From Our New Principal

It is an absolute pleasure to be writing to you as the new Principal of this esteemed School. I’d like to begin by acknowledging the outstanding leadership of Ms Julia Shea during the past nine years to position St Peter’s Girls as a world-class provider of girls’ education, a school steeped in tradition yet also equipped with an innovative, adaptive and future-focused approach which harnesses advances in educational knowledge and practice.

I leapt at the opportunity to join Saints Girls as I am drawn to lead schools which have a long history of recognising the value of a sound education and a school community that honours its founders. In 1894, dedicated women from the Community of the Sisters of the Church sailed to a settlement they knew little about on the other side of the world to open a school for girls. It is hard to imagine what life was like then, but I know how incredibly courageous these women must have been to take on such a challenge. They arrived with very few possessions, but what they brought to our shores was priceless: a vision for quality girls’ education.

The Sisters epitomised the values of courage, creativity and compassion, values that continue to drive our School today. In the programs we deliver, the support we offer and the culture we embody at Saints Girls, we enact and model those compelling values in a way that would make the Sisters proud. Our School’s vision of ‘inspiring women of character and influence, fostering the next generation of leaders’, is so powerful. I am deeply committed to developing character, nurturing students to have inquiring minds and to be agents for change in our increasingly complex world.

Another special feature of Saints Girls is our one School on the one campus, ELC to Year 12. I bring experience and expertise to each part of our School and there is a great joy that comes with being involved in a student’s growth from two years of age to 18 and beyond. Saints Girls is a school grounded in Christian ideals, with a committed staff, committed families and a committed community that blends the strengths of almost 130 years of tradition while embracing change to best serve the needs of our girls and their families.

I passionately believe that schools are about the three Rs: Relationships, Relationships, Relationships. Hence, the development of authentic relationships is central to my leadership. As your new Principal of Saints Girls, getting to know our families, staff and members of our wider School community, and enabling you all to get to know me, is a priority. With this in mind, I’d like to share a little about my family. I am married to Mal. He has served as a secondary teacher for many years, having taught in various schools across South Australia and most recently in Melbourne. We have a 19 year old daughter, Georgia, who finished Year 12 last year. She decided to remain in Melbourne, and in somewhat of a role reversal, her parents have moved out of home! And the last member of my family is Beanz, our beloved 11 year old Golden Retriever.

I am extremely grateful that I have now been given the opportunity to extend my circle, as a proud and devoted member of the Saints Girls’ community. I look forward to supporting you with my leadership experience and expertise in a committed school with vision and purpose.

CHERYLYN SKEWES PRINCIPAL