12 Seconds

March 18, 2021

What’s 12 seconds worth? If you were asked to wait for 12 seconds to receive your take-away coffee…

What’s 12 seconds worth? If you were asked to wait for 12 seconds to receive your take-away coffee, or for a red light to change to green, or the air conditioner to take effect, you’d barely flinch. For a 100 metre sprinter it’s an impressive time, though not Olympic-worthy. For most of us, though, it’s a somewhat irrelevant detail, a quick passage of time that passes, often unnoticed.


For a swimmer – particularly, a sprinter –12 seconds is monumental. Yet, it is more than the difference between first and last in a race; it is also the quantitative depiction of years of training, and a measurement of effort, work and improvement. Teacher, psychologist and author, Angela Duckworth, would describe 12 seconds of betterment in a 50-metre swimming race as a representation of ‘grit’ – ‘the passion and perseverance for very long-term goals’ (Duckworth, 2013).


Listening to this year’s Swimming Captain, Lily Seckler speak to the TSSS (Toowoomba Secondary Schools) swimmers at their dinner, was a privilege. There were lots of reasons to delight in Lily’s speech; she is a reluctant public speaker and yet her words were considered, deeply reflective and delivered with clarity and honesty. Through this, the hard work of committed swimmers – those girls who religiously inhale chlorine and form a deep attachment with early mornings and straight black lines – was recognised and acknowledged.

Of course, what any dedicated athlete learns is so much more than an improvement in technique and time. They learn that ‘it’s not the will to win that matters — everyone has that. It’s the will to prepare to win that matters.’ (American Football Coach Paul 'Bear' Bryant). The will to prepare means practice and for a swimmer that equates to hours too numerous to count.


Lily shared some of her own poolside journey – her sense of achievement in the 12 seconds that she has shaved from her 50-metre backstroke time over the past seven years. Imagine how many kilometres of swimming and how many hours of practice constitute that 12 seconds of tangible improvement. Lily also spoke of swimming in terms of perseverance, work ethic and disappointment; so much about life learning achieved is in those early morning and late afternoon daily sessions. It was the word 'disappointment' that struck me the most. Lessons in disappointment are hard to manage for us all but they can also drive us on to betterment of ourselves and our achievements. When we apply Duckworth’s grit and allow ourselves to learn disappointment, we allow ourselves to learn growth.


As a researcher, Angela Duckworth went with her team to West Point Military College to predict which cadets would stay in the Defence forces and which wouldn’t; they studied beginning teachers in difficult schools to see who would persevere and who wouldn’t, and they even went to the National Spelling Bee to see if they could predict those who would advance furthest in the competition (Duckworth et. al. 2013). Their findings? The most significant predictor of success was not IQ, physical health or social intelligence, it was … grit. Stanford University lecturer and researcher, Dr Carol Dweck, refers to the application of grittiness as developing a growth mindset. The term itself has had a lot of focus, particularly in the burgeoning field of positive psychology, but that doesn’t diminish its relevance.


Last week, Fairholme girls lined the path for our TSSS swimmers as they headed to their interschool competition. These tartan-clad well-wishers were there vocally willing each swimmer on to her best performance, but more than that, they were, consciously or not, celebrating grit, hard work and perseverance, or, in Dweck’s language, they were acknowledging the effects of a growth mindset. Twelve seconds makes a huge difference in a 50-metre swimming race.



Of greater significance, in the life arena, is the immeasurable value of a work ethic established through perseverance and, perhaps of even greater importance, the ability to grow through disappointment. Here’s a nod to our athletes, musicians and academics who model, live and flourish through their commitment to practice, and their willingness to move their own skill levels far beyond that which is easily accomplished.

Twelve seconds can reveal a great deal about us, and matter far more than we imagine. Yes, 12 seconds can represent so much more than a delay in a take-away coffee service.


Dr Linda Evans | Principal


References

Duckworth, A. (2013). TED Talk Transcript of ‘Grit: The power of passion and perseverance’

Ted Talk video ›


More News…

Making Campdraft History

By Sarah Richardson • October 7, 2025
Fairholme's Campdraft team made history over the Spring holidays as the first all girls' school to ever take out the win! Ten Fairholme girls, captained by Abbey Gordon and Charlotte Mailler, competed in the Ariat High School Campdraft Percentile Cup, earning the top team spot with an impressive average of 87 points. With 39 schools represented in the Pittsworth event and more than 500 first-round runs, this was no small feat by the team. Each girl rode beautifully, showing true skill, teamwork, and sportsmanship. There were so many comments about what a classy victory it was.

