It was with great delight that I had a surprise visit from the Year 2 class earlier this week. I was finishing a meeting in the boardroom in Sherren House when all the Year 2 girls came to see what the room looked like. Their tour of Sherren House was part of their HASS Unit: Learning about the structure and history of the School. 

With all the girls around the boardroom table, we quickly took a photo to celebrate the occasion. Upon seeing the photograph later in the day, it struck me as to the significant changes these girls will see in the next 10 years when they complete their secondary schooling. I imagined a photograph of them all in Year 12 sitting around the table would be a stark contrast to this one taken in Year 2.  

Having a strong sense of belonging to school is key to students getting the most of their schooling. As our Year 2 girls toured their school, learned about its amazing history, and explored rooms and offices, they began to broaden their sense of what their School is all about.

I compared their tour to exploring the homes of our grandparents. I remember as a little girl being fascinated by all the nic nacs my grandparents had – each with their own story, old photographs of times gone by, rooms for different occasions, how rooms and yards looked so big as a child, and drawers filled with strange kitchen utensils – manual not electric! I also recall the stories that would be told of how they did things, of traditions they had, as well as superstitions, and always having such a sense of adventure and awe. I imagine these were some of the thoughts running through the girls’ minds as they explored Sherren House.

I was fortunate to be in Senior School the other day when some of the past students who had been boarders living in Sherren House visited St Catherine’s for their reunion. They told me of their times sliding down the banister – “It was the only way to get down fast if you were in a hurry!” one of them said. These stories would have delighted our Year 2 girls as they imagined doing the same themselves.

The meeting of past and present is fascinating, and comparisons will always be made. For our girls it is reassuring and important to note that they follow strong and proud generations of girls and women that walked the same halls, visited, and learned within the same classrooms and played on the same fields they do now.

Our girls are surrounded by wonderful role models. As they climb the stairs in Barbreck or visit the reception area of Sherren House, they are there to remind them that they too will be strong and confident, they too will achieve, and they too will have lifelong friends who will one day visit our School for a reunion and recount tales of their time at St Catherine’s.

We also know there will always be girls wanting to slide down the banister – teachers beware!