PLC in Print: Issue 119 - December2023

Presbyterian Ladies’ College | Melbourne

Issue 119 December 2023

Contents From the Acting Principal

1

Christian Ministries

4

Senior School

6

Junior School

26

Early Learning Centre

30

Community

32

Old Collegians’ Association

48

News of Old Collegians

54

Archives 64

PLC in Print

Submissions

On the Cover

PLC in Print is a College-wide magazine published three times a year for the PLC community, incorporating the Old Collegians' Association newsletter.

Submissions for the next edition of PLC in Print are due by Monday 5 February 2024 and must be submitted to news@plc.vic.edu.au

Rachel Kipnis playing the lead role in this years’ spectacular Senior School production, Alice in Wonderland.

From the Acting Principal Cheryl Penberthy has been on sabbatical in Term 4, so Anne-Marie Williams and I have had the privilege of serving in the role of Acting Principal for five weeks each.

It has been a wonderful opportunity and we are so thankful for the community support we have had during this time.

I am taking this opportunity to reflect on the first goal in our Strategic Plan: ‘Provide outstanding opportunities’.

A key focus at PLC is to provide outstanding opportunities, and this underpins our development of curriculum, classroom teaching and the activities which enrich the girls’ lives and enable them to thrive.

In my role as Acting Principal in Term 4, I have seen first-hand so many key moments of learning across the College.

I particularly loved the Year 12 ‘Back to Junior School’ assembly, hearing the curious questions of the students who are now in Year 12, from when they were in Junior School. Evidence of their experiences in the Junior School made me keenly aware of their learning journeys. In many ways, this spotlight on their formative years gave insight into the women they have become due to the guidance of their learning by countless teachers throughout their time at PLC. I also enjoyed the Years 5 and 6 Public Speaking finals, in which girls confidently engaged with topics in ways that revealed their learning about themselves and the world around them. It was also a joy to watch the girls in the audience;

some of them were learning how to sit still and listen, others were learning what is possible in their future and some were learning to appreciate others’ contributions when they had not been the ones chosen to present. Parents and staff were also learning that the capabilities of young people are always surprising us.

I have enjoyed seeing the 2024 House Captains step up to the challenge at the Senior School House Swimming Carnival, and the Boarding and Christian Union Captains take up their new roles at their respective assemblies and Year 12 farewells. The learning moments are clearly visible as these new leaders come to the realisation that they have direct responsibility for others, and, more importantly, that they have all the skills within them to carry out the roles to which they have been appointed.

I have also had the privilege to read the Year 12 reflections. I heard the voices of girls who chose to come to a new country to access educational opportunities here at PLC and I admired their courage, as they navigated learning a new language, becoming accustomed to a new culture and developing new friendships. Their reflections revealed that embarking on this challenge has been pivotal to their learning about themselves, as much as it provided opportunity for academic growth.

Other voices in those reflections came from girls who cannot remember a time before PLC, having come here as toddlers in the ELC. They acknowledged their learning opportunities which have been

so entwined in the PLC community, and their relationships with those who have nurtured them throughout their lives.

Academic learning is at the core of what we do at PLC and our classroom learning opportunities continue to push the boundaries to provide unique and diverse learning moments for every girl.

The provision of many extra-curricular opportunities for learning and leadership is exemplified in a PLC education.

In the book FutureSchool, 2022, Valerie Hannon and Julie Temperley put forward design principles for educating leaders of the future. They advocate learner experiences which are personalised to meet their needs, integrated to build connections, inclusive of their cultural perspectives, founded on strong relationships and collaboration, and which empower them to take ownership.

All these aspects of learning are explicitly prioritised at PLC and are the focus of continued development over the next four years of our Strategic Plan.

Our learning journey at PLC is always evolving and includes students, staff, parents and guardians and the wider PLC community. I look forward to continuing to share that journey with you all.

Lisa Saffin Acting Principal Hannon, V., & Temperley, J. (2022).

FutureSchool: How Schools Around the World are Applying Learning Design Principles for a New Era. Taylor & Francis.

Goal: Provide Outstanding Opportunities - Strategic Plan 2023 - 2027 Strategies: A. Deliver a future-focused curriculum B. Implement personalised learning strategies C. Promote deep real-world learning D. Promote student voice, leadership and agency

E. Integrate innovative and meaningful IT F. Develop emotional intelligence, social competence and metacognition

G. Build capabilities of all students and staff

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Christian Ministries

Do you ever feel like the world is confused, broken and spiralling out of control? Confusion can be in the small things as well as the big things. Let me share a personal example. Recently, as Collingwood supporters, the Curtis family have been enjoying the 2023 AFL Grand Final win. So, to mark the occasion, I ordered some Collingwood posters for the kids that I planned on laminating.

When I came home, I yelled out to the kids, ‘I’m just going to Officeworks to get the posters laminated.’ To which one son replied, ‘Oh great, can you get me a lemonade?’ He may have been on a screen or had headphones on – I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt. After having a chuckle to myself, I replied, ‘I’m going to Officeworks for LAMINATING, not LEMONADE!’ ‘Oh’, came the reply, ‘well can you get me one anyway?’ ‘No’, I replied.

It's not just that we seem to be getting confused over things, we also perhaps feel that life is not what it once was. There is a divided reaction from the referendum, there is the escalating war exploding in the Middle East and this is all within the second year out of COVID lockdowns.

It is interesting that the late Reverend Tim Keller noted that it was two years after the 9/11 attacks in New York that a number of pastors resigned and despair seemed to slip into some people’s lives.

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Despite this, let me share with you that God is on the move and hope is returning.

What Jesus has done on the cross has given you access to the throne room of Heaven. Around the world, lives are being impacted with the gospel hope of peace with God. During this term, I have enjoyed reading Pete Greig’s book, How to Pray: A Simple Guide for Normal People. I highly recommend it and I have been sharing his P.R.A.Y. model for prayer, ‘P’ for pause, ‘R’ for rejoice, ‘A’ for ask and ‘Y’ for yield.

I have been sharing some of the amazing insights on the ‘A’ in school chapels. From the Miracle of Dunkirk to what God has done in Mrs Juchno’s life in our own PLC community, amazing things can happen when we cry out to God in prayer.

When we pray, it is important to firstly dedicate time; develop a spiritual discipline and you will start to develop spiritual ‘muscle memory’. You don’t have to be a monk to have a thriving prayer life.

You will, however, need to pause and set aside some time.

It is so important to come back to the goodness of God. Perhaps similar to love in any relationship, it may go a little cold.

The way you reignite that is revisit the joy you first felt when you came to know Jesus and the forgiveness that has been

made available to you. Live in the light of transformation, not condemnation: Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. Romans 8:1-2 To rejoice, keep reading your Bible and meet with others in their faith journey, as ‘iron sharpens iron’, and you can encourage one another. See Hebrews 10:19-25. Faith is meant to be personal but not private. Find others who you can worship with. Invite God through His Holy Spirit and let the Spirit empower you to love and perform good works.

So let me turn to ‘Y’ for Yield and let’s finish with a couple of powerful examples of God’s transforming love changing the world.

When you ask God for a miracle, He doesn’t get nervous and think, ‘Oh no, this is going to be a big one, this is going to be a bit of a stretch and require a lot of effort on my part.’ God still works in mysterious and miraculous ways, but it is not the norm. If it was, it wouldn’t be considered a miracle. We also need to pray the small prayers and invite God into the everyday.

We also have to get used to praying big prayers but ultimately, handing things over to God and trusting that He knows best

and He sees the bigger picture. His timing is always perfect.

Joni Eareckson Tada had to get to that point when she became paralysed from the neck down and prayed for a miraculous healing which didn’t eventuate. In coming to terms with the fact that her body may not be restored this side of eternity, she concluded that: ‘He has chosen not to heal me, but to hold me. The more intense the pain, the closer His embrace.’

Jesus himself sometimes felt the silence of Heaven. When he entered the shadows of the Garden of Gethsemane, He prayed: ‘Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will but yours be done.’ In yielding our will to God’s will, we are getting to a point where we trust that our Creator knows best.

Repentance and confession are also a part of this and how God does amazing things through our lives. When we confess our sins to God, He is faithful, just and will forgive our sins. 1 John 1:9-10 says: If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his Word is not in us.

That is true. Repentance, saying sorry and being transformed by the Holy Spirit allows you to grow into who you were created to be. Søren Kierkegaard said, ‘And now with God’s help, I shall become myself.’

When we confess to God and allow Him to be Lord of our lives, as well as our Saviour, powerful things happen.

I conclude with a strong example from Pete Greig’s book. Ruby Bridges was the first African American girl to go to an allwhite school in New Orleans, Louisiana.

She had to be escorted to school by a number of federal marshals. All along the walk, people would yell hateful slurs towards her. There was only one teacher at the school that would teach her, Mrs Barbara Henry. At recess and lunch, she would have to walk around on her own.

Ruby was provided with a psychologist to talk things through with, Mr Robert Coles.

He noticed that as she walked along on the way to school, she seemed to be talking. He wondered if she was saying hateful things back and so he asked her what she was saying. She replied, ‘I’m not talking, I’m praying.’ ‘What are you praying?’, he asked. ‘Always the same thing, please God try to forgive these people because even if they say these mean things, they don’t know what they mean.’ You see, Ruby was following her Lord and Saviour Jesus.

Norman Rockwell ended up painting Ruby and her famous walk to school.

Years later, the first African American President of the US, Barack Obama, hosted Bridges at the White House and, standing before the painting, said, ‘I think it’s fair to say that if it hadn’t been for you guys, I might not be here and we wouldn’t be looking at this together’.

How does your world seem confused, broken, spiralling out of control or hard to see where the peace will come from?

Let me encourage you to keep meeting together and to pray. Thank Jesus for what He has done. Invite God in, by His Holy Spirit, to transform you into an agent of peace, love and grace. Be the feet and arms of Jesus here on earth and you will start to see the positive impact that you can have as you pray, ‘Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven.’ Pray for peace, for the people of Israel and Palestine, pray for our First Nations people, for peace and restoration. As you exercise that prayerful life, go out into the world filled with hope and joy for what God can do through you and the multitudes of others who also profess this hope.

Rev Nick Curtis Director of Christian Ministries

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Senior School

Senior School Sport Schoolaerobics National Championships It has been a long journey to reach the national stage: first, auditioning in February to make the PLC Aerobics Team, 6 | PLC in Print - Issue 119 | December 2023

then learning their routines and training under the guidance of their coaches to not only improve their own performance, but to ensure they were synchronised as one team. After competing at the Regional Championships in May and qualifying through to the State Championships which were held in June, our girls became

the most successful PLC Aerobics Team to date. In August, eight of our nine teams qualified for the Schoolaerobics National Championships where they set off to Adelaide to compete against the best aerobics teams in Australia. In the lead up, our teams worked hard to further refine their routines to ensure they were

able to compete at their absolute best on the national stage. Their efforts produced incredible results; two bronze, three silver and an incredible six gold medals! This is an outstanding achievement for all teams and coaches involved. We are so proud of their results and the dedication they put into their training. |7

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Year 7

Sportswoman of the Year Awards

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Year 8

1. Chloe Huo

1. Lucy Hare

2. Helin Herede

2. Tia Bhatti

3. Alyssa Wong

3. Sophie Woodlock

4. Chloe Leung

4. Minnie Wilson

5. Melanie Zhu

5. Lalita Somu

GSV Weekly Sports Finals In Term 3, our Volleyball, Soccer and Badminton Teams played valiantly throughout the season with some great results. Our Badminton Team was outstanding with seven of our teams qualifying for the finals and many others narrowly missing out. Congratulations to all girls who participated.

GSV Track and Field Term 3 was busy for track and field at PLC. Our large squad of 75 students

Year 9

qualified for the Division 2 Championships with some outstanding results. 18 students qualified for the Track and Field Finals evening where PLC finished seventh overall with a total of seven medals including one bronze, one silver and five gold medals.

Sportswoman of The Year Awards The Sportswoman of The Year Award is presented to a sportswoman in each year level who has shown outstanding commitment and sportsmanship throughout the year. At the end of each

Year 10

Year 11

season, every student who participated in a team is assessed by their coaches on a variety of areas such as skills, sportsmanship and motivation, leadership and contribution and personal organisation.

Each student’s four best results from the sports they participated in throughout Terms 1, 2 and 3, 2023 and Term 4, 2022 were added to determine the winners.

Congratulations to the students listed below who received this award.

Emma Ryan Director of Sport

Year 12

1. Amelia Paynter

1. Maddie Tong

1. Lucy Taylor

1. Rachel Langford

2. Zahra Walker

2. Mia Vandenboom

2. Shin Yi Pan

2. Bella Ward

3. Annika Lim

3. Natasha Padgett

3. Felicity Wei

3. Amaya Wong

4. Ovindee Amarasiri

4. Shanshan Wang

4. Jasmine Ou

4. Lamisse Bilal

5. Bella Roberts

5. Charlotte Bourne

5. Ally Choong

5. Charmi Kularathna

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Senior Art Exhibition This year’s impressive Year 12 Art Exhibition was formally opened on Thursday 12 October. For our IB Visual Art students, this concluded a two-year program, curating a personal exhibition of between eight to eleven artworks. For VCE Art Students, it had been a year of change, with the names of the courses changing to Creative Practice and Making and Exhibiting. During the exhibition,

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Creative Practice students displayed two artworks, the first inspired by an artist of their choice, which began the year’s creative practice, and concluding with the production of a body of work with greater resolution, in any art form of their choosing. For the Making and Exhibiting students, we saw the end result of a studied focus of digital art-making forms and processes and an emphasis on creative presentation. This meant our exhibition was very diverse and visually

interesting, with artworks ranging from traditional oil painting, printmaking and drawing, to more interactive works in textile, animation and installations.

