As we come to the end of this term we have much to be thankful for! In particular, the 125th celebrations. This was a wonderful event that reminded us of our treasured heritage, the joyous present, and the future potential of our school. The vision of Bishop Nevill to set up a school for “daughters of Anglican gentlemen” is inspiring, as is the courage of Sisters Geraldine and Etheleen who were sustained in their “venture of faith” by “a vision of the Eternal.” And it was wonderful to hear the “old girls” catch up with each other, reminisce about the past, and sing “Blest Are the Pure in Heart” with gusto!

We can also be thankful that we were able to celebrate Easter in the middle of the term. Often Easter is subsumed into the school holidays at the end of Term One, so while we are always able to focus on the Lent, Holy Week and the events leading up to Easter, the post-Easter events – including the resurrection! – are often not touched on until after the holidays. These sacred events in the Christian calendar have been celebrated for the last 2000 years and it is good to be part of such a tradition. This year our Easter Eucharist was on the resurrection, and the hope and joy it represents, which was a positive way to end the term!

Events such as the 125th celebrations and the Eucharist, remind us that despite our unsettling and changing world, there are celebrations, symbols and rituals which can anchor us to what is certain: in particular, God’s love, grace, and forgiveness. As a result, we can truly celebrate the past – of both our school, of Christ’s redemptive act on the cross – live freely and compassionately in the present, and look forward to the future with a sense of hope and joy.

In 2019 we began the process of reviewing our current uniform. This was in response to feedback from our two previous Health Community Consultations, where it was signaled that parents and students would like their uniform to be more comfortable, easier to move in, allow for diversity, and also afford students some choice. Parents also asked for uniform items which could be easily laundered rather than dry cleaned, and items at a more reasonable cost.

With these points in mind, we have spent significant time working with uniform providers to develop a range of uniform items to meet this brief, while still looking like a coherent and smart uniform that students, parents, and staff can be proud of. It is 42 years since our uniform last changed and we are aware of the need to get this process right.

All parents were invited to be a part of the Parent Advisory group to give feedback on the uniform changes and this meeting was held two weeks ago. The feedback was overwhelmingly positive, with the return to the traditional grey and blue tartan for the senior skirt, and the retention of our blue blazer, particularly popular.

We presented the uniform samples to the junior students in Assembly last week and collected their feedback. We have asked the students to help us with the design of the t-shirt/casual top, as this is the item that parents feel we have not quite gotten right yet. Students have been asked to create their own casual top designs that met the requirements of the brief which was shared with them in Assembly and to submit these for consideration by the end of Term 2 Week 1. We see this as a positive way to involve the students in the process and to allow them to display their creativity and design prowess.

The Board of Trustees signed off on the production of the two fabrics being created specifically for us this week, as illustrated in the photograph below. Production will now begin on this fabric allowing us to generate samples in the correct materials for our next consultation. It is important to note that our current summer and winter kilt fabric is no longer in production.

We will introduce the new uniform for incoming Year 7 and Year 9 students for the start of the 2022 school year. Existing students will be able to continue wearing the current uniform until growth or wear requires them to change, or their parents decide to buy the new items earlier than that. We will have a period of time where the new uniform is phased in and the old uniform is phased out. This will be a gradual change and both uniforms will be fine during this transition period. The length of this transition period is yet to be decided.

The new uniform range will consist of:

• Pinafore
  
• Senior skirt
  
• Long pants
  
• Culottes
  
• Summer blouse
  
• Long Sleeve blouse
  
• Short sleeved casual top (still being developed)
  
• Long sleeved casual top (still being developed)
  
• Cardigan
  
• Current Blazer
  

Students will be able to mix and match these items for everyday wear. Please note that students will not be required to purchase all items. There will still be a formal uniform for important occasions which will include a pant option as well as a skirted option for diversity and this formal uniform will be compulsory with all other items optional.

We believe that the proposed items meet the brief given to us for greater diversity, comfort, ease of movement, choice, decreased cost, and washability, while still providing a smart, unified, and easily identifiable uniform that our students can be proud to wear into the future.

We will provide further updates and seek feedback again once we have the item samples in the correct fabrics, and we begin to make decisions on the finer details. There will be an invitation to a further consultation opportunity which will again be extended to all parents once we have these samples to hand.