Walk the Mile

I often hear people say they overthink things. But when can you do too much thinking? This conversation is with a former student, Eleanor Gordon-Smith (Class of 2009). Eleanor is a philosopher, academic and has been writing an advice column for the Guardian Australia for the last four years. She has also published a book titled “Stop Being Reasonable”. We discuss the value of thought, the nature of advice and why we seek it and the place that doubt has in our beliefs. It might all sound pretty deep but I can assure you that there are plenty of examples and anecdotes that makes this conversation easily accessible.

This episode addresses the issues that might occur when starting school: whether it be for the first time, a new school or a new year. Heidi Anderson (a very experienced Kindergarten teacher) and Ashleigh Smith (our current Year 7 Co-ordinator) talk about what is important when starting or returning to school. There are massive changes to consider and we know it can be overwhelming for some, students and parents alike. I hope you enjoy the conversation and find it to be helpful.

Here is the second part of our Walk The Mile Podcast “Life is a Drama” . This is our first attempt at doing a podcast LIVE!! It was recorded late last term and all of our guests (Elizabeth Butcher, Peter Eyers, Deborah Galanos, Charlotte Friels and Poppy Lynch) are people involved in the performing arts, particularly the theatre world. We talk about what they get from the stage, the highs and lows, the benefits and the drawbacks. I hope you enjoy it!

This was our first attempt at doing a podcast LIVE!! Admittedly, I was worried how it might go, whether I could keep the style of conversation going in front of an audience and just having to adapt to a new concept. In the end, I think we experienced something quite different and it was great to feel the vibe in the Great Hall. This was recorded late last term and all of our guests (Elizabeth Butcher, Peter Eyers, Deborah Galanos, Charlotte Friels and Poppy Lynch) are people involved in the performing arts, particularly the theatre world. We talk about what they get from the stage, the highs and lows, the benefits and the drawbacks. This is the first part of the conversation and the second will be published next week.

Being a parent can be a rollercoaster of emotion, never really knowing what the person in your care is going to bring each day. Although there is plenty of advice out there, your child does not come with an instruction manual and it can feel like you are making it up as you go (speaking from firsthand experience here!). This is a conversation with a current parent at our Primary School, Angela McLaughlin, and a former parent and current staff member, Chris Barrett. Our discussion is about the highs and lows of parenting, the perspective of what you hope for as a young parent compared to the stuff you have learnt as a parent of adult children. It’s a very honest and reflective conversation which I found very helpful. I hope you do as well.

It is estimated that in 2021, over 46 000 children were living in out of home care in Australia. And more and more kids get added to that number every day. The struggle to find adequate accommodation and care is also increasing. In this conversation, I speak to a parent within our community who has been a foster carer for a number of years, to a variety of children. She shares her own experience, the highs and lows, and the lessons that she has learnt through her experience. I found it a very enlightening and encouraging conversation and I hope you find it helpful.

This podcast contains material that some might find confronting or disturbing. Sometimes words or images can cause sadness or distress or trigger traumatic memories for people. For some people, these responses can be overwhelming. If you need to talk to someone, support is available.

• Kids helpline: 1800 55 1800

Everyone in our society goes to school and you go to school to learn. But how do you do that? For many people, the act or process of learning is not so simple and can often have a huge impact one’s own identity and wellbeing. In this conversation, I speak to Cristi Wilsmore, the Deputy Head of Primary School (Teaching and Learning). Cristi explains what she has discovered about her own learning and the learning of others. We discuss the mechanics of learning and the need for listening and patience in discovering how different individuals learn. I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did.

In this episode I speak to one of our Alumni, Vivienne Smith (Class of 2008), about her career as an adventure documentary film maker and world traveller. We discuss her experience of different cultures and landscapes and how that has impacted who she is today. Viv also explains the new app that she is involved with that takes the viewer to the locations of a whole range of famous movies and television shows. Her story about documenting other people’s stories is exciting and eye opening. I hope you enjoy it.  

Julie McCrossin is a well-known broadcaster, interviewer and alumni of SCEGGS. She spends much of her time asking people questions and facilitating conversations at conferences and other gatherings. In this episode, I get to ask her about her life and how her experiences and history have formed her passions and her beliefs. We discuss a whole range of topics, all bracketed by the ideas of purpose and meaning. I found this a very interesting discussion and I hope you do too.