There was a real buzz amongst the girls this week and much enthusiasm and anticipation when some images of our new Junior School were posted on the glass front doors of Barbreck. The excitement was palpable amongst the girls at the thought of their learning in a designated Science Lab, or reading books in a new Library or performing music in the spacious Auditorium. These were just some of the images posted to the glass doors.

Following my earlier communication to our parent community in September when I advised the School had received a Planning Permit, which requested minor amendments, from Stonnington Council, the School has now submitted the amended architectural plans and the necessary Sustainable and Waste Management Plans for final endorsement by Stonnington Council.

Subject to final approval and the receipt of a Building Permit, the School is eager to take advantage of the lengthy Christmas holiday period to commence preliminary pre-construction works on the site. This would maximise an opportunity to complete the site preparation, including noisy earthmoving work on the front oval, when the students are not on the campus and many of our local neighbours are away for the Christmas period.

As you would appreciate, the commencement date is dependent on the required endorsement of plans from Stonnington Council. I aim to keep you abreast of this process in the coming weeks and look forward to sharing the final endorsed plans with the School community in the near future.

Over the past months, the Her Future Begins Here Team, ably led by Senior School parent Mrs Sally Joubert and Junior School/ELC parent Mr Cameron Bertalli, have commenced engagement with our community to brief families on this major initiative and secure early advance support to enable us to proceed with confidence. This is intended to be a personal approach and it will take time to meet and engage with all interested families. As a School receiving only minimal government funds, School fees contribute to our essential running costs. The many outstanding facilities of the School are the result of the generosity of current and past generations of our School community.

We hope you will be able to support our girls and teachers in the Her Future Begins Here campaign and continue our St Catherine’s philanthropic tradition. I understand this is a busy time for many families but please advise if you wish to know more, or become involved in our Campaign in some way: it is very important for the future of our girls. Further information is available from Mr Stuart Galbraith, Director of Development and Community Relations.

 PFA Christmas Fair and Forthcoming Events

The annual PFA Christmas Fair commences at 5.00pm tonight and promises to again be an outstanding opportunity for our School community to join together. I encourage families to support our hardworking PFA who have coordinated a fabulous evening of events.

In the coming weeks, I remind parents of the following key important calendar dates, and look forward to celebrating the girls’ achievements at each of the forthcoming events:

Thursday 24 November, 6.45pm – Junior School Music Concert

Monday 28 November, 8.45am – Years 7 and 8 Awards Assembly

Monday 28 November, 7.00pm – Auxiliary and Volunteers Thank you Evening

Thursday 1 December, 5.15pm – Year 6 Celebration Evening

Tuesday 6 December 6.00pm – House Arts Performance

Michelle Carroll

Mrs Michelle Carroll