It has been a pleasure welcoming students to school this week and greeting many parents at the Heyington gates. It was wonderful to hear the excited chatter as our girls returned to their classrooms and the Boarding House, and to hear the noise across the sporting fields. Our Junior School girls were warmly greeted by our new Head of Junior School, Ms Karen McArdle, and commenced with much enthusiasm in the ‘still new’ Barbreck building. The girls are certainly enjoying the play spaces of the recently opened Village Green.

We welcomed our students back this week for the 2019 school year.

The Early Learning Centre (ELC) children also returned with enthusiasm and for some, the trepidation of starting as a little three-year-old, visible on their faces. I trust that all girls and children in our ELC will have a fulfilling time at St Catherine’s. I have no doubt that they will feel happy and comfortable, and I encourage them to seize every opportunity in both the classrooms and in the many co-curricular programs offered at our School.

I invite all community members to join me in extending a very warm welcome to our new parents who have become a part of our School community this year. A formal welcome will be extended to all at the Years 7 to 12 Parent Information Evening on Thursday 7 February commencing at 6.30pm, immediately followed by the Welcome Function hosted by the Parents’ and Friends’ Association. The Barbreck Parent Information and Welcome Function will be held on Thursday 14 February commencing at 6.00pm. All parents are warmly encouraged to attend.

Year 12 Leadership Conference

I enjoyed spending time with our Year 12 cohort as they engaged in their Leadership Conference on Tuesday morning. The Conference was focused on developing an understanding of leadership as our Year 12 students prepare for the forthcoming year with the familiar generosity and spirit that proudly embraces our treasured St Catherine’s School culture. At the Year 12 Leaders’ Induction Assembly on Tuesday morning, all Year 12 girls received their Senior Badge marking a new chapter in their lives.

During my Assembly Address this week, I shared the sentiments of the Lord Mayor of Melbourne, Ms Sally Capp, who was the guest speaker at the Year 12 Breakfast shared with parents to launch the Leadership Conference. The Lord Mayor encouraged our students to:

• Respect failure and not fear it. It is through embracing challenge and change as a learning experience that young people importantly understand more about their own capacity. In my conversations with the girls this week, I enjoyed chatting about the experiences of the students who had recently returned from our Exchange programs in China and France. These girls are a shining example of taking oneself out of one’s comfort zone. Faced with full language immersion, the first few days were somewhat daunting but the girls each found the experience very fulfilling and rewarding and they hope to reap the benefits of this immersion in their VCE Language studies this year.
• Develop confidence and skills to articulate their needs. This year, each girl is encouraged to enter into a partnership of learning with their teachers. This partnership must embrace a clear communication channel directly with teachers to enable greater clarity when they need to understand difficult content matter, and to confidently seek further feedback about specific areas of work that might need improvement.
• Build a network of supporters that are ‘in the team’ with you. Encouraging quality, not quantity in all relationships and partnerships (online as well). To commence the Year 12 journey, seated alongside parents and Form teachers, sharing a joyful celebration of the start of Year 12, it was immediately apparent who is part of the ‘team’ for our students.

School Captains Georgina Cottrill and Kavina Kalaichelvam with Ms Sally Capp, Lord Mayor of Melbourne.

As the Lord Mayor of Melbourne, and in her first year in the role, Sally Capp was nothing short of truly impressive. Her strength as a leader was clearly evident, and combined with her humility exhibited through so honestly sharing her journey and the challenges that come with this role, was refreshing and earnestly engaging for our Year 12 parents and their daughters.

I look forward to watching the Year 12 girls grow this year as our student leaders of the School. Their enthusiasm, willingness and quiet confidence was already evident. Importantly, our role as educators, and as parents and guardians, is to encourage their confidence and resilience this year.

School Holiday Educational Opportunities

Over the course of the holidays, many students participated in programs to enhance their learning at school. Our School Captains, Kavina Kalaichelvam and Georgina Cottrill, represented St Catherine’s at the Alliance of Girls’ Australasia Student Leadership Conference held at the Women’s College, Sydney University. Their planning for the year ahead was shared with 180 girls, namely other school captains from across the world – Hong Kong, USA, South Africa, and Singapore. Kavina and Georgina were immensely proud to attend the conference and look forward to sharing their journey as Captains of the School with their Year 12 peers and all Senior School students.

Participating in a Language Exchange over the Christmas break provides VCE students with a positive lift and launch into their final year of study. Emily Sutherland, attending the Cours Fénelon in Toulon, France, believes her confidence with oral communication, and in particular her listening skills, were her most obvious areas of improvement. Hope Kudelka, attending the Olive Tree Academy in Hanghzhou China, found her experience in China to be highly valuable in developing her listening skills. Whilst she was initially taken aback by the speed of the spoken language, Hope realised she was able to competently understand conversations happening around her. The girls attending Language Exchange will share their experiences at Assembly in the coming weeks and encourage younger girls to consider an Exchange opportunity as well.

Our students warmly welcomed the Year 9 Exchange students to St Catherine’s School.

Over the course of the holidays, we welcomed Year 9 exchange students from St George’s, Ascot and St Catherine’s School, Bramley and for the first time, Year 10 girls from Shawnigan Lake School, Canada. The girls immediately embraced Melbourne’s hot weather and participated fully in the Summer Rowing Camps.

In early December, 13 students participated in the Sony Disability Camp held at Scotch College, with pairs of girls assigned a younger girl with varying degrees of physical and intellectual disability. In the role as carers for the weekend, Sony Camp provides a fun experience for the younger children and some respite for parents before Christmas. Whilst our girls were challenged by the role as full-time carers, it was an enriching and moving experience for all involved.

I wish all students and families the very best for the year ahead. My one mantra for the year is for all community members to exhibit kindness through respectful and thoughtful communications.