The environment at MGGS provides us invaluable support as we guide our children through their school years. Whether it is academic, artistic, extra-curricular, sports or social development, our parent community is backed by the MGGS structure and its pursuit of excellence.

From ELC through to Year 12, we join in our children’s learning as they succeed and fail, enjoy the wins and accept the losses, make friends and find their way in the community. I am incredibly grateful for what the MGGS learning environment has provided our family. As we watch our eldest manage the transition to university and an adult learning environment as well as our youngest embracing the opportunities of the more independent Senior Years program, I am reminded that their time at MGGS has provided a mindset for life-long learning and what it means to question, engage and contribute to the wider world.

Please enjoy the following reflections on learning provided by parents from our ELC, Junior, Middle and Senior Years.

Tammy Read (Phoebe Year 9, Georgia 2021)

ELC

We chose to enroll our daughter, Eliza, at the MGGS ELC after touring several other schools, both co-ed and all girls, religious and nondenominational. What stood out to us with MGGS and the ELC was the approach of child-led learning. This includes a lot of conversations within the class, discovering their interests and working together to create a learning pathway centred on those interests. With Eliza now part way through her second year at the ELC and our youngest daughter very excited to start next year, we can honestly say the hype around MGGS and the Reggio Emilia approach has more than lived up to our expectations.

During 2021, Eliza was so excited to tell us about the opportunities she had — learning about growing plants in the kitchen garden, how the worm farm worked and any other nature discoveries, while also talking about building and coding with LEGO Duplo. She also started to tell us about her passion for yoga and understanding her body and the connection to breathing. In our meetings with her teachers, these were all things that the ELC fostered and encouraged her to explore and continue to be curious.

After a smooth transition into the 4-Year-Old program, she’s being challenged more this year and her outcomes are more focused. She has been learning how to read and write her name, exploring more in her drawing and colouring skills, as well as further fostering her independence with excursions to the Royal Botanic Gardens. She is so excited to teach us all about the plants and ‘critters’ she discovers on those journeys. Eliza has also thoroughly enjoyed the excursions to the School library where she brings home a different book each week, that she picks out, and the sense of pride that comes with her borrowed books.

The focus of the School to consistently foster individual learning based on each child’s passions is very clear in how Eliza is demonstrating her passion and excitement for learning and the autonomy and confidence she is developing because of it. ‍

Harvey Richmond (Eliza, ELC 4)

Junior Years

Being in the role of Junior Years Co-ordinator with the MGGS Parents’ Association this year, I have been in a privileged position to be present at both the ELC and Morris Hall campuses during school hours for various meetings. Throughout these visits, I have been reminded of just how much our girls love to learn and of the incredible opportunities that our school provides. The teaching staff have such high standards of professionalism and are fully invested in our daughters’ education and learning. I often receive feedback from other parents that confirm how much the staff go above and beyond what would normally be expected when it comes to the wellbeing of students. I personally have witnessed some very special moments that can only occur when there is such a close relationship between teaching staff and their students, in an open and inclusive learning community. They know our girls so well.

My daughter, Eloise, who is in Year 2, springs out of bed every morning eager to get to Morris Hall. She knows her schedule in advance and diligently prepares for school herself. She is starting to take responsibility in what is needed for each day. Every afternoon, after school, she is thrilled to share her learnings with the family from that day and, as her confidence grows, she feels proud knowing things that perhaps we don't. Year 2 is the year homework begins. Coupling that with the uptake of extra-curricular activities open for Year 2s — Young Engineers, Taekwondo, Netball, Swimming, Athletics, Dance and Piano lessons to name a few — it's been a big start to the year. We continue to be amazed at her learning capacity and we have been pleased to see her adapt and flourish in this environment with these opportunities.  

Our family is now in our fifth year as part of this incredible community. Strong friendships have been formed by the girls and parents alike and these continue to grow as we welcome new starters and their families to the community every year. I feel privileged to be a part of the MGGS community and to have such a special role as part of the Parents’ Association. I thoroughly enjoy working closely with the School and the parent community to provide our daughters’ with the best possible start in life.

Julie James (Eloise, Year 2)

Oh, my, all-the-stars . . . We. Are. Proud. Of. Penelope as she embarked on ELC.

In ELC, I have listened to Penelope familiarise herself with numbers, letters, and shapes. More importantly, I have seen her learn how to socialise and get along with other children as well and share and contribute to ‘circle time’.

