Walk the Mile

I always look forward to a holiday and I reckon I wouldn’t be alone in that pleasure. But what to do with the time off isn’t always straight forward. Do I stay home in my pyjamas or should I venture out to somewhere unseen? Old Girl Lisa Perkovic from the Class of 2005  is a travel writer that has seen a lot of the world and has to write about it for a career. For some people, this sounds like the...

Resilience is one of those concepts that we all would like for ourselves or for our children. But it can be hard to teach, to attain or even define. In this podcast, Barry Du Bois speaks about what he has learnt from going through tough times and how it has helped him to work out what is important. Barry is a media personality as well as on the Board of the mental health organisation “R U OK?”. He...

Walk The Mile has finally returned!! We have a whole new bunch of people having great conversations coming up throughout the rest of the year and I am so excited that our first podcast for this year is with our new and 6th Head of School, Holly Gyton. This podcast was recorded early in Term 1 this year. Find out what makes her tick, where she has come from, what she wants for SCEGGS and how she se...

It makes sense to think that the teacher’s job is to teach. But what is it they learn along the way — about themselves, about community, about people, about the world? In this episode, I talk to two teachers, Louise Willems and Greg Bass, currently teaching in different environments but with similar backgrounds. They share what they have picked up through their experiences, particularly during the...

In order to accomplish anything we have to start somewhere. And for many of us (myself included) getting started can be the biggest obstacle. In this episode, I am speaking with Jessica Baird Walsh, a woman who runs everyday but for more than just fitness. Her inspiration is the Indigenous Marathon Foundation, an organisation that not only encourages people to run, but endeavours to build confiden...

Public speaking is not everyone’s favourite thing. For some, it can induce terror and anxiety just from the thought of it. But it can be a useful tool for a variety of reasons. Speech lessons have been an integral part of our school’s practice for a long time and the benefits are obvious. In this episode, Speech and Public Speaking  Co-ordinator Elizabeth Walsh, and her student Celia Watson in Yea...

This is the second part of my conversation with two of our History Staff, Amy and Marie. This time they are speaking about their own history and how that has helped form not only the teachers that they are today, but also the people they have become. I hope you enjoy our chat.

“Study the past if you would define the future.” — Confucius. The study of history is not only an important part of civilization’s progress but a necessary discipline for our students to understand who they are and where they have come from. We can receive it in all sorts of ways but it is what we do with it that is crucial. Two of our History staff members, Amy Satchell and Marie Salakas, both wi...

I have great admiration for those people that work in the medical field. We hear a lot about the difficulties that some of these professionals have to face and wonder how such an important resource can continue to sustain itself. We also observe the tragic conditions that those in places around the world that are in the midst of war or natural disaster and acknowledge the incredible stress and pre...

One of our hopes as a school is that we would be helping to create the leaders of the future. How that is done and the best way to do that is a complex process which requires lessons in all forms. Ian Narev has been a leader in a number of large organisations and is currently the CEO of SEEK, the leading online employment agency in Australia. He is also a father of three daughters at SCEGGS and a...

Many of you will know that one of our buildings, Wilkinson House, has undergone a major refurbishment over the last couple of years. We looking forward to its reopening sometime later in 2025. One of the outstanding features of the new building will be an artwork by one of our Visual Art Assistants,  Michaela Gleave. Michaela is also a professional artist in her own right and has created this wond...

Do you ever wonder about how you learn? As in you, personally? As a school, our main business is about learning, but how do we do it? And is learning different for different people? In this episode I speak with Katie Brett, Head of Learning Support. We discuss how students may be supported in their learning, how we might learn and the question of success. This is an important discussion for everyo...

One of the strengths of our school is the long serving members of staff who leave a legacy of teaching and learning. Last year, a devoted and accomplished maths teacher, Katherine Bailey, retired after 44 years of service to the SCEGGS community. In this episode, we discuss her path to teaching, what she has seen change over the years, the importance of a maths education and how she has sustained...

I wonder if you have ever tried to learn a language? My own attempts have never been that successful, always stumbling around accents and fearful of making a fool of myself. Angelique Deleeuw and Vivien Dong are two of our language teachers that have had vast experience in not only teaching other languages but also learning new languages. In this episode we discuss the benefits of learning a langu...

As the school year begins, it can be a nervous time for some of our students for all sorts of reasons. This can also be the case for some of our parents too. This episode addresses the issues that might occur when starting school, from a parent’s perspective,  whether it be for the first time, a new school or a new year. Rob Jessup and Anna Chandler are both parents that have children in both the...

The idea behind this podcast was that Peter Eyers (Head of Drama at SCEGGS) and I would chat about the year gone by and all that it held. What eventuated was a discussion about religion, power, loss and community!!  A very interesting conversation about how we take what has happened and look towards the future. I hope that you enjoy it. It’s the last one for this year and I want to say thank you t...

I have conducted over 300 weddings in my 24 years as an Anglican minister and many of those have been for students that I have taught. This is always a great privilege and honour to be invited into such an important event in their lives, to continue that connection post school and to recognise that the SCEGGS community means something to people, even after they no longer walk in through the green...

This time of the year is when our Year 12 students are finishing up their school life and looking towards a new and different future. Two of those students, Amelie and Lauren Ransom, have gone through their whole schooling life together. In fact, they have been together their whole lives as they are twins, identical ones at that! In this conversation, we find out what its like to be a twin from th...

There is much to be said about leadership and it is modelled to us many different ways by those that lead. We all have experience and ideas of what leadership is and what might make a “good” leader. Pretty soon we will be selecting new student leaders for 2025 and we spend time beforehand considering what leadership looks like for our school. Margot Faraci runs a business called “Love Leadership”...

The SCEGGS Primary School observed Reconciliation Week last week and Secondary School is doing so this week. Going along with these events, this week’s podcast is a conversation with two of our Indigenous Aunties: Aunty Kath Farrawell and Aunty Viv Freeman. They both share their own stories, as well as their ancestors, and talk about what drives them to continue being a voice to future generations...

The goal to be “successful” is very enticing for many of us. Not only do we want to be good at what we do but we would love to be recognised and applauded for it. But is that all there is to success? This is a conversation with one of our former Head Girls, Zoe Vrachnas. We talk about what success might look like, the subjectiveness of such a description and whether it is necessary for confidence...

The concerns about our environment and the impact that we have on it continue to be a regular topic of discussion. The changing weather patterns, our use of resources, consumerism and waste management are all issues that we can not only talk about but affect each one of us in different ways. They will also determine what sort of planet the generations of the future will live upon. In this discussi...

This conversation is with a former school board member, parent and media personality Sally Loane. We discuss what it takes to build communities in all sorts of settings and some of the obstacles to building community within our current environment. Sally’s experience on television, radio and through print media has provided her with many insights into what it takes to create and maintain strong co...

Ross and Sunny Lusted are two of our Primary School parents. They have had years of working in the hospitality industry and together have created restaurants and hotels around the world. Through their travels, they have learnt many lessons about community, culture and people that can only come through experience. In this conversation, they share some of their learnings and how it has shaped what t...

One of the great joys that I have received from standing at the gate each morning to greet the students is getting to know many of our neighbours. Don Spencer OAM is one of those people that I have got to know over the years and have enjoyed hearing his story. He has had a lifetime in the music industry, was a presenter on the ABC’s Playschool for many years and has established a charity which add...