In this episode of Dare to Be More, host Anthony Perl speaks with Principal Lisa Moloney and Deputy Principal Melissa Boyd about MLC School's approach to developing the "whole girl" through a balanced education that extends beyond academics.

Lisa and Melissa explain the school's guiding principle that "the MLC School girl is at the heart of everything we do," and how this shapes decision-making across all aspects of school life. Melissa, who oversees co-curricular programs, camps, immersions, and service learning, describes how these opportunities help students develop both competence and confidence.

The conversation explores MLC School's extensive co-curricular program, which offers over 80 different activities ranging from music and sports to robotics and cadets. Melissa shares how these programs evolve based on student interests, highlighting the school's new all-girls cadet unit—one of only three in Australia—where "girls lead girls" in developing leadership skills.

Lisa discusses the school's renowned music program and how participation in activities like music helps build community, develop persistence, and teach students that improvement comes through practice and dedication. Both educators emphasize that involvement in diverse activities not only creates well-rounded individuals but often leads to stronger academic outcomes.

The episode concludes with Lisa and Melissa sharing their personal interpretations of the school's motto, "Dare to Be More," describing it as both an invitation to try new things at the individual level and a call to action that permeates the entire school community.

Welcome to Dare to Be More the podcast from NLC

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School in Burwood, Sydney.

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Today we are focusing on whole girl

education with our special guest,

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Lisa Maloney, principal of MLC

School and Deputy Principal Mel Boyd.

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In this episode, you'll discover how

MLC school's extensive co-curricular

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program develops well-rounded students.

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The connection between co-curricular

involvement and academic success,

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as well as why balance is essential

for nurturing mind, body, and soul.

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MLC School is committed to empowering

young women to become confident,

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compassionate, and courageous

leaders who dare to be more.

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I'm your host, Anthony Pearl.

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Let's begin today's conversation.

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Well, hello everyone and welcome to

another episode of Dare to Be More.

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I am delighted to have both Lisa

and Melissa with me here today.

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Why don't we start with you, Lisa,

and do another quick introduction.

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I know people would've heard you

on the first episode, but let's

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tell everyone again who you are.

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I'm Lisa Maloney and I'm

the principal of MLC School.

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This is my eighth year and I

absolutely love it, so I'm very happy

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to be back with you again today.

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Fantastic.

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And Mel, why don't you do the honors

of introducing yourself to everybody?

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For sure.

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Hi, it's nice to meet you.

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I'm Mel Boyd.

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I'm the deputy principal

here at MLC School and I am

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partway through my third year.

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I think this is going to be a really

interesting episode for everyone listening

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in, because this is getting to the

heart of who the school's all about.

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It's about the girls, isn't it?

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I mean, that's the, that's where it

all begins and ends, doesn't it, Lisa?

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It does, and in fact, I, I love the

fact that you gave me a lead in there

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around heart because when we were working

on our strategic planning quite a few

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years ago, actually, we're trying, we're

wrestling with what is this all about?

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What's, how do we describe

what MLC is about?

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We came up with this phrase, I guess,

that the MLC school girl is at the heart

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of everything we do, and that's carried

on into the next strategic planning

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period because it's proved to be a

really good test for us at all times.

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As we talk about the future of the school,

as we talk about decision making, even

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when we talk about budget, it becomes,

well, are we putting the girl at the heart

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of this decision when we come back to it?

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That's what we're here for.

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So yes, that heart part is absolutely

key, and it obviously speaks to.

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I guess just the practicalities, but

there's also that passion for making

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sure the girls are cared for is where

that heart metaphor also resounds.

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I think that's certainly been very

obvious to me in talking to lots of people

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connected with the school, that heart

is very much at the center of things.

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Absolutely.

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And to I guess from that.

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Has evolved, I guess, approach to teaching

and learning and also to wellbeing

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and, and our pastoral care programs.

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All of that is framed around how, how

do we make sure that this is true?

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How do we make sure that we look

after her heart as well as her

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head and her spirit, and all the

other parts that are so important?

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And that's where Mel's job is

critical in the deputy principal role.

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She takes the lead in making

sure and keeping us honest in

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that space and looking at how

our programs and opportunities

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support that very important goal.

