It was a pleasure this week to welcome to Assembly the Graduating Class of 2020 to acknowledge their academic achievements and to announce the subject prizes for VCE last year. Congratulations to the following Subject Award recipients.

During our Senior School Assembly this week, our current School Captains, Clementine (Cece) Newton-Brown and Lucy Campbell, interviewed members of the cohort to share their insights into achieving a successful and fulfilling VCE year.

As the Co-Captain of Rowing, and also actively involved in School Musical productions, the 2020 School Dux, Romy Cantwell, detailed the importance of striking a balance with her co-curricular activities and her academic study, with a need for relaxation during her final year. Romy will commence study at Melbourne University in Biomedicine this year and she intends to continue rowing for the Melbourne University Rowing Club. She openly credits the value of working in partnership with her teachers in achieving such a successful result. Romy admits to persistently asking questions of her teachers throughout the year and she completed numerous practice papers for each subject in the final lead up to the VCE examinations.

With the final round of tertiary offers now complete, a third of the graduates will be attending the University of Melbourne, a third attending Monash University with the opportunity of a double degree an appealing option, and the final third of the cohort mostly attending ANU and RMIT.

It was pleasing to see over 20% of the cohort select courses across the STEM fields with Biomedicine, Science and Engineering being the most popular. On the strength of a strong Humanities program at St Catherine’s, 35% of the cohort have selected courses across Commerce, Law, Arts, Criminology and Politics/Philosophy and Economics certainly attracting interest.

We were also delighted to announce over the Summer break news of three Visual Arts students whose work was selected in the highly acclaimed VCAA Season of Excellence. Studio Arts students, Margaret Handolias and Millie Fraser-Smith’s works were selected for the Top Arts with their works exhibited from Friday 26 March at the Ian Potter Centre: NGV until mid-July. Visual Communication and Design student, Isabel Simon’s work was selected in Top Design with her work exhibited from Saturday 17 April 2021 at the Melbourne Museum; this exhibition also closes mid-July. Younger students currently studying one of our three Visual Arts courses (Studio Arts, Media and Visual Communication Design) are strongly encouraged to view the exhibitions in the forthcoming months of the very best of the VCE works attained last year. Needless to say, many students have capitalised on their love of the Arts courses at School with 15 students opting for courses in Design, Architecture, Marketing and Media.

Whilst our Assembly on Monday morning was dedicated to acknowledging the Class of 2020, during the evening we warmly welcomed the Year 7 cohort, also known as the Class 2026, at their Induction Service at Toorak Uniting Church. Commencing Senior School is an important milestone, and in partnership with families, we look forward to developing in our Year 7 girls the capacity to engage with and respond to their world with wisdom, imagination and integrity. Starting Senior School is also a time of much excitement, new experiences and learning opportunities. A time for defining one’s strengths, discovering your unique self and creating unparalleled pathways to adulthood.

The notion of change is high on one’s agenda in the month of February as the rhythm of the school year resettles against the backdrop of change itself. Our Year 7 girls, transitioning into life as secondary school students, our Year 12 girls, inducted last week to the role as student leaders, a changing of the guard so to speak and this week, our Graduating Class of 2020 returning to School for a morning assembly. Clearly visible was their changing from a school girl to that of a university student. Undoubtedly, completing school is one of the most significant changes and milestones you will make as young women, a focused and deliberate step into adult life.

Of course, the great paradox of change is that the organisations that best adapt to a changing world know what not to change. They have a fixed anchor of guiding principles. Knowing what not to change is as important as change itself.

At St Catherine’s, the fixed anchor point are the strong values embedded within your education: Empathy, Curiosity, Perseverance and Integrity and Gratitude.

As such, I encouraged the Graduating Class of 2020 to remain true to the character of St Catherine’s women that have gone before them and to forever look for St Catherine’s women around them, no matter where they are in the world and to remember to always reach back as well. There is a saying in professional networking for women: “to send the elevator back down when you step out”; that is encouraging other women to go forward with you, and if you can, make it a St Catherine’s woman. You never know where a sharing a thread of gold and blue may lead you, as St Catherine’s women intrinsically understand they have a role to play in bringing about positive change.