Sharing these artworks with our community is a vital rite of passage for our young artists and important to celebrate. It is a way of visually showing the determination and the creative and metacognitive work that our students display in the art studio. As Art teachers,

we see each of our students actively live the PLC Graduate Outcomes as they move through their art processes, and we observe that they draw upon many of our school values to complete their artworks. The first is having the courage to bring these artworks into the world so we can share the visual delight. This, in turn, builds our collective empathy by allowing us, the viewer, to connect with the ideas our artists share through their unique visual language. Many of

our students invite us to contemplate their shared personal stories of family, growing up, philosophy, fears, reflections on cultural histories and deep thinking on current issues. This embodies the concept expressed by Louise Bourgeois (19112010), a French-American artist, that ‘Art is a restoration; the idea is to repair the damages that are inflicted in life, to make something that is fragmented – which is what fear and anxiety do to a person – into something whole.’

Thank you to Ms Winter-Barry for teaching this year’s VCE Making and Exhibiting students and our creative team of Art teachers who have nurtured and developed the talents of our 2023 Year 12 students in previous years.

Erin Horsley Head of Art

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Australian Juvenile Pipe Band Championships

performances in preparation for Saturday’s competition.

On Thursday 28 September, the PLC Pipes and Drums, accompanied by PLC music staff, Mr Ben Jones, Mr Jonathan Quay and Ms Hannah Bangah, travelled to Scots College PGC in Warwick, Queensland. The band travelled north to take part in the inaugural Juvenile National Championships as well as the National Solo Piping and Drumming Championships.

On the Friday evening, the A Grade Solo Championships took place and students were able to catch the first half before returning to their accommodation.

A special mention to Mr Jonathan Quay who competed and won all three elements, which saw him crowned as the Australian Solo Piping Champion 2023.

Our congratulations to Mr Quay; our students are very lucky to have his talent and experience on part of this experience. On Saturday, the band completed two performances, our Marches and our Medley. The students appeared unaffected by the heat and their nerves seemed non-existent. Both pieces were played exceptionally well and all members of the band were justifiably proud of their performances.

Upon arrival, students were thrust straight into the middle of a piping and drumming workshop before combining for a massedband performance in front of a crowd of tutors, parents and staff. This was a great initiative by the organisers to get everyone involved from the outset and it took less than 20 minutes for our students to have started forming friendships, most notably with students from PLC Sydney.

After some time for recreation, on Friday afternoon, Mr Jones and Mr Quay wasted no time in putting the band through its paces. Although the band had already undertaken additional rehearsals in the lead-up to the trip, this particular group of students was extremely motivated to continue improving until the last moment. The band split into pipers and drummers, working on the finer details of their performances, before combining as a band and putting on a few practice

Following the band performances, solo piping and drumming took place (minus the A Grade) and PLC achieved the amazing results listed below.

Congratulations to all the students involved and thank you to Mr Jones and Mr Quay for leading such strong groups. Thank you to Ms Bangah for supporting the group and to Mr Dunwoody and Ms Boesley for their support in the planning process.

Richard Squibb Director of Music

Sherry Li - Pipes Silver medal in the D Grade Slow Air Jeanae Bao - Pipes Bronze medal in the D Grade March Bracket Adela Wang - Drums Silver medal in the D Grade March Olivia Liu - Drums Silver medal for Under 18 Tenor Drumming Iris Zhang - Drums Gold medal in the Under 13 2/4 March Zoe Wang - Drums Gold medal in the Under 16 Bass and Tenor Categories

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Alice in Wonderland PLC explored the magical world of talking cats, mock turtles and giant eggs in our production of Alice in Wonderland, an amusing interpretation by Brainerd Duffield of Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass. Involving over 170 students from Years 7 to 12, including over 120 on stage, this production delighted full houses in late July. All students worked with dynamic creativity, enduring enthusiasm and great focus throughout our five-month journey.

This whimsical story made for an ideal theatrical experience, with quirky and bizarre characters, including inventive puppets made by students, and creative interpretations by our actors. As usual, we added in moments of dance and a range of theatrical devices to enchant our audiences. But this is not a simple children’s tale; amid the moments of sheer nonsense, our audiences found pearls of wisdom, lessons to be learnt and things to consider as they left the auditorium.

Our cast and crew became involved in order to gain experience in performance and working creatively, and to develop skills in working with others. The students in the cast and crew were offered the opportunity to share their thoughts. For Sara, it was about meeting new friends: Alice in Wonderland was a great and enjoyable experience. I have become friends with so many people I didn't know and I just loved the end result. It was definitely all worth it. I'd love to be part of many of the shows and musicals in the coming years!

Summer shared: I had an absolute blast during the rehearsals and performances for the production of Alice in Wonderland.

Spending time and working together with the cast was a joyful experience that I will never forget.

Our Alices, Rachel Kipnis (Drama Captain 2023) and Emma Huibers, are not only supremely talented but led the way with great resilience and leadership. Our Year 12 students made space in their hectic schedules to engage with creativity and play, understanding that being involved in co-curricular activities, particularly our theatrical productions, can offer valuable experience in time management, collaboration, organisation and focus. | 17

Working together as a team brings people together and we created a wonderful sense of community as a group. Olivia, a valuable member of the backstage crew, said, ‘This was my first time in the PLC production and everyone was so welcoming and friendly, just willing to help out and show me what to do’. Davida shared: I have absolutely loved my time in the production.

I am so much closer to my friends and have worked with some amazingly talented dancers, actors and of course, the director. The play was an excellent experience that I will definitely do again.

When we see Old Collegians at our reunions, they speak with much enthusiasm and fond memories of their time spent in PLC’s theatrical productions. Forecasting this, Larissa said of her experience: Many weeks and many months have gone into Alice in Wonderland and we have all worked so hard to make the story come to life.

From the dancing, to the acting and the many rehearsals, I'm sure that we all will never, not ever, for as long as we live, forget our magical visit to Wonderland.

Similarly, Erin said: ‘Alice in Wonderland was the most amazing memory I have made so far at PLC. I had a lot of fun and will remember this for the rest of my life!’

For Angela: ‘I had a wonderful experience being in Alice in Wonderland because although it was tiring at times, the end result was definitely worth it.’

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The backstage crew was led by the amazing Vicky Xiao (Drama Captain 2024), who was once again invaluable in her management and creative problem solving. She made sure that every moment ticked along as required, including the drama of our Humpty Dumpty very much falling off the wall.

She led the backstage crew of over twenty students to become a skilled and precise machine, working on follow spots, in vision and sound, as well as making all the elements run like clockwork on stage.

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The crew, assisted by the cast at times, have also created many of the set pieces and props that were seen on stage.

We are so lucky to be blessed with such a fantastic community spirit here at PLC! Shenny shared: Alice in Wonderland was a thrilling experience, not only for me in the role of the Red Queen, but also for the cast, dancers and ensemble as a theatrical team. I was able to immerse myself in the quizzically spectacular Wonderland world while making friends from Year 7 to Year 12. It was an awe-

inspiring show that Ms Garrett in all her wonder put together with the help of other talented teachers. I’m curious about where we’ll travel together next year!

According to Tehminah: Alice in Wonderland was a performance like no other! We had cards coming down from the ceiling, Humpty Dumpty the size of the auditorium itself, a talking rabbit, a baby who turned into a pig and everything in between!

We can’t wait to begin working on our musical next year and we will announce the title of our production soon. As Audrey said: Alice in Wonderland was a great chance for students from different Houses and year levels to bond, and it was a lot of fun. I am looking forward to the production next year, and I am sure everyone enjoyed Alice in Wonderland just as much as I did!

Cath Garrett Head of Drama | 21

Gala Celebration In our most outstanding musical event of 2023, PLC’s Speech Night Gala Celebration at Hamer Hall was an incredible display of musical performance and artistic expression.

Our PLC Community was delighted with the extraordinary talents of our Senior School girls including unforgettable performances from our Pipes and Drums Band, Wind Symphony, Vocalease, Senior Strings and String Orchestra, Melba Chorale and our outstanding Symphony Orchestra. The evening concluded with an engaging and enthusiastic tribute to Australian icon, John Farnham.

Congratulations to everyone involved.

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Junior School Artistry Unleashed: Nurturing Tomorrow’s Visionaries The Junior School Art program aims to provide Prep to Year 6 students with exceptional opportunities in a well-resourced environment. Students are encouraged to experiment and explore with hands-on experiences while embracing imagination and knowledge, working both independently and collaboratively.

Through a rich variety of media, collaborative projects and skill-based activities, our art program successfully combines traditional, contemporary and digital techniques to foster creativity and develop art history knowledge.

Skills that are actively encouraged include independent thinking, problem solving, perseverance, focus, receiving feedback, considering accountability and collaboration, which all help to build a more curious and confident young woman.

Our Art program boasts a diverse range of media, allowing students to explore various artistic expressions.

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Students engage in activities such as printing, drawing, clay modelling, textiles, painting and photography. By immersing themselves in these different media, students develop a well-rounded artistic skill set and gain exposure to a wide range of creative possibilities.

We have begun integrating digital technology into our art curriculum, combining digital cameras and iPads with traditional artistic techniques.

Students experiment with digital photography using a camera or an iPad; for example, iPads were used to record their learning as a digital diary.

Year 3 documented their raffia sculpture making inspired by the Tjanpi Desert Weavers. This has not only allowed for reflection and self-assessment but has also provided them with a valuable record of their artistic development.

Collaboration plays a significant role in our art program, fostering teamwork and encouraging students to learn from one another. Collaborative projects provide opportunities for students to engage in dialogue, exchange ideas and work

together to create meaningful artistic pieces. These experiences not only enhance students' communication and interpersonal skills but also promote a sense of collective achievement and shared creativity. Year 4 students together created five large terracotta pots inspired by the Hermannsburg Potters: Aranda Artists of Central Australia. Each group worked together to hand build and decorate the pot to bring it to life with a distinctive story related to Australia.

Our Art program focuses on skill building to ensure that students develop a strong foundation in artistic techniques.

Students receive guidance to refine their technical abilities across various media. For example, the Year 5 students explored still life painting, creating their own still life composition in groups. They painted the compositions using waterbased acrylics on canvas. As they build these foundational skills, students gain confidence in their artistic abilities and are better equipped to explore and experiment with their own artistic style.

Students are also encouraged to make creative decisions while developing their skills in various areas.

Our program goes beyond the technical aspects of art and encourages students to make connections with art history.

Through the study of different artistic movements, artists and art forms, students gain a deeper appreciation for the cultural and historical significance of art. They learn to analyse and interpret artworks within their specific historical context, fostering critical thinking and a broader understanding of the world.

Year 2 students explored the artists Claude Monet, Henri Rousseau and Vincent van Gogh, responding to these artists and creating their own interpretations of their techniques, while using different surfaces to explore their ideas.

Our Art program is designed to equip students with future skills that are essential in a rapidly changing world.

By incorporating digital technology, collaboration and skill-building activities, students develop creativity, adaptability, critical thinking and problem-solving skills.

These skills not only enhance their artistic abilities but also prepare them for future academic and professional pursuits.

By nurturing creativity, fostering collaboration and equipping students with future skills, our program ensures a wellrounded artistic education that prepares students for success. We celebrate the achievements of our students and their continued growth as they develop their own unique artistic voices.

Francesca Frederic Junior School Art Co-ordinator

Unlocking Tomorrow: Empowering Junior School Students with Technology The role of digital technologies in education has expanded exponentially in recent years and with that comes a range of new opportunities for Junior School students to explore ways of harnessing new skills. Simply teaching students how to use the Internet is not going to provide the skills they will need to navigate their online lives safely and effectively. In digital technologies lessons, we explore a wide range of technologies and topics, including robotics, coding, design software, drones, podcasting, cyber safety and content creation. We hope to provide students with a solid grounding for their digital future.

Some excellent opportunities arise throughout the year in digital technologies classes, including the Year 5 podcasting activity.

Students are trained how to use GarageBand to record, edit and produce their own podcast episode centred around cyber safety. Technical skills in recording are explicitly taught to enable studio-quality projects that prove, when given the opportunity and the skills, students can achieve anything. The cyber safety theme is continued across all year levels

with a live webinar every term, for every class, from our cyber safety partners, Inform and Empower.

Students learn practical skills in staying safe online and what to do when things get difficult. These skills are a great foundation for future years and help them to be successful in navigating their online lives.

Students in Year 6 experience what it would be like to create a real political television advertising campaign in digital technology classes, tied in with their study of government. They learn about the professional techniques in filming and editing to persuade wouldbe voters to support their own political party. Using video editing software, students are able to use green screen visual effects, sound editing and exporting to create the perfect television advertisement.

The results easily rival that of our genuine political parties' efforts.

Every year, the digital technologies curriculum evolves to take on new directions reflecting the outside world and the evolving skills needed by our students. As well as providing enjoyable and exciting opportunities for our girls, we feel these skills are an important part of their education as a whole and a key element to their thriving in the future.

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Shining on Stage: Spotlighting Talent and Confidence in the Junior School at PLC The Drama and Dance program in the Junior School at PLC is filled with many wonderful opportunities for our girls across the year. We have four main concerts which provide every student in the school with a chance to perform on stage in full costume.