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Mel, I'd love you to jump in there as well

with your impressions of things, because

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I think it's also important, actually, you

bring an interesting point there, Lisa.

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I don't think people understand what a

deputy actually does, so I think it's

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also important to understand that, 'cause

we kind of have this notion of what a

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principal does at the head of things.

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Mm-hmm.

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But where does the deputy fit in?

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Because this is an important part of it.

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I'd love someone to

explain it to me as well.

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No, in all in ness.

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I think when I describe what I

do, it no day is the same, which

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is what a fantastic job that is.

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But I really talk about beyond

the curriculum a lot of the time.

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And the programs that I have direct

responsibility for looking after

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include our co-curricular, our camps

service, and all of those activities

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that can bring a lot of character

and opportunities to our girls.

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And when I talk about.

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Our responsibility as leaders and what I'm

hoping to curate in the programs that we

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offer is that combination of what we're

trying to develop in the girls, which is

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that perfect mix of competence and their

self-efficacy and belief in what they

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know and can do and their confidence.

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So that ability to generally dare more

to take those measured risks and extend

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themselves in whatever passionate pursuit

that they put their heart and mind to.

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So that's what we are here to cater for.

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I mean, talk to me a little bit about

the co-curricular aspect of it and

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what that actually means for the girls.

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Yeah.

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I, I, I sort of lose a bit of sleep when

I think about how much we have on offer,

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and if you were to count together all of

the different aspects of that, whether

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it's music programs, debating and orry,

academic giftedness programs, our sport,

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there's so many things that we could do.

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There's actually 80 plus different

activities on offer here.

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I think when you think about that concept

of the girl at the heart, it's really

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making sure that whoever she's, whatever

she loves, there's an opportunity

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for her to engage in those pursuits.

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So some of those activities

exist within the school day.

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So we have student developed lunchtime

clubs, and I'm thinking about, one pops

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to mind is Craft Club, which is a group of

students who really like craft, who got a

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very small budget and they gather together

once a week to create and connect.

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But what that's turned into is actually

the service club, and they're creating

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and connecting, but doing that now with

heart and purpose to serve the community.

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I know a few weeks ago.

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Their craft activity was to decorate

cupcakes, but now they decorate

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cupcakes for a local nursing home.

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So they're expanding their little club

and growing it and finding their purpose

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together, which is so beautiful to watch.

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Can I jump in the mail?

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'cause what I love about that is

that's the mission in action as well.

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So I guess we talk about them being

agents of change in the their own

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lives and the lives of others.

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And I love the fact that just from

what seems to be a simple thing

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of just a student initiated group,

that they grow along that path.

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Actually demonstrate that very

thing that we're wanting to do

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in the world as a school and

community, very much student driven.

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Those clubs is well as staff will,

will be sort of the guide on the side

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rather than the stage on the stage and

really just facilitates those programs.

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But outside of that we have

our formal offerings as well.

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And those are programs led

and delivered by school staff.

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So, Al May Lisa, you might wanna talk a

little bit about our world renowned music

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program and some of the offerings there.

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Oh, and I must say, when I was thinking

about coming to MLC School as a musician,

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this was one of the things that was very

much at the heart of my decision making

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was the school's reputation for music.

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And getting here the quality of what we

produce is absolutely astonishing, but

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it's also the breadth, and I guess it

comes back to this, making sure there's

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a place for every girl who wishes.

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Be musical to explore music,

to have that opportunity.

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So you see it, you know there's the

rock band and there's the, but then

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you've got your chamber orchestra.

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You've got your year one strings, but

you've got your un audition choir.

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So there's all these

different opportunities.

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And music making is so community building.

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In fact, we have our first

old girls choir rehearsal.

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So our old girls have decided that music

was such a foundational part of their

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experience right across the years that

they're coming back tonight for the

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first rehearsal of the MLC School All

Girls Union Choir under the direction

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of one of our, one of our former

students who is now a staff member.

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So music is just a key part of

what we do for many, many reasons.

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The link to academic success, of course,

is important, but it's about community.

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It's about finding your tribe, finding

people that have similar interests to you.

