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0:00 We want them to be ready for whatever throws, you know, is thrown at them.

0:04 Perfectly unfinished, unquestionably ready.

0:19 Hello and welcome to the educator TV.

0:22 I'm Kylie Spear and joining me today is Adelina Amelia Duvos, principal and Megan Marshall, deputy principal and director of staff at Sacri.

0:33 Sacri has been named as a winner of the educator five-star best schools for 2026.

0:41 Welcome to you Adelina and Megan. Huge congratulations and thank you both so much for joining us today. Lovely to be with you and we're absolutely thrilled.

0:52 Kylie, thank you Kylie. Delighted. We're really delighted about the award.

0:59 Well, firstly, Adelina and Megan, what does this five-star recognition mean for you and the school?

1:07 So, Kylie, um obviously what is wonderful about um the recognition that we are receiving through the five-star

1:15 award is it's absolute confirmation of who we are um what we stand for and what

1:22 we do on a daily basis. Um all in the service of our wonderful um young women

1:29 here at Sacraur. Um so it is really difficult I think to overstate that

1:36 because um to have that recognition and to have that confirmation is just such powerful endorsement.

1:46 I think also it's testament to what girls schools can do and our school is all about empowering young women and we

1:54 talk about when our young women leave the gates of Burke Road Glenn Iris that they are ready to begin the next chapter

2:03 of their lives which is a lovely segue to my next question. Sacri has been educating young

2:11 women since 1888 and is now part of a global network of over 150 sacred heart

2:18 schools across 41 countries. What does that long lineage give a student today

2:25 that a newer school couldn't offer? It's interesting and Kylie whenever I take um principal tours which I love taking

2:33 because I have that opportunity to share our narrative with prospective families.

2:39 One of the things that I find myself speaking about is the fact that um what runs through our DNA is this incredible

2:48 history um that we are part of. We're part of the fabric of that narrative and

2:55 each of our students knows that she is part of that. So it is what is really

3:02 significant I think for students is that knowledge that they are part of something bigger and that they continue

3:09 to contribute uh to something so meaningful. So um it's just that sense

3:17 of I guess tradition and that sense of what comes from being part of this very

3:24 niche rich narrative that creates ongoing meaning uh for our students but also for our staff who who join our

3:33 school as well because they too know that they are part of something this network um of 150 plus other schools.

3:43 but also um stretching right back for us to 1888.

3:51 I also think too I think it's great that our girls know that our school is based on a rich tradition. So some really

4:00 lovely traditions that we follow, but they're also part of this network which in today's society, we want them to be

4:07 global citizens. and the fact that we live in a contemporary world where travel is much easier obviously these days they can reach out and they have these wonderful immersion opportunities.

4:19 So many of our girls from year 10 um onwards they travel to the US to Canada

4:25 to Europe to the UK and have really rich experiences um overseas at our over

4:32 sacred hearts schools overseas and then there that these those girls come and visit us and spend time with us. So it's fant fantastic network.

4:44 You've said innovation should enhance connection rather than replace it. Can you share a specific example of a

4:53 technological decision the school made differently because of that principle rather than just adopting it?

5:00 A chat to the the STEM initiative.

5:03 Yeah. Look, next year we are rolling out a STEM elective program from years 5 to

5:10 8 because we really believe we want more women obviously in the STEM fields, but

5:17 I think it's also in response to tech and how tech is actually changing at such a a rapid pace. I think we've

5:25 incorporated so much of design into a lot of our subjects but particularly in the creative arts field because you know

5:33 we really believe in we talk about developing the head and the heart but I think hands is really essential too in

5:41 in um education today. So in terms of innovation and technology it is about

5:48 being able to design. So thinking of prototyping and being able to actually prototype as part of a solution moving

5:57 forward. We talk about the girls we want them to be hopefilled and if you are hopefilled that means you are looking for solutions to some of the problems

6:07 that this world faces. So going through that process being able to look at a sol find a solution and to use technology to prototype that.

6:17 On that note, Adelina and Megan, what about an example of a student who found real success at Sacraur, not just

6:26 academically, but in well-being or leadership, too, and what did the school do to support that?

