It is a time-honoured Ruyton tradition for each Year 12 class to tie ‘their colour to the mast’ at the beginning of the school year. A unique colour is chosen, alongside two words to represent the distinctive characteristics and experiences of the cohort and how they intend to lead the School in their final year. This year, the Class of 2022 have pledged to lead with Meraki and Vibrance under the colour mauve.
We are very aware of the fact that almost all of the Ruyton community have probably never heard of this word meraki. A modern Greek word, it is defined as doing something with passion, devotion and absolute attention. Putting a part of your soul into what you do. A notable feature of this word is that, due to its origin, meraki is almost impossible to translate directly. It can only be felt and understood through actions. This notion is represented by not only our year level but our school, with the bonds within Ruyton being difficult to describe, but easily perceived. The Class of 2022 has demonstrated repeatedly through their involvement in sport, music, drama and the broader community that their service to Ruyton is a labour of love and proven that the most meaningful aspect of leadership is not merit, but rather fidelity towards one’s duty.
Our second word, vibrance, reflects a year level full of energy and life. Despite the challenges of the last couple of years and those yet to emerge, we rely on our strength of character and positivity shown by our year level. Our unity is embodied through the sequin leggings at House events, stomps in The School Song, and dynamic Spirit days; all attesting to our vibrant School community. Each Year 12 student displays outstanding personal qualities that collectively create a sense of solidarity, allowing us to advance and grow. We hope our leadership will allow for a colourful outlook amidst an uncertain future and our vibrancy will encourage others to overcome hardship.
To complement these two words, we chose the colour mauve to reflect the Class of 2022’s service to the School community. The serene light purple hue expresses renewal after two years apart; the calm after a storm. Mauve also expresses our mission to support the community through compassion and its symbolism as a colour of inspiration emphasises our cohort’s ultimate goal of leading by example. The women's suffrage movement inspired this colour choice with these courageous women describing purple as ‘the colour of loyalty, constancy to purpose and unswerving steadfastness to a cause’. With these strong values established by such strong women before us, we continue to create a legacy of unity. With the energy of red and the calm tones of blue, mauve depicts the balanced and considered example wanting to be set by the Year 12s, as well as the strength and warmth by which we want to be remembered.
We speak on behalf of the entire Class of 2022 when we say we are excited to lead Ruyton with Meraki and Vibrance this year. After this unprecedented period, the strength of the School community is undeniable and in 2022, we hope to uphold the evident harmony and solidarity that exists in our Ruyton family. As leaders, we are here to listen to you, be a guide to you, learn from you, but most importantly, walk alongside each and every one of you as we journey ahead into an uncertain future. We wish you all the best for the start of the year; we can’t wait to see what incredible experiences and opportunities 2022 has to offer.
Sarah L and Minduli W
School Co-Captains
Ruyton Girls' School
February 2022