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Daring to be more, yeah, nothing

is more, more challenging I don't

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think, than standing on a stage and

performing with a musical instrument.

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You know, all those practice hours and

so on, kick in and the muscle memory

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means that you usually do perform well.

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But yeah, sometimes maybe you don't

and that's a lesson in itself.

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But yeah, music is huge and you have,

you hear the passion in my voice

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because it was part of my reason for

coming and continues to be part of my

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reason for loving the school so much.

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It's so wonderful that people find

their place, and even from a staff

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point of view as well as the students

themselves, you know that they find

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what is their passion and what drives

them and gives them an outlet for that.

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Because I think too often school can be

thought of as just about math, science,

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English, and it's not about that.

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It's about so much more and pursuing

passions that can sometimes lead

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to careers as well, can't they?

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I mean.

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Lisa, there's plenty of people that

find these little things and then

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it turns into something more because

it's been driven by a little club.

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Abso absolutely, and I think that's

one of the great joys of watching

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girls, you know, as they grow

and they find new opportunities.

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And one that's growing in for

us at the moment is this stem

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engineering robotics space.

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And I can see in the future those girls

coming back to us and telling us about

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these careers they have pursued in.

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In related fields.

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'cause let's face it, we really dunno

what those, some of those fields

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may be in the future because that

space is evolving so, so quickly.

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But I can see that yes, that there's

just so many opportunities for them to

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take that knowledge and that willingness

to try new things and take risks.

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And I guess if we're being cliche,

dare to be more in that space, into

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the world beyond, and then apply

that to whatever opportunities come

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and as you say, potentially careers.

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So, yep.

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Very exciting to think about all the

possible pathways that they might take.

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And Lisa, that's a big list of 80

odd active of co-curricular activ.

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Um, that is huge.

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But I suppose there's, there's always

room for more as well, isn't there?

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Oh, so when will we get anything done?

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You know, I, I would actually

probably counter that with what we're

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trying to do here is not necessarily

keep adding more, but just to keep

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refining that list of activities

to really reflect student interest.

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So picking up on what

Lisa said about robotics.

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Robotics started here as RoboCup, which

is very much a junior school focus.

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And it's not so much about the driving

of the robots, but the building of the

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robots and that small group of girls that

started in junior school a few years ago

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have pursued that passion relentlessly.

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And the demand is now there

that we move into the big girl

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robotics, the competitions, which.

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Not only are we designing and

programming and building, but we

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also now have to drive and compete

in competitions with our robots.

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So it's really exciting to watch

their passion grow and as we add more

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in robotics, there might be another

activity that might cease to continue

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because that's not as relevant

for our girls in this day and age.

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So it's curating and listening

to our community on their next.

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Point of interest is, and at the same

time, there will be activities that

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we will always run because they're

always going to be a feature, and

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that's some of our sport programs.

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One area that I think something

that we're super proud of at

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the moment is our cadet unit.

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So we've traditionally had a coke.

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Co-educational cadet unit with the boys

school and we've made, we've did to

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be more and made that bold decision to

become an all girls unit where we see

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girls leading girls and demonstrating

that genuine leadership on the field.

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So I think that makes us the

third all girls cadet unit in

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Australia, which is super exciting.

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There was a story, one of our lead

cadets was telling me a story the other

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day about what cadets means to her.

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We're actually.

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In the middle of doing our captain

interviews, and one of the questions

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is about what was that moment for you?

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That hook.

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And she was talking about going

on an incredibly challenging hike.

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And this is a camp that she

qualified for the very few young

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people in Australia get to go to.

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And she just wanted to quit.

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And she said it was so hard.

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It's the hardest thing I've ever done.

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You know, the blisters are

there, you just wanna give up.

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But she persevered and she was

so incredibly proud of herself.

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A quiet achiever that came back in

insanely strong and she'll be heading

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up one of the leaders of our cadet

program moving into this new era.

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So it's so exciting to watch

them find themselves and.

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How, how often do we as adults get

the chance to really push ourselves

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outside our comfort zone like that,

and that's what we are here for.

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Yeah.

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I think you may make an

important point there, isn't it?

