The vibrant nature of life at St Catherine’s is so often reflected in the variety of events occurring throughout the year. The annual Ruth Langley Luncheon is one such celebratory event, enabling women to connect with the School, share poignant memories with friends, and celebrate the strength of our engaged, dynamic and inclusive community. The Ruth Langley Luncheon provides us with an important opportunity to draw on the connection of our community.

The Luncheon was initiated in 1999 by the Parents’ and Friends’ Association, and celebrates the leading role played by Miss Ruth Langley, both in the history of St Catherine’s School and women’s education in Victoria.

This year, the Ruth Langley Luncheon was postponed and re-scheduled on four different occasions, so it was with some relief that we managed to navigate the complexity of the COVID restrictions and enjoy the event at Leonda this week. It was indeed a time for joy, despite the late withdrawal of our guest speaker, Peta Credlin, owing to a slow return time of a COVID test.

Not to be disillusioned, our very own St Catherine’s parent, journalist, presenter and author, Ms Mimi Kwa, stepped up to the plate brilliantly with only a few hours’ notice. Mimi regaled the audience with her uplifting early career highlights as a young journalist working for the ABC, and later Channel 9. Her Keynote Address provided laughter, smiles and was truly inspirational as she shared moments of vulnerability that are familiar to us all. I am looking forward to reading Mimi’s recently released book, The House of Kwa. Her honest and vivid storytelling promises to be a wonderful read over the summer months.

My congratulations and thank you to Mimi, PFA President, Mrs Samantha Wood and the PFA Committee, for coordinating this wonderful event. Each year, the Ruth Langley Luncheon is a highlight in our School calendar, which is testament to the creativity, organisation and commitment of the PFA. This year was exactly that.

The funds raised from Wednesday’s Luncheon will once again contribute to the exciting development of the Black Box Theatre, a home for performing arts in our School. We look forward to opening the Theatre early in the new year!

Staff Acknowledgements

It gave me great pleasure to announce Mrs Kim Waters as the eighth recipient of the St Catherine’s School Excellence in Teaching and Learning Award at our annual Speech Day last week. This award is peer nominated and recognises:

• consistent and dedicated service to teaching;
• achieving excellent student outcomes; and
• a willingness to share successful teaching and learning strategies.

Staff nominating their colleagues for this award often reflect on our School Motto – Nil Magnum, Nisi Bonum (Nothing is Great, unless it is Good). Our Head of Year 7, Ms Liv Cher, recently explained this meaning to our Year 7 girls, that being, “in all you do, you do it with goodness, kindness, honour and integrity, the big, the small, the seen and the unseen”.

As the recipient of the 2021 Excellence in Teaching and Learning Award, Mrs Waters epitomises everything this motto encompasses. Her kindness to students and staff, her generosity in sharing of classroom practice within Professional Learning Teams, her support of students and their learning needs, both in and beyond the classroom, is most significant, and makes her a worthy recipient of this award. Though she is a quiet achiever, the integrity and empathy Mrs Waters demonstrates in her everyday actions, big and small, do not go unnoticed.

Over the course of Term 4, 14 St Catherine’s VCE teachers have engaged in the opportunity to be Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA) Markers and Assessors. By way of example, one staff member marked up to 500 VCE English exam essays. Two assessors mark every paper and discrepancy between allocated marks results in a third marker also assessing the paper. Consistency is undoubtedly essential with this level of marking. Whilst most teachers assess written examinations, members of our Language Faculty also contribute to assessing the VCE oral examinations or the practical component of subjects such as Theatre Studies.

Assessing VCE external examinations provides valuable professional development, interaction with colleagues at other schools, and an opportunity to contribute more broadly to the VCE external assessment process. All teachers appointed as assessors receive significant training, covering all aspects of the assessment process, and over the course of the training, a broad range of student responses are explored to establish clear and consistent benchmarks for all assessors. This is a valuable opportunity to explore the full range of responses in the exams and to drill down the finer requirements of exam technique.

As the school year draws to a close, I take this opportunity to thank all of the St Catherine’s School staff and members of our Senior Leadership Team who oversee the Educational and Business aspects of running a school. We continue to be passionate and determined in the pursuit of our vision and our mission, despite working in the complexity of COVID.

