Dear Parents and Guardians,

Sunday 8 March is International Women’s Day and this week at the College we have been celebrating WOW – a Week of Women. Our celebrations started with a special assembly on Monday. Our Deputy Senior Prefect Nicholas Yule and our guest speaker Senator Malarndirri McCarthy (pictured above) addressed the staff and boys.

Their messages were very similar. Nicholas and Senator McCarthy both reflected on the Queensland atrocity that took the lives of Hannah Clarke and her children, explaining that it is important for us to stop and reflect on this horrific incident and to think about how we treat each other. Nicholas spoke about how the thoughts, words and actions of each of us can have an influence and how, sometimes, we forget this is the case. He explained that we all know our influence can be good or bad. We all have the power to be influential, to make a change, to leave our mark on the world, for the better.

Senator McCarthy finished her address by reminding the boys that their future is Australia’s future. She urged them to listen to their hearts every day of their lives, to be kind and generous, and to stand up for those who cannot stand up for themselves. Powerful messages indeed.

Let me finish with Nicholas’s closing statement:

‘Do not be afraid to look up and out at what needs to be done. And make the change. It starts with you, it starts with me, it starts with us. Right here, right now. Let’s work together with all those around us, men and women, so we are #EachforEqual.’

Let’s have an impact.