The thread that binds us all has never been stronger in the St Catherine’s community. Managing to be ‘together’ while ‘apart’ has reinforced the strength of our community. Many of the girls have reflected on the impact that isolation and remote learning has had on them. The overwhelming response has been one of gratitude and appreciation for family, good health, friends, teachers, and their school.

As the state moves towards more relaxed restrictions, St Catherine’s has moved seamlessly to the ‘new normal’. Maintaining the routine and rhythm of the School day during isolation was paramount in our planning to provide a sense of security in such uncertain times. Through keeping the familiar patterns of the day and continuing with the academic schedule and a modified Co-Curricular Program, the girls were able to not only engage with the School program, but return to it with relative ease.

Student wellbeing has remained a central focus in Term 2. Apart from the twice weekly check-ins that the House Tutors undertook, the Blue Ribbon Spirit@Home sessions provided a welcome opportunity for the girls to connect with their peers and House members. Girls from Years 7 to 12 relished the chance to meet with others on MS Teams to take part in challenges and to reignite the St Catherine’s spirit and healthy House competition.

The weThrive: Wellbeing@St Catherine’s program features a number of themes from the ELC to Year 12. While having a discrete focus at each level, all girls are encouraged to meet the values and aspirations of each – whether it be to maintain a sense of ‘belonging’ and ‘connection’ to the School, ‘engaging’ in the Learn@Home program, ‘embracing’ the chance to slow down and spend time with family, ‘accomplishing’ academic and personal goals or showing leadership. 

Students’ reflections during the period of remote learning have been a salient reminder of the capacity of our girls to adapt and make the most of the circumstances. The Blue Ribbon Spirit@Home sessions featured acts of community spirit and compassion with girls writing letters to aged care residents or children in hospital. Some wrote positive affirmations in the windows of their homes, drew rainbows of hope or shared footpath messages. The Great St Catherine’s Bake Off was another example of girls getting involved for a cause. The Brownie baking challenge raised both funds for the RCD Foundation and raised awareness of supporting funding for research into paediatric brain cancer. Others supported their House by racing around their home seeking out items for the Scavenger Hunt in record time and many donned their House colours for the Virtual Cross County. The creative and clever replications of childhood photos, album covers or art works in the Re-creation Challenge were impressive to say the least.

We have also seen some incredible stories of resilience emerge during this time, particularly from our fourteen Senior School students who are currently overseas and who have strived to maintain online learning, in some cases since February. These girls have diligently maintained their studies and their connection to School. While the uncertainty surrounding the Unit 3 & 4 course outline and examination schedule was a source of apprehension and concern for all of our Year 12s, none more so than our VCE girls who are currently offshore or interstate. Their stories include, in one case, a period of quarantine on Christmas Island, while others eagerly await travel exemptions to return to Australia. Twelve of our boarders remain overseas or interstate but link in to the Study Prep sessions online as well as their timetabled classes. We are in awe of their continued motivation and resilience, and commend their desire to stay connected to the community they love and value and are so very much a part of.