Fairholme Netball Shoots and Scores in 2025

By Sarah Richardson • September 26, 2025
With 29 teams and more than 300 girls stepping onto the court this year, Fairholme’s netball program has enjoyed a hugely successful 2025 season. From the very first pass to the final whistle of the season, Fairholme was a dominant force in the Saturday Association competition. Seven teams earned their place in the Grand Finals, with five of them claiming the titles: > Cadet Intermediate A Champions – Junior Vicki Wilson 1 > Cadet C Champions – Fairholme Cadet White > Cadet Intermediate D Champions – Fairholme Junior Development > 13B Champions – Fairholme 13 Navy > 12B Champions – Fairholme 12 Gold Adding to this impressive tally, we celebrated two runner-up finishes with 13 Gold in the 13A division and 11 Gold in the 11B division. The success didn’t stop there. On Wednesday nights, all four Fairholme teams powered through to the Semi Finals, with three advancing to the Grand Finals. > Division 1 Champions – Senior Vicki Wilson 1 > Division 2 Runner-Ups – Senior Vicki Wilson 2 > Division 3 Champions – Junior Vicki Wilson 1 And at the Darling Downs Vicki Wilson Carnival, Fairholme once again stood tall. Both our Senior and Junior Vicki Wilson 1 teams qualified for the prestigious State Finals – one of only two schools in the region to do so. Against 24 of Queensland’s top school netball teams, our girls shone with our Junior Vicki Wilson 1 team finishing an incredible fourth, and the Seniors going undefeated through the pool rounds before finishing sixth overall. Our youngest athletes also made their mark. At the Andrews Cup Primary School Netball Carnival, the Senior A team were crowned A Division champions, showing that the future of Fairholme netball is just as exciting as the present. Of course, none of this would have been possible without the many people who support Fairholme Netball behind the scenes. This year, 21 of our own students took on the important role of umpiring across the season. Reflecting on the season, our Fairholme Netball Co-ordinator, Lis Irwin shared, ‘To see so many of our girls not only reaching finals, but also competing and succeeding at state level, is a testament to their hard work and love of the game. We’re so proud of every player, coach, and supporter who has helped make 2025 such a great year for Fairholme Netball.’ With so much talent rising through the ranks, Fairholme’s netball future looks brighter than ever.

Relational Pedagogy: The Heart of School Culture, Learning and Wellbeing

By Sarah Richardson • September 26, 2025
On Friday 9 September, our Head of Teaching and Learning, Pam Stains, and our Head of Faith and Wellbeing, Cath Butler, were invited to present a session at the International Coalition of Girls’ Schools Symposium highlighting an important element of the Fairholme culture: Relational Pedagogy. At Fairholme, we believe that learning begins with relationship. That when a girl feels safe, seen, and supported, she is far more likely to flourish - not just academically, but emotionally and socially too. This belief isn’t just a nice idea; it’s a lived reality, reflected in the feedback from staff and students collected through interviews and surveys conducted by Professor Andrew Hickey from UniSQ in 2024. We’ve long worked in the “with” quadrant of Ted Wachtel’s social discipline window - doing things with students, not to or for them. However, a few years ago, we noticed something. While our restorative approach was helping resolve conflict, it often came too late. Teachers were feeling stretched, and students - especially in moments of challenge - needed more than resolution. They needed connection and they needed skills. This aligned with research supporting the idea that our students have varying levels of skill in demonstrating empathy or engaging with others using social and emotional intelligence, and therefore have varying ability or desire to resolve conflict restoratively. It’s not a will problem, this is a skill problem. So we asked ourselves: what could help staff to enhance the skill level of students struggling to meet expectations, whilst still strengthening connection and building relationships? That question led us to Dr Ross Greene’s Collaborative and Proactive Solutions (CPS). CPS is a gentle, trauma-aware approach that sees behaviour not as defiance, but as communication. A child who struggles isn’t choosing to misbehave, they’re lacking the skills to meet expectations and communicating this in a variety of ways, using behaviour that will either frustrate us or engender empathy. And so, instead of reacting, we slow down. We listen. We work with them to understand what’s hard, to build the skills they need, and see the change. To strengthen this approach in the college, in 2025, twelve staff members joined a CPS pilot program. These staff were offered professional learning time to train, reflected, and practise and what they found was remarkable. Relationships deepened, classrooms became calmer, students began to take ownership - not just of their behaviour, but of their learning. Teachers felt more regulated, more connected, and more hopeful. Instead of asking what’s wrong, in this approach, we seek to ask: what’s hard? What skills might be lagging? What expectations are difficult to meet? It’s a small shift, but it’s changing the way we see our girls, and the way they see themselves. Students are not problems. Rather, we collaborate, and become problem solvers together. Of course, it’s not always easy. CPS takes time. It asks us to stay curious longer, to resist the urge to fix, and to trust the process. But the rewards are real. From 2026, our staff training will evolve to include both Restorative Practices and CPS—under the banner of Relational Pedagogy. Because at Fairholme, we’re not just teaching content, we’re building skills now and into the future. And, we’re doing it together, with collaboration, and enjoyment.
All News