Microcredit

Year 11 economics students investigated the use of microcredit as a strategy for reducing poverty, a movement that is reshaping philanthropy and making it as accessible as the click of a mouse or a classroom initiative. the girls became benfactors themselves, providing very small loans to very poor people for very small businesses. To understand the impact of microcredit, the class loaned funds to four selected female entrepreneurs in developing countries through Kiva, an organization that puts lenders and people seeking finance in touch through the internet. This initiative demonstrated that lending even tiny amounts of money to destitute people in the developing world can transform lives. Currently, 99.74% of loans are repaid successfully.

Susan and Peixuan lent funds to a woman in Tanzania who runs a kiosk which sells soft drinks at the airport and is keen to expand her business, while Jennifer, Cynara and Rebecca contributed to a small business in Tajikistan. Their beneficiary was a baker who sells bread in the central marketplace of her town. This loan is so she can buy a better position in the market and increase her sales. The girls are seeing first hand that microcredit can be a highly effective way of raising
living standards for some of the world’s poorest people

Another Rhodes Scholar for MLC

Last year, when the NSW Rhodes Scholarship winner, Kate Brennan, was announced I wondered what could be better for MLC School than having our first Rhodes Scholar? The answer came late last week with the announcement of this year’s NSW Rhodes Scholar, Joanna Mascarenhas, MLC School Captain and Dux of the School in 2000 (pictured right with Principal, Mrs Stone).

To quote Jo, “ . . . it was a completely crazy experience but after it was announced one of the panel came over to me and commented on “MLC girls taking over the world.”

What a typical Jo comment!

Jo never saw her success as being solely her own. She was always the leader who felt everyone who helped her had done just as much if not more in achieving the goal. Her time at MLC was characterised by quiet capacity, resolute selflessness and remarkable integrity.

A true all-rounder Jo maintained top level involvement in Debating, Sport, Music and community service as well as excellent academic performance throughout her years at MLC.

She was an Archdale debater from Year 7, in the Firsts for two years, nominated as the “Best Delegate” at the NSW Model United Nations Conference, went on to represent NSW at the national MUNA conference and was part of our State Champions Mock Trial team. Jo represented the School in both athletics and tennis but hockey was her great sporting love. Jo not only played in the Firsts for her final two years at School, she was also awarded the Best and Fairest Player in hockey for three year’s running (1998-2000). Jo was part of the Chamber Choir from 1996-2000 and played in the School Orchestra from 1997-2000. Her active involvement in “good causes” within and beyond the School was widespread but one particular initiative I will always remember is the leadership training program she implemented with the Year 5 leadership team in Kent House in her final year.

At university Jo continued to demonstrate what a remarkable young woman she is.

Awarded a Distinguished Undergraduate Scholarship to Sydney University, Jo topped the Dean’s List for Excellence in Academic Performance from 2001 until 2003, was awarded University Prizes - Firsts in Labour Law, Constitutional Law, Industrial Relations and Human Resource Management - and is on track to graduate from Sydney University this year with First Class Honours in both Economics and Law.

Alongside this academic achievement she continued to play sport, became an Editor of the University newspaper, Honi Soit, was a volunteer with Youth Mission Team Australia, a legal advisor and Summer Clerk to Matthew Talbot Men’s Hostel and the Domestic Violence Roster.

Jo has consistently demonstrated she not only believes in the rights and dignity of others but that she is willing to use her gifts to work tirelessly to transform these beliefs into realities. This is just what would be expected of a Rhodes Scholar. It is also just what is expected of every MLC girl!

Joanna Mascarenhas provides inspiration for us all. For teachers, her success can be seen as validation of the special role they play in helping young people to achieve their dreams and to shape a better future. For students, she provides a wonderful role model. Jo and the girls she will inspire to be just like her are why many of us would see it as only right and proper to see “MLC girls taking over the world!”

Mrs Barbara Stone
Principal

MLC School's First Rhodes Scholarship Winner - Kate Brennan

Since it was first awarded in 1904 only 10 women have been named NSW Rhodes Scholars. The most recent of these is MLC’s first Rhodes Scholar, Kate Brennan (‘00). Kate is also the 2006 NSW Young Australian of the Year.

Kate has been a volunteer paralegal at the Redfern Aboriginal Legal Service throughout her Arts/Law studies. An internship in Katherine, NT became a turning point in her life when she witnessed first hand the injustice known by so many Indigenous people. Kate came up with an idea that has worked wonders. She established swimming training as a vehicle to help young people realise their strengths. She has trained young Indigenous leaders as swimming coaches and to promote preventative health activities.