Our first show of the year is the Years 3 and 4 Dance Expo, where our middle primary girls all learn two dances with

Empowering Excellence: A Year of Triumphs in Junior Sport As the school year draws to a close, it is time to reflect on the incredible achievements and spirited competitions that have defined our sports program.

From the pool to the court, the track to the field, we have seen determination and remarkable talent throughout the year.

Our SSV Swim Team dived into the season with memorable performances across District, Division and Regional levels of competition. All of the girls demonstrated impressive swimming skills in both individual and relay events.

Congratulations to all team members for their exceptional efforts.

The PLC tennis courts saw fierce rallies and strategic plays. Our talented tennis

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a theme and perform for family and friends. This is always an energetic and spirited concert.

The Year 6 Musical, staged at the conclusion of Term 2, marks our second production of the year. This year's featured musical was Frozen JR. This event consistently stands out as a program highlight, as it provides students with the chance to showcase their talents in the PLC Performing Arts Centre with microphones, full lighting plot, costumes and large, beautiful sets.

The Year 6 girls experience the entire process of putting on a large-scale

players showcased their speed and agility in both the SSV Tennis and the PLC House Tennis Competitions. PLC dominated the day, finishing with five students in the top eight, two in the top four semi-finals and one progressing through to the Division Competition.

The House Athletics Carnival was a day of record-breaking achievements and spirited competition. A total of thirteen records were broken: nine individual records and four relay records. Parents cheered from the sidelines as our athletes pushed their limits in a variety of track and field events. Well done to all House teams for their amazing efforts.

The steep hills of the PLC grounds did not deter our runners as the girls completed the PLC House Cross Country Carnival.

The determination and endurance shown by all girls was truly spectacular.

musical, including auditions, afterschool rehearsals, vocal coaching, tech rehearsals and dress rehearsals.

The students always work extremely hard to put on a magical show!

In Term 3, we have the Junior Primary Concert. All the Prep, Year 1 and Year 2 students learn dances and songs in their drama and music classes to put on an enjoyable and bright show. Some students also have the opportunity to show off their acting skills in short videos that are recorded for the show. It’s wonderful to see even our littlest students getting up

In Term 2, PLC took our running talent outside the school gates as our SSV Cross Country Team represented the school in the SSV District Cross Country Competition. A total of 14 girls finished in the top 10, from 100 competitors across the three age groups. Many of these students continued to represent the school across the Division, Region and State competitions. Kiyara Munasinghe progressed all the way to the SSV State Cross Country Championships, finishing in the top 25 runners in the state for her age group, which was a phenomenal effort.

Term 2 finished with an action-packed PLC House Sports Day. The soccer pitches, basketball courts, and netball courts were filled with excitement. The day was a showcase of the versatility and skill of our athletes across multiple sports.

in front of an audience displaying confidence and enthusiasm.

The year concludes with the Year 5 Evening of Short Plays. Each Year 5 class is given a short play to rehearse and perform. This is a unique concert as the plays are written so that every student receives lines and there are no ‘main parts’. It’s a wonderful opportunity for every girl to put into practice all she has learnt in her drama classes from previous years.

Beyond the concerts, the Drama and Dance program provides many other

The largest PLC Junior School Snow Sports Team ever assembled braved the icy slopes, as our skiing stars displayed their skills at Mt Buller. Their agility and precision were a sight to behold, proving that our athletes thrive in all conditions.

Term 3 saw our SSV Soccer, Basketball, Teeball and Netball Teams display exceptional teamwork and sportsmanship during their competitions. The girls trained extremely hard and every match was played with enthusiasm and passion.

The SSV Athletics Team brought out the best in our students. From outstanding sprinting talent to excellent endurance, powerful throws and explosive jumps, our athletes demonstrated phenomenal skills in all areas. This year saw a very talented team assembled, with a total of eight students progressing all the way to the SSV State Track and Field Championships.

opportunities for girls to perform in front of audiences. These include being involved in assembly skits, the Drama Action Team, Nativity/Easter services, drama captaincy and more. It is these invaluable experiences that help develop the students into the confident girls they become, as being on the stage or in front of an audience becomes a very normal part of their schooling life. Performing or speaking in a public setting is an important life skill to develop and we are very proud to be able to provide these outstanding opportunities to assist with this at PLC Junior School.

Our Under 10 relay team, consisting of Kiyara Munasinghe, Olivia Huo, Annie Gao and Grace Maddern, as well as the Under 11 relay team with Tara Kongthong, Evelyn Qi, Elsa Yu and Fiona Yu, all represented PLC at the highest level in school sports.

Kiyara Munasinghe also represented PLC at the State Championships in two individual events, the 80m hurdles and shot put. This is the largest team PLC has ever taken to the SSV Track and Field State Championships.

In Term 4, Kiyara Munasinghe was selected to represent Team Victoria in the School Sport Australia National Track and Field Competition held in Tasmania. She competed in the shot put, high jump and 800m events, as well as the combined event (100m, shot put, long jump and 800m). This was an extraordinary effort, placing Kiyara in the very best primary school-aged athletes in Australia.

The school year came full circle with another exhilarating swimming carnival.

House pride was on full display as swimmers and divers gave their all in the pool, leaving us in awe of their skills.

It was a great event to finish the sporting year, with so many parents and friends cheering the girls on.

As we reflect on this remarkable year of achievements, it is clear that our girls have not only excelled in sport but also in personal growth, embodying the true spirit of sportsmanship and the values that will serve them well in all of their future endeavours.

Ashley Newell Junior School Coordinator of PE, Sport & Health

| 29

Early Learning Centre

30 | PLC in Print - Issue 119 | December 2023

Come Fly with Me – A Journey of Flight at the ELC Inquiry-based STEAM learning has become an integral part of children’s education over the years and is seen as a vital component in the development of children’s confidence, imagination, problem-solving and criticalthinking skills. STEAM learning focuses on science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics. In STEAM-based experiences, children develop their scientific thinking by asking questions, testing theories and exploring their interests and curiosities about the world around them. This helps to build metacognitive skills and fosters positive learning dispositions in our youngest citizens.

At the ELC, teachers believe children are collaborators and active participants in their own learning, and plan for a range of experiences that bring children together in their inquiry processes. The role of the educators is to act as facilitators and researchers alongside the children in the learning process.

One example of this was a recent ongoing project in the Glengarry Pre-Prep classroom. A child wanted to learn how to make a ‘super-fast paper aeroplane’ and worked alongside his family, teachers and peers to create the plane. He experimented with a range of different designs at home and then shared his paper-folding ideas with the class. His ideas took flight and paper planes of various shapes and sizes were soon flying around the ELC. As the children propelled their planes through the air, they observed

that some planes flew faster and further than other planes, which led to more research. The children investigated different paper plane designs on the Internet with their teachers, and a project area was created with equipment and resources needed to make various types of planes. The children developed their own video with step-by-step instructions on how to make the paper planes, and this was used as a reference guide by the class. They then decided to test how far their planes flew using a measuring tape and marked where the planes landed. By promoting shared sustained thinking and collaboration, children gained the courage to step out of their comfort zone, share different ideas, develop perseverance and have a go at testing their planes.

There are many examples of STEAMbased learning and collaboration amongst our community of learners. Children in the Carnell Pre-Prep class have been testing how high the wind can lift their kite creations in the ELC’s Big Backyard, and children in the Balgonie Pre-Prep class have worked together to lift and move the longest tower made with connector blocks without it breaking.

Children engage in STEAM learning through their play every day. Our role is to support and facilitate children’s learning through scaffolding, and encourage creative thinking in our young learners. It’s a rewarding way to engage with children on their journey of learning.

Deborah Hendren Head of Early Learning

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Community

32 | PLC in Print - Issue 119 | December 2023

Friends of Junior School For the Friends of Junior School, 2023 has been all about including as many students and parents as possible. With over 100 volunteers on our contact list and a hardworking committee of 25, FJS has enjoyed hosting and supporting many events this year. Here is a brief overview.

Mother’s Day Breakfast The Sparkle and Shine themed breakfast was held in a new, larger venue this year.

Our fabulous team of parent volunteers magically transformed Wyselaskie Hall into a sparkly, shiny space where le petit dejeuner was served to over 400 mothers and daughters. This was our biggest Mother’s Day celebration ever and a wonderful way to bring our PLC Junior School community together.

Mother’s Day Gift Stall Our hard-working committee sourced eight options for this year’s stall. The Junior School girls loved browsing and shopping for gifts for their mums.

Father’s Day Breakfast The Buried Treasure themed breakfast once again saw Wyselaskie Hall transformed, this time into a treasurefilled space with treasure boxes on every table. Our lucky PLC dads were gifted with origami flowers. With over 400 dads and daughters in attendance, it was a fabulous morning.

Father’s Day Gift Stall The committee once again sourced eight gift options for our girls to purchase. Over 500 bags were sold.

Bake Stalls (Easter Service, Winter Melodies, Caldwell Concert, Junior Primary Concert) Our bake stalls are always a huge hit at the various school events. The PLC team of bakers donate their time and goods to be sold at the concerts. We have had a stunning array of treats this year.

FJS would like to thank our wonderful community for your time and effort in supporting us to raise money for improving our girls’ school experience.

We would not be able to offer these events and stalls without you.

Friends of Junior School

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PLC Foundation As we usher in another season of growth and opportunity at PLC, it is timely to take a moment to reflect and express the deep gratitude of the PLC Foundation Board to the entire school community. Our school's continued growth, success and ability to offer unique experiences to the girls and broader PLC community are, in no small part, due to the incredible generosity of our donors, Old Collegians and, notably, our committed parent groups.

The global challenge posed by the COVID pandemic reminded us all of the importance of community and connection.

As we slowly emerge from its shadows and rebuild stronger than before, it is heartening to witness our community becoming closer than ever. Many parent groups and Old Collegians have reached out and reconnected in these recent months of 2023. Before, where these groups might have operated in ‘silos’, we now hope to build even stronger connections and collaborations across various groups, interests and events throughout the College and beyond.

The unwavering support of so many, be it through financial contributions, volunteering, or in-kind donations, is a testament to the enduring strength and spirit of the PLC community. This support enables the Foundation to uphold its commitment to supporting the College in providing excellence in education and enriching experiences beyond the traditional classroom setting.

The Foundation’s Annual Winter Masterpieces event at the National Gallery of Victoria, featuring esteemed French artist, Pierre Bonnard, was held in July. Foundation and Council members, Old Collegians, family and friends were given the incredible opportunity to immerse themselves in an exclusive lecture that delved into the art and contemporary influences of Bonnard, bringing his works to life as we walked through the colourful rooms of the exhibition. A delicious lunch was held at the beautiful NGV Garden Restaurant following the exhibition viewing. This inaugural lunch was even more special, as PLC Old Collegian Annie Smithers (1983), owner of the renowned restaurant du Fermier in Trentham, had designed an exclusive French Provincial menu to complement Bonnard’s exhibition. It was heartwarming to see quite a number of alumnae from the Class of 1983 in attendance to celebrate Annie’s featured lunch and share stories and photos of their ‘muck-up’ day back in 1983!

34 | PLC in Print - Issue 119 | December 2023

In August, the Foundation also hosted the Pre-Gala Concert drinks in the Melbourne Room at Hamer Hall where members mingled over canapés and drinks before enjoying the outstanding performances by the girls.

The Foundation Cocktail Party and AGM in November was a wonderful success, with guests enjoying the evening with live music from the Staff Jazz Band, and an exclusive viewing of the construction site of the new Sports, Aquatic and Fitness Centre.

Later in October, the Foundation awarded art prizes at the Year 12 Art Exhibition to three talented Year 12 VCE and IB Art students; Alvis Wong for VCE Art Making and Exhibiting, Evan Lian for VCE Art Creative Practice and Summer Li for IB Visual Arts.

Another exciting event to mark in the calendar is the Foundation Gala Community Dinner and Dance which will be held on 10 August 2024 at Carousel with its breathtaking city views over Albert Park Lake. It is hoped that many of you will join us for this wonderful event and be part of the exciting lead-up to the College’s 150th year in 2025!

Finally, the Foundation Board would like to express its heartfelt thanks and gratitude to Antony Hankin for almost 21 years of unwavering commitment and dedication to the PLC community, in particular his wonderful contribution to building the Foundation membership and all his work in organising various major PLC community events. We wish him all the best in his future endeavours!

PLC Foundation Board

| 35

PLC Connection - The Blood Vote

Thank you to our Members

Judith Dodsworth worked at PLC as a Voice teacher for several years before leaving at the end of 2022 to move interstate. She then returned to PLC in Term 3 for a few weeks as a casual music tutor.

The PLC Foundation’s mission is to support the development of major new facilities at the College and provide students with exceptional educational resources.

We are delighted to welcome the following individuals to our community and extend our sincere gratitude to our existing members for their outstanding support.

In October, Judith went on to perform in an opera called The Blood Vote, a ground-breaking opera circus experience.

Playing the lead role of Vida Goldstein (1869-1948), the first woman to run for Parliament in Australia, Judith discovered that Vida happened to be an early PLC girl!

PLC FOUNDATION

New Members Members

$3,000

Heather Wilton (1966) Ming Yang and Wei Wei Nancy Do and Nam Pham Associate Fellows

$6,000

Penny Wong and Xiang Li

Increased Membership Status Associate Fellows

$6,000

Patricia Weikhardt Fellows

$12,000

Caroline Lidgerwood Governor

$25,000

Sonny De Silva and Vajra De Silva

For more information or to apply for membership, please contact the Development Office at development@plc.vic.edu.au or scan the QR code to visit our Donation Hub online.

