Principal's Message

Welcome to the PCW website and to the 2012 school year. It is the year of the water dragon, an Olympic year and a leap year.  It is the centenary of the PCW Alumnae and the 139th year since the College was founded in December 1873.

The cycle of the school year gives us a natural anticipation for the year ahead and a sense of freshness and renewal as new staff join us and we greet the  students each February. As they walk in the gate on that first day they embody the ‘hope that lies in courageous and sober confidence’ (Colleen Malton) that good will prevail and, as such, we are blessed to do the work we do.

There is a lot that is new about our school this year...

We have a new leadership structure and many people are in new leadership roles. The structure is based on a strong commitment to distributed leadership and has created new roles and responsibilities for just about everybody  - Leadership Team, Coordinators, Heads of House, Learning Leaders etc.

The House System is new with students from Years 10-12 now in Home Groups based on their Houses, each with a mix of years.

In anticipation of the move to a new Library, ICT and Library services have been merged. This arrangement recognises the increasing overlap between conventional and digital information and will allow us to develop the most contemporary literacy and resource service for students and staff.

The Year 9 students have been relocated to their own area at the western end of the campus. This location will provide better spaces for their Eachtra program and easier access as they move on and off campus for the many activities they are engaged in.

The Year 7s now have returned to the classrooms above the Hall with the Year 8s where they have easy access to their netbooks and electronic whiteboards in every classroom. The Year 8s begin their Mini Masters program this year and the Year 7 Science and Maths timetables have been linked to provide for more regular lessons in Mathematics. Both these initiatives emerged from the Review of the Year 7 & 8 curriculum in 2010 and 2011.

The iPad program which began so successfully last year will be expanded to Year 8 and 11 this year and then to the entire school in 2013.

All these new initiatives are signs of change which is an ever present part of school life but it is not always easy. Change can be threatening and difficult but it can also be exciting and fulfilling. We must know and accept that it is inexorable. The great and long history of our school gives us ballast, it is the strength in the foundations to withstand difficult times, it gives us confidence in longevity... but on its own it is not enough.  It is the teachers, the students and their families who each new year  continue to create the story of the school, give it life, make it hum, make it change and grow. We are the ones, all of us, who are charged with that responsibility at this point in PCW’s life . As the well known poem by Presentation Sister, Raphael Considine says, ‘ You may not build yourself confining walls and say, ‘thus far shall I walk and nothing more’.

We are all fortunate to be a part of the great and enduring story of Presentation College Windsor. I wish all members of our vast community the best for the year ahead – students, families and staff.  May it bring you satisfaction, joy, surprise, and new learning; my hope is that  you will feel supported in times of trouble, challenged when you want to be ... and when you least expect it.  Good luck and blessings.

Leonie Keaney

PCW Principal