the love and respect that IGS students hold for their School.

Thank you to the many individuals who contributed to this book in a multitude of ways. It could not have been done without you.

2024 GRADUATION DINNER

INDEX

Adams, Maxim 179, 179

Albani, Joanna 192

Alice Dreaming 148, 149, 150, 150, 151

Amoruso, Angela 190, 190

Anthony, Patricia 59, 193, 193

Armstrong, Robyn 189, 189

Artificial Intelligence 101, 102-103, 104-105

ArtsFest 78, 79, 125, 155, 155, 184

Astore, Miro 182, 182

Australian Broadcasting Commission (ABC) 29, 136

B Kinder Day 173, 174

Bachmann, Manuela 24, 73, 73, 80, 126, 126, 129

Bachmann, Till 24, 126, 126

Baculak, Alex 59

Baghai, Naysan 176, 176

Bagshaw, Eryk 177, 177

Bailey, Clare 189, 189

Baker, David 40, 40, 44, 44

Barnes, Georgia 189

Barnstone, Professor Deborah Ascher 128

Baroni, Chris 191, 191

Barton-Vaofanua, Tjarani 46, 47

Bedford, Eric 17

Bello-Vijeyarasa, Matilda 58

Belunek, Andrea 139, 167

Berghofer, Regine 94-95, 94

Biddle, Kristy 190, 190

Biggs, Martin 46, 47, 65

Biggs, Eugenia 65

Bird, Colin 120-121, 120, 172

Bishop, Tim 58, 115, 115

Blacker, Jodie 122, 123, 156-157, 156

Bourke, Paul 191

Brandel, Martin 179, 179

Brown, Lyndsay 58

Bures, Ruben 59

BVN Architects 56, 64, 81, 127, 128

Caldwell, Bianca 24-25, 28-31, 38-39, 42-43, 46-47, 62-65

78-81, 106-113, 114-115, 114, 115, 116

Carr, Chenelle 70

Carr, Jade 108-109, 109, 111, 112, 113

Carvalho, Marta 192

Cavalier, Rodney 29, 30, 32, 33, 34

Chadwick, Virginia 39

ChatGPT 101, 102, 103, 104

Chin, Phoebe 189

Chris O'Brien Lifehouse 175

Climate Fresk 80, 81

Colnan, Shauna 6, 8, 10-13, 10, 12, 13, 15, 19, 53, 53, 57, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 65, 66-67, 66, 67, 72, 73, 74-75, 81, 83, 85, 100, 110, 125, 126, 127, 128, 128, 163, 170, 172, 175, 194

Cook, Larissa 11

COVID 72, 73, 74-75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 101, 130, 155, 162, 163, 170, 184

Crease, Katie 189, 189

Dalgety's Woolstore 42, 43, 48, 48, 49, 49

Davison, Joel 180, 180

Dean, Hayley 58, 166, 168-169, 168, 169

Decker-Stewart, Klara 181, 181

Degeling, Joe 162-163, 162, 163

Delaney, Rachael 183, 183

Dennehy, Anthony 122-123, 122, 123, 125, 157, 158, 170, 172

Dennehy, Oliver 122, 123, 157

Dennett, Dr Bruce 132-133, 132, 133, 134, 135

Deutsch, Gretel 71

Dewey, John 195

Dragicevic, Ruby 101, 101

Duma, Mary 49, 49, 59, 76, 76, 160-161, 160, 161, 170, 172 Eammano, Manakon 178, 178