36 | PLC in Print - Issue 119 | December 2023

The Lampas Society The annual Soup Lunch in September this year was particularly well supported.

This was largely due to the appeal of hearing from our guest speaker, Helen Penrose. Helen is a highly respected and experienced school historian and is currently writing a PLC history for the upcoming 150th anniversary. She entertained us with snippets of the past, having read through pages and pages of Council minutes, staff meeting minutes and listened back to hours of recordings of the many interviews she has conducted.

We are looking forward to seeing the finished product!

This gathering also enabled us to thank and farewell Julie Schroeder. Julie has been such a vital part of Lampas, helping us plan and organise events and gatherings. We will miss her calm and cheery manner, and of course her incredible PLC network! We also said farewell to Antony Hankin, thanking him for his support and promotion of Lampas over the years.

We were saddened to hear of the passing of Russell Downie after a long illness.

We send our thoughts and prayers to his family. His tribute is on page 43.

Next year sees the 20th year of the Lampas Society and we look forward to more events and outings. We also hope to continue to update our database to keep in touch with people.

Best wishes for a peaceful and joyous festive season.

Janet Driver President of the Lampas Society

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Farewells | The PLC Community extends its warmest farewells to the following staff members.

Antony Hankin We would like to acknowledge the wonderful service of Antony Hankin, Director of Development at PLC for almost 21 years. Responsible for marketing, fundraising and communication strategies across

many stakeholder groups, Antony was part of the fabric of PLC and much loved as the ‘man with the camera’ and MC extraordinaire. He seamlessly formed positive working relationships with parents and staff through his leadership and involvement in events across the College.

vital roles, including as Deputy Chair, supporting many Chairs and acting in their absence. She brought her professional expertise and corporate oversight to many Council committees, including the Finance, Risk, Audit and Compliance Committee, and past Executive and Finance and Risk Management and Audit Committees. She remains a Director and Chair of Charles Pearson which oversees investment of bequests for scholarships.

Her prudent financial insights have enabled the College to survive and thrive through various economic conditions, and all her deliberations have been underpinned by her Christian principles and professional strengths.

Council Member Retires Mrs Christine Hopper (Tuckett 1964) has retired from the PLC Council after 30 years of outstanding and dedicated service. In addition to her professional skills as a financial consultant and actuary, Christine has brought to the Council a deep and personal knowledge and appreciation of the College as an Old Collegian and past parent.

Christine has served the Council with commitment and integrity in many

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Antony’s legacy at the College lives on through the photographs he took, the traditions he instilled and the numerous events that he oversaw. We wish Antony well in all his future endeavours.

Past and present Council and staff members thank Christine for her amazing time of service to PLC and for the care, wisdom and service she showed across the duration of her tenure. They will miss her insights, corporate memory and the way she has served for God’s glory. Her faith in Jesus is bold, not just as our ethical example but moreover as sovereign and rescuer. Christine’s love for PLC and women’s education is profound.

She has ably and generously brought her faith, wisdom and professional and life experience to the Council table, always wearing her governance hat. Christine has been a great servant to PLC, especially with her oversight of the College’s scholarship funds.

Her abiding Christian faith has contributed to her resilience and faithful stewardship in guiding and mentoring Council members. Christine has a direct, warm and considered manner and engages positively with those around her.

Indeed, Christine’s loyalty and commitment to PLC well epitomises the Bible verse in 1 Peter 4:10: ‘Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.’

Christine is a proud Old Collegian and often organised her year level reunions to allow past students to reconnect with each other and their school, which has physically changed so much during her three decades as a Council member.

We at PLC are so very grateful that Christine has shared her talents and gifts as she served with endless hours to build up and guide the College Council over the decades. We wish her and her family God’s continued blessings for the future.

Mark Poustie

Julie Schroeder Julie Schroeder joined PLC in 2003 as Executive Officer – Community Relations.

She brought with her a strong commitment to community relations and building connections, using her exemplary skills with people and the written word. Julie’s role saw her engaging with various groups including Old Collegians and the Old Collegians’ Association, parent groups, the Lampas Society and staff. Her expertise in the College's history, along with her extensive knowledge of current and former staff and alumni, was truly outstanding.

Julie was the driving force in leading and championing the Lampas Society as well as overseeing our school reunions for our Old Collegians. Her remarkable ability to connect with people, discover their interests and create a welcoming atmosphere is legendary.

Julie’s passion and deep knowledge of PLC, along with her endless patience and kindness, helped to strengthen the bonds within the College community.

After two decades of dedicated service, her warmth and generosity will be greatly missed.

Chris Hallam Chris Hallam commenced full time at PLC in 2002, after initially joining in 2000 for the 125th anniversary celebrations.

With extensive experience as an audio technician and musician, he contributed significantly to school events, managing sound for assemblies, concerts and exams. Over the years, Chris adapted to evolving needs, adding video recording and editing to his repertoire. His contribution extended across Senior and Junior School, ELC, House Concerts, Chapels, Quad Days, Sports Days, Family Picnics, CE Camps, OCA events and more.

Mark commenced employment at PLC as a chemistry and general science teacher in 1984. He has had a long and distinguished career serving as Head of Chemistry from Term 3, 1990 to 2020.

Throughout his time at the school he was instrumental in establishing the IB and saw the development and implementation of many changes to the Year 11 and Year 12 courses, from HSC with Options to VCE with CATs and SACs. As Head of Chemistry, he introduced the Titration Stakes Competition, the Chemistry Quiz and the Chemistry Olympiad. Chemistry students over many years have had several opportunities to participate in these extension activities. Mark’s ability to steer a clear path through a new study design has allowed students to achieve outstanding outcomes. He has been very generous and willingly giving of his time and expertise to mentor many staff.

Mark has been an exemplary classroom teacher. His kind, thoughtful and careful approach, coupled with endless patience and a wonderfully witty and dry sense of humour, has enabled many students to thrive and succeed in their study of chemistry. Along with classroom teaching, Mark attended many school camps, school events and Atholl House activities.

As Mark retires from teaching, he plans to keep very busy. He is a family man and is looking forward to spending time with his children and grandchildren. Time with Grandpa Mark will be very special. He will also enjoy rounds of golf, cycling, camping and travelling. Mark has cycled to school most days throughout his 40 years at PLC and keeps several pairs of ‘work’ shoes under his desk. Those shoes are going to be hard to fill.

Provided by Robyn Speedy Science Teacher | 39

Misja Carbo

Sibella Guest

Anne Friend

At the end of this year, we farewell Misja Carbo after 30 years of outstanding leadership and service to the teaching and learning of science at our College.

Since 2001, Sibella taught VCE and IB Biology, Years 7 to 10 Science and electives. Students and colleagues benefited from her expert subject knowledge and dedication.

In the early-1990s, Anne embarked on her journey with the PLC Music Department. Her role encompassed teaching students from Years 7 to 12 in the classroom, leading numerous choirs in both the Junior School and Senior School, as well as contributing to the PLC/Scotch musical productions.

Throughout her tenure, Anne assumed the positions of Acting Head of Music and Head of Music Curriculum. Additionally, she actively engaged with various music camps, tours and outdoor education experiences, with a particular focus on horse riding. Special mention must be made of her outstanding contribution to IB Music, which she has taught for over 20 years. Anne always went above and beyond for her students, and their results over the past decades reflect her dedication and commitment.

A holistic educator, Misja established the Environment Club, one expression of his commitment to raising awareness and promoting sustainable practices at the College. A unique and tireless servant leader, he encouraged all of us to consider our ecological footprint, and over the decades was the organiser of incentives such as the annual Ride2School Day and the Clean Up Australia Day at Gardiners Creek.

Always generous with his time and resources, Misja served on numerous committees where he supported colleagues and was instrumental in the establishment of new curriculum.

A visionary and innovator, he was quick to embrace new technologies that both enhanced the delivery of curriculum in the classroom and further developed skills in students and colleagues alike.

With his encyclopaedic knowledge of the sciences, and expertise in IB and VCE Physics, Misja inspired many generations of students to pursue careers in the sciences and in teaching.

An exemplary teacher, Misja’s students display strong graduate outcomes.

Misja has left a lasting legacy at our school and we thank him for his wonderful contribution.

Provided by Penny Hondrakis Science Teacher

40 | PLC in Print - Issue 119 | December 2023

Passionate about nature, Sibella participated enthusiastically in camps and activities such as Clean Up Australia Day. During field trips, Sibella’s botanical knowledge helped with plant identification and her leadership in the camp dining room was invaluable!

Sibella has always advocated strongly for learning experiences that will have the most impact for students. She was always keen to organise excursions that would enable her ‘biologists’ to have hands on experiences which connected directly to their study to ensure they understood the application of science to the real world.

She enjoyed marking, giving efficient and effective feedback and has been a regular VCE assessor. As Head of Biology, her practical creativity produced eye-catching displays in the biology corridor.

Sibella was often observed giving individual help at lunchtimes; she viewed outside-hours and pastoral duties as important aspects of her role.

We thank Sibella for her important contribution to PLC over the past 23 years.

Provided by Andrea Skinner Laboratory Technician

Anne established the Melba Chorale which has been one of the most outstanding choirs at the College for a long time. Her passion and commitment to see the choral program at PLC thrive and succeed into the future cannot be understated. Anne has always had a heart for the students at PLC and her devotion and contribution to the College has left a lasting legacy.

Provided by Edith Ellis Past Staff Member

Rowena Day For the past 23 years, Rowena Day has been a stalwart of the PLC Geography Department. A passionate geographer, Rowena joined PLC’s teaching staff keen to integrate geospatial technologies into the geography classroom and has always remained abreast of the most effective teaching practices and theory.

Rowena taught IB Geography for many years and was the Theory of Knowledge Coordinator from 2006 to 2016. Her students and colleagues alike have

Debbie Hendren It is with mixed emotions that we farewell Debbie Hendren, Head of Early Learning, after almost 30 years of service to our College. On her retirement she leaves behind a legacy of hard work, commitment and dedication to exemplary early childhood education. We thank her for her extraordinary leadership in creating a dynamic culture for staff, children and families to flourish and for her vision in providing outstanding facilities for our youngest learners.

Debbie has been a big part of the PLC community during her time at the College and PLC has played an enormous role in her childhood, family life and career.

Debbie’s long association began when her mother was employed as a Senior School science teacher in the early 1960s.

She then attended PLC as a student, graduating in 1974 before attending the Institute of Early Childhood Development in Kew. It is here that she trained as a kindergarten teacher and launched her

career in early childhood. Debbie taught in sessional pre-schools before being appointed as PLC’s inaugural Head of Early Learning in 1994. Following on the family tradition, Debbie’s two daughters Alex (2005) and Eliza (2010) also attended the College, further cementing PLC in their family history.

Many PLC staff have had the opportunity to experience the welcoming and wonderful atmosphere that Debbie provides to the Early Learning Centre, having had their children attend the ELC over the years. Debbie’s commitment to excellence and creating environments where children thrive has seen the ELC grow to be one of the biggest and most well-respected early learning centres in an independent school in Australia. Through her leadership, the ELC has evolved from humble beginnings from when the Centre opened in 1994 to what it is today.

Extensions, renovations, state-of-the-art equipment and a passion for providing high quality education for our youngest citizens have seen the ELC grow exponentially.

benefited from her meticulous planning and expertise. In more recent years, Rowena has played an important role in staff professional development, leading the teacher Year 7 Learning Teams.

Not only will we miss her remarkable contribution to the academic life of the College, but PLC will not be the same without her unsurpassed sense of style and magnificent singing voice in morning assemblies.

Provided by Fairlie Mackinnon Acting Head of Geography

In recent years, Debbie’s commitment to high quality learning environments was extended to the outdoor learning spaces where the latest research in nature play was embedded in the designs of the current outdoor adventure playground.

The breadth of opportunities available to children and the beautiful learning spaces that maximise children’s potential are a result of Debbie’s dedication to quality for our youngest students.

Debbie has always strived to create a sense of belonging and lifetime memories for the ELC community and we value her ability to build a wonderful and embracing atmosphere for the ELC and wider PLC community. We will miss her tenacity, quick wit, fun-loving nature, exceptional organisational skills, eye for detail and her extraordinary vision for early childhood education. She has set a standard for excellence, and we thank her for a lifetime commitment to the College. We wish her all the very best in her well-deserved retirement. | 41

Obituaries | The PLC Community was saddened to learn of the passing of the following past staff members.

Kerry Baxter Kerry joined the PLC Art Department in 2000 and has taught painting, print making and drawing, but primarily, textiles over her 23 year tenure. Throughout this time, Kerry has successfully updated the textiles curriculum, implementing a stronger focus on fashion and sustainability, whilst maintaining strong skills and artistic foundations.

Kerry's love for fashion, coupled with her extensive knowledge of its history and designers, has served as a source of inspiration and appreciation for this fascinating artistic genre for her students.

Her Year 10 Fashion and Textiles students particularly enjoyed creating their own fashion illustrations, garment labels and designing their own ‘third-hand’ garment by manipulating and re-purposing clothing to create new individual pieces.

Kerry always strived to make her wellplanned classes relevant and interesting.

Her students invariably appreciated and respected Kerry’s professionalism along with her interest and concern for them.

Kerry is recognised for her inspiring and informative displays on current season fashion trends or particular fashion designers. Her textiles room displays were always a source of stimulus for ideas and creative motivation for her students.

The bi-annual PLC Art Exhibition, held in Wyselaskie Hall, always showcased the spectacular variety of student projects inspired and instigated by Kerry.