Penelope has learnt how to raise her hand, take turns, and share the teacher's attention. The biggest change for us was that she needed to learn how to separate from Mummy… which was hard for me; easy for her.  

As a family we felt MGGS walked with us hand-in-hand in understanding the new changes, expectations and practicalities (e.g., uniforms, starting and finishing times etc.), but also has assisted children and families to adjust to the social and emotional demands of starting school.

As we immersed our family in the School, staff and the wider community, it has provided a strong foundation for transition to Prep, as well as fostering a sense of belonging and connectedness to the School community.

We love listening to Penelope share her learning at home, asking questions to find out more and showing curiosity for the world around her. Penelope is enthusiastic and eager to go to school and has a positive attitude towards learning.

We are excited to watch Penelope continue to grow and thrive throughout the rest of her Prep year and beyond.

Lorinska Merrington (Penelope, Prep)

Middle Years

In now Grace's eighth year as a Grammarian, our reflection on the learning journey is one of continuity, richness and diversity of experience. Her MGGS journey from ELC to Morris Hall and now Wildfell has had the sense of Grace being lovingly woven into the fabric of a special community, a place where she feels at home, supported and constantly engaged in new opportunities and challenges. Outside of academics, the ever-expanding range of learning environments at Merton Hall – from orchestra to ethics to Swimming, running, Netball and Snowsports – have invited Grace to explore herself and her abilities to the greatest extent possible. A wider scope of opportunities comes with the need for a disciplined approach to time management. The girls are expected to be more independent now. This would be the most difficult transition as a parent learning to 'let go' and allowing them to learn from mistakes.  
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Liz Hallifax (Grace, Year 5)

When we decided to send our daughter to the Early Learning Centre at MGGS we knew that she was going to receive a broad education in a nurturing environment. As she transitioned through Morris Hall, our expectations of how MGGS educates their students were consistently exceeded. Our daughter was not only taught what to learn in her academic and specialist subjects but also how to learn. This how was about strength of character, self-confidence and belief, and kindness to others.

What I didn’t expect was the learning that I would also embark on as a parent! The wonderful teaching staff and community at MGGS have taught me how to support our daughter’s education with patience and consistent messaging in our home environment. The hardest and most satisfying learning for me so far is slowly letting go of the reins and allowing our daughter’s independence to flourish.

As our daughter embarks on her final year at Wildfell, I have confidence and certainty that she is prepared for all the opportunities and challenges that will present to her in Year 7 and beyond.
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Sally Liu (Alannah, Year 6)

Senior Years

As a family with a daughter at each end of the Senior Years journey – 9 and 12, 2022 holds important milestones both for them as students and for us as parents. Time truly has passed quickly, far from the years of babies, toddlers, tantrums and pre-teen conundrums, we are now supporting young adults in their learning and development, sometimes knowing what we are doing and sometimes making it up as best we can!

Watching our girls learn through every stage of their education has been a joy. Most importantly, their time at MGGS has provided a determination for reflection and contemplation and the development of resilient, strong and focused young people.
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Nalini and Thomas Moore (Mena Year 12 and Lali Year 9)

Year 10 already! It feels as though we have ‘lost’ the last two years, but I am so conscious of the support our girls have had to continue learning and growing. Classroom learning is at the heart of the School, but we have loved that there is so much more to be found. Programs that help Annabel grow and flourish as a leader, learn how to argue for the issues she feels passionate about, express her creativity and have opportunities to contribute to her community are all such important stepping stones for flourishing in her life within and beyond the School. Term 1 saw Annabel find paid work and juggle shifts with schoolwork, boarding house life, sport and other responsibilities.  And loving it.  

For us, boarding adds an extra layer of learning to Annabel’s experiences.  Amanda and Kerrie create an environment that she loves and a community within which she continues to grow. Learning to navigate friendships across the year levels, build her independence and find her own unique style amongst so many are all part of life in the boarding house.  

And there has been learning about how to cope and move forward when  friendships are challenged, when your confidence takes a hit and when new friendships open up. Our girls are teenagers in a time when social media is ever present in their lives and they are having to learn discernment, the importance of questioning everything and how to be true to themselves whilst navigating the ‘never ending scroll’. There has probably never been a more important time for ‘learning’ to be broad and holistic and, for us, the School embraces this is so many ways.
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Juliet Cook (Annabel (Bel) Collins Year 10)