Finding Fresh Perspectives
Our Student Voice Podcast provides an exploration of Wenona life from students across year groups.
Predominantly hosted by a team of Year 6 girls, it aims to 'support the development of leadership confidence, building the students' speaking and organisational skills' and has quietly become one of the School's most revealing windows into daily life.
For instance, when Year 6 girls, Phoebe and Coco, sat down in September last year to discuss the philosophical concept of 'purpose', their conversation revealed some helpful insights. "If you were to ask me what I think purpose is, I would say that it's something that gives you meaning, a sense of belonging and value," offered Phoebe. "Purpose is not just something you enjoy doing, it's something that you want to be or something that you're striving towards," replied Coco.
The podcast initiative is student-led. Through on-air conversations with everyone from Kindergarten Class Captains to the Principal, Ms Douglas herself, these young broadcasters are demonstrating remarkable interview skills, displaying natural curiosity and asking probing questions that get to the heart of their subjects.
When interviewing the Principal about her childhood, they weren't afraid to ask: "Did your family members ever get on your nerves?" Ms Douglas's response about her sister drawing a sticky tape line down their shared bedroom captures the kind of authentic detail that makes these conversations so engaging and relatable.
The range and treatment of the topics covered is also impressive. In one episode, Environment Club Co-Captain, Sanaya (Year 10), encourages sustainability on campus in an interview with Wenona Director of Property and Facilities, Mr Demsitz. Together they explore everything from solar panel installations to the United Nations' 17 Sustainable Development Goals. In another, Head Prefect, Zara (Year 12), discusses her aspirations to become a Navy pilot. A further episode sees Kindergarten girls, Eva and Chiara, sharing their vision for improving the Woodstock campus − "a chocolate fountain that spreads chocolate everywhere!", they recommended.
The conversations reveal sophisticated thinking across all year groups. When discussing purpose, Phoebe draws parallels with Olympic athletes who "train up to 32 hours a week" and have "a clear purpose, but it might not have always been that way". Six-year-old Eva, meanwhile, understands her role as Class Captain means being "super, super, super, nice" and leading lines at Assembly. At one point, Coco is probed about what sacrifices she might make to achieve her dream of becoming a zookeeper, while Frankie is asked what it really means to be a Junior School Prefect.
The podcast also captures the School's commitment to acknowledgment and inclusion, with each episode beginning with recognition of the traditional custodians of the land. This consistency demonstrates how embedded such practices have become in the students' understanding of respectful communication.
What is particularly striking is how the interviews illuminate Wenona's Values in action. When Mr Demsitz discusses sustainability, he emphasises that "any sustainability program at a school should be student-led. That's where you find the success." The podcast itself embodies this philosophy − students are actively practising leadership and communication rather than simply learning about it.
The conversations also reveal the School's culture of authentic support. Ms Douglas speaks warmly of being everyone's "cheer squad," while Zara reflects on making "small impacts that build over time" and how people sometimes approach her to share how she's made a difference.
The young podcasters are also rapidly building up an invaluable audio diary of life at Wenona − unfiltered, genuine accounts told in their own voices. Would you like to have a listen? You can tune in to the podcast here.