Vertical Pastoral Care at St Catherine’s School

At St Catherine’s School, we invest much time and effort into creating an inclusive, safe and stimulating environment, which fosters the development of positive self-esteem, feelings of belonging within the School Community and an atmosphere that promotes a love of learning. Our Pastoral Care Program: weThrive; prides itself on providing each student with opportunities to gain resilience, confidence, develop leadership skills and initiative.

As such, the Staff and Student Leadership Teams strive to enable opportunities for Vertical Pastoral Care, within the Junior and Senior School. Vertical Pastoral Care encourages the development of effective and genuine relationships between students across a wide age-range, placing students of all ages in the ideal position to forge enduring friendships, effectively removing the barriers of age and Year groups.

As reported previously in The Blue Ribbon, on Friday 26 May, the Year 12 students hosted an event for all Senior School students to raise money for the White Ribbon Campaign: End Violence Against Women. Much time was spent preparing for what turned out to be, as the name suggested; a Fiesta Frenzy. More than 70 students from Years 7 to 12 paid $10 to participate in a well-organised, fun-filled couple of hours after school in the St Catherine’s Hall. It was heartening to observe the various age groups mixing, with students from all Year levels meeting new people and developing new relationships. Younger girls were encouraged and supported by the older girls, with great enjoyment had by all. School Captain, Makenzie Leyden (Year 12) states “It was a world of fun, laughs, craziness, and a great way to raise money for White Ribbon Australia.”  The afternoon included epic team challenges, such as Hula Hooping, ‘Hungry Human Hippos’, Egg and Spoon races and ended with a sausage sizzle and fairy floss for all. The feedback from the Year 7 students summed up the success of this event, simply reporting that “It was AWESOME!”

The Year 12 students visited many local businesses to procure a wide variety of fabulous raffle prizes and we would like to thank those that donated gifts, vouchers, equipment and more, for their generosity and support.

Another very successful example of Vertical Pastoral Care was the Senior School and Junior School lunch held on Monday 29 May, which involved all students in Years 3 to 6 and Year 12 students. Students met on the School sporting fields and enjoyed their lunch together. The highlight of this event was undoubtedly the arrival of a group called ‘Carnival for Kids’ who entertained all by teaching simple dance moves to a number of familiar favourites such as YMCA, Let it Go and the Hokey Pokey. One of the organisers of this event, School Vice-Captain Georgie Sitch (Year 12), commented that “ The vote for the best dancers definitely went to the Year 6 students, … and it seems that us Year 12s could learn a thing or two from the younger girls.”

The School is committed to offering opportunities for Vertical Pastoral Care and look forward to further activities aimed at building increased interaction across age groups.