As a colleague, Kerry has always been collaborative, level-headed and conscientious. Her calm, modest approach has been welcomed in the Art Department and, along with her many friends from outside the department, we will certainly miss having Kerry at PLC and wish her well with her future plans.

Provided by Bronwyn Clague Art Assistant 42 | PLC in Print - Issue 119 | December 2023

Sallie Norsworthy Etched into the historic fibre of PLC is the leadership of Sallie Norsworthy. An exceptional educator with exemplary leadership skills, she was headhunted to the Junior School to reverse the concerning trend of falling enrolments and low student achievement levels. Upon her appointment in 1989, Sallie set about, with single-minded purpose, to improve student achievement, especially in literacy. Over the ten years that Sallie was Head of Junior School, with committed and trusting staff behind her, she systematically and purposefully built a foundation of educational excellence where student literacy levels, underpinned by high levels of teacher efficacy, rose substantially.

Sallie was a strong advocate of all students learning correctly from the beginning, recognising the difficult task faced by teachers and students when poor learning practices need to be reversed. She understood that good teaching was key to high achievement. With this in mind, Sallie embarked on a quest to find an ‘explicit’ literacy program in which her staff could be trained. She looked at many programs worldwide in an attempt to find one that encompassed the full spectrum of literacy sub-skills, was appropriate to the needs of PLC and would dramatically lift standards.

It had to be available in Australia and provide in-service education of all her staff. It was soon decided that The Spalding Method was the approach

PLC would adopt – a child-centred, sequential and multi-sensory method that involved high expectations, purpose and meaning, higher-level thinking, direct and integrated instruction, active participation and diagnostic teaching.

Sallie had high expectations of staff and the quality of their teaching.

She did not allow anyone or anything to stand in her way. She visited classrooms, inspected workbooks, collected work samples and confiscated exercise books that were not to the standard she expected, requiring teachers to purchase new books for their students that were to reflect a much higher standard of work. She advocated her desire for explicit teaching with an emphasis on careful instruction. She hated the term ‘rough copy’ as it implied a lowering of effort and standards, and these were no longer allowed. ‘First drafts’ were acceptable if written neatly with a fair degree of accuracy. Sallie even referred to this in a submission to a government report (Commonwealth of Australia, 1993) when she stated: Children are told that spelling and handwriting do not matter for the initial draft. Errors can be fixed later.

In most children's minds this becomes the low expectation for all writing, so they proceed with no attempt at accuracy and the results show a high degree of carelessness even with words they have learnt. The mistakes are inconsistent, with several different versions of any given word being common. This indicates a careless

attitude, not creative talent, especially when it occurs in upper grades.

Sallie focused closely on her staff as individuals, ensuring that each teacher was confident in their ability to teach using this method and was following the correct procedures learnt during the training. She made her expectations clear to all staff and was consistent in her approach. Consequently, staff were empowered and imbued with confidence and excitement. The achievement levels of the girls rose to such a standard that in 1999, Professor Michael Mackay of the Australian Catholic University had planned to involve the Year 1 students in a research project about the importance of phonemic awareness and phonics in the early years. However, at the end of Term 3 when he assessed the students, he found them to be performing so far in excess of the established criteria that they could not participate in the planned research.

Sallie realised her vision of having every student demonstrating a standard at least one year ahead of her actual grade with incredible success. She stated in the PLC 125th Annual Report (1999) that her goal had been achieved, with rare exceptions which she regarded as temporary, and that her expectations had been far surpassed with many students achieving five or more years above their expected grade standard.

Upon her retirement in 2001, the Chairman of Council acknowledged Sallie’s outstanding contribution to the school when he wrote: She came to PLC during a difficult time for the College and had a tremendous impact in shaping it into the institution it is today.

Under her leadership, the Junior School gained an unparalleled reputation for the quality of its teaching and the calibre and harmony of its staff. (PLC Annual Report, 2001, p.4) We are very grateful for the dedication, sacrifice and commitment to excellence that characterised Sallie. The culture, commitment and instructional strategies that she introduced have endured and PLC students continue to perform substantially above the Australian Schools Average in each NAPLAN domain at all levels. Moreover, in the Junior School, they surpass similar schools significantly in writing, spelling, and grammar.

Provided by Suzanne Phillips Former Deputy Head of Junior School and by Melissa Voce Head of Junior School

Russell Downie Remembering Russell Downie: educator extraordinaire, science teacher and Head of Physics Russell was a member of the PLC Science Department for 24 years, as a physics and science teacher and Head of the Physics Department, until his retirement in 2014.

Russell is remembered by his colleagues and students as a gifted and much-loved science educator.

He had a gift for storytelling and used this skill to inspire his students and encourage them to embrace the excitement and wonder of the scientific world view.

Seeing him in his lab, surrounded by a class of quietly listening students, while he used his softly spoken manner to explain a phenomenon or principle of science, was to see an extraordinary educator at work. One of his former students remembered him as ‘the kindest and most patient teacher ever’. Many of his former students would agree.

As Head of Physics, Russell was on a never-ending quest to make physics an engaging and exciting subject with which students could connect.

He instituted many innovations such as the annual Physics Camp, Astronomy Camp and the Physics Lunches that would feature female academics explaining their current research. Believing that girls should be able to work with wood and metal, Russell designed and ran a handson woodwork, electronics and car maintenance elective in Year 10 to encourage girls to get their hands dirty and learn how to use workshop tools.

Many students who did not have Russell as their classroom teacher would also remember him fondly for his enthusiastic and capable outdoor education participation.

He also instituted the annual Year 10 Waxworks fundraiser for Neno Girls’ school in Malawi and the Year 8 Song Competition.

Russell was one of the first teachers to take students to Malawi to visit our sister school in Neno and he ended up visiting there on two more occasions. He was instrumental in helping to establish this important international connection.

As a colleague and Head of Department, Russell was unfailingly supportive of the teachers in his department. His passion for physics and the history and philosophy of science lead to many and varied discussions in the staffroom. He read widely and shared his favourite books and discussed them with gusto, inspiring an unofficial book club within the Science Department. His strong Christian faith never conflicted with his passion for science and he was a strong believer that both science and faith could exist side by side.

Russell loved music and singing. He established a band of physics teachers called The Singing Rods (named after the resonating aluminium rods we use in physics teaching) which performed several times at school assemblies to the delight of the PLC student community. After his retirement, he spent much time combining his love for music and woodwork to build beautiful stringed instruments.

Russell has been an inspiration to all those who worked with him at PLC. He had a gift for bringing people together. His care for his students and colleagues is remembered fondly by many. His passion for education is an ongoing inspiration. His humble and gentle personality enriched many lives at the College.

To me, he was a colleague and a sounding board, friend and a mentor, an example of a life well lived. He will be missed.

Russell is survived by his wife Ellaine, his children Renee and Owen, and grandchildren Jasmine and Kira.

Provided by Misja Carbo Science Teacher

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Joan Kent (Battersby 1946) Joan’s life at PLC began in 1939 when her family migrated from England on the last boat through when war was declared. She was ten when she started at Hethersett, the new Burwood campus for the Junior School. The surrounds were predominantly orchards and cows grazing in paddocks.

The Hall was there, Hethersett House and the Stables. There were pine trees where the current Junior School is.

Joan went on to Senior School at the East Melbourne campus. She used to tell the story of her Year 8 misdemeanour when she and some friends got caught exploring Koorinya, the Boarding House, where day girls weren’t allowed. Joan tried to escape by climbing out the window,

44 | PLC in Print - Issue 119 | December 2023

only to be confronted by a prim and proper English teacher who told her to report to the Principal’s office, where she had her form captain’s badge taken away. She couldn’t decide whether it was because she’d been trespassing or because ladies didn’t climb out windows. Years later, she turned that negative into a positive when she was teaching at St Leonard’s and raising money to send to Tanzania for the purchase of materials to make bricks for a school. She told her students to bring in some coins and then guess the manner in which she was going to leave the room; hop, skip or crawl. If anyone guessed correctly, the money would be reimbursed.

Well, the money went to the materials – Joan jumped out of the window! This story is one of many over the decades of Joan’s life, exemplifying her refreshing

cheekiness and ability to find something positive in everything she did.

Joan participated in many areas of school life, culminating in being Head Prefect in her final year in 1947. In the words of the Principal Miss Neilson: Miss Joan Battersby was one of the finest pupils the Presbyterian Ladies’ College has ever had. It was inevitable that she should be chosen Head Prefect in her final year, and in that office she gave the School and the band of Prefects splendid leadership. She had tact, initiative, common-sense, poise, charm and intelligence. While holding such an important position, she also made an excellent Captain of both the Tennis and Baseball teams, and in addition,

was Secretary of the Musical Club.

Her services as a violinist in the School Orchestra were invaluable. With all these qualities, Miss Battersby still remained natural and unassuming.

Joan was inspired by her geography teacher, Miss Wilkinson, whose influence led her to do a Bachelor of Arts at the University of Melbourne, where she received equal first place Honours in Economic Geography.

She worked at the Myer Emporium for three years upon completion of study and used the money to travel around Europe for a year, after which she completed a Diploma of Education at London University. Her teaching practice took place in a secondary school in Stepney

in the East End of London, as well as at Queen Elizabeth Girls’ Grammar, both of which she loved.

At the end of her university year, after receiving a Distinction in Practical Teaching, Joan was offered a job at St Leonard’s Presbyterian Girls’ College in Melbourne. She was Senior Geography Mistress from 1956-66 and organised many field trips including the first trip by a girl’s school to Papua New Guinea.

This trip nearly didn’t go ahead after Joan fell on a stake, developed pleurisy and was advised by the doctor not to go.

But she made a deal with the girls that if they did all the work on the trip, it would continue. It was on this trip that she recognised the benefit of giving more responsibility to students!

The Principal of St Leonard’s, Mrs Woolhouse, wrote of Joan: ‘She has inspired girls at all levels to love the subject and to do their best work in it. There have never been in this school more First and Second Class Honours in Matriculation Geography than in any other subject.’

During this teaching period, Joan was also a member of the VUSEB Leaving and Matriculation Syllabus Revision Committee, the ABC School Geography Television Committee and the Geography Teacher’s Association of Victoria (GTAV).

Of note, Joan was honoured later in life with a GTAV Life Membership for 50+ years of service. Joan was also an Examiner for Matriculation Geography and she authored, edited and co-authored or conducted the research for a number of geography-related publications. | 45

At the end of 1966, Joan was offered a job to help train geography teachers in the School of Education at the University of East Africa in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

She participated in many adventurous field trips, which included becoming bogged on the roads in the wet season and offering lifts to Maasai tribesman. While there, she also tutored in Kenya and Malawi, was a member of the Geography Panel of the Institute of Education, Secretary of the Tanzanian Geographical Society and co-editor of a handbook for teachers.

When her two-year contract ended, she returned to Australia and was a part-time lecturer in geography methods at the University of Melbourne and part-time teacher at St Leonard’s.

Towards the end of 1969, Miss Joan Montgomery, Principal at PLC, offered Joan the position of Head of the Geography Department. With the retirement of Miss Wilkinson, the syllabi were due for revision, so Joan and fellow geographer Phyllis Reichl wrote new syllabi for Years 7 to 10 during the summer holidays, as well as Joan teaching Year 11 and 12 during the school year. It was an ambitious undertaking, especially given that Joan left at the end of the year to return to Tanzania.

Why did she return? To be with Jack, a UNESCO scientist that she had met at the university and who had chased her back to Australia to ask for her hand in marriage. They returned to Australia briefly in January 1971 to get married in Mt Eliza and then Joan returned to Tanzania with Jack to become Geography Lecturer at the Institute, Secretary for the Professor of Political Science and Editor for the East African Review, a political science journal.

At the beginning of 1972, Joan and Jack returned briefly to Australia because their daughter Nicola was on the way. She was born in May. Shortly after, Jack, in his role with UNESCO, was posted to Iran to set up a teacher training program. Five fascinating years followed for the family, living in Tehran. Joan took a job teaching Year 6 in a bilingual school and was allowed to introduce geography as a subject.

In Joan’s words: ‘these kids were the brightest I’ve ever taught and I thought they would be the future leaders to blend the western and eastern worlds’. Sadly, the revolution came in 1978. Soldiers drove out all the children and teachers and locked the school doors.

46 | PLC in Print - Issue 119 | December 2023

Joan and Jack returned to Australia in 1978 to take up positions of Geography Teacher and Science Coordinator respectively at PLC, and Nicola commenced in Year 1. There followed 12 enjoyable years at the school. Joan continued to enthuse students in geography as well as human studies and had a special way to engage and support students who may otherwise be considered a challenge to teach. As a testament to this, Joan received letters well into decades of retirement from students who appreciated her taking them under her wing and saying what a difference it had made to their lives.

After her retirement in 1989, Joan didn’t rest! Her connection with PLC continued by attending geography excursions and biology camps, as well as supporting the development of the LAMPAS society for past staff. She was engaged to do some fill-in teaching at Mentone Girls’ Grammar and MCEGGS and she joined a number of committees and volunteer groups. These included teaching English to those with English as a second language, assisting asylum seekers, Riding for the Disabled Association of Victoria, Meals on Wheels, and an East Timor assistance group, tree planting, and working with the Community Aid Abroad skills sharing scheme. For the latter Joan was one of sixteen who went on a community leadership program to India to see CAA (Oxfam) projects. When

they came back a group of them set up a skills sharing scheme where volunteers with specific skills such as IT, legal aid and management, offered to help community groups.

