From the Principal

MS TONI RIORDAN PRINCIPAL

You may have spotted our recent “Where in the World are our Alumni” social media campaign to reconnect past students with St Aidan’s. We have been overwhelmed by the response and thrilled to learn exactly where and what everyone is up to!

‘Old Girls’ have reached out to us from all around the world. Our Alumni reside everywhere from Canada to Laos, from the Philippines to Italy, from the UK to the USA, and from Japan to Switzerland. We have past students who are archaeologists, investment bankers, interior designers, educators, who work in foreign affairs, who are musicians, are in physical performance management, work with odour detection dogs and do cattle serology testing! We look forward to sharing their stories in greater detail. Another way we capture the stories of our Alumni is by connecting with past students at annual St Aidan’s Reunions.

We have just held our first interstate reunions since 2019, and I enjoyed travelling to Sydney, Canberra, and Melbourne for these events. I am looking forward to our Reunions Week in Brisbane in May.

I often talk about the intergenerational values and perspectives common to a table, or restaurant or room full of past St Aidan’s students. It is remarkable how views of life connect so seamlessly. The lines of our School Hymn ring clear: Centuries have wrought their changes, But unchanged that Faith we hold.

As witness to this connection each year, I cannot help but think about the likely benefits of being in an all-girls’ school has brought our past students. There is plenty of research, which affirms singlegender schooling, such:

- that girls in classrooms with females who strive are more likely to pursue ambitious educational goals even when of average ability themselves.

- that studies show teachers are shown to be more attentive to boys than girls in the classroom and to call on boys more often than girls.

- that educators’ bias towards boys is more apparent in science and maths classes.

- that when children learn with peers in single-gender schools, they are more likely to attend to their studies, speak more openly in the classroom, and feel more encouraged to pursue their interests and achieve their fullest potential.

Yet, as each Reunion Week approaches at St Aidan’s, I often ponder if there possibly might be another, more significant benefit of same-sex schools for girls, which is not necessarily identified in academic literature. One, that experience at St Aidan’s Reunions points to, as a long term and enduring value.

Without doubt, our past students grow to be kind and compassionate adults who serve their communities or wider society professionally and through their families. When girls go to a singlesex school, they emotionally invest in relationships with each other. In contrast, when they attend a mixed-sex school, they tend to put energy into cross-gender relationships and dating. The majority of boy-girl friendships are often friendly but fleeting encounters with each other. The girl friendships that achieved an intensity in an all-girls school, on the other hand, seem to only grow stronger over the years.

Sharing in the strong bonds between St Aidan’s students, developed over decades helps me see why our School, designed by women of the Society of the Sacred Advent, and devoted exclusively to girls and young women, is so special. The beauty of St Aidan’s and other small girls’ schools is that the loyalties and ties are deep and long-lasting, in fact, lifelong. And in today’s ever-changing, fast-paced, and high-pressured world, such friendships are essential. It’s not about the absence of boys, it’s about the full focus and attention on girls.

I hope you enjoy this edition of the Huddle, and in catching up on news of friends, past and current staff, and students at St Aidan’s Anglican Girls’ School.

Character Education:

We are not a cookie-cutter school.

MS HOLLY O’SULLIVAN WILLIAMS DEPUTY PRINCIPAL

According to a discussion paper titled The Fruit of the Spirit A Church of England Discussion Paper on Character Education, “there is no such thing as a neutral education”. In explaining this through the context of a school, the paper postulates that as soon as we begin to teach something to someone else, we are inevitably making value judgements about “what we are teaching, how we are teaching it and why we are teaching it”.

The paper further illustrates the choices educators make in terms of teaching and learning should always convey an understanding of the human condition, of what is “important in life, of the relationships we want to foster, and of what is worth learning, knowing or questioning”. Essentially, character education demands teaching and learning to be contextual and individualised for our diverse learners, with a deep consideration of the human context.

When considering character education and what it looks like in our school context, simply listing values is not sufficient. Instead, there needs to be a strong underpinning of purpose. This sense of purpose is, therefore, culturally specific to our St Aidan’s community and our beliefs and practices. Our school values underpin all that we do as educators as we strive to create experiences for our students that foster creativity, connectedness, authenticity, care and confidence. Yet, why do we embed these values in the first place?

Beyond St Aidan’s, the Anglican Church sees the ultimate point of education as the promotion of “life in all its fullness.” Furthermore, that education is more than just producing results as it is about developing people who can flourish in all areas of their lives. This is supported by the Anglican Church of Southern Queensland’s focus this year on flourishing faith communities. Add into the mix the school’s history in terms of the Sisters of the Society of the Sacred Advent and their vision of creating a school that empowers students to be women who value reason, imagination, truth, compassion and responsibility, we are essentially describing a character education. There is no mention of a student attending St Aidan’s with the purpose of graduating with a specific career or study path in mind. Nor is it written anywhere that our students must be a specific type of learner to achieve success at school whether that it is cultural, sporting and/or academic. What is documented, discussed, promoted, and celebrated though is the nurturing of each child’s aspirations; whatever they may be.

We are not a cookie-cutter school. This is evident in the different subjects students decide to study as they move through school and, when they graduate, the different paths they take in terms of careers, further study, and gap year opportunities. When discussing the purpose of education and in particular, character education, the focal point must be on the “whole” child. One only has to spend time with our students to understand that they are unique learners who are encouraged to follow a path that is authentically theirs.

I will miss being the Deputy Principal here at St Aidan’s. Thank you for allowing me to be a member of this community that builds character and has enabled me to flourish in order to create a journey that is uniquely and authentically my own, like that of our students. With the warmest of well wishes and blessings.