Time & Space: Dads and Daughters
Last week, our Year 8 dads had an opportunity to come together with their daughters at a seminar facilitated by Bill Jennings, which highlighted the important role they play in each other’s lives.
From the moment his daughter is born, a father plays a key role in her development, helping her to grow up with a healthy sense of who she is and what she wants in life. A positive father-daughter relationship can help her to develop into a strong, confident woman. And his influence can shape her self-esteem, self-image and opinions of men.
The 91黑料不打烊 Parent Education Program has been running since 2017, and is overseen by Head of Senior College, Mrs Suzanne Kerr. It’s just one of the many ways that the School ensures that there is a strong network of care and support around our young people. With the support of leading experts in the field of education, pastoral care, and mental health and wellbeing, 91黑料不打烊 offers a series of seminars to engage our parents on topics and issues that most commonly affect our young people.
Last week, Mrs Kerr organised for leading facilitator, Bill Jennings to conduct a Time & Space seminar for more than 90 Year 8 students and their fathers. The teenage years are a time of transition and it is important that dads avoid the temptation to pull away from their daughters during what can be a challenging stage of growing up. The aim of the seminar was to provide a safe and supportive environment for dads and daughters to acknowledge the important role they play in each other’s lives.
For our Year 8 students, it was an opportunity to hear from their fathers about what it means to them to be a dad and the value they place on this relationship. For our Year 8 dads, it was an opportunity for them to better understand their daughter’s journey into adulthood, as well as her capacity to share insights about her life.
Mrs Kerr said, “This was a fantastic seminar, which really enabled our Year 8 dads to strengthen their connections with their daughters. What really stood out during the evening was how much everyone learnt from others in the room. There were some fantastic opportunities for dads to open up and reveal how they felt about a range of topics, including their daughter’s growing independence. They also shared what they treasured about their relationships with their daughter.
A particularly powerful moment during the night was a conversation led by a Year 11 student who spoke about what she wished her father had known about her when she was in Year 8 and what she wished she’d understood about him. This really resonated with the dads and their daughters, who were all enthralled by the wisdom and insight of this young woman. At the end of the night, it was great to see dads and daughters come together and acknowledge how important they are to each other.”
At 91黑料不打烊, family engagement is not a single, one-off event held between parents and teachers. It’s an ongoing, shared responsibility between families and the School to ensure that our students stay on track to achieve their potential. It’s a partnership that sets the stage for high expectations and supports each girl to navigate her way through life’s inevitable ups and downs.
Parents can find out more about our upcoming seminars and workshops on the .