This year, Carey reimagined its traditional International Women’s Day breakfast into a week-long celebration to engage more members of our school community. With the UN Women theme of ‘March Forward’, our goal was to create opportunities for students, staff, alumni and parents to come together, reflect on gender equality and celebrate the achievements of women in all areas of life.
International Women’s Day is a vital occasion as it highlights the systemic inequalities that women continue to face worldwide. While progress has been made, women still experience disparities in areas such as education, employment, leadership opportunities and safety. By shining a light on these issues, we aim to foster awareness, encourage discussions and inspire action towards a more equitable future for all.
Over five months of planning, a diverse range of activities was developed to ensure meaningful conversations and engagement across all year levels. The week was packed with events, inspiring discussions and fundraising efforts that left a lasting impact on our community.
Highlights from the week included:
- the Middle School Awards Ceremony featuring Olympian Jessica Hansen (2013) as our guest speaker
- student-led lunchtime fundraisers raising funds for Emerge, supporting women and children affected by family violence
- our Alumni and Community IWD Dinner with panellists Hon. Mary Wooldridge, Frances Goh (2006), Angus McKay and Elise Elliott, bringing together alumni and parents for an evening of connection and reflection
- Gratitude Letters where students wrote heartfelt messages to significant women in their lives
- library activities including a visual march of inspirational women, book displays, badge-making and scavenger hunts
- a wall of inspiring women and statistic cards encouraging meaningful conversations
- music in the JOT Quad celebrating female artists and empowering anthems.
A special thank you to Year 12 students Angela, Genevieve, Freya, India, Tiffany and Isobel for their creativity and leadership in brainstorming activities, assisting with preparations and running the fundraising efforts. Additional thanks go to Jo Leech for her invaluable support and to Erin Boyd, who co-ordinated so much behind the scenes to make this vision a reality.
We also thank the Old Carey Grammarians Association for sponsoring the week.
Kaushini Fernando
Alumni and Community Manager