Engelbert, David 118, 119

Exten, Andrew 190, 190

Evans, Gareth MP 39

Farmer, James QC 28, 29

Farrelly, Elizabeth 48

Fedele, Carmelo 72, 97, 136-137, 136, 137, 140, 141

Fin, Rita 26, 33, 33, 38, 38, 40, 52, 52

Foote, Rosemary 24

Forbes, Hunter 136, 138-139, 138, 139

Foster, Ruari 58, 101, 101

Fraser, Donald 112

Gaertner, Greta 68

Galea, Paul 44, 44, 45, 58, 59, 62, 68, 81, 81, 82-85, 82, 84, 85, 119, 169, 176

Garrett, Samuel 100, 100

Genua-Petrovic, Rosalba 86-87, 86

Gho, Dr Sheridan 183, 183

Gibbs, Mindy 112

Gill, Richard 65, 147

Glass, Julia 182, 182

Global Scholars 100-101

Goodooga Central School 80, 106, 107, 112, 113

Goodridge, Tara 189, 189

Gran, Ben 181, 181

Handmer, Alison 193, 193

Hanscomb, Sebastian 176, 176

Harding, Dorothy 27, 27, 32, 32, 45

Harris, Raewyn 192

Harris, Rebecca 189

Hartmann, Karam 71, 124, 125, 125

Harvey, Professor Alan 147

Hawke, Bob 31, 39

Hawkins, Rebekah 184, 184

Hayen, Madeleine 71, 80, 81, 142-143, 142, 143

Herbert, Dan 183

Herbert, Sarah 116-117, 116, 117

Hook, Kai 70

Howard-Shibuya, Lucy 58, 112-113, 111

Humphreys, Kai 134, 134

IGS Connect 13, 161, 174, 175

IGS Ho Chi Minh City 39, 42, 43

IGSness 58-59, 85, 170

IGS P&C Association Inc. 58, 166, 168

IGS Rainbow Families 168, 169

International Day 46, 87, 88-89, 89, 90

James, Tracy 193, 193

Jarkey, Alex 180, 180

Jarman, Paul 5, 65

Johnson, Leroy 181

Jones, Diane 42, 48, 49

Jones, Eddie 39, 42, 45, 45, 52, 52

Jordan, Nicholas 179, 179

Kaleidoscope Kids 80, 96, 97, 97

Kangaroo Valley 78, 78, 79, 106, 107, 110, 111, 129

Kearney-Nurse, Isabella 184, 184

Keenan, Isabel-Mary 101, 101

Kelemen, Jenny 43, 49

Kelemen, Lloyd 43, 49, 49, 50, 51

Kerekes Shaw, Roman 184, 184

Khan, Jenny 191, 191

King-Lacroix, Justin 185, 185

Kirkwood, Victoria 115, 115

Kitchin, Ryan 68

Klauzner, Anna 179, 179

Klipin, Gabriella 135, 135

Koori Club 168, 110, 111, 111, 113

Kuilenburg, Darren 8, 144-145, 144, 147

Lal, Jakob 81

Landa, Paul 17

Laurence, Stephen 40, 40, 42, 44, 44, 45, 45

Law, Kimberley 96-97, 96, 97, 191

Leddie, Dyon 178, 178

Lee, Alison 193, 193

Lee, Jett 59

Lee, Zoe 59

Leech, Dr Marie 14-15, 14, 15, 64

Lewarne, Maya 59

Li, Chi Wing 180, 180

Little Sisters of the Poor 24, 26

Lou's Place 175

Luford, Stephanie 192, 192

Mainali, Pramod 190

Malkovich, Bridgette 69

Markovski, Alek 69

Martell, Penny 58, 91

Masella, Mi-kaisha 9, 180, 180

Maniska, Michael 12, 12, 19, 47, 53, 53, 62, 83, 112

Manning, Ned 148-149, 148, 149, 150

Marchbank, Antigone 70, 98, 98, 99, 124, 125, 153

Marchbank, Patrice 81, 98, 130-131, 130

Marchbank, Thom 59, 77, 77, 98-99, 98, 104-105, 105

Marshall, Kamila 190, 190

Master Plan 63, 64, 127, 128

Matthews, Isabella 79

Matthews, Richard 26, 26, 32, 32, 33, 33, 34, 34, 35, 35, 41, 41, 44, 44, 45, 45

McArdle, Alex 101, 101

