Welcome to the chilly commencement of Term 3.  

I hope all families had a relaxing mid-year break with an opportunity to experience holidays in sunnier climates, or just relaxing here in Melbourne. I managed to head to a warmer part of the world for a little while enjoying sunny days and walking barefoot along a beautiful beach and swimming in bath-temperature water. Alas, I have to confess, that upon returning home, I am struggling with the current cold weather which has faced us this week. On the positive side, the cold snap should bring joy to those of you who have their eyes on the mountains and thoughts of big dumps of snow. This weekend, we will see students participate in the St Catherine’s House Snowsports Competition at Mt Buller – a very exciting event for our ski and snowboard enthusiasts. 

Apart from the wintery start to Term 3, it has been an enjoyable week talking to staff and girls in both the Senior and Junior Schools. Everyone certainly sounds very relaxed and refreshed after the three-week break.  

We enjoyed a whole School Assembly on Tuesday which saw the Barbreck girls join our senior students in the Hall. We acknowledged and celebrated NAIDOC week during the Assembly. During my address to students, I spoke about the importance of voice, not just from a First Nations perspective, but also about how all of us need to speak up and express our voice without fear or favour.   

In this context, I shared an excellent example of student voice in our School.  Last term, our Senior School Co-Captains, Scarlett Shelton, and Alice Molnar, presented me with a written request raised by the Student Representative Council, to consider removing ties from the Winter School Uniform. Their proposal was considered and respectful. After careful thought and consultation, it became clear to me this request had merit. Ties are increasingly a relic fast disappearing from workplaces. Also, ties are worn by men. Women should not be beholden to such outdated modes of dress. Our School Uniform should reflect the values and aspirations we hold for our girls. Wearing ties with the Winter Uniform is now optional.  This will be a trial for 12 months. Our Summer Uniform does not include a tie and we anticipate in the future, the introduction of an appropriate Winter shirt more suited to being worn without a tie. I congratulate our students on having the initiative to request this change. 

In the coming weeks, we can look forward to several wonderful School community events, namely the Father Daughter Dinner on Thursday 15 August, the Spring Music Concert on Tuesday 27 August, and the Bands Blast on Tuesday 17 September. 

There are also a number of camps on the horizon which will take place in Term 3. The Year 7 Cohort will go to Camp Jungai, the Year 9 Cohort travel to Far North Queensland and there is the Junior School Year 6 Canberra Study Tour. 

Term 3 will be busy as usual. For our Year 12 students this is their penultimate term and the end of their School journey is not far away. The girls will be focused on consolidating their VCE studies in preparation for their exams in November. For the rest of our students, this term provides the opportunity to consolidate their learning and participate in a wide array of co-curricular activities. 

Staff Arrangements for Term 3

Our teachers are well rested after the break and looking forward to supporting the students in the weeks and months ahead.  

There have been some staff movement for this coming term. Please make welcome the following staff who have commenced in Term 3 and current staff who are taking up new positions in Term 3.  

Junior School 

Ms Alice Krause: Junior School Art Teacher 

Ms Vanessa Hall: Junior School Classroom Teacher 

Ms Taleah Pecchiar: Acting Deputy Head of the Junior School 

Ms Natacha Muller: ELC to Year 4 French Teacher for Semester 2 

Senior School 

Mr Jon Trovas: Head Coach – Rowing 

Ms Nisha Uppal: Director of Marketing and Admissions 

Ms Lucinda Burke-McKenna: French Teacher Years 7 to 9 

Ms Merran O’Connor: Acting Head of Learning Plus while Mrs Elka Gaensler is on Long Service Leave   

Psychologist 

Dr Lena Wintermantel: Taking three weeks leave in August. Replaced by Ms Kylie Downs and Ms Mary-Rita Waldren 

VCE Premier’s Awards

This year, we are delighted to see several of our St Catherine’s students honoured for their exceptional results in their 2023 VCE subjects. As a School community, we congratulate Alice Molnar (Year 12), Millie Nilsen (Year 12), Andrea Ting (Class of 2023), and Rhea Werner (Year 12). Further details on the girls’ achievements are provided here.

House Snowsports

I wish all our Snowsports families safe travels and a wonderful family weekend at Mt Buller for the annual House Snowsports Competition this weekend. For the rest of us, grab a hot water bottle and snuggle up somewhere warm.