Insights

By Miss Ellena Papas, Dean of Co-curriculum ‘The music is not in the notes, but in the silence between.’ —Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart In Japanese aesthetics, there is the most beautiful concept, known so simply, as ‘ma’. Translated to ‘negative space’, ‘ma’ is that space between the walls of a building, the white between the lines of a drawing, the silence between the sounds in music. It is not form, yet form cannot exist without ‘ma’; it is almost a philosophical statement—what is darkness, but the absence of light? It is what the person in the building, the person admiring the picture or the person listening to music experiences, and without it, there would be chaos. In music, silence can take us on an emotional journey in almost any direction. We can find the building of incredible tension, the utter heartbreak of indescribable beauty, a sense of anticipation or the shock of surprise; the possibilities are endless, and…

Dr Belinda Burns, Director of Communications and Engagement, discusses the the nature of the School's community, comprising teachers, professional staff and parents united in the common purpose of educating tomorrow's generation of women.

Mr Paul Holley OAM, Acting Director of Instrumental Music, spoke to students about the ensemble's ability to provide skills of collaboration, discipline, commitment and resilience, while building a community of like-minded learners.

Ms Catrin Huxtable, Director of Mathematics, reflects on the skills of reasoning, perseverance, logic and creativity, and how they can be applied in contexts ranging from the Mathematics classroom to a dirt road in Zambia.

Mr Andrew Pennay, Director of Creative Arts, challenges nine commonly held beliefs about the creative process, and shares tips on how to develop novel, useful and truly creative ideas.