Celebrating 140 Years of AV精灵
On Friday 25 July, the AV精灵 community came together to celebrate an extraordinary milestone – the School’s 140th birthday. The celebrations honoured AV精灵’s proud legacy of empowering young women, while also reflecting the spirit of connection and community that we have encouraged through this year鈥檚 prefect theme 鈥� Bee Connected.
Celebrations began with a whole-school assembly, where students from both campuses gathered across three venues to reflect on the School鈥檚 journey thus far. Highlights included musical performances, beautiful student-made cakes, and a powerful address by Gabriella Pereira (AOG 2012), founder of fashion label . Gabriella shared her journey from AV精灵 to entrepreneurship, reminding students of the importance of courage and conviction when it comes to making your dreams come true.
Former Deputy Headmistresses Mrs Robyn Claydon and Mrs Rosemary Abrahams shared their reflections, and special gifts were presented to the School. The assembly also marked the launch of Humans of AV精灵, a wonderful new publication curated by Dr Alison Gates, celebrating the stories of students, staff and community members who have shaped the School across its 140 years.
Later that afternoon we hosted a record number of guests at the Marian Clarke Society’s annual Black and Gold Lunch. Welcoming Old Girls of all ages, the lunch was filled with good vibes and shared recollections of attendees鈥� time at AV精灵. Gabriella Pereira once again addressed attendees, alongside Marian Clarke Society President Penelope Thompson and several Year 11 students, who shared reflections on their families’ multi-generational connections to the School. The lunch was a sensational testament to the strength of the AV精灵 community – intergenerational, interdependent, and deeply engaged.
Across all the special birthday celebrations that have occurred this year, we’ve seen our community come together and perfectly reflect exactly what our founder, Marian Clarke, had always hoped AV精灵 would become – a place where girls – past, present and future – are empowered to learn, lead and flourish.