In addition to all of the activities above, Joan the adventurer was often off on trips around Australia and overseas. She particularly loved islands and climbing mountains. She was still climbing mountains with her daughter and best friend Nicola well into her seventh decade.

On the home front, she delved into practical courses such as pottery, enjoyed her daily walks on the beach, all season swimming in the sea, playing tennis, meeting with the local church group for interesting discussions and helped Jack develop their beautiful home and garden in Red Hill. Joan was a ‘bringer-together’ of people; her home was often open to meetings, gatherings and celebrations.

Joan was a giver, a doer, a connector, and an inspiration to many through her teaching and friendship. She will be remembered for her bright smile, constant positive attitude, warmth, kindness, strength, resilience and passion for life.

Her unwavering gratitude, expressed daily, was an essential ingredient to her living a long and happy life.

Provided by Nicola Chapman (Kent 1989) Daughter | 47

Old Collegians’ Association A

OCA President’s Report Three Very Special New Events Vice President, Dr Anisha Pillay (1986), is planning three very special new events in 2024 for Old Collegians to attend.

The first event will be held on Wednesday 17 April, 2024. This will be an exclusive farm tour, followed by morning tea at Babbington Park, the farm of Old Collegian, chef and author, Annie Smithers (1983).

Highlighting Annie’s organic plate-to-table sustainable farming practices, this will be an exclusive event especially planned for Old Collegians to enjoy together and will undoubtedly book out quickly.

Annie was a PLC boarder who is now one of Australia’s most highly regarded chefs, author of two cookbooks and one of the first to truly epitomise the paddockto-plate ethos. Her wonderful Frenchstyle farmhouse restaurant, du Fermier, is located in the heart of Trentham.

It features a menu created by Annie that celebrates ingredients from the kitchen garden and some of the finest meats and poultry from the surrounding region.

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48 | PLC in Print - Issue 119 | December 2023

We are always proud to showcase our talented Old Collegians and their businesses, so look out for your email invitations in 2024 and be sure to book promptly as places are limited.

in winemaking and farming is continued today by fourth generation siblings, Sandra and her brother David.

Secondly, PLC Principal Cheryl Penberthy has generously invited the OCA to run at least one event each year in Wyselaskie Hall. We plan to hold a dinner on Saturday 1 June, 2024 so that Old Collegians can enjoy returning to the very heart of PLC, where we all gathered for Assembly and House Concerts. Please save the date as this will be a great reason to gather your PLC friends and enjoy being back at PLC to start your Winter in Wyselaskie together.

We are thrilled to welcome the following esteemed alumnae as representatives for their graduating classes, serving as the voice and link between their cohorts and the PLC Old Collegians’ Association.

Lastly, we will hold a wine tasting at the cellar door at Yerinberg Winery at a later advised date. Lunch can be organised in nearby Healesville for those who are interested. Old Collegian and winemaker, Sandra de Pury (1979), has offered to open the cellar for a wine tasting event for Old Collegians. Yeringberg is a stunning Yarra Valley farm, vineyard and winery, established in 1863 and now heading into its fifth generation of management.

The de Pury family tradition of excellence

New PLC Year Representatives

Priyanthi Milton (1996) Siew-Lee Hong (1996) Maria Marziale (2003) Libby Beaton (2003) Farzana Zaman (2010) Eilish Hensman (2014) Anna Li (2014) Elina Forsyth (2019) Xinyue Lu (2020) Sandewni Liyanage Don (2021) Zoe Gong (2022) Nakisha Vessey (2022) Georgia Mills (2022) Catherine Nguyen (2022) Aarabi Kugathas (2022) These dedicated individuals will play a pivotal role in promoting OCA events,

fostering community engagement and contributing valuable insights to event discussions. As the primary spokesperson, they will act as a bridge within their communities, ensuring a strong connection with PLC. We have exciting initiatives planned, including mentoring programs, female empowerment events, industry seminars, leadership upskilling and media podcasting. We hope to provide ample space for role expansion and development based on interest in the future. The OCA eagerly anticipates the contributions of this passionate team, recognising their invaluable input as Old Collegians in shaping the future of our PLC community.

County Court of Victoria Appointment On Thursday 12 October 2023, the welcome ceremony at the County Court of Victoria was held for Her Honour Judge Suzanne Kirton (1983), who has been appointed to the Commercial Division of the Court. As an Old Collegian, and then as a parent of daughters Rowena Boone (2013) and Stephanie Boone (2015), Judge Kirton was actively involved in our PLC community especially as Friends of Rowing was established.

an incredible support to Anna in taking over what was then Gordon & Jackson Barristers Clerks in 2016 and oversaw this transition as the List Deputy Chair.

Judge Kirton remains an engaged and beloved member of the wider Svenson Barristers’ List alumni community today.

year group and provide new ideas and feedback to the OCA.

Judge Kirton begins her next chapter at the County Court with an Associate who is also a PLC Old Collegian. She will be supported in her new role by Tracey Huang (2014) and is a wonderful example of an Old Collegian who has mentored and encouraged many Old Collegians in the law.

As OCA President, it was great to be a special guest at the 2023 Year 12 Leavers’ Assembly as students were presented with their certificates, awards and their PLC OCA badged keyring that officially welcomes them to the OCA as our newest Old Collegians. I am photographed below congratulating our Melba Music Scholar, Anisha Ravishankar, whom many of you heard perform on her saxophone at our OCA High Tea with Sally Capp last November and at our inaugural OCA Donors Lunch in June.

The OCA is discussing with PLC how we can establish communication channels and build networks to make it easier for Old Collegians to find each other in their chosen fields of work and study to support and encourage each other.

Anyone who may be interested can email Britney at britneybpham@gmail.com 2023 Year 12 Leavers’ Assembly

Class of 2022 First Year Reunion

Judge Kirton completed her legal studies at Monash University, working as a solicitor before she was called to the Bar and then practised as a barrister for 18 years, specialising in construction law and property disputes. In 2018, she was appointed as a Senior Member at the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal.

Her Honour became Head of the Building and Property List at VCAT in 2021.

During her time at the Bar, Judge Kirton was a member of Svenson Barristers, led

by Anna Svenson (Hall 2004). She was

Vice Presidents of the PLC OCA, Britney Pham (2020) and Dr Anisha Pillay (1986), joined with PLC Principal, Cheryl Penberthy, to warmly welcome the Class of 2022 back for their First Year Reunion in the Year 12 Centre on Friday 25 August.

Over 100 of our newest Old Collegians were excited to see each other and share their news. For over 50 years, the OCA has been hosting an event at PLC to celebrate the transition from PLC student to Old Collegian and now PLC are partnering in this event with us. Cheryl spoke about the value of women staying connected with each other and PLC as they move on through different phases of their lives and how they will always be welcome back at PLC. Britney shared her plan to find an Old Collegian from each PLC year group to share OCA events and news with their own

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A. L to R, Britney Pham (2020), Cheryl Penberthy and Anisha Pillay (1986).

B. Annie Smithers (1983) with her new book, joined by her partner at Babbington Park in Lyonville followed by some of her delicious dishes.

C. L to R, Tracey Huang (2014), Suzanne Kirton (1983) and Anna Svenson (Hall 2004).

D. Class of 2022 First Year Reunion.

E. L to R, Ailsa Wilson (1978), Anisha Ravishankar and her mother Dhakshi Ravishankar.

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Old Collegians’ Mother and Daughter Morning Tea On Friday 20 October, current mothers who are also Old Collegians, gathered in Betty Caldwell Hall and shared a lovely morning tea with their daughters.

Look out for an email invitation to this event next year.

To ensure that you are recorded as an Old Collegian, please email Imma Boubouras at collegian@plc.vic.edu.au

50 | PLC in Print - Issue 119 | December 2023

Old Collegian PLC Play Preview On Tuesday 18 July, Old Collegians enjoyed sharing supper in the Principal’s Foyer while seeing the House notice boards and portraits of our Principals in Wyselaskie Hall. We then headed over to see the PAC all lit up and in action for the Old Collegian preview of the 2023 PLC play. If you loved House Concerts, this is a great opportunity to come back to PLC with your friends, so look out for this event in 2024.

OCA Facebook Group We connect with many Old Collegians working in remote locations and cities all over the world via our OCA Facebook Group. It has been fascinating to see the photos that they have shared with the PLC Community. From coaching rowing in the USA, presenting on climate change in Bangkok or bringing specialised pediatric dentistry to remote communities far and wide, Old Collegians are pursing their passions and building on the skills they developed during their PLC days. Please enjoy these snapshots in the News of Old Collegians section on page 54.

Ailsa Wilson (1978) Old Collegians’ Association President plc.melb.oca@gmail.com

The Annie, Jean and Doris Lamont Scholarship Annie Elizabeth Lamont, her sister Jean and cousin Doris, were past students of PLC Perth. When Ms Annie Lamont died in 1994, she left a bequest "to establish a scholarship

for post-secondary study to further the academic education of a past student of PLC Burwood". The Lamont Scholarship is awarded annually to Old Collegians to assist with the continuation of their tertiary studies, either in Australia or overseas. Information and

application forms can be obtained from the PLC Administration Office by emailing adminoffice@plc.vic.edu.au The due date for applications for the 2024 Lamont Scholarship is Friday 1 March 2024.

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PLC Melbourne OCA Today 10:00

Let's Connect - OCA Facebook Group

Dr Gwendolyn Huang (2005) is a specialist paediatric dentist who has travelled far and wide, including to Kiwirrkurra, the most remote community in Australia.

The PLC OCA is an active network of over 12,000 Old Collegians both within Australia and overseas. All students who attend PLC are automatically members of the PLC OCA for life. Scan the QR Code to join our closed OCA Facebook group PLC Melbourne OCA to stay in touch with old school friends and make wonderful new connections.

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Birthday League Donors The PLC OCA wish to thank all Birthday League Donors for their kind and thoughtful support of the Helen Hailes Memorial Scholarship fund. This fund supports talented students, usually the daughters or granddaughters of Old Collegians, who would otherwise be unable to attend PLC for financial reasons.

Helen Hailes Memorial Scholarship Fund The Helen Hailes Memorial Scholarship has been awarded since 1959 to students who would not otherwise be able to attend PLC. This scholarship was set up to honour Miss Hailes, a greatly loved Vice Principal (1933-1954) and Acting Principal, after her sudden death in 1958.

Please join with other Old Collegians who have for many years donated to support this scholarship, helping girls attend PLC in honour of Helen Hailes and the value we place on the importance of educating women.

One of the most important offerings by the OCA is the provision of scholarships.

The OCA actively encourages the community to give back and donate to support these ongoing scholarships, providing an opportunity to change the lives of the next generation of girls so that they may benefit from all that a PLC education has to offer.

Our Birthday League Governor, Ms Denise Poon (1978), is keen to welcome you into the Birthday League and send you a birthday greeting as you donate each year to support our OCA Scholarships.

Donations are acknowledged by the PLC OCA in PLC in Print.

Bank Details for EFT Donations Bank: CommBank Account name: PLCOCA Account BSB: 063 197 Account Number: 00900486 Reference Details: ‘HH’, and the name you wish to be acknowledged by in PLC in Print, or ‘anonymous’.

Denise Poon Contact Details Address: 499 Neerim Road Murrumbeena Victoria 3163 Email: mimosacarnegie@gmail.com Phone: (H) 9571 1197 (M) 0438 365 277 Ailsa Wilson (1978) Old Collegians' Association President

Pictured on the left, Denise Poon (1978)

52 | PLC in Print - Issue 119 | December 2023

Dr Kate Cherry Mrs Dawn Best Mrs Deborah Williams Mrs Roselyn Muir Mrs Alison Rechner Mrs Helen Bailey Mrs Judith Boucher Mrs Leonore McClintock Miss Anne Smith Dr Rosalind McMillan AM Mrs Lois McKay Mrs Janet Davies Ms Robin Perrin Mrs Helen Haysom Mrs Natalie Cronin Dr Tabathia Pettitt Mrs Bronwyn Tacey Mrs Joan Andrew Mrs Wendy Fishley Dr Bev Hookey Mrs June Noble Mrs Yvonne Knowles Mrs Lesley Falloon, In Loving Memory Mrs Helen Carson Mrs Dorothy Ramsay Mrs Anne Neil Miss Joan Montgomery AM OBE Mrs Christine Wilson Mrs Alison Kidman Mrs Helen Guilfoyle Mrs Elspeth Arnold Miss Lauris Murnane Ms Helen Beanham Mrs Jean Oldfield Mrs Claire Douglas Mrs Val Reid Mrs Claire Macmillan Mrs Helen Dent Mrs Peg Randell Mrs Anne Hoadley Dr Merrilyn Murnane AM Mrs Janet Brown Dr Jennifer Henry Mrs Diana Cherry Dr Glenys French Mrs Belinda Steele Mrs Christine Gorrie Mrs Jean Garrow Ms Terri McKenzie Mornington Branch North East Branch Geelong Branch

Mornington Peninsula Friendship Group Geelong Branch The next annual lunch of the OCA Geelong Branch will be held in the Geelong region on Monday 12 February 2024 at 12 noon. If you are interested in attending, please email Cate Monahan at catemon@bigpond.com for further details.

We hope to see you there.

In keeping with the theme of this edition of PLC in Print, we believe that the Mornington Peninsula PLC OCA Friendship Group provides outstanding opportunities for Old Collegians to get together and learn what friends from their school days have been doing over the years. With over 100 Old Collegians in our database, we have had good attendances at our lunches and are always keen to meet up with each other.

