Matthew Flinders Girls Secondary College

utlook on life, to strive for a better tomorrow and to keep learning. The girls at Matthew Flinders refer to themselves as a ‘sisterhood’. For our students, the concept of ‘sisterhood’ underlines the strong relationships and encouraging, supportive environment that our girls value. As a learning community we believe that our single s*x environment is an outstanding educational setting for girls. At a time in life when girls are particularly sensitive and potentially uncertain about their place in the world and how they appear to others, a girls-only environment provides them with the best chance to resist stereotypes and to develop a strong sense of identity and self-worth. The idea of a ‘Matthew Flinders Sisterhood’ is a key descriptor of what we offer – a supportive and focused learning environment for each girl at a critical time in her pathway to adulthood. Mission Statement

In our Mission Statement we attempt to capture in a few words the broad aims of our community: Matthew Flinders Girls’ Secondary College is a learning community that challenges and supports young women to develop as independent and lifelong learners, continually striving for excellence. In other words MFGSC is a vibrant learning community serving the aspirations of girls. Surrounded by a supportive ‘sisterhood,’ our young women aim to achieve excellent learning outcomes and develop qualities of character that will enrich their own lives and impact positively on the lives of others. Values Statements

The ideas conveyed in our Mission Statement are developed in more detail in the following values statements:

The Matthew Flinders ‘Sisterhood’, the staff who serves it and the parent community who supports it:

Encourage and empower every girl to be the best she can be
Embrace learning, thinking and a sense of curiosity
Believe that hard work and academic success are possible for everyone
Celebrate individual and collective achievement
Expect honesty and integrity in all aspects of life
Nurture the qualities of compassion, courage and service
Foster optimism and joy and a sense of hope for the future
Promote the importance of confidence and resilience
Provide an environment of security, support and understanding
Value teamwork and admire independent thinking
Celebrate and respect individual difference and diversity
Respect the wisdom and opinion of parents/guardians
Expectations

We are very aware that students and parents have expectations of the school that we need to meet. You need to be confident in the academic standards of the school – and we are confident that you can be. You need to be confident that we are able to guide and support your daughter’s career aspirations – and we do that to the best of our ability. You need to be confident that we are effective educators and that your daughter’s talents can be encouraged and developed – and, certainly, that is our aim. However, our Mission and Value Statements indicate that we want to provide much more than that. Each of our students is much more important than the sum of her achievements or the appeal of her career prospects. Who she is and the person she is becoming over her lifetime are what matter most. Of course we have expectations of our parents, too, because we cannot provide the best opportunities for our girls without your support, your questions and your wise advice. We welcome the partnership of parents in our endeavours and confidently expect that with good communication and mutual respect between all of us, our girls will have the greatest chance to become the very best that they can be.