Our School > Message from the Principal > Speech Night 2011 Address

Tuesday 15 November 2011

The Most Reverend Dr Phillip Aspinall, Archbishop of Brisbane and Primate of the Anglican Church of Australia,
Mother Eunice and the Sisters of the Society of the Sacred Advent,
Annabelle Chaplain, Chair of School Council and Council Members,
Professor Doune Macdonald, Deputy Chair of Council and Representative of the University of Queensland,
Amanda Lacaze, our Guest Speaker, Old Girl 1976,
The Honourable Tim Nicholls, MP, State Member for Clayfield,
Chair of the St Margaret's Foundation, Margot de Groot and Members of the Foundation Board,
President of the P&F, Catherine Cussen and the P&F Executive,
Patrons,
Invited Guests,
Colleagues on Staff,
Families and Friends,
Students,
Invited Guests,
Colleagues on Staff,
Families and Friends,
Students

Tonight gives us the opportunity to recognise the outstanding achievements of so many of our students in our school. It is with pleasure that I invite our student leaders of 2011 forward to be acknowledged:

Sports Captains - Holly Hoskins, Phoebe Giffard
Arts Captains - Lucy Bardsley, Isabella Hawker
Cultural & Community Captains - Victoria Drysdale , Alexandra Smith
International Captains - Eun Joo (Rachel) Lee, Suki Zhou

Sacristans - Louise Graham, Emily Rowe

House Captains
Bede: Rachel Lister, Caitlin Nock
Chaucer: Amelie Groves, Rachel Haines
Herrick: Beryl Friday, Avalon Kelly-Austin
Kendall: Georgia Gunn, Georgie Robinson
Lawson: Lily Davidson, Gemma Ferrier
Milton: Tahlia Knowles, Phoebe Marples
Spenser: Talia Castellaro, Annabel Ferrier
Tennyson: Charlotte Boyd, Alison Prowse

Boarder Captains - Camilla Glasser, Amelia Ferrier

Prefects - Elizabeth-Rose Ahearn, Charlotte Boyd, Natassja Dasios, Lily Davidson, Gemma Ferrier, Amanda Goh, Fei Xue (Fei Fei) Jin, Rachel Lister, Annabel McGagh, Caitlin Nock, Georgina Papworth, Alison Prowse, Emma Smith.

School Captains - Annabelle Douglas, Dipti Shankar

Please join with me in congratulating our 2011 Year 12 leaders for their quality leadership of the school this year - and particularly our School Captains, Annabelle Douglas and Dipti Shankar, who have both been outstanding role models for younger students.

I now invite the senior leaders for 2012 forward. We congratulate these girls on their appointment and are confident that these young women also will be fine examples for all of us.

2012 Captains
Sports Captains: Kate Savage & Rebecca Taylor
Arts Captains: Anna Fryer & Courtney Moore
Cultural & Community Captains: Natalie Charlton & Rachael Augustyn
International Captains: Lin Choi & Haruka Udagawa

Sacristans: Hannah Bardsley, Tanya Bell, Jessica Holmes

House Captains:
Bede: Kate Flint & Lucy Warriner
Chaucer: Amy Biggs-Tsoubos & Kathleen Elmer
Herrick: Olivia Modin & Grace Harris
Kendall: Georgia Bloxsom & Claudia Gunn
Lawson: Dana Sherwood & Amelia Viner
Milton: Prudence Edwards & Caitlin Page
Spenser: Lucinda Everson & Evangeline Shaw
Tennyson: Eloise Bowman & Madeline Schylder

Boarder Captains: Meg Grieve & Hilary Wood

Prefects: Maddison Bowyer, Natalie Charlton, Prudence Edwards, Lucinda Everson, Anna Fryer, Claudia Gunn, Courtney Moore, Jessica Peacock, Hannah Savage, Madeline Schlyder, Evangeline Shaw, Isabelle Slipper, Gemma Tapp, Hilary Wood

School Captains: Harriet Adcock & Betsy Rutledge

Thank you girls and we wish the entire Year 11 cohort all the best for 2012.

Tonight is quite history making in terms of generation change in society, because our graduating Year 12 students are members of one of the earliest groups of the Generation Z to graduate from St Margaret's and indeed all schools everywhere. A quick search about the attributes of Generation Z will not reveal many positive qualities; in fact they have been described none too kindly as being savvy, spoilt, cashed up, socially inept, individualistic, impatient, mentally indolent and favouring speed over accuracy.

What is the world to do with Generation Z?

My research reminds me of that famous quote attributed to Socrates by Plato about the poor behaviour of youth in ancient times. I am sure that many of you have heard that quote about disrespectful children who have bad manners, contempt for authority, contradict their parents, chatter before company and tyrannise their teachers.

