Over the last week, social media has been abuzz with commentary about the online petition started by 22-year-old former Kambala student Chanel Contos that delivered a disturbing list of allegations from respondents, who said young men who attended nearby Sydney private boys’ schools had sexually assaulted them during high school or shortly after.

Sadly, many of these events take place at parties that involve children and alcohol. We cannot be naïve and think that this only occurs in Sydney schools. The testimonies are shocking and highlight the importance of sexual consent education and not supplying alcohol to underage children. Dr Tessa Opie, who spoke to our Year 11 parents last Tuesday, stressed this.

I encourage all senior school parents to take the time to watch this presentation so they can engage in conversation with their daughters about the importance of healthy relationships and sexual consent.

Please click here to view the presentation.

International Women’s Day Breakfast

Last Friday, we hosted the Alliance of Girls School’s breakfast to celebrate International Women’s Day.

Given COVID-19 restrictions, the annual breakfast held at the Convention Centre was not able to take place. Still, it was wonderful to have nearly 200 leaders and staff from 10 girls’ schools across Adelaide come together for breakfast and to watch the live stream of presentations by Natasha Stott Despoja AO and Senator The Hon Penny Wong.

International Women’s Day symbolises the ongoing journey towards eliminating all forms of discrimination against women and girls.

Natasha spoke openly about the challenges faced by women in politics and the importance of change and setting defined quotas for female representation in parliament.

Unfortunately, there is a constant stream of stories showing gender disparities in both the workplace and home. As a male in a leadership position at Wilderness and as a father of two girls, I strongly believe that all men need to stand up and become part of the fight for gender equality. It is not the job of a woman to convince a male of the importance of gender equality; men should be responsible for their own prejudice and that of other men. It is only then that we will have a truly equitable society, and one in which there is no reference to gender in the corporate world.

Intercol 2021

This week we have enjoyed the range of Intercol games against Seymour College.

The girls have given their best and were in fine voice at Assembly when the Middle and Senior School joined for the School war cries. We have enjoyed supporting the girls playing Volleyball, Basketball, Water Polo and Touch Football and look forward to the final result.

Our Rowers are also busy in their final stages of training and preparation for the Head of the River which will be held at West Lakes on Saturday 20 March. Good luck to all teams!