This term, St Catherine’s School community has, once again, rallied around each other during another winter lockdown. Families, parents, students and staff supporting each other with true St Catherine’s spirit.

We also witnessed this generosity of spirit during St Catherine’s School’s 2021 Giving Day, which saw our community raise over $210,000 in a 24-hour period. With the current total raised now sitting at $214,565 we are well on our way to fully funding the educational futures of two students. This generosity will support families who would otherwise not have been able to provide their daughters a St Catherine’s education.

Our Giving Day could not have achieved what it has without a small but mighty army of volunteers. We are indebted to each for their dedication and support.

Thank you to St Catherine’s staff from the Advancement, ICT and Marketing teams, plus our Principal and other staff members; Mr James Brown, Mr Andrew Gold, Mr Tom Crebbin and Ms Vasilika Spanos – who helped with promotions. These volunteers provided their time, talent and also tides to make Giving Day a great success.

We also thank our Giving Day Working Party made up of Foundation Board members – Mrs Sally Joubert, Ms Fiona Menzies (’87) and Mr Ronnie Calvert, as well as Mrs Anna Abbott (Nieuwenhuysen ‘91), Mrs Chrissy Ryan (Graham ’79) and Miss Diana Dunlop (’14). Thank you all for your good counsel and constant encouragement.

Every sector of our School community was represented in our Giving Day pool of volunteers, as they were in our community of donors, including students, staff and parents, current, past and future. We are so grateful for this phenomenal support during continued challenging times.

Donations can still be made to the St Catherine’s Hardship Fund Appeal. Every dollar raised towards our goal means less supplementary income required by St Catherine’s School.

We thank and acknowledge the individuals listed below who made our 2021 Giving Day possible.

Giving Day Launch Video Talent

Lady Marigold Southey AC (Myer, ’45)
Mrs Chrissy Ryan (Graham, ’79)
Miss Darcy Christie (’19)
Lucy Campbell (School Co-Captain)
Clementine (Cece) Newton-Brown (School Co-Captain)
Mr Wilson Lai (Alicia Year 4)
Mr Brett Chatfield (Grace Year 2 and Alexia Year 5)

Old Girl Scholarship Ambassadors

Miss Darcy Christie (’19)
Ms Veronica Corrigan (’06)
Miss Diana Dunlop (’14)
Mrs Georgia Huestis (McCann ’06)
Miss Demi Markakis (’18)
Miss Jaimee Salmon (’05)

Phone Room Volunteers

Miss Diana Dunlop (’14)
Miss Harriette Dryden (’19)
Ms Fiona Menzies (’87)
Mrs Sally Joubert (Chloe, Year 12 and Past Parent – Sophie (’15) and Annabel (’18))
Mr Ronnie Calvert (Nina, Year 3, Clara, Year 6 and Annabel, Year 8)
Mrs Nina Aberdeen (Kirby ’94) (Camilla, Year 5)
Mrs Gillian Ruan (Angela, Year 11)
Mrs Brianna Zhou (Lissette, Year 6)
Mr Jamie Gray (Past Parent – Annabelle (’15), Sophie (’12) and Hugo (’18))
The Rev. Dr Peter French, Chair of Hardship Fund Committee
Dr Damien Grinsell (Jemima, Year 1 and Samara, Year 3)

Social Media Influencers

Mrs Lamei Davenport (Aimee, Year 3 and Maeli, Year 9)
Ms Meng (Sherrie) Zeng (Isabelle, Year 7)
Mr Patrick Cody (Past Parent – Olivia (’14), Juliette (’15), Celia (’19) and Annelise (’19))

For more information on the St Catherine’s Hardship Fund or any aspect of giving to St Catherine’s School, please contact our Advancement Office via email advancement@stcatherines,net.au or call me directly on 03 9828 3032.