I prefer the quote from about 740 years ago attributed to Peter the Hermit in 1274. He wrote:
"The world is passing through troubled times. The young people of today think of nothing but themselves. They have no reverence for parents or old age. They are impatient of all restraint. They talk as if they knew everything, and what passes for wisdom with us, is foolishness with them. As for the girls, they are forward, immodest and unladylike in speech, behaviour and dress."

Could Peter the Hermit be describing Generation Z?

Generation Z (also known as Generation M, the Net Generation, the I Generation, or the silent or quiet generation) refers to that group of people born from about 1994 through to 2010. Making up about 18% of the world's population, they are the children of Generation X (or the youngest of Baby Boomers and oldest of Generation Y) The next generation, that is, those born from 2010 onwards is now being called the Alpha generation. So it is that Generation Z has ended the alphabet for us. Will they, however, end for us society as we know it?

Members of generation Z are highly connected - they do not know a life before the internet and their lives are being shaped by technology and social networking. Online almost 24/7 these students are highly dependent on communication and media technologies. They communicate at a rapid pace and as they are used to the instant results that technology provides, they are thought to be very impatient They are the most educated of all generations but do not really need to know anything because google is their friend.

Generation Z has developed an adult mindset earlier than any other generation and their lives have had much more structure than previous generations. Their leisure time has been structured around numerous sports training, music lessons, dance lessons, homework, structured play with friends and quality family time. They have been taught responsibility and, as opposed to previous generations, to be more aware of and have more concerns about their personal safety (but only physically, not online). Because of this they are more inclined to the virtual world and as a result are thought to have more individualistic and agoraphopic tendencies.

We know that Generation Zeds do not have to meet someone in order to have a relationship with them. Relationships on Facebook are as real to them as any other. Given the significance of virtual social networking Generation Zedders are thought to have poor interpersonal skills. They have been accused of not being team players but rather self-directed and indeed self-absorbed. They are not interested in listening to others and certainly not interested in compromising- they will just speak their mind, particularly in cyberspace. With strong opinions, they do not take suggestions well. Despite being prepared to participate in massive online communities, this generation values their privacy; their own persona is important to them and they may consider living with others as an intrusion in life.

Parents, does this describe anyone you know?

Having said all this, I feel comfortable that the world is in good hands with this next generation - I have observed that Generation Z have the skills, particularly the leadership skills, the right attitude and the knowledge about effective communication to solve some of the more complex problems previous generations have created for them.

In my mind, I see a generation that is more educated, more socially aware, technologically savvy and generally more adult in many ways than any other generation.

I see students who believe that ONE person can make a difference to this world and that it could be them. There is little doubt, that as children in smaller families with older parents, they have developed a sense of responsibility, and the subsequent leadership skills at an earlier age. They understand how social networking can be used to bring about change in a life or a circumstance - and they will use that skill and power. I have witnessed the students of St Margaret's this last year assisting each other and thinking of those less fortunate. It has been most inspiring. Often it is our youth who put into action values that we have instilled in them - but have failed to act on ourselves. Therefore, I believe that society is in good hands.

I see young people who have well developed social skills and very much value their connections to their friends above all else. They are collaborative. I have seen no evidence that they are lacking in interpersonal skills. I do believe, however, that they are not given to pretence and they have a high expectation that the only people they are prepared to spend time with in their lives are those who are prepared to accept them unconditionally.

They are sophisticated and savvy - they know their parents cannot help them with everything and so respect for authority is not a huge value in their life. They know they alone can only troubleshoot their safety online and that parents and teachers do not understand this medium. They also know that corporations and government will not be able to provide solutions to the complex problems of the world, because they know that government inaction and a lack of commitment from corporations in the past helped to cause some of these problems. As the most environmentally-aware generation to enter the workforce, Generation Z are ready to adapt and face this challenge.

Generation Z are the ultimate multitaskers, able to process information faster than anyone. Multitasking is like breathing for them - a long, boring project is like depriving them of oxygen. They have left the ways of the linear thinking world behind; they have the skills to think creatively and be innovative. They know that the real answers can be found in the shades of grey and they can live happily with this ambiguity.

There are definitely concerns about Generation Z, which I think are real, about the erosion of childhood and their long term health; technologically literate they have access to information which is not suitable for children and they have been exposed to marketing a lot earlier. Young children today are exploited and turned into consumers at a very young age. They are more anxious than the generations before them with more adult worries. They are exposed to all the fears we all live with - not just the big fears like terrorism and adults who harm children but the little fears we have instilled in them through an obsession with occupational health and safety, risk aversion and the pressure to achieve.

They have certainly grown up faster and I hope Generation Z can apply their creativity to solve their problems too.

Nevertheless for me, I find Generation Z inspiring, sure, not without their faults, but which generation has no faults?

I wish all Baby Boomers, Generation X and Generation Y, the ability to respond to the change that Generation Z will suredly wreak upon the world. And to our Year 12 graduates, the vanguard of Generation Z, remember the values instilled in you by your parents and your school as you make you mark on the world - making it a better place for everyone.

Thank you.

Ros Curtis
Principal