6:34 Yeah. So, it's really interesting because you say, "What about a student?" I think we could just about talk about every single student who's walked

6:42 through um our school and who has been nurtured here. And I think that that is what is key. We um what's really

6:51 interesting um our foundress said that she would have founded um the society.

6:57 So the order responsible for our school for the sake of one child and we remind our students that every single one of

7:05 them is that child. So that's why I'm laughing and smiling at that question because

7:13 what we do as educators is we lean into every single student um you know whom we

7:21 have the pleasure of educating and what is really important for us is that that education is about educating for the

7:31 heart the mind and as Megan said you know that also that ability to educate um students so that they are also

7:39 leaning into their own creativity, their own spirituality and all dimensions of person as well. So we would be able we'd

7:49 be here all day long if we needed to site um particular students because when

7:56 our students leave Sakraur they leave yes having achieved um their

8:04 potential. They leave knowing though that that there there's not this finite point in terms of their potential that

8:12 they will continue to be um lifelong learners. They also though know I hope

8:21 um because we talk to them about it all the time and and it's their experience that they have been nurtured

8:28 holistically and that they achieve what they achieve because there is this equal

8:36 balance between well-being and academic outcomes.

8:42 Kylie, like Adelina said, there are so many of our students that have achieved wonderful success and have been supported, but when you asked that

8:50 question, uh, one student came to mind whose parent recently wrote to both of us um via email and said, "Thank you."

9:00 Their their daughter had just graduated um from university.

9:05 This was a a student with a neurodyiverse, you know, profile in terms of schooling. Um there was school

9:12 refusal in year seven and year eight and there was some homeschooling. Um we adapted the way we delivered the

9:20 education to um that student. She went on to become our validictorian in year

9:28 12 and uh you know as her mom said like so it was a really fantastic relationship and partnership between the

9:35 family and between the school and it was about um we knew if we could get um that student through you know those difficult

9:43 adolescent years that she would absolutely um succeed in life and she has. So yeah f it was it's a fantastic

9:51 story but one of many that is so inspiring and finally you have redeveloped your school's direction

10:00 statement what can you tell us about it and in what ways will it be brought to life we have we've been doing considerable

10:09 work in this area and um the redevelopment actually as the word suggests redeveloping um we're very

10:17 comfortable in terms of um the direction has been open hearts, open minds, infinite possibilities and and that sits

10:26 right on the front cover of our strategic plan.

10:30 What we've done is we've actually taken that and thought further and it and it dovetales with what Megan was sharing

10:38 earlier just about ensuring that you know our students are being prepared for their futures that we recognize that you

10:47 know the world is in a state of flux and that there is change. what we want them

10:53 to do is to absolutely um be equipped to not only um you know thrive in that

11:01 world but lead in that world as well. So what has been an interesting exercise for us to do in redeveloping that

11:09 direction is really think about um our students development um educational pathways

11:17 um and in doing that what we've landed on. So again these draw from our

11:25 pioneering women. They were voracious writers. They were incredibly uh

11:32 visionary. And so the direction statement that we have actually landed on is perfectly

11:41 unfinished, unquestionably ready. So they jar and quite

11:48 deliberately they jar. Right. There's a bit of dissonance there and it is as I said quite intentional because to your

11:56 question about what does this mean? What we really want to imbue in our students is that sense that they've been with us

12:06 for this time in their lives. They've been invested hopefully with all these competencies and attributes, but we

12:15 don't want we want not to finish them off small. What we want to do is to have

12:21 started them off on a really um wide basis and something that they continue to grow through.

12:30 And we love the unquestionably ready because we want them to be ready for whatever throws, you know, is thrown at them. And I I think you know we our

12:39 desire is that they are always lifelong long learners that they actually are able to face adversity and overcome

12:46 challenges and succeed no matter what they do in life whether that be motherhood whether that be a doctor

12:54 whether that be within a trade that they able to succeed and flourish in their life.

13:01 How absolutely brilliant. Well thank you both so much for your time today. your lovely insights and congratulations once again Adelina and Megan.

13:11 Thank you.

13:12 Thank you, Kylie. It's been enjoyable um having this conversation with you and thank you as always to our wonderful

13:21 viewers for watching the latest episode of the Educator TV. We look forward to seeing you again soon.