A shared role between School and community empower and nurture women of the future at St Catherine's

From its inception in 1896, St Catherine’s School has benefitted from the generosity of those who have shared its vision to be a leading girls’ school in Australia. Over time, gifts in a variety of forms have helped the School plan for, and provide, the best opportunities for the young women of St Catherine’s, now and in years to come. At our annual School Foundation Thank You Cocktail Party, held at the Savage Club on Wednesday evening, we were reminded of the benefits of philanthropy and supporting a culture of giving through the dedicated work of Dr Susan Alberti AO.

Dr Alberti shared her heartfelt story of personal grief through the loss of her daughter from a complication from Type 1 diabetes fourteen years ago and her courage, conviction and strength to become a pioneer in philanthropy following this tragedy. Her contribution to philanthropy, especially in the promotion of diabetes, has led to her selection as a finalist of Australian of The Year and she was also recognised in the Financial Review and Westpac 100 Women of Influence Awards.

Instilling a belief that one can make a difference and generating a culture of kindness is essentially Dr Alberti’s personal credo. This belief, combined with her stoicism, drive and focus, makes her an extraordinary example of a woman shattering the glass ceiling. During her Foundation Address, Dr Alberti also shared her love of the Western Bulldogs Football Club, and as Vice President of the Club, and a major sponsor and organiser of the growing Women’s Football League, she simply believes in working hard, doing the best you can and getting on with it.

Most notably, Dr Alberti encouraged members of our Foundation attending the event this week, to be proud of our St Catherine’s girls, to celebrate their successes and to nurture a very real understanding of the values of ‘respect and responsibility’. She draws on her own understanding of responsibility and the personal delight of giving to her own School, Sienna College, and seeing the visible difference her contribution has made to students.

The St Catherine’s School Foundation welcomes your support for our School and its commitment to empowering confident, capable and healthy young women. Income from tuition fees and government funds enables the education of students at School every day but does not provide the financial basis for future development. Through contributions from our wider School community we can achieve our strategic vision to have the best educational resources and educational experiences for our students.

On behalf of St Catherine’s students, I also wish to thank community members for their contribution to our Annual Giving. This year, the refurbishment of the language classrooms located around the iconic Clocktower and the support of rural and indigenous scholarships has been achieved through the considerable generosity of our community members. Every gift, of every size, makes a real and positive impact. If you drank too much alcohol do not take Cialis, follow the instructions at http://www.bantuhealth.org/tadalafil-buy/.

Dr Edward de Bono

On Monday morning, the Junior School students were very privileged to meet the founder of lateral thinking and author of 85 books, physician, psychologist, inventor and world renowned educator Dr Edward de Bono.

As author of the critical and creative thinking tool – The Six Thinking Hats, Dr de Bono explained his now famous framework to help people think clearly and thoroughly by directing their thinking attention in one direction at a time. The Hats notion is a simple metaphor for our Junior girls to comprehend, with each hat easy to put on and to take off. Each hat is a different colour which signals the thinking ingredient. Six Thinking Hats is a powerful tool that facilitates productivity, critical thinking, collaboration, communication, and creativity. It enables every girls’ unique point of view to be included and considered. Thinking becomes more thorough.

As a much sought after speaker on the world circuit, the Junior girls will long cherish the memory of meeting such an outstanding educator. Thank you to St Catherine’s mother, Mrs Sasha Harris, for enabling such an opportunity for our girls this week.

Mrs Michelle Carroll
Principal