International Women’s Day

To celebrate the achievements of women, the AB ‘Banjo’ Paterson Library put together a wide and varying display of women’s literature, showcasing a number of significant issues and achievements. In the evening at our Ithaka Lecture, Sam Bloom spoke movingly about the extraordinary story of her experiences. In 2013, Sam suffered a devastating accident while on holiday with her young family in Thailand and was left paralysed from the chest down.

Pictured: Sam Bloom with Penguin – the magpie chick that inspired her recovery

Photo credit: Cameron Bloom

To address issues of inequity, the School invited Chanel Contos to speak to all boys at College Street in the assembly address prior to the day.

Chanel talked to the boys about why she had founded the “Teach Us Consent” movement, promoting the importance of sexual consent education in schools, and indeed moving the government to mandate it in all Australian schools from Kindergarten to Year 10. She has recently been named the 2023 NSW Young Woman of the Year in recognition of her work as an advocate for consent. On the day itself, boys were shown a video in Registration. The footage showed comments that the female staff at College Street had experienced over the years that had made them uncomfortable, presented anonymously for boys to take pause and consider, interspersed with positive suggestions about the way forward.

The message from the video, along with posters displayed around the School should inspire boys going forward to play their part in creating an inclusive world that challenges gender stereotypes and bias and calls out discrimination and inequity.

Pictured: Ms Chanel Contos with pupils from the Future Leaders for Gender Equality Programme