TERM 4 - WEEK 3 ABBOTSLEIGH NEWSLETTER NOVEMBER 2019 IN THIS ISSUE The Headmistress Senior School Chaplain News Community Events Shuttle Junior School Time flies faster than a weaver’s shuttle. FROM THE HEADMISTRESS Look Up, Reach Out: Research Again Demonstrates that Girls’ Schools are Great for Girls We were delighted to welcome 140 representatives of girls’ schools from all over Sydney who met at Abbotsleigh for the final SANG (Student Alliance Network Group) meeting of the year last week. Mrs Megan Krimmer Headmistress The aim of SANG, which is the student branch Being confident and articulate is valued UPCOMING EVENTS of the Alliance of Girls’ Schools, is for girls to highly at Abbotsleigh, as it is at all girls’ network with girls from other schools about schools. These attributes are so important for Monday 4 November Year 5 Sculpture by the Sea social justice issues, especially those which each of our girls. In fact, the recently released have a strong focus on equality. It is a great report by the Australian Institute for Business Tuesday 5 November opportunity for the girls to develop the skills and Economics Centre for Gender Equality Year 7 STEAM Day required to work together, communicate online in the Workplace: Hands up for Gender and face-to-face, be empathic and understand Equality: A Major Study into Confidence and Wednesday 6 November issues from different perspectives. Career Intentions of Adolescent Girls and K-3 Cello Soirée Boys* clearly demonstrates that compared to The meeting last week was the culmination of a girls in other environments, girls from girls’ Year 10 Elective Music Soirée year’s collaborative work where girls researched schools are more confident and are more AOGU Meeting aspects of gender equality and presented their likely to hold leadership positions if they findings to the whole group. The projects were attended a girls’ school. Thursday 7 November superb and I was very proud of our Abbotsleigh Year 10 Self Defence Day girls who confidently and articulately presented These findings reinforce the conclusions of Adult Discussion Group the issues they had researched, demonstrating research that has been undertaken in the excellent skills of empathy, research, past; that is, that girls’ schools are really Year 11 Boarder and Day communication and persuasion. good for girls. Girl Barbecue Middle School Play On Saturday, too, our Senior School girls Indeed, as reported by the Sydney Morning excelled in public speaking, readings, Herald’s Jordan Baker in January this Friday 8 November drama and discussing religious and ethical year, earlier studies have shown that ‘girls’ Infants Swimming Carnival questions and current affairs at the annual confidence in mixed environments tends to AHIGS Festival of Speech. The girls were fall below boys’ from about the age of nine, Middle School Play poised, confident and articulate, and the and the gap doesn’t close until they are Year 10 Formal depth of their understanding of deep elderly.’ However, the group that seems philosophical issues astounded the most to be ‘bucking the trend are girls at seasoned in the different AHIGS audiences. single-sex schools.’ It was such a delight to see our girls represent their school so well and I would According to Dr Terry Fitzsimmons, (lead like to congratulate each girl and their very researcher for the most recent study above), hardworking teachers led so capably by Ms ‘one of the key factors protecting the self- Jennie Kelly. Please see Jennie’s article in the confidence of girls at single-sex schools was Senior School section of this edition of The likely to be watching other girls and women Shuttle for the girls’ outstanding results. in leadership positions. There’s no hint that there’s an issue around gender.’ Visit the Parent Portal to edit your profile, view the calendar and view parent notices. 01 TERM 4 - WEEK 3 ABBOTSLEIGH NEWSLETTER NOVEMBER 2019 The study also found that girls gained young women are studying STEM and schools are better for girls in our world of much confidence from participating embarking on careers in this field. As she today (a world that is not yet co-equal in in team sports and other co-curricular noted: ‘It’s important to make sure we are so many areas). activities in their schools. using all of our talents and if we ignore half of the population, I don’t think we’re doing At Abbotsleigh we see our girls, day in Another factor that I find is so helpful for our best.’ Read the full article from The and day out, enthusiastically engaged our girls is for them to see our parents Educator here. in myriad activities, taking risks, and Old Girls as well as other women demonstrating leadership skills and in different areas of life and work who The debate about co-ed versus single confidence. It is certainly a privilege to are superb role models. It was certainly sex schools features in the press quite see our amazing girls flourishing as they wonderful to learn that mathematician, regularly. The debate usually revolves have the opportunity to do more, so that Emeritus Professor Cheryl Praeger of around us being a ‘co-ed’ society. However, they have the ability to be more. the University of Western Australia, was as Loren Bridge from the Alliance of Girls’ awarded this year’s prestigious Prime Schools said in The Guardian this week *The full Australian Institute for Business Minister’s Prize for Science. – we may be ‘co-ed’, but we are not yet and Economics Centre for Gender ‘co-equal’*. Read the full article here. Equality in the Workplace report: Hands ‘Emeritus Prof Praegar’s ‘highly up for Gender Equality: A Major Study into innovative work includes research As I have said in the past, extensive Confidence and Career Intentions into the mathematics of symmetry research and my own experience have of Adolescent Girls and Boys can be in graphical models, which have far- informed my fundamental belief that girls’ found here. reaching applications, such as enabling search engines to retrieve information efficiently from the World Wide Web. [She] is similarly famous for her research and work on algorithms – many of her algorithms are incorporated into powerful computer systems and have transformed the way in which algebra research and teaching is conducted.’ ‘What I love about mathematics is the way that it explains the world … It’s almost like having a superpower,’ Emeritus Professor Praeger said. ‘As a leading mathematician, Professor Praeger has mentored many young women and is very pleased that more and more Chaplain Escaping the Bubble – CRU Camps Rev Jenni Stoddart Chaplain At this time of year I want to get out of The same happens to our children. One feel far less sick of myself. Now that my bubble. The bubble of school life. of the ways I experienced breaking out I am a mum, I realise that it this also The bubble of the social media that of my bubble as a young person was brought me back appreciating my mum I follow. The bubble of Wahroonga. by going on Christian holiday camps; a and family far more. Plus, it gave my The bubble even of my own family and holiday with kids from all over Sydney, parents a break from the bubble of kids! friends, but most of all the bubble who held different beliefs to mine, came Maybe you need to escape the Bubble. of me. I have an ‘I’m sick of myself’ from different cultural backgrounds CRU camps give your kids somewhere moment. I am hoping you get it! I and lived in a different Sydney bubble. to belong in the holidays. There is have invented my own personal I would return annually to the same everything from day camps in Sydney to public holiday to help deal with camp and pick up the friendships from sailing on Lake Macquarie to Robotics. this – come back next week and the year before. I would come back I will tell you about ‘Jenni Day’. home with new perspectives, new Visit the CRU Camps website for understandings of God, new friends and more information. 02 TERM 4 - WEEK 3 ABBOTSLEIGH NEWSLETTER NOVEMBER 2019 Community Little Green Idea – Christmas EcoBags Mrs Susan Filan Head of Environmental Education and Science Teacher As part of our commitment to waste reduction, the Environment Council will be selling EcoBags for Christmas. The bags and contents would retail for $85 if purchased individually but are yours for only $50 thanks to great deals we obtained from our suppliers. You can not only get a bunch of great Christmas gifts, but also help the planet! The bags are made of recycled textiles by Boomerang Bags Hornsby. You can see their stall at the Hornsby Welcome Markets on Saturday 2 November. They are volunteers who donate all profits to the Hornsby Ku-Ring-Gai Women’s Shelter. • Safix large coconut scrubber • Better Than Bamboo Cutlery set Mini Working • Better Than Bamboo toothbrush • Better Than Stainless steel straw with Bee – Three travel brush There are only 100 bags available, so act Volunteers quickly to secure yours. If they sell out quickly, we will put some together for Needed Please Mothers’ Day in 2020. Ms Kathy Campbell APA President The raspberry jam is made by The APA is asking for one more Abbotsleigh’s award-winning jam maker parent volunteer to help label Ruth Hodson. It is made with Australian and sort the Christmas puddings raspberries and sugar – nothing else. and cakes on Friday 22 November from 8.30 am. The other contents are courtesy of The Clean Collective, a Sydney-based Thank you to those who have company selling eco-friendly goods.