Appointment of New Principal
To all members of the Shelford Girls' Grammar Community.
It is with great pleasure that I announce the appointment of Mrs. Polly Flanagan to the position of Principal of Shelford Girls' Grammar effective from 1 January 2010. Currently Director of Leadership at Melbourne Grammar School, Mrs. Flanagan was selected from a large number of highly qualified applicants from Australia and overseas. The Board of Governors is confident that under her leadership the school will build on the strong culture that has been inherited from our current much-respected Principal, Mrs. Pam Chessell, who leaves us after 18 years.
Mrs. Flanagan was born and raised in Tasmania, and attended the University of Tasmania in Hobart where she gained a Bachelor of Arts and a Diploma of Education. Subsequently she gained a Post Graduate Diploma of Educational Administration, and a Master of Education, both from Melbourne University. After graduation she taught for seven years in a number of coeducational high schools in Tasmania and during that time took a year off to travel through Asia and Europe. On transferring to Melbourne with her husband and two small children, she became Head of History and Politics at Yeshiva College. This gave her the opportunity to teach in segregated classes thus reinforcing her understanding of the different teaching methods and learning styles required for boys and girls. With that understanding, Mrs. Flanagan developed a range of innovative teaching strategies.
Her first experience in a single sex girls' school was at Sacred Heart Girls' College where she worked as Head of History, Director of Staff and then Deputy Principal. This is a large 900-strong Roman Catholic school with a solid academic reputation. Here she became very involved in pastoral care in particular. It was here that she began to understand the importance of strong relationships across the whole school community.
In 2002, she was appointed to a newly-created position at Presbyterian Ladies' College called Professional Officer - Teacher Development, a position created to ensure the highest standards of leadership and management in the school. She was able to win the trust of staff as she proceeded to implement a new approach to management and professional development.
After three years at PLC she was personally selected by the Headmaster of Melbourne Grammar School to take up the newly-created position of Director of Leadership. This involved developing an innovative new programme to embed a culture of leadership in staff and students. This required her to be involved in marketing and public relations, and to work with staff, students, parents, old boys and the community. She undertook a great deal of public speaking to explain her belief that leadership is the way one behaves and thinks, and handles conflict.
Mrs. Flanagan has taught in all educational sectors - government, Catholic, Jewish and independent. She has taught in coeducational, segregated and single sex boys' and girls' schools. She has coached sporting teams and directed drama productions. Mrs. Flanagan is certainly committed to the education of girls in an all girls environment; her own daughters were educated thus. "Girls have a number of important needs which include security, self-esteem, identity, and a sense of connectedness. They thrive in a supportive environment where...their capacity to lead and grow is nurtured.....Excellence in the education of girls encourages each student to have the courage to take risks and the confidence to draw on her talents and to discover and develop new horizons.", she writes.
Our new Principal believes students succeed when there is a cohesive team of high quality teachers, strong relationships, and a school community bound by a common vision. She has been described variously as a born leader and manager, someone who is very intuitive with high emotional intelligence, an outstanding educator, and much respected. She writes: "I am passionate about education and committed to ensuring that students and staff in my care have first class educational experiences."
Mrs. Flanagan, an Anglican, is married to Mr. Martin Flanagan, a writer, and they have two adult daughters aged 25 and 27 whom she describes as the key successes in her life so far. She is a member of the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority Board, has been a volunteer with the Red Cross and the Salvation Army, and supports Oxfam, Save the Children and Amnesty International. She balances a busy work schedule with entertaining her friends, listening to music and traveling.
We will welcome Mrs. Polly Flanagan to the Shelford Girls' Grammar community as the Principal in 2010.
Yours sincerely,
(Archdeacon) Philip Newman OAM
Chair of the Board of Governors of Shelford Girls' Grammar
May 29, 2009
Mrs. Polly Flanagan
B.A., Dip. Ed, Grad. Dip. Ed. Admin., M.Ed.