Undoubtedly, the quality of the conversations we all have, the language we use, and the messages we convey are at the heart of a St Catherine’s education. At various times this year, many people were burdened by isolation, loneliness and frustration. However, I observed time and again, it was often the routine of the school day, a familiar timetable, a teacher’s reassuring voice and the connection with subject matter that so often settled and calmed the teenagers and children in our care.

In our Senior School, we farewell and acknowledge at the end of the year the contribution of School Psychologist, Ms Amelia King, who will be commencing work in private practice in the new year. Amelia has provided close to 10 years’ service to the School, supporting countless girls with their emotional and social health, including the professional advice shared with our Wellbeing Team and parents.

Much valued teacher, Ms Susan Hobson will be retiring after a tremendous career in education, not only as a teacher across Mathematics, Humanities and Health and Physical Education Faculties, but also as an outstanding running coach. We have collectively gained much from Ms Hobson’s experiences as an elite athlete and her contribution to the coordination and drive of the Year 9 Co-curricular programs has also been particularly noteworthy. Susan will be dearly missed and we wish her a wonderful, relaxing retirement.

As mentioned in earlier Blue Ribbon articles this semester, we will also farewell and thank the following Senior School teachers for their care and commitment to students, and for their professional contribution with colleagues, and wish them well in their future endeavours: Ms Elaina Cortez (Commerce), Mr Dylan Licastro (Drama), Mr Brad Hicks (HPE), Mrs Melissa Braddy (Learning Plus), Ms Kirsten Wiley (Mathematics) and Mr Fiachra Barry (Physics).

In the Junior School, we also farewell and acknowledge the significant contribution of Ms Simone Schilte, Mrs Loretta Iacuone, Mrs Lola Ballis and Mrs Melissa Dods. We also wish Mrs Jessica Easton well as she takes parental leave in 2022. In the ELC, we farewell Ms Nadia Durrant and Mrs Christine Wipfli, who is retiring after 15 years at St Catherine’s.

In our Academic Team, I congratulate Ms Mary-Anne Keratiotis on her appointment as Head of the English Faculty, and Mrs Ceri Lloyd elevating to the role of Director of Teaching and Learning, and as a member of the Senior Leadership Team.

In 2022, we will welcome several new staff members to our St Catherine’s community. Across our Early Learning Centre, Junior School and Senior School, these staff members are all passionate educators and committed to girls’ education. We welcome:

Early Learning Centre

• Ms Erin Jolly, ELC Assistant

Junior School 

• Ms Victoria Shaw, STEM Specialist
• Ms Auveen Twomey, Year 4 Classroom Teacher
• Mrs Louise Thompson, Year 2 Classroom Teacher
• Dr Lena Wintermantel, Provisional Educational Psychologist
• Ms Kellie Dunstan, Junior School Administrator

Senior School

• Ms Clare Haysom, Physics & General Science Educator
• Ms Zoe Poulson, Careers Practitioner
• Mr Richard Walker, Mathematics Educator
• Ms Georgina Speak, Psychologist
• Mr Scott Dacy, VCE Physical Education Educator
• Ms Roslyn McCulloch, Humanities Educator

Further details on all of our new staff members can be found here. As leaders in their fields, these staff members will further enhance the student experience at St Catherine’s and ensure our culture of learning continues in every classroom and Co-curricular program.

This weekend we look forward to the Saturday and Sunday performances of the Years 7 and 8 play, Elf Jr. and to the Year 6 Graduation on Tuesday 7 December and the Barbreck Christmas Picnic on Thursday, 9 December on the Village Green. We also look forward to the much-anticipated House Arts competition in the Senior School, commencing at 6.30pm on Thursday 9 December  in the Dorothy Pizzey Hall. This exceptional event is the culmination of five days’ work, completely led by Year 11 students and demands teamwork, months of planning, sharing ideas, collaboration and leadership at its best. This opportunity involves everyone.

Finally, community members are invited to join the School for our Christmas Services within both our Junior and Senior Schools.