Rising Above and Reaching Beyond

September 26, 2025

‘Young women can lead boldly, speak clearly and act decisively, and in doing so, lift others, not diminish them...’ - Dr Leigh Hobart


Leadership is not just a title – it is a mindset, a commitment and a daily practice. How can I leave the world a better place? At Fairholme, we see leadership in motion every day – in the quiet moments of courage, the thoughtful decisions made with integrity and the acts of kindness that ripple through our community. It is happening in classrooms, on sporting fields, in boarding houses and in the hearts of students and staff who choose to lead with purpose.


This term, we are proud to welcome our new leaders: Head Girl - Bronte Callachor; Head Day Girl - Alexandra Edwards; and Head Boarder – Miranda Mann. These young women have already shown a deep commitment to our values and a readiness to serve. Their leadership journeys are just beginning, but they are already inspiring others through their authenticity, resilience and vision.


“Empowered and strengthened by female leadership…[which is] a seat at the table…kind and courageous” – Bronte Callachor.


“Nothing great is ever achieved alone.” – Alexandra Edwards.


“It is important to bring a sense of connection and belonging.” – Miranda Mann.


Their appointments follow in the footsteps of our current Head Girls – Gracie Mack, Lucy Kilner and Katie Seaby – who have led with grace, strength and a deep sense of responsibility. Whether representing our school publicly or supporting their peers behind the scenes, they have demonstrated what it means to lead with heart and humility. Their legacy is one of kindness, courage and unwavering commitment to others.


At the heart of our leadership culture is a belief that leadership is about lifting others. It’s about listening, supporting and creating space for others to thrive. Our student leaders understand that true influence comes not from authority, but from connection and service – through actions that build trust and strengthen our community.


To further support and encourage leadership potential, we are excited to announce the launch of our Emerging Leaders Scholarship. This initiative is designed to recognise and nurture students who demonstrate early leadership promise – those who show initiative, empathy and a desire to make a positive impact through service. The scholarship will provide mentoring opportunities, leadership development experiences and financial support to help these students to grow into confident, capable leaders.


Leadership is also thriving among our staff. This term, Mrs Pam Stains and Mrs Cath Butler have presented at the International Coalition of Girls’ Schools conference in New Zealand, sharing our work on relational pedagogy – a teaching philosophy that places relationships at the heart of learning. Their presentation showed Fairholme’s twenty year journey of building trust, empathy and connection shapes not only academic outcomes but the emotional wellbeing of students and others. It’s a powerful reminder that leadership in education is about curriculum founded in care.


In Australia, leadership – especially for women – can sometimes be met with hesitation or criticism. The “tall poppy syndrome,” where individuals are cut down for standing out or striving for excellence, remains a cultural challenge. But our student leaders are rising above it. They are showing that ambition, confidence and compassion are not mutually exclusive. They are proving that young women can lead boldly, speak clearly and act decisively – and that doing so lifts others, not diminishes them.


This matters more than ever. According to the Australian Workplace Gender Equality Agency (2025), women hold just 21.9% of CEO roles and have a 21.8% gender pay gap in the private sector. By empowering young women to lead now, we are helping to shift those statistics for the future. Our Head Girls are not just leading – they are role modelling what is possible.


Leadership is not always easy. It often requires making tough decisions, standing firm in values, and choosing kindness even when it is not the easiest path. But it is in these moments that true leadership is revealed – not in titles, but in actions. We see it in the student who speaks up for a peer. In the teacher who adapts a lesson to meet every learner. In the boarder who comforts a homesick friend. These everyday acts of leadership shape our culture and strengthen our community.


As we celebrate our new student leaders and honour those who have come before them, we also affirm our commitment to nurturing leadership in all its forms. We encourage our students to step forward, speak up and lead with courage. We challenge the norms that say leadership must look a certain way and instead embrace the diversity of voices, experiences and strengths that make our school vibrant.


Leadership is happening all around us. Let us continue to notice it, nurture it and celebrate it.


Dr Leigh Hobart | Principal

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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.

Exploring the End of the World

By Sarah Richardson • September 26, 2025
The 2025 Senior IMPACT Ensemble, Empire Theatre, present their self-devised new work ‘When I Think of The End’, and Year 12 Drama student, Emmi Lange, is one of the lead characters... Tell us about the character you are playing… My role is Millie Morgan. She is hosting an ‘end of the world’ theme party… literally. She has a huge secret about her parent’s evil plan to restart humanity by wiping out the human species at midnight of the party. While her parents left her alone in the house where she will see out the catastrophe, she invites a random group of classmates in order to save them from the event. How would you describe the play? The play is very funny. Whilst it uses humour, it also reveals how we treat each other as teenagers when we know the end is closer than expected and how these connections can diminish or expand once we realise our time is almost up. It mixes comedy with darkness all the while seeing the light even through the murky. What’s been the most challenging part of the whole process? The most challenging part is coming up with a single idea with a million and one sub ideas from our research. Our prompt was ‘the end of the world’. While we were in the writing process, we looked at stimulus from poetry, media, movies and TV and analysed their end of the world scenarios: supernatural, political, environmental, rich vs poor and much more. We also used sources from news and current events and many deep conversations were raised about our stance in society in relation to these topics. From here, we explored us as students in Toowoomba facing the end of the world to which created some condensed ideas for the play! How do you get into character before a performance? Before each performance, of course, there is nerves. However, overcoming this, I relay my purpose in the story. Understanding who am I? What are my values? My reactions, my opinions, my relationship with other characters? This helps me understanding what my character is saying and why. How do you and your castmates support each other on and off stage? The cast has become a tight group... like a big friend group! Like-minded, close friends. I love the cast with all their different acting styles and opinions to contribute. We frequently do group building exercises/games at the start of each rehearsal and check-ins. With the help of Grace, our director, we are well looked after and becoming close friends, we all care for each other. What have you learned about yourself through this process? I have learned throughout IMPACT the importance of working in a group. It is easy to bounce off other people and, being an extrovert, I love working around other like-minded people. Another thing is for my character, she faces many reactions to everyone finding out the end is near and two very different energies contrasting from the beginning to the end of the performance. So, through this, I have learnt how to distinctively differentiate my reactions and how I say my lines to project my feeling towards the end of the world situation which isn’t an easy skill. For example trying to hide this huge secret from a group of people but project to the audience my anxiety towards this big revelation VS the end of the play when everyone knows. Is drama something you would like to pursue after school? Drama has been a dream for me since I was in Year 5 when I started Speech and Drama lessons. Whether its on the movie screen or on a small stage, I want to pursue my love for entertaining through performing. Wherever this takes me, I will enjoy every bit of it if I’m acting. I have started applying for drama schools for next year. Any advice for someone who wants to get into an impact play? My advice for wanting to apply for IMPACT is to be prepared to contribute immense ideas and writing. Writing has never been my strong suit but coming to IMPACT I’m able to get assistance and corroborate ideas with others to grow my ideas. Therefore, don’t be discouraged if writing isn’t your best talent, because like me, IMPACT will help grow your creative writing skills. Tickets are on sale now for the October performance of ‘When I Think of the End’ at the Empire Theatre starring Fairholme’s very own Emmi Lange, Adeline Hamilton and Eliza Kinniburgh.
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