We encourage any Old Collegians who would like to attend future lunches to contact Pam Booth (1959) at gagabooth4@gmail.com or 0438 907 701 or Jan Kirchner (Morrison 1963) at lemonjam.lj@gmail.com or 0418 550 446.

We would love you to join us and we look forward to seeing you at our future events.

Jan Kirchner (1963 Morrison) Old Collegian

2024

Kellet Cup Tuesday 24 March PLC Old Collegian Alumni

North East Group Sixteen members from Shepparton, Benalla and Wangaratta areas braved the previous day’s storms and heavy rain to meet at the Shepparton Uniting Church in the Narthex.

Some members from Benalla were not able to join us at the last minute so we were able to accommodate the three drivers for lunch.

The Ladies Catering Committee served a delicious meal of casseroles with scalloped potatoes, vegetables and rice which was most acceptable on such a cold day – followed by a tasty dessert.

Wendy Fishley, Trish Renfree and I travelled from Melbourne but unfortunately, we did not have any reports from the school as Ailsa Wilson was unable to join us.

Due to many members ageing and unable to drive too far, it was suggested that we hold only one lunch each year from now on and that will be in early March in Wangaratta area, potentially at King River Café. Details to follow.

If you would like to join us and are not on our mailing list, please email me jcuddon@outlook.com and I will send details at the appropriate time.

PLC GSV

VS Tennis Stars

Play commences at 4.15pm, followed by refreshments and cup presentations which will conclude at 5.45pm.

For any inquiries, contact Elissa Payne via email at epayne@plc.vic.edu.au

Players Register Here Registration closes 9 February

Judy Cuddon (Clezy 1957) North East Group President | 53

News of Old Collegians A

Engagements A | Rosie Chong (2013) and Damien Boccamazzo announced their engagement in October 2023.

B | Old Collegian, Physical Education and Health teacher and Teacher in charge of Swimming, Lucy Smithson (2014), was recently engaged to Sam Warrick, PLC Laboratory Technician, in New Zealand during the September school holidays.

Births C | Anna Lorains (Bursian 2008) and her husband Adrian welcomed a baby boy, Alexander Lorains, on 3 October 2023.

Anna and Adrian were married at Wattle Park Chalet in an intimate ceremony, due to the pandemic, on 13 June 2020 and were joined by friends Victoria Hammond and Jessa Rose (Ferguson 2008), whom Anna met at PLC.

D | Penelope Thomas (1999) and her husband Hans van der Vlugt welcomed their second daughter, Aurelia Louise Heather van der Vlugt to the world on 29 March 2023. Big sister Violet, who is now 3, has taken to her new role very well.

Music and Entertainment E | The Life of Stella Miles Franklin Monique diMattina (1989) has written a new musical telling the life story of Australian author, Stella Miles Franklin.

Two of the characters in the musical are also Old Collegians, Vida Goldstein and Henry Handel Richardson. Stella Miles Franklin was friends with both these women and a fan of another famous alumna, Dame Nellie Melba.

The musical is in development towards a theatrical debut sometime in 2024.

F | National Recognition for Play

Anna qualified as a pharmacist and currently works in education in dermocosmetics at L’Oreal.

Jill Kwan (2013) has written and directed a play, How To Throw A Chinese Funeral.

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54 | PLC in Print - Issue 119 | December 2023

The play premiered in Auckland, New Zealand earlier in the year and received national recognition, winning the 2021 Asian Ink Award and was shortlisted for the 2022 Adam NZ Play Award.

Illuminations in Austria Having studied composition at the University of Music and Dramatic Arts in Vienna, Tamara Friebel (1993) is a freelance composer based in Austria.

Tamara’s work, Illuminations, was performed at the Carinthischer Sommer Festival in Austria in July 2023 with choir and ensemble at the fine baroque Ossiach Collegiate Church. The 70-minute work premiered in the Imago Dei Festival last year in Krems Minorite Church, Austria, and Tamara composed a further movement for the Carinthischer Sommer Festival. The compositional work is based on intricate interweaving of the architectural proportions of the church, as Tamara is also a graduate of architecture (Zaha Hadid Masters at the Angewandte, the University of Applied Arts Vienna).

Getting Un-stuck at Work

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F |‘It’s the Constitution’

G | Enabling career fulfilment

Professor Kim Rubenstein (1982) has produced an eight-part podcast series with her Wiradyuri ANU colleague, James Blackwell, called It’s Not Just the Vibe: it’s the Constitution.

Lisa Leong’s (1989) This Working Life podcast provides inspiring and practical advice on navigating our work and lives. A recent episode, ‘Getting Un-stuck at Work’, included Nikki Smith (1992) as a guest.

This series was created in advance of the 2023 Constitutional Referendum, but is also relevant beyond the referendum, because as Kim says, ‘the Constitution really does impact your day-to-day lives’.

Nikki, a psychologist and career coach, has helped over 500 people to design and implement their dream role, one that plays to their strengths, purpose, interests and family and lifestyle needs. She works with women and men who are fed up with trading their health and quality of relationships for work in a misaligned role, industry or culture. She is on a mission to help one million people to uncover their strengths and zone of genius and do the work they are meant to do. There are big problems in the world that need to be solved and Nikki believes we need to play to our strengths to solve them.

Kim was also featured in an interview with Richard Fidler in an episode of ABC Conversations. She is the author of the book, The Vetting of Wisdom, the gripping true story of revered PLC Principal Joan Montgomery.

Podcast: It’s Not Just the Vibe, It’s the Constitution

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Listen Now

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Interview: Kim and the Constitution

Nikki’s Website: Nicki Smith Coach

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H | Piping and Drumming Abroad Olivia Birkett (1996), pictured here walking the Bibbulmun Track, is a leader in the sporting industry and Executive Director of Triathlon WA, with engagement with Tennis West, Paralympics Australia and the Commonwealth Games.

I | Southeast Asian Collaboration Two of our Old Collegians are collaborating in Southeast Asia to deliver the Mekong Plastics Innovation Alliance in Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam.

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Third from the left is Amelia Fyfield (1996), the CSIRO Counsellor and Director Southeast Asia. On the far right is Nicole Lowrey (2005), the Second Secretary, Development, at the Australian Embassy in Thailand. The program was launched in Thailand in May with Australia's Ambassador for Climate Change, Kristen Tilley and Australia's Ambassador to Thailand, Dr Angela Macdonald PSM. The program with DFAT and CSIRO was showcased at the UN Conference Centre in Thailand for the 79th Commission meeting.

J | Greetings from Hong Kong Iris Lun (1994) was selected as one of the 25 GameChangers and was one of the three finalists in Technology and Entrepreneurship at the 2023 Global Australian Awards.

It was maths, economics and Japanese at PLC that first sparked Iris’s interests in applying data science to change the world for the better. She also values the IB curriculum which brought her a broad global and social view early on in her life.

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56 | PLC in Print - Issue 119 | December 2023

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K | NSW Woman of Excellence Award

Twenty two new Victorian Honour Roll of Women inductees were announced and celebrated at a ceremony at the Arts Centre Melbourne on Wednesday 11 October 2023, one of whom was our very own Geelong PLC OCA President, Anne Parton.

Old Collegian Dr Rebecca Deans (1989) has been awarded the 2023 NSW Woman of Excellence Award. Dr Deans has made dramatic advancements in her area of expertise that are nothing short of life-changing for young women with the first Australian uterine transplant. When Dr Deans isn’t in the operating theatre or on the ward, she is educating and empowering the next generation of female clinicians. “The young women I train are strong, they don’t take ‘no’ for an answer and are prepared to stand up for what’s important to them, they are truly inspiring.”

Dr Deans said.

L | Australian Doctors Orchestra 30th Anniversary Concert Dr Yvonne Ho AM (1983) played piano and percussion at the Australian Doctors Orchestra (ADO) 30th Anniversary Concert in Melbourne in October. This year, the ADO raised funds for the Hush Foundation.

The founder of Hush, Dr Catherine Crock AM, is also a PLC Old Collegian.

The photo shows Yvonne (on left) with the percussion section of the ADO that played Koehne’s Inflight Entertainment.

M | Victorian Honour Roll of Women Program Pictured on the left, Anne Parton (Donaldson 1955), the President of Geelong OCA Branch for over 30 years, has been inducted into the Victorian Honour Roll of Women. This program celebrates the outstanding contributions made by Victorian women and acknowledges the many ways they have made lasting contributions to Victoria.

Anne has contributed countless unpaid hours to many Victorian communities over the last 60 years.

She has advocated for marginalised women, championed women’s issues, and raised significant funds for families, social causes and communities.

Anne was the Vice President of the National Council of Women Victoria and the President of the National Council of Women Geelong Branch for multiple terms, the President of the Boronia Netball Club, a member of the Geelong Lawn Tennis Club Committee for 13 years, and a member of various Uniting Church Committees and the Geelong School Chaplaincy Committee.

Anne values her membership of the Geelong Ladies Reading Circle, which has met continuously since circa 1891, of which she was President for 13 years.

Anne is currently Hospitaller of the Geelong Commandery of the Order of St John of Jerusalem, responsible for the wellbeing of members.

Anne worked for Trading Partners for over 20 years, selling crafts made by overseas artisans.

Anne greatly values her continuing friendships with her PLC school friends.

Anne Parton receiving her Victorian Honour Roll Award 2023 from the Minister for Women, Natalie Hutchins.

Board of Governors Viveka Peter (Menon 1996) has been appointed by invitation to the Board of Governors for Cranbrook Schools, Michigan. Cranbrook Schools is one of the leading college preparatory boarding and day schools in the country, ranked as the number one school in Michigan and 20th overall best boarding high school in the United States. Viveka is also entering her final term as President for the Parent Council and currently serves on the Trustee Committee for the Cranbrook Center for Collections and Research.

All four of her children attend Cranbrook.

Viveka and her family reside in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan USA.

Online Collaborations Dr Amanda Mack (Davis 1991) attended the Transcultural Nursing Society conference in Charleston, South Carolina, in the USA in October 2023. Dr Mack was part of a panel on study abroad programs and presented on the use of online collaborations as an effective alternative to traditional travel courses. Dr Mack is an Assistant Professor and the Academic Fieldwork Coordinator for the Healthcare Studies Department at Salem State University, Salem, MA, USA.

New appointments to the ACMA Carolyn Lidgerwood (1985) is one of three appointments to the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) following a merit-based selection process.

Previously the Head of Privacy at Rio Tinto, Carolyn brings a wealth of experience in legal and regulatory frameworks including telecommunications, privacy, broadcasting and radiocommunications. | 57

Global Development Work Pamela White (1978) recently travelled to north west Nepal where she often visits as part of her international development work.

She is based in Helsinki but works globally, mainly in gender, water and sanitation, agriculture and evaluations with a range of development partners such as the Asian Development Bank, World Bank, United Nations institutions and the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland.

Leading the Sporting Industry

Greetings from Zürich

Canines and Skiing in Colorado

Olivia Birkett (1996), pictured here walking the Bibbulmun Track, is a leader in the sporting industry and Executive Director of Triathlon WA, with engagement with Tennis West, Paralympics Australia and the Commonwealth Games.

Ai-Leen Tan (1992) graduated with LLB Hons, BCom from Melbourne University.

She Worked in Melbourne from 1998 1999, in Singapore from 1999 - 2004, in Frankfurt am Main from 2004 - 2014 and now, since 2014, Ai-Leen resides and works in Zürich. She spends most of her free time hiking in the Swiss Alps.

Ai-Leen is pictured with the Kreuzberg in the background at Saxe-Lücke (a fault line) in Appenzell.

Margie McNamara (1975) is a keen canine companion, who first began her adventures in Aspen, Colorado as an avid skier.

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Rowing Success in Tennessee, USA Located on the far right, Julia Howarth (Caldwell 2009) is currently the Women’s Rowing Head Coach at Baylor School and lives in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

During the 2022-2023 school year, her team won multiple medals and accolades including overall Tennessee State Champions, a gold and silver medal at South East Regionals and a silver medal in the Junior 4+ event at the National Championship Regatta, hosted by the Scholastic Rowing Association and of America.

Edible Works of Art Lisa Zhou (Corcoran 2007) was gifted a sturdy foundation of integrity, empathy and courage from her years at PLC. Those school days ultimately led her down the path of pursuing her passion, channelling her creativity into mixed media art and 3D design and technology. Fast forward sixteen years and she finds herself at the

helm of Redbrick Gingerbread, a company firmly rooted in the principles of kindness, gratitude and enduring tradition.

Offering a wide range of gingerbread house cookie cutters, customers are able to build memories and transform mere dough into stunning edible works of art in as little as 30 minutes, leaving guests and family in awe. Lisa believes that it’s about the joy we bring to our loved ones,

not the pursuit of perfection. Her message is simple: In a world that moves at an ever-quickening pace, let us remember the empowering legacy of PLC Old Collegians who have the determination to start strong and the belief that we can do anything we set our hearts to. This holiday season, let kindness and empathy guide us as we build cherished memories with those we hold dear.

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50 Year Reunion, Class of 1973

1 Year Reunion, Class of 2022

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Obituaries The PLC Community was saddened to learn of the passing of the following Old Collegians.

Lesley Yvonne Falloon (1937) Old Collegian Lesley Falloon (1937) died in August 2023 aged 103 years. Lesley was born on 20 June 1920 in Ardrossan, South Australia. Shortly after her birth, the family moved from South Australia to Rupanyup in the Wimmera, where her father remained the local GP until his sudden death in 1942.

