The warmth and sunshine of Boston in July has quickly become a faint memory as I braced for the Melbourne weather each day of this week. Despite this, I have thoroughly enjoyed returning to School and, in particular, cherished the smiles of our Barbreck girls as they settle into their new learning spaces. Each day the girls have delighted in telling me about their new learning experiences in the STEM and Language Labs and the Music and Art Studios. Their own classrooms were also superbly prepared over the final week of the holidays by our Barbreck teachers in readiness for the start of the term. The classrooms are now a beautiful sea of colour, complete with inspirational book quotes on each window and comfortable new furniture.

The Village Green

On behalf of the School, I wholeheartedly thank our Director of Business , Mr Mike Zammit, ICT Manager, Mr John Toulantas, Property Manager, Mr Peter White and their respective teams for their tireless work over the mid-year break to ensure the building was prepared in readiness for the commencement of Term 3. This was certainly no easy task with the installation of classroom resources, library books, new furniture and technology all completed within the tight timeframes. The successful transition into the new building was evidence of truly a wonderful team effort and completed in close liaison with our Deputy Head of Junior School, Ms Catherine Samuel, who coordinated the transition from the educational front. The transformation of the Village Green in the coming spring months is now anticipated with much excitement and enthusiasm.

As Principal of St Catherine’s School, the opportunity to create such magnificent learning spaces for students has been professionally fulfilling and one I believe to be a great privilege. The process from brainstorming and literally drawing on the ‘back of an envelope’ with our Head of Junior School, Mrs Alana Moor, over four years ago to now observing girls in the actual classroom is nothing short of an incredible journey. In conjunction with the Her Future Begins Here campaign team, co-chaired by parents Mrs Sally Joubert and Mr Cameron Bertalli, I have also enjoyed the opportunity to share our educational vision and philosophy underpinning each design decision with our community at over 30 functions last year. This has successfully enabled the School community to support this building project with over three million dollars in generous donations. On behalf of the School and the students enjoying the spaces today, I express my gratitude and appreciation for the support afforded by our School community who have ultimately allowed this vision to be reached.

Over the course of the mid-year break, I thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to complete a School Principals’ program titled Leading an Evolving Vision at the Graduate School of Education at Harvard University, Boston. Along with the 165 principals from 17 different countries, this study was both professionally insightful and rewarding. With such variation in the cultures, resources, environments and student populations of our collective schools extending across the globe, the commonalities in the shared concerns within our roles of leading schools for the challenges of the 21^st century was strikingly similar. The opportunity to reflect, stretch and strengthen one’s leadership skills through sessions led by the likes of Harvard Professors Howard Gardner and David Perkins, proved to be highly valuable. Much of the Harvard work was reaffirming and deepening of my knowledge base. It provided time for reflection and an opportunity to look at our situation from a different perspective. I look forward to sharing my learnings with staff and parents over the coming months.