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It's now, while they're young, is

the opportunity to try different

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things and to, you know, opt in

and opt out of different things as

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they learn what they might like.

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And you don't have to be

amazing at any of them.

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You just have to enjoy it, I think is

part of the experience, isn't it, Lisa?

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Oh, absolutely.

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And the idea that.

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To get better.

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You just have to keep doing it.

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You know that, that, in fact,

there, there is no magic to

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success or, or to achievement.

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It's really about continuing, as

Mel described in the cadet setting,

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but applying those learnings to

really any aspect of life that very

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few of us just luck into something.

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It's because we set a goal, we think

about, you know, what it is that we

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need to improve and we keep doing it.

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I think that's one of the great

advantages of students being

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involved in a range of things.

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It's, they're pretty safe failure things.

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You know, if you shoot the netball

and you miss, it's really not the

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end of the world, then maybe next

time if you practice at home or after

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school, next time you'll get the shot.

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And that's just an important life lesson.

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And there's nothing magic to it.

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It's just keep going and keep trying.

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And before you know it, you can

actually do something that you couldn't.

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And that's also really important

at the micro and the macro level

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in terms of how this whole.

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This program of opportunity comes back

to the girl, her heart, her development,

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and who it is that we want her to be.

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And Mel, we talk about this sort

of well-rounded education and

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incorporating all of these things.

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And Lisa just touched on sport as well as

part of that process for, you know, giving

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people that experience of working in teams

and all of those other things that sport

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give you in terms of physical activity.

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Definitely, well, it has to

be the mind, body, and soul.

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And we know so clearly

that one can't exist.

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Well and healthly without the others.

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So it's all about the balance, and I

think the way that we really encourage

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our girls to achieve that balance.

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One example is through the spirit

of MLC award that's opened to year

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seven and eight students that actively

encourages participation in at least

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one sport doing well in your academics.

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It's really looking at

that well-balanced girl.

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That ties into neuroscience where we

know that the brain starts to prune

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neurons at that late adolescent stage.

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So the more exposure we can have to

creative pursuits and academic pursuits

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and sporting pursuits, the longer we

keep all of those neurons firing while

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she's trying to figure out her strengths.

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So we don't wanna shut them off

early by focusing on only one area.

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If we focus on academic, sure we'll get

great results, but we might not have

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well balanced individuals at the end.

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And that's why it's so important that.

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The diversity of what we offer

captures everybody, but there's

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nobody here that can't play sport.

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I'm a PE teacher by background,

and I'm highly competitive.

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However, what I'm really proud of

in our sports department is our

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unofficial motto is have a crack.

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Have a crack.

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I, we don't mind if you just wanna

play a social netball team with

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your friends or if you are going

to go to nationals for rowing.

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We just want you having that lifelong

enjoyment of physical activity,

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making connections, putting your

devices down and connecting with the

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world around you is so important.

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Knowing how to be part of a team there,

I mean there are so many possibilities

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that open up from being involved

in sport and other co-curriculars.

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Yeah.

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Well, can I jump in there?

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'cause there's something you said.

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In my experience, it's a little bit

counterintuitive in terms of you would

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think that just focusing on academics

would get you the highest results.

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What?

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Yeah.

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Whatever measure you'd like to use.

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But in my experience, the girls who

actually do get the highest results, I

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guess at the end of schooling are usually

the girls who have been involved in,

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in a range of co-curricular activities.

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Obviously as they get older, how many

of those always needs to be negotiated?

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It is, it does seem to have that effect

that, you know, getting out, running

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around, you know, being involved in

debating, you know, and so on, does

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help with academic progress as well.

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And I think that that's something

that we really try to encourage is

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to, to make sure you do some of those

things right through your schooling.

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Acknowledging that you might need to

pull back the scope of those, because

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in fact, as well as being good for

your, your body and your mind and

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your soul, it's potentially gonna be

really good for your learning as well.

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Definitely studies out

there that show that effect.

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So important.

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And I guess one other question that I

wanted to ask you perhaps, Mel, is that

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if you're a parent sitting out there,

or indeed you, one of the students

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who's sitting out there that maybe

you're new to the school or you're only

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on the verge of coming to the school.

