Twenty-one years in a school, provides me with the opportunity to reflect and develop the opportunities we offer here at St Catherine’s School, with the team of exceptional leaders in each Co-curricular area.

When I started at St Catherine’s School, in a part-time role in the Rowing Program, I was in awe of what I experienced. Our small girls’ School had some 120 students from Years 9-12 Rowing; engaging, learning and developing their understanding of hard work through sport.

Many years later, I reflect on the continuous journey our students take in many areas of the School. The journey in rowing still exists, and with exceptional results. Our Rowing Program in 2021, created a historical marker, our Division 1 and Division 2 Senior VIIIs triumphed at the Head of the Schoolgirls Regatta. I had to check for myself to confirm that this was the first time ever, that St Catherine’s School had won a Senior Division 1 event! I congratulate our Senior Rowers, who displayed, leadership, persistence, resilience, confidence and determination.

The Co-curricular offerings across our School, are vast, from Sport, Performing Arts, Debating and Public speaking, House activities and club programs. The programs at St Catherine’s School provide opportunities and experiences to enhance the development of the whole child, complementing skills learned in the classroom and nurturing lifelong learners. The variety of Co-curricular choices at St Catherine’s, provides avenues for our students to pursue their interests, talents and passions, whilst finding their place in our community. The journey through these programs provides students with the learning experience through persistence, practice and failure.

Each of our Co-curricular programs scaffolds the learning of each skill through three specific stages:

1. Engage provides the opportunity for our girls to sample different programs and opportunities from activities offered to engage in a variety of areas. St Catherine’s girls are renowned for engaging and excelling in a variety of Co-curricular areas, providing exposure to a range of skills and acquired skills.
2. Acquisition provides the opportunity for students to have success in the journey in a particular area, by acquiring and developing skills further through practice, working towards a goal and achieving at each stage of the journey.
3. As skills are developed and built over time, in an area of specialisation, providing the opportunity for girls to Excel. We often find this occurs later in their Senior School life, as the stages of the skill are built upon each other, and there is further development in the next phase of skill building, allowing for further growth and exposure to more challenging situations. Finding an activity where students are engaged and have had some level of success through accomplishment, often leads to students specialising in their chosen field. For some students, reaching this stage will be a natural step, for others, there is a level of fluidity between the engagement and acquisition stages.

Preparing St Catherine’s girls for a future that allows for the instantaneous gaining of knowledge through the digital age, requires a complementary set of skills, where our girls understand how to engage, acquire and excel through hard work and deliberate practice. In each of their goals, gaining feedback and knowledge from their teachers, coaches and respected others in preparation for their final goal, is a vital skill in life.