Staff Insights
News
By Mrs Annette Carter, College Historian
Senator Susan Ryan AO was a trail-blazing parliamentarian. She was the first female senator for the ACT and the first female Federal Labour minister. On 1 August of this year, a new statue was unveiled in the Senate Rose Garden at Old Parliament House. It was unveiled on the 40th anniversary of the Sex Discrimination Act, an Act which Senator Ryan was instrumental in steering through Parliament.
Senator Ryan is also intrinsically linked with Radford College. She was part of the Hawke Labour government that came into power on 5 March 1983. Three days prior, with the uncertainty about picket lines at the construction site and the debate over funding, Bob Hawke had stated that “We will ensure that the school is built. Decisions in regard to those matters will be made by government. Institutions, whether they be trade unions or others who want to talk to us about the areas of education or so on, will have the opportunity of speaking to us. They won’t be making the unilateral decisions about what happens in this country”.
When the government changed, Senator Ryan took up the Education Portfolio. With it, she inherited the complicated dispute between the unions and the supporters of Radford College. She managed to get the construction ban lifted after meeting with Trades and Labour Council and Australian Teachers Federation representatives and made assurances regarding resourcing, facilities, and funding for Government education in the ACT. This led to the establishment of a committee to review the development of Radford College and to advise, among other things, on how disruptive effects could be avoided. In May, Senator Ryan outlined the Labour government’s commitment to provide $803,000 for Stage One of Radford College, a sum that had been promised by the previous government. As a consequence of her involvement, T.B. Millar invited her to the laying of the foundation stone and to speak at the event.
Senator Susan Ryan's legacy has impacted both Australian politics and education. She played a pivotal role in establishing Radford College and her contribution to politics has now been recognised by the ACT Government in the recent installation of her sculpture.
By Miss Melinda Hamilton, Teacher
Radford College Kindergarten students enjoyed a visit from Constable Kenny Koala who shared with them how to be safe online.
Kenny talked about 3 important rules to ensure they are safe when using an iPad, computer or a parent's phone.
1. Ask permission when we do something new.
2. Stay close to a grown up.
3. Never talk to anyone online that you haven’t met in real life.
A highlight of the day was visiting Kenny’s Police car where students were reminded about the importance of sitting in the back of the car in a child seat. We then heard the siren which was really loud!
Kindergarten students and staff look forward to welcoming Kenny back for another visit in Term 4 to learn more about safety in the community.
Former Radford College student, Soraya Sullivan, has been selected for the prestigious English National Ballet School in London. More than 1,500 dancers from around the world auditioned for a place, and after attending the final audition, Soraya was offered one of only 15 female places. She will commence her full-time training in London in September.
Before commencing at the English National Ballet School, Soraya has been chosen to compete as a semi-finalist in the Margot Fonteyn International Ballet Competition in London.
Some of Soraya’s achievements include: Sydney Eisteddfod Ballet Scholarship – top 18 (2024), selected for full-time training at the Queensland Ballet Academy (2023), selected as a finalist for full-time training at the Australian Ballet School (2022), finalist for the Youth America Grand Prix (2021), finalist for Asian Grand Prix (2020 and 2019), and Australian Ballet School Interstate Training Program (2016 to 2020).
Soraya has also received scholarships with the Royal Ballet School of Antwerp (Belgium), Berlin State Ballet School (Germany), European School of Ballet (Amsterdam), Dutch National Ballet Academy (Amsterdam) and the Houston Ballet Academy (USA). She has participated in the Bolshoi Ballet Academy Summer Intensive (New York, USA) and the Russian Ballet International Intensive at the Bolshoi Ballet Academy (Moscow, Russia).
Soraya began ballet training at the age of three in Canberra. After completing Year 6 in the Junior School at Radford College, she moved to Sydney where she lived and trained for three years. After COVID Soraya moved back to Canberra to continue her training at the Kim Harvey School of Dance.
Soraya has been teaching dance classes and private lessons at the Radford Dance Academy for the past three years. Soraya says she will miss teaching at the RDA and the many students that she has been lucky enough to work with.