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What do they need to do to work out

how that, how and where they get

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involved in some of these activities?

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What's the little push they need

or where do they need to go?

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Well, they need to try before they buy

and try as many things as possible.

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You know, being open-minded about

activities and not just following what

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my friends do is the most critical

piece of advice for our new families.

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We have some really amazing opportunities

for them to come to Co-curricular

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Fair and have a taster and explore

some of the activities on offer.

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Not doing the one thing all the time.

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Some students will, if you are

going to be an Olympic diver,

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you are going to dive nonstop.

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But if you don't have plans and ambitions

to be an Olympic diver, having that

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diversity of individual activities,

something for the mind, something for

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the body, something for the heart.

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So for me, if I was a a parent

coming into year seven, I'd

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be encouraging my daughter to.

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A service activity to increase

her perspective on the world

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and to build her empathy.

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I'd want her to do a practical

activity where she's moving to ensure

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good health, and I'd want her to

do something musical or creative to

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really balance that whole view of who

she's and keep those neurons firing.

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So more for your daughter,

but don't try and do it all.

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That's also a trap.

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That's one of the.

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Year seven tracks, isn't it?

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Oh, I could do this if it was like

being in a shop full of lollies, you

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know, is that, which one do I choose?

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You can definitely, I indulge

like in a lolly shop and burn.

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So it's balance.

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And I think that comes back to

your point, Lisa, about those

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students who do well academically.

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They do learn to time manage,

they do learn to juggle.

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And when we think about our

own work-life balance, we're

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required to do that all the time.

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Let's teach them well in an enjoyable

way, how to manage life successfully.

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UPS downs, challenging times altogether.

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I've loved this discussion and I think

we could probably talk for a whole

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lot more about this because this whole

concept of the whole girl and what's

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at the heart of everything you do is

so much focused on that, and it's a

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tribute to both of you because it comes

out in the passion that you clearly

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have for all of these different areas.

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Just to wrap things up, I know

we mentioned this in the previous

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episode, Lisa, but I want to do

it again because in this context,

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and I'll come to you as well, Mel.

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Dare to be more in the context of the

whole girl and the girl at the heart

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of everything you do in the school.

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What does dare to be more really mean?

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Dare to be more means lots of things.

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It means in the micro space it means just

trying something a little bit different.

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A little bit.

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It's going for the team when perhaps

not guaranteed you're gonna get into it.

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It might be.

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For some children putting your hand

up in class when that's actually

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something that's quite hard for you.

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So it starts at that small space, perhaps

going to an activity at lunchtime where

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you don't necessarily know anybody.

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So it's from there.

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But then if we take that further,

it's also about what if our

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cadet program became all girls?

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What if we introduced this new

opportunity for our students that

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perhaps nobody else has thought of or

has, has dead to dead to investigate.

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So it works right across

the school and from.

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The younger student in the smallest class

right through to the grownups who are,

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who have got the job of making sure the

school is successful into the future.

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Wonderful.

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What about for you, Mel?

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What does dare to be more For me, I

think I picture it as Dare to be more.dot

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Choose your own adventure.

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And it could be dare to be more

caring, dare to be more adventurous,

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dare to be more academic.

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But for me it's a call to action.

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It's a call to do something, not just

to think about it, to actually make.

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Steppen to be courageous in

whatever pursuit it is that

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you are looking to engage in.

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But don't just sit we,

we get out and we do.

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It's a place of action.

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Fantastic.

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Such wonderful insights.

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I really appreciate you both

being part of this episode of

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the podcast, dare to Be More.

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Thank you so much.

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Thank you for joining

us on Dare to Be More.

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If you enjoyed this episode, please

subscribe wherever you get your

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podcasts so you never miss an episode.

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Your likes and comments also

help more families discover

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these valuable conversations.

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For more information about MLC School

and their approach to girls education,

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visit their website@mlcc.msw.edu.au.

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Check out the show notes

for more information.

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The Dare To Be More Podcast is

produced by podcast Done for you.

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I'm your host, Anthony Pearl,

and we invite you to join us next

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time as we continue to explore

what it means to dare to be more.