She is also the NSW Director of the Oaktree Foundation with a team of over 800 volunteers. “The overall vision for Oaktree is to help young people in the developing world to empower their communities through education. Young people can do incredible things. Oaktree aims to mobilise a generation of young people to respond to issues of poverty and injustice,” explains Kate. Kate’s relationship with MLC did not end with her outstanding HSC results in 2000 but continued as her deepening engagement in social justice programmes brought her back to MLC on an increasingly regular basis to motivate younger students to follow her example and do what they could to help those less able to help themselves.

She has already graduated with First Class Honours in Arts and will graduate with First Class Honours in Law at Sydney University next year. She aims to use her Rhodes Scholarship at Oxford to undertake an MPhil in Development Studies with particular interest in post-conflict development in Cambodia and Bangladesh. Kate epitomizes the finest qualities sought in Rhodes Scholars: truthfulness, courage, devotion to duty, sympathy for and protection of the weak, kindliness, unselfishness, fellowship and moral force of character and combines these qualities not only with significant scholastic, leadership and sporting achievement but also with the rarest of gifts, true humility of spirit: her gifts are used for the
benefit of others.

National Award for a Career of Excellence

MLC School Music Director, Mrs Karen Carey's outstanding professional career and contribution to music education has been recognised in a national award. The Federal Minister for Education Science and Training, The Hon Julie Bishop MP, announced Karen’s National Award for Excellence at the recent awards ceremony for the Australian Society for Music Education and the Australian Government Quality Teacher Programme.

Karen was appointed Director of Music at MLC School in 1989 and has, over the period of her leadership, seen the school’s music department become a multi award winning exemplar of music education, both state and nationally, winning awards from the Australian Music Centre (AMC), the Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA), the Fellowship of Australian Composers, ASME (NSW) and Orchestras Australia. In 2006 the MLC music program was selected as a model of exemplary practice for the National School Music Review.

At MLC, Karen has developed an outstanding music program that is integrated and sequenced from K-12, where the links between classroom, choral and instrumental teaching are constantly being drawn together. Parents are involved in the students’ music program and are invited into the creative classroom as participants in order to better understand the importance, enjoyment and value of music education

The school music program also extends to the wider community, including other school students and school teachers. ‘Australian Music Days’ and composition workshops are held every year offering innovative resources to other school students. Teacher inservices are provided in composition, particularly using technology. Currently there are three composers on the music staff at MLC.

Performance has been a major focus for many years. Under her direction MLC girls have prepared challenging performances of opera and music theatre, as well as a variety of choral, chamber and symphonic repertoire. Karen has organised and led several international music tours all of which have been highly acclaimed for their high standard of performance and for the presentation of Australian music in venues including St Mark’s Basilica in Venice. In September she will lead a tour of MLC musicians through Europe culminating in a performance in Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris.

Ms Pamela Hatfield
Community Relations

'Classic' Community Spirit

From dreams great things can happen. Earlier this year Naomi (Yr 6) and Tamara (Yr 3) Graham, while talking to their mother Cathie about their intention to participate in the Mothers’ Day Classic Walk supporting the National Breast Cancer Foundation, expressed the idea that it would be a dream if MLC School had a huge group of walkers and indeed won the shield for the largest school group entry.

Inspired Cathie emailed Mrs Stone and the processes to make dreams come true began. Cathie had a wonderful idea that MLC walkers could be identified by having hot pink caps with ‘MLC School’ boldly embroidered on the front. Cathie took on the task of organising and selling the caps, which arrived the week before the walk. Community Relations worked on promoting the idea to the girls and families.

It was a magnificent morning and the MLC team arrived bright and early assembling outside the Art Gallery of NSW. Hot Pink Caps continued to gather and eventually we were a very noticeable group picked up by the organisers and the media.

The leisurely stroll around the foreshore was a wonderful beginning for Mothers’ Day and at the end an announcement and presentation confirmed that we had in fact won the shield for the largest school entry, in front of SCEGGS Darlinghurst and Birchgrove Public School.

Our tally was in fact 90 registered entry forms before the day (with more signing up on the morning) and each form often included all family members – so in fact we calculate over 180-200 MLC team members were with us on the day.

Congratulations MLC Community. You can be very proud of your generous support and community spirit, especially our mums who gave some of their special day for a wonderful cause.