McGahan, Aoibheann 191

McLachlan, Marika 39, 52, 52

Miller, Professor Anthony 73

Milkovitsch, Isabella 151

Mitchell, Callum 70, 70

Moloobhoy, Zainab 71

Morabito, Rita 26, 26, 32, 32, 45, 46, 54-57, 54, 56, 149

Morris-Yates, Susan 58

Morrow, Anna 135, 135

Mundine, Roscoe 80, 107

Murphy, Kerrie 46, 46, 47, 53, 53, 83

Kerrie Murphy Building 47, 63, 64

Mustica, Giuseppina 92-93, 92

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) 50, 63

NSW Education Standards Authority 11, 64, 80, 94, 165, 178

NSW Board of Studies 11, 31, 30, 33, 43, 47

NSW Environment Protection Authority 137

NSW Parliament House 30, 33

NSW Supreme Court 28, 29, 30, 31, 33

Openshaw, Alec 192, 192

Opera on Kelly 63, 64, 67, 71

Orlievsky, Ilana 183, 183

Parents, Teachers and Friends (PTF) 47, 59, 79, 139, 166, 167, 168, 169

Parrab, Rahul 43

Pearson, Ted 189, 189

Pelikan, Robert 191

Perkins, Dr Charles AO 46

Peters, Alexandra 193, 193

Petrie, Damon 183, 183

Petrovic, Ana-Sofia 86, 86

Phillips, Amelia 164-165, 164

Plato 132, 133, 135, 146

Plibersek, Tanya MP 47

Power, Jamison 55, 55

Press, Jesse 185, 185

Price, Glenn 112

Primary Clubs 118-119

Quinn, Paris 59

Rajbhandari, Kishor 190, 190

Rawlinson, Zoe 177, 177

Read, Orlando 170-171, 170, 171, 172

Red Earth 62, 106, 112, 113

Retreat, The 78, 79, 106, 110, 111, 129

Riesel, Jonathan 7, 178, 178

Rodgers, Lesley 191, 191

Roos, Hannes 192, 192

Rosier, Stephanie 177, 177

Rotellini, Vilma 90, 90

R U OK? Day 120, 174, 174

Rue Kelly 168

Ryan, Damien 56, 67, 78, 79

Ryan, Susan 25, 35

SAGE 62, 63, 64, 65, 67, 68-71, 77, 78, 83, 106, 120, 157

Saltos Palmer, Sebastian 101, 101

Sampson, Atticus 59, 91

Sampson, Megan 110-111, 110, 113

Schmitz, Annika 80, 81

Schmitz, Elin 80

Seniors and Teens Empathy Program (STEP) 123, 175

Shakespeare Bootcamp 62, 63, 67, 70, 157

Sharp, Felix 70

Shaw, Roman Kerekes 184, 184

Shen, Ming 191, 191

Shrestha, Bishnu 190, 190

Shu, Claire 81, 81

Sifis, Ellie 101, 101

Smith, Frank 95

Smith, Vic 43, 44

Social Media 83, 93, 101, 102, 161, 163

Socrates 132, 133

South Sydney Council 28, 42, 43, 49

Souza Da Silva, Janaina 189, 189

Sport for Jove 56, 63, 67, 78, 79

St Leon, Isabell 65

St Leon, Reg OAM 12, 14, 16, 16-19, 18, 19, 22, 23, 24, 24, 25, 26, 27, 27, 28, 29, 29, 30, 30, 31, 32, 32, 34, 34, 35, 35, 38, 39, 40, 40, 45, 46, 46, 47, 49, 52, 52, 55, 57, 64, 65, 80, 86, 87, 90, 95, 116, 123, 126, 160, 161

Steenkamp, Rene 192, 192

Storer, Audrey 150

Street, Sarah 178, 178

Streeter, Larissa 27, 27, 34, 34

Swinton, Catherine 59

Sulan, Anna 68

Susskind, Anne 29

Sustainable Futures group 80, 136, 137, 138, 139, 139, 142

Sydney City Council 42, 44, 47, 79 Tran, Tram 192

Tasmania: Writing the Island 63, 64, 67, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 95, 106, 138

