Ably led by Steph Gallacher, in the new role of Ruyton Student Council Captain, the RSC has had another productive year. Meeting every fortnight, and with the invaluable support of the School Co-Captains, Madeleine Reilly and Sarah Bush, the RSC has addressed student concerns, worked with the Level Co-ordinators and organised a range of activities.
The focus of the Ruyton Student Council is to provide Senior School students with a voice in the decision making processes. This year, the RSC representatives addressed issues including: the proliferation of pigeons; the locker room environment; temperature control in classrooms; and the uniform. The girls made appointments to attend the Level Coordinators’ meetings to address some of these issues, and in turn invited them to attend an RSC meeting to answer questions. The RSC representatives should be proud of the way in which they have developed an excellent relationship with the Level Co-ordinators and Mrs Gumley. Developing positive dialogue between these two groups is a key to making decisions that are acceptable to everyone involved.
While the main focus of the RSC is to give Ruyton students a voice, RSC representatives are also interested in giving women a voice. In March, the Years 9 to 12 RSC representatives attended the UNIFEM International Women’s Day Breakfast at the RACV Club in the city. Four hundred women and a few men were lucky enough to listen to enlightening and inspiring speakers. They spoke of empowering women, giving them equal rights and celebrating the contribution made by women across the globe. The girls listened to Ms Maxine Morand, MP, who spoke of women’s political representation and how there is still a long way to go to ensure that women are equally represented in both the political and business world. The international guest speaker was Dr Rose Evaster-Aderolili from Uganda. She is the chief of the Human and Social Development Section of the United Nations Economic Commission on Africa. She spoke particularly about the involvement of women in cross-border trade in the African sub-continent
In May, the Ruyton Student Council held the annual Spring Walk, this time in autumn. This event involves House teams completing an obstacle course around the Senior School to raise money for, and awareness of, the work of UNIFEM. The girls also organised a barbecue and sold lolly bags. The event is a popular one, with a high proportion of Senior School girls getting involved. The RSC representatives did a wonderful job in making sure this event ran smoothly and was a lot of fun.
Steph Gallacher, Maddy Reilly and Sarah Bush took on the challenge of organising a multi-school event, and although things didn’t always go to plan, the results were a huge success. In Term 1, the girls began a series of meetings with representatives from St Catherine’s Girls’ School and Strathcona Baptist Girls’ Grammar School. The purpose of these meetings was to plan for a Combined Schools Spring Walk. Unfortunately, after a number of meetings and a great deal of planning, the two other schools were unable to continue with preparations for the event. Unsure about how to proceed, the Ruyton Student Council voted to 'pull out all stops' and see what we could make of the event on our own. Steph, Maddy and Sarah attended a meeting of the Melbourne Grammar School Prefects, while the RSC representatives from Years 9 to 11 spoke at Trinity Grammar School’s Year Level Assemblies. The result of these presentations was that both boys’ schools were very willing to be involved in the event. We also managed to attract some very generous sponsorship: Adam Joyce, General Manager of Amer Sports, donated two Heart Rate Monitors, Leo’s Supermarket and Liar Liar Cafe donated gift vouchers, and George of Via Verona in Kew provided 300 soft drinks.
The event was staged at the Tan on Friday 3 September 3 at 4.00 pm. Watching the arrival of over 300 students, many carrying purple balloons, was very satisfying. There was a huge buzz amongst the students as they introduced themselves or caught up with friends. Mrs Anderson started the event, and the 300 plus participants completed a lap of the Tan.
Congratulations to Steph, Maddy, Sarah and all of the girls of the RSC for making this event such a successful one, raising $1600. With the help of many teacher and parent volunteers we were delighted by how smoothly the event ran and how much fun it was. Thank you to the wonderful group of mothers who helped at the event, and to the many staff who came along and ensured everything ran smoothly. Particular thanks to Michele Power and Cameron Elmer for their contribution to making this event happen.
Our final event of the year was also a new one: the RSC Ladies’ Day at the Races. Held just after Cup Day, the theme for the day was Hats, Heels and Handbags. The RSC representatives organised cupcakes and soft drinks, and held a Fashions on the Field parade at lunchtime. We hope that this can develop into an annual event, as it was a lovely way to finish the School year.
I am very proud of the Ruyton Student Council 2010. Our achievements this year are due entirely to their efforts. They have been a delightful group to work with - enthusiastic and reliable. Many thanks to Steph, Maddy and Sarah, who were wonderful in the leadership roles. I look forward to working with Victoria Nadalin and the Ruyton Student Council in 2011.
Ruyton Student Council Representatives 2010:
Year 7: Jaime Moss, Isabella Armstrong, Katya Tselios, Laura Aldous
Year 8: Samantha Beniac-Brooks, Emily Clifton-Bligh, Georgia Brown, Shalini Ponnamaplam, Sarah Watling
Year 9: Mia Raymond, Lauren Yip, Annabel Rodway
Year 10: Lucy Green, Ali Bethune, Tess Gardiner, Imogen Walsh
Year 11: Lauren Markopoulos, Amelia Lachal, Victoria Nadalin, Claire Seton
Year 12: Steph Gallacher, Maddy Reilly and Sarah Bush
Ms Julie Hoskins Co-ordinator of Special Programmes