Growing up during the great depression had a lasting impact on Lesley. The pride and privilege of having a father who served the community stayed with her. She took from that a sense of responsibility to use her time and skills for the betterment of those around her.

She also took on the ‘waste not, want not’ ethos of the times, but she took this one step further and applied it to her life; she utilised every minute of every day.

Lesley attended Rupanyup State School, Mutua Elementary School and finished her secondary education as a boarder at PLC. The friendships she made at PLC stayed with her throughout her life.

Although she outlived her contemporaries, she made many new friends during her lifelong association with the school. It remained a very significant part of her life and she attributed her schooling as being central to much that she achieved.

With the support of some excellent teachers, she gained a Commonwealth Scholarship to Melbourne University, where she studied science, majoring in biochemistry and microbiology. She lived at University Women’s College

(now University College), again building friendships and connections which lasted.

After leaving university, Lesley worked as a dietician for William Angliss and Company and then, as part of the war effort, The Australian Institute of Anatomy in Canberra, researching Australian wartime diets. She married Ted (Edward) during the war in 1944. After he returned home from New Guinea in 1946, they started a family. They had two children, Janet and James. Lesley spent the next 20 years caring for the family, as well as having an active social life, entertaining often as well as hosting and organising charity events and playing golf.

In 1973, she returned to study and completed a social welfare course.

Subsequently, she became active in public health, ageing and disability issues, working part time at Mount Royal where she stayed, until someone in HR looked at her date of birth and realised she should have retired some years earlier.

It was the fight to save some local mahogany gum trees which led to Lesley’s strong engagement in and with the local community. After nine appearances in the Supreme Court, the trees were saved and still stand strong. Her political activism and leadership were noted and she was persuaded to stand for Council in the City of Sandringham. She was elected and served five terms from 1978-1992 and was twice Mayor.

Meanwhile, while others often think of slowing down, Lesley became a marriage celebrant. She did this until she was 89 years old, presiding over hundreds of ceremonies, including for family and friends.

Lesley lived her 103 years fully and generously. She was vivacious, adaptable, positive, remained true to herself, listened and learned and had the capacity to laugh infectiously and to find joy and friendship everywhere.

Provided by Jan Falloon Daughter

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Ann Morris (Hartnell 1955) Ann had strong family links with PLC. Her mother, Helen Brown, was a boarder in the 1920s and her granddaughters, Anna (2010) and Kate (2010), attended PLC. Ann and her sister Elizabeth (1957) were students at East Melbourne.

Joan Kent (Battersby 1946) We remember Joan Kent (Battersby 1946), Old Collegian and past teacher at PLC. To read her obituary, please refer to page 44 in the Community section.

Lesley Russell (1978) Lesley Russell died on 1 June 2023, after a year living with ovarian cancer.

Lesley was born in Scotland and emigrated to Australia with her parents and two brothers at the age of five. She grew up in Seymour, where her father served as the local GP. Lesley attended PLC in Form 4 as a boarder from 1975 to 1978 and was in Balmoral House. She enjoyed school and boarding, making many lifelong friends. At PLC, Lesley developed a love of cookery and nutrition in Mrs Cameron’s home economics classes, and Mrs Cameron’s textbook, Cookery the Australian Way, became a much-thumbed resource. She continued her education at RMIT, graduating with a Diploma of Applied Science in Foods and Food Service in 1982.

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Ann enjoyed all aspects of school life and was often elected captain or vice-captain.

In her final year, she took part in the production of The Mikado, was a prefect and captain of the second tennis team.

Ann trained as a nurse at the Alfred Hospital where her future husband was a medical student. Ann and Clive married in December 1960 and had three children, Jane, Tim and Richard. In 1966, they all set off to England for Clive to pursue further experience as a surgeon. After a short time, Clive was unable to continue as a surgeon due to a football injury to his hand. He then embarked on training

The following years saw Lesley strengthen her culinary skills as a chef at various establishments, including Geoff Slattery's restaurant, Peter Rowland catering and feeding the hungry polo goers at the Kerry Packer Challenge Cup. Lucky guests at Belltrees, the White family’s bed and breakfast, were treated to Lesley's cooking expertise.

In 1996, Lesley settled in Orange, NSW. A leading light of the local food community, she trained generations of aspiring cooks for over 15 years at TAFE NSW. Lesley also ran the Orange Regional Cooking School for 10 years alongside her TAFE teaching. It was a much-loved, gorgeous cooking school which she managed from an old shop. She fitted the shop out beautifully with her fabulous creative and decorative flair.

in radiology. By this time, Edward was born and the family moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where they lived for six years. On returning to Melbourne, Ann and Clive became involved in the Oakleigh Centre for Disabled Citizens, where, at the school, their daughter Jane received her education, and later through the Centre found work. Ann and Clive both served on the Board of the Centre for many years.

When her grandchildren were young, Ann spent a great deal of time with them.

She returned to nursing briefly, played tennis with friends, and, with Clive, enjoyed thirteen outback tours. Ann was interested in gardening, reading and loved a range of music, especially opera, which she and Clive attended.

Ann maintained a close connection with her PLC group. They were among the family and friends who gathered at her home to fondly remember her, after she died in June.

Lesley frequently shared her knowledge on ABC Radio Central West NSW and in regional print media. This year, her love of the local produce and community was evident when she published her book, Nothing Rhymes with Orange.

The Cookbook, which is full of Lesley's fail-safe recipes for every season.

An excellent gardener, swimmer and avid traveller, Lesley enjoyed tackling the daily crossword and had a wide circle of dear friends and family who will miss her enormously. They will miss travelling with her or simply having a chat and a laugh, often accompanied by Lesley's fresh, simple and flavoursome food. Many old girls enjoyed catching up with her at their 40-year reunion at Kooyong in 2018.

Provided by Ruth Wiseman (Madder 1978), Emily Madder (1984) and Sally Turner Friends of Lesley

Elizabeth Lewis (1951) Elizabeth Lewis attended PLC for both her primary and secondary education. After graduating MBBS at the University of Melbourne in 1959, she was resident medical officer at the Alfred Hospital, then moved to the Queen Victoria Hospital (QVH) as a surgical registrar, followed by a year as a pathology registrar. She then undertook her surgical fellowship at the Royal College of Surgeons, London.

She worked in far north Scotland, where the nearest medical colleague was 25km away and she had to dispense her own prescriptions as there was no pharmacy. She acted as physician to the Queen Mother when in residence at the nearby Castle of Mey, where she was also called on to treat the Queen Mother’s chauffeur.

After completing her fellowship, followed by a year at St George’s Hospital, London, as surgical first assistant, Elizabeth travelled home as a ship’s surgeon and returned to the QVH as a general surgeon. She then went to the Royal Children’s Hospital, where a rotation through neurosurgery led her to specialise in that field. She

Marion Watterson (Greaves 1950) My mother, Marion Watterson (Greaves 1950), died on 13 July 2023, just after her 90th birthday. Growing up on the family farm at Caldermeade and riding her pony to the local school, Marion then attended PLC as a boarder from 1944 to

subsequently became Australia’s first woman neurosurgeon.

She returned to the UK to gain expertise in adult neurosurgery. On her return to Melbourne, she worked at the RCH and QVH as a consultant in paediatric neurosurgery. In 1987, the QVH moved to Clayton to become Monash Medical Centre, where Elizabeth was appointed chairman of paediatrics. She also established a link with Vanimo Hospital, Papua New Guinea, enabling patients to be treated at Monash if facilities were not available in Papua New Guinea.

Elizabeth was made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in 1992, ‘for service to medicine, particularly in the field of neurosurgery, and to medical administration’.

Even up to the time of her death, Elizabeth was still working in the medico-legal field. She was active in Scots’ Church Melbourne and made an enormous contribution to the community, both in Victoria and Papua New Guinea.

Vale Elizabeth.

1950. As she was too young for university, she repeated Year 12, enabling her to broaden her education with non-science subjects. After obtaining a Bachelor of Science at the University of Melbourne, she worked in various science fields, supporting her husband Geoffrey in his mathematics career. Three children

kept her busy until 1970 when she attended teacher training and became a mathematics teacher. She returned to PLC as a mathematics teacher under Miss Montgomery in 1973, at a salary of $124 per week. After I joined the students in 1976, she decided to move to our local Brentwood High School, teaching until retirement in 1989. Having a lifelong love of needlework, in retirement, Marion took a textile design course and added to her knitting, embroidery and sewing skills.

She enjoyed learning bobbin lace and joined the Lace Guild. A happy retirement followed with a wonderful husband, four grandchildren and many overseas holidays. In her later years, her vision and nerve function deteriorated, making her needlework impossible. Breast cancer and heart failure added to her medical troubles. Thankfully, her cognition never failed and iPad games and audiobooks were great entertainment.

After seeing one grandchild married, and reaching her 90th birthday milestone, she chose a dignified death in her own home with family support.

Provided by Janet Watterson Daughter | 63

Archives A

Back to the future: forward-looking education at PLC in the past ‘I must not let a thief steal my steel nibs.’

This phrase might puzzle a Junior School student in 2023, but its meaning was perfectly clear to PLC girl Margaret Troup in 1914, when she copied it down with a dip pen and ink. Margaret’s collection of poems, sums and drawings, now in the school Archives, looks quite different to the kind of work school students produce today, although Junior School girls still have excellent handwriting! As Maggie’s copy book and other schoolwork in the Archives demonstrate, learning at PLC has changed significantly over the last century. Today, PLC’s Strategic Plan prioritises learning opportunities that are personalised, real-world and future-focused and which give students agency in their learning. There are many examples of these kinds of learning in PLC’s history.

C

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In its early decades, the PLC curriculum was future-focused: it looked forward to widespread tertiary education for women by teaching subjects that would qualify students for university entry. Greek and Latin, for example, were prerequisites for enrolling in an Arts degree and were taught at PLC before most other girls’ schools in Melbourne. Unsurprisingly, this curriculum resulted in PLC women being amongst Victoria’s first female university graduates and professionals.

Beyond the curriculum, PLC has long aimed to set students up for a lifetime of learning, and this began even before many women had opportunities for a career. As early as 1881, Principal Andrew Harper told his students: [O]ur aim is to make you love learning, and to give you some taste of what intellectual pleasure means, and to put into your hands the tools which you will require to pursue your studies for

yourselves, so that life may be made as full and as rich to you as it is to the most highly educated among us.

Patchwork, April 1881 In line with this aim, in PLC’s early decades, its curriculum was expanded to include science; as a result, many of Victoria’s early medical and scientific women were also PLC graduates. Science teaching was enhanced by the innovative early laboratory established by new Headmaster, James Bee, in 1908, to enable the more effective teaching of physics and chemistry. Physiology and botany were also taught and PLC students had long excelled in mathematics, winning university scholarships on their mathematical merit as soon as they were granted eligibility.

Several decades later, PLC schoolwork from the 1930s in our Archives tells us about learning in a different area.

A. Students in a science class at PLC East Melbourne in the 1920s.

B. Students in uniform relax on the lawns of PLC East Melbourne in 1919.

C. The cover and a (on right) a page from one of Margaret Troup’s Junior School workbooks from the 1910s.

D. Lesley Dodds’s prize-winning album on Queen Elizabeth’s coronation included this hand-painted illustration of a Duke. The project won her a book on the Queen’s coronation (pictured at rear) which included a bookplate (right).

E. Students in class at PLC East Melbourne in 1932.

A scrapbook of newspaper articles on European politics shows us a student following events that eventually led to World War II. Later, a very different scrapbook allowed another student to pursue her interest in royalty. Lesley Dodds won a prize in 1953 for her book of paintings of official robes and jewels worn by British royalty to Queen Elizabeth’s coronation.

In the 1970s and 1980s, PLC innovated with a program that helped students connect their learning to the wider world.

Liberal Studies aimed to give girls a better understanding of the social, political and economic climate in which they existed by teaching them about the value systems which held societies together and the beliefs that shaped global politics.

Covering a range of disciplines, including philosophy and anthropology, the course examined a range of societies and cultures.

It concluded with pressing global issues

of the age such as the energy crisis and ‘the effect of computerisation.’ Liberal Studies was popular with students and its ground-breaking approach was reported in educational journals.

Another innovation in learning came in 1992, when PLC became one of the first schools in Victoria to offer the International Baccalaureate (IB). The program appealed to the College not only because of its international standing and academic rigour, but because of its breadth and depth, including subjects like Theory of Knowledge. Further, the community service component and global outlook of the IB prepared students well for life in a globalising world.

Later, in the mid-1990s, the Senior School Library created a new program that was particularly future-focused.

Developing Internet Skills taught students how to navigate a new phenomenon,

then known as the World Wide Web, at a time when schools, businesses and universities were beginning to connect to the Internet and use email for the first time. The program taught students how to use popular search engines and also addressed questions like ‘Who controls the Internet?’ and ‘How do you tell if a website is authoritative and reputable?’, which remain relevant today. At a time when the Internet was about to become a major part of the way people learnt and interacted, this program looked to the future.

In 2023, our world and our learning must adapt to new technologies and challenges like artificial intelligence. Just as these past programs innovated in response to a changing world, PLC’s Strategic Plan sets out the school’s strategy to continue this into the future.

Anna Drummond Heritage Gallery Manager

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Presbyterian Ladies’ College Melbourne 141 Burwood Highway Burwood VIC 3125 AUS Telephone +61 3 9808 5811 Email enquiries@plc.vic.edu.au www.plc.vic.edu.au ABN 16 005 650 386 CRICOS 00334M