Therapy Dog program 163

The Rocks Quest 63, 67, 70, 106

The Sydney Morning Herald 17, 29, 30, 35, 47, 48

Thomas, Sarina 59

Trevelyan, Jessica 100, 100

Truman, Grace 170, 172-173, 172, 173, 174

Turing, Alan 102

United Through Diversity 5

Unity Through Diversity 38, 53, 58, 75, 84, 110, 111, 124, 161

Utatao, Max 190, 190

UTS School of Architecture 63, 127, 128, 165, 170

Vassilevska, Dina 177, 177

Venhoeven, Bert 102

Vive La Révolution 6, 6-9, 81, 178, 180

Vivekananda, Swami 16

Voyager Golden Records 50, 50

Walsh, Toby 102

Wang, Max 81

Wear it Purple Day 120, 168

Wedd, Brittney 59, 189, 189

Welsh, Allegra 70, 100, 100

Weir, Michelle 58, 72, 172

Weir, Raphael 184, 184

White, Linx 134, 134

Whyte, Harper 91

Wijaya, Sophiany 190, 190

Wilkin, Ava 58

Wood, Harri 59

World Health Organisation 72

Wright, David 39, 41, 41, 42, 44, 44, 46, 53, 53, 83

Wright Building 47, 56, 63, 73, 81

Wright, Kaidyn 185, 185

Yeldham, David Justice 29, 33, 34

Yeoh, Hannah 192, 192

Yu, Gina 59

Learning Journeys, International Grammar School, 40 Years Young; 1984–2024

4-8 Kelly Street, Ultimo, NSW, 2007, Australia

www.igssyd.nsw.edu.au

Published by International Grammar School, 2025

COVER IMAGES

‘Worlds’ by Collective Objective and Never Sit Still

EDITORIAL TEAM

Alexandra Peters, Managing editor, interviewer, writer and researcher

Alison Handmer, Copy editor and proofreader

Tracy James, Art director and designer

Allison Lee, Situational and portrait photography

BOOK DESIGN

Fleur Feller and Tracy James for Tracy James Creative

ADDITIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY

James Elder, Janaina Sousa da Silva, Maeve Galea, Scott Ehler, Ted Pearson

ARCHIVIST

Phoebe Chin

ARTWORK

Bianca Caldwell

IGS BRANDING

Collective Objective

PHOTO CREDITS, COPYRIGHT, AND PERMISSIONS

Allison Lee: Vive la Révolution! pp. 6–9, Reg St Leon portrait pp. 16, 2024 graduation dinner pp. 1 96–197

City of Sydney Archives: pp. 43, 48, 49

Bianca Caldwell: artwork pp. 24–25, 28–31, 38–39, 42–43, 46–47, 62–65, 78–81, 106–107, 108–115

BVN Architects: concept drawings and renderings pp. 62, 78, 79, 124–127

IGS Archives: pp. 6–9, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 19, 36, 48, 55, 57, 60, 67, 68-71, 75, 77, 84, 85, 88-89, 91, 92, 93, 97, 106–107, 111, 114–115, 117, 118–119, 124, 125, 126–127, 129, 133, 137, 139, 140–141, 142, 143, 145, 146, 147, 149, 150–155, 158–159, 163, 166–167, 169, 170, 171, 172, 173, 174–175, 176–185, 186–187, 194, 196–197, and all timeline photos, unless otherwise credited

Hunter Forbes: pp. 138

Jenny and Lloyd Kelemen: pp. 48–51

Keith Saunders: pp. 26, 27, 32, 33, 34, 35, 38, 40, 41, 44, 45, 52, 53

Lucy Howard-Shibuya: pp. 106, 107, 112

Patrick Riviere, Time magazine: pp. 18, 20–21, 25, 29, 31, 35

Peter Soleness/Fairfax Syndication: pp. 22, 29

Robert Pearce/Fairfax Syndication: pp. 30

Scott Ehler: whole school drone photo, inside front cover, Vive la Révolution! pp. 6–9

Steve Brown: music photos pp. 146, 147

Voyager Golden Records images courtesy of NASA/JPL: pp. 50

Special thanks to the following people for their invaluable assistance and support:

Shauna Colnan, Jenny Khan, Phoebe Chin, Paul Galea, Patrice Marchbank, Brittney Wedd, Rebecca Harris, Clare Bailey and the IGS Media, Communications and Marketing team.

With heartfelt thanks also to the families of Reg St Leon OAM, Dr Bruce Dennett and Richard Gill AO.

Designed and typeset by Tracy James Creative

Printed and bound by Clarke Murphy Print, Sydney

ISBN 978-1-7637985-0-2