Welcome back to the Wilderness for Term 3.

It was a privilege to be commissioned as the 10^th Principal of Wilderness School last Thursday. I was enormously proud, looking out into the sea of Wildy girls stretching out to the back rows of the Gym. Along with the Governing Council, Parents and Friends, Old Scholars, special guests and past and present staff, they made the day very special for me.

In the not-too-distant future, they will go on to be Wilderness women of the world. That inspires me, along with the rest of our staff, to make sure that their experience within these gates is life giving; while academic excellence is something that we strive for at Wilderness, there is more to our story.

We want these girls to form respectful relationships, to be true and courageous, to learn adventurously, and to leave our school gates as responsible citizens. These values are a collection of all of the important attributes which the Misses Brown believed in and shared with their students.

Tucked into the value of ‘Respectful Relationships’ are the keywords of ‘compassionate’, ‘kind’, ‘friendly’ and ‘hospitable’. At the beginning of a new term, as we welcome new staff and students, it is a timely occasion to mention hospitality.

Hospitality is something which our girls demonstrate every day, often without realising. It is shared through everyday kindnesses like smiling at a person who passes them, greeting each other by name or inviting someone to sit with their friendship group at recess.

Our community also get a taste of it at events such as School Tours and the Old Scholars Quiz Night – where our girls volunteer to welcome people to our school and offer directions around our beautiful campus. At Monday morning’s assembly, I encouraged our girls to continue sharing hospitality, especially to their new classmates and teachers.

This is a gift that I know our girls will carry with them well beyond their time at Wilderness. Paired with the knowledge gained from their academic studies, these values will enable our girls to build a life filled with giving and receiving hospitality, kindness and compassion.

After all, a warm welcome is a very Wilderness thing to do.