Leadership interview with Martha Perry, St. Clement's School

We are a small school—Grades 1 to 12. One of the things that really sets us apart is we exist and share facilities within one building. Part of what I love is being with the girls, and I have the great good fortune to be with them all the time. So to me, that’s the first thing I adore about my job].

We’re small—we’re 460 girls from Grades 1 to 12—and it’s an environment where you really are known and valued. The girls’ experience really affords the opportunity for authenticity—being yourself, letting your guard down—and at St. Clement’s, our girls are intelligent young women.  Our girls have high expectations to achieve, and they don’t have to apologize for that.

The difference between St. Clement’s now and when I was a student here] is the nurturing of voice even more. I admire every leader that I’ve known at St. Clement’s, but] I don’t think voice was as nurtured when we were younger. It’s not a criticism; I just don’t think it was. Whereas now, for girls and young women to have a voice and to understand that their convictions are important—and particularly diverse perspectives and voices—that is far more focused.  For me, it’s about] affording opportunities for the girls to explore who they are, getting to know their authentic selves and then diving into whatever they’re passionate about. It’s an opportunity for authentic experiences.

At St. Clement’s, our philosophy on athletics is really an important and differentiating factor. We have very competitive teams.  It is key to us that athletics are about a) maximum participation—so getting as many people involved as possible—and secondarily, skilled development. Our goal is not ‘win at all cost’ and sort of cut-throat, and people being on a team but riding the bench—it’s about people being engaged and contributing to a common goal.

There is a culture where we are known for and we celebrate the importance of academic rigour. St. Clement’s has a tremendous reputation to which we aspire—to make sure that that is maintained—around ensuring our girls get the best academic education. And learning has really evolved for us. Years ago, it was about acquiring content knowledge. A massive shift has been underway, which we are loving, about the imperative of our girls learning how to learn.

When people come into that building and feel—and perhaps until you’re in the building, you may not feel it—that there’s a true sense of community and fun and engagement. Because of our small school size, you really get a feeling for that sense of fun and spirit. We talk a lot about the St. Clement’s School] spirit, and this is nurtured too, because we meet twice a week—normally with our Grades 1 to 12—in Assembly. And so our littlest or 6-year-olds are watching our 16- and 17-year-olds lead.  They’re the adults in the room and you aspire to be like them. You have these informal and formal role models.  This sense of camaraderie, this connection across grades and this true sense of community. There’s always laughter in the halls. There’s always goofiness and fun, while at the same time really being focused on expanding on learning.

Our girls foster learning in us too. There have been a number of challenges by the student community to decisions at the school]. I think of the way we have done things and worked with our students [who question] why we’ve done things the way we’ve done them, and then shifting approaches—whether it’s to the manner in which we teach or the content we’re teaching. We’ve had girls come to us and push ideas about the uniform and really question the choices [we have made] for our uniform, particularly around the idea of identity and supporting our students. And that’s been an amazing and important push for me. Different lenses and experiences, people sharing them around ‘This is how this makes me feel’, [regarding] a tradition we may have.

There’s no typical Clementine—we call our girls ‘Clementines’, or actually they’ve coined that phrase. We have girls who are really gregarious and totally into the spirit, and girls who are quite shy and maybe quieter. Curiosity is part of our mission statement. ‘We develop outstanding women who are intellectually curious, courageous and compassionate.’ For me, it’s curiosity to learn more that defines our students. They may not even know they have it, but in the admissions process, you kind of get that inkling that they’re looking for more.

We use our community for a lot of our facilities.  St. Clement’s is a smaller school. When you look at us physically from the outside, you may not see the fixings—you know, the fields. At St. Clement’s, we are in the heart of a community. We use our local parks. We are not afraid to have our girls in the community—and in fact, our girls represent us so well that there is a comfort there. We’re not a gated community, and I think that’s really important. So families are choosing that, and I think choosing us because of the program and the fundamental belief in the feeling of the community.

We start in Grade 1. We don’t have kindergarten, but we do have what we call ‘Career Clementines’. People used to call them ‘Lifers’, but that sounded almost like a prison sentence. Our Grade 1 class is typically 16 girls. I think last year we had 12 or 13 graduates from a Grade 12 class of 16 who were [Career Clementines], which is pretty great to come through Grades] 1 to 12. But I would say that our intake years are Grade 1, Grade 6, Grade 7 and Grade 9, and there is some flexibility in the other grades.

There are some girls who come from Grades 1 to 8, and then they look for a change and they want to venture out to another experience. Sometimes we have them leave and they come back in a year, and I love that too. But I always say to the girls who are like, ‘Oh, I’m thinking of doing this and leaving the school]’, and my response is, ‘Look, part of our mission is to nurture courage. And if this is something you want to give a shot to, it takes courage to make that decision.’

Oh my goodness, there are so many St. Clement’s events that are special [to me]. Anything that brings us together as a community is what I love. We are affiliated with the Anglican Church, but we have people from so many different faiths and we embrace that and engage that. We do have a Christmas] carol service, and that is something that I adore, because we come together as an entire community, including alumni.  It’s when] I have the great good fortune to be able to look out over a sea of red blazers, our  school uniform]. But on a smaller scale, my favourite events are Assemblies, at which we gather Grades 1 to 12, and all of our staff. They are used as a time of either complete goofiness and spirit, or as a learning opportunity.  Assembly is a powerful time—twice a week with our whole community—and it is pretty special.

Our junior school, a year ago at Assemblies], each class would bring forward a teaching from the Seven Grandfather Teachings of Indigenous learning. That’s a big focus for us in our school, is really learning and gaining an understanding as a part of our commitment to Truth and Reconciliation. So to have our junior schoolgirls teaching our entire community, that’s a pretty special thing to be able to do. And that’s just one example of learning opportunities in Assemblies.

Vibrant, spirited, curious, intelligent, really fun, those are some of the personality traits of St. Clement’s]. We like to say ‘we work hard and we play hard’. Extroverted at some times, and reflective and perhaps introverted at others. And I would also say the school’s personality is that of] an old soul who is excited about change and evolution.