Where her spirit grows tall

The senior years at school are a time of great opportunity and achievement. Girls are challenged to reflect on their own learning styles and methods and to be active in their own learning. Cultural exchanges, leadership positions and teamwork opportunities are many and varied.

Leadership opportunities

At Wenona, we believe that girls grow up confident and successful if they feel valued in their own right. This underpins all we do.

Girls learn from the outset that we welcome and value their contribution to school life.

In the Senior College, all girls are encouraged to undertake leadership roles. The roles may be formal positions, such as School Captain or Boarder Prefect, members of the Senior College Committee or Boarders Committee, Peer Support Leaders, House Captains, Charity Captains, Sport Captains, Performing Arts Captains, Senior Prefects or members of the Student Representative Council.

Leadership roles may also be informal, such as leading a group activity in the classroom, being a mentor for a younger girl, or captaining a team during PDHPE lessons.

There are also leadership roles in sport and in the performing arts.

Also, of course, as our girls participate in a range of social service activities, they work with others and acquire valuable leadership skills in the process. These activities include Amnesty International, the Student Christian Group, the Duke of Edinburgh's Award Scheme, the Red Shield Appeal and World Vision initiatives.

All roles are valued.

Ut prosim

We aim to prepare our girls for life, not just a career. The Wenona motto is important to us – hence the initiatives provided to help girls develop a sense of social responsibility and connectedness with the global community.

Our service-learning program is designed to let girls experience that connectedness. At Wenona they will be involved in a wide range of hands-on community service opportunities. The program involves girls in activities which integrate meaningful community service with thoughtful reflection on the experience.

Service-learning can take many forms. Senior girls can accompany our Middle School girls in the annual Erakor Global Service and Friendship trip, assisting in a local project and then spending time reflecting on the skills, values and knowledge they have acquired.

A similar relationship with a school in South East Asia or China, will provide a meaningful and high-impact global service-learning experience for Senior College girls.

All Year 10 girls are required to complete a minimum of ten hours community service outside school hours. Each girl finds her own service placement. Her experiences are documented in her SCIP (Student Community Involvement Program) diary.

Building relationships with people in circumstances different to their own helps girls grow in cultural and intergenerational understanding. Exploring social issues, when seen from others' perspectives, develops an appreciation of the diversity of human society.

Wenona is committed to providing opportunities for our girls to develop a global awareness. These opportunities - exchanges, excursions, community service - foster the development of open-mindedness, discovery, self-reliance, life skills, independence, confidence and tolerance, and an experience of different cultures.

Outdoor education

In the Senior College, camps are linked to leadership programs, study skills programs, and post-school directions.

The Sir Adrian Curlewis Outward Bound Scholarship

There is a long-standing connection between Outward Bound and Wenona. Not only do we have similar values and an adventurous spirit, but we share a special relationship with the Curlewis family. Sir Adrian Curlewis, the father of Philippa Poole (Wenonian 1939-1950), was President of the Surf Life Saving Association in Australia from 1933 to 1975. In this role, he visited several Outward Bound schools in Britain and Europe, and had talks with Kurt Hahn, the founder of Outward Bound. On his return to Australia, he established an Outward Bound school.

Outward Bound's reputation for developing moral character and mental and physical strength through its adventure and journey programs is internationally recognised.

The Sir Adrian Curlewis Outward Bound Scholarship, open to Senior College students, pays 50% of the cost of an Outward Bound youth navigator course undertaken within twelve months of receiving the award.