As the Term draws to a close, I wish all families a relaxing and enjoyable Easter holiday. I reminded the girls at our Church Services this week, that Easter is a time to reflect upon all that we are grateful for and all that we can do in the joyous service of others – friends, families, and our community. It is a time to reflect and be guided by our values each and every day. Easter is a timely reminder to ensure we continue to show empathy, care, and gratitude for others.

The Vicar at St John’s Anglican Church, The Reverend Dr Peter French, and member of St Catherine’s School Council, shared with us during his Easter Reflection this week, the long connection between St Catherine’s School and the Church. Towards the end of the 1850s, it was felt by many that the suburb of Toorak had grown sufficiently to warrant the building of a church of its own. To this end, a meeting of 17 local residents gathered in the grand home of Mr H.W. Dauglish – the very building we now call Sherren House. At this meeting in the Dining Room of Sherren House, attended by several local dignitaries, a board of five trustees, together with an honorary secretary were appointed to raise funds for the building of a church for the people of Toorak. Within months, one of the six trustees appointed at that first meeting, Mr Alfred Ross, had donated sufficient land from his property ‘Orrong’ for the site of the church, and over £1500 had been raised. In April 1860, the Governor of the colony of Victoria, Sir Henry Barkly, laid the foundation stone with the Church building opening some two years later in July 1862.

The Church doors remained open, every single day, for almost 140 years, until COVID lockdown restrictions enforced closure in April 2020. After two years of intermittent COVID restrictions, it was a pleasure to return to St John’s Anglican Church for our Senior School and Barbreck Easter Services this year, a tradition that has been ongoing since 1922, when the School relocated from rural Victoria to Toorak.

Rowing Triumph – St Catherine’s First VIII are NATIONAL CHAMPIONS

We have enjoyed an incredible finish to the 2022 Rowing Season. Last weekend, the St Catherine’s First VIII, the MMXXI stormed home to take out the title in the Schoolgirl 8+ Event at the Australian Rowing Championships. It is the first time in our School’s history that a crew has been successful in winning the Head of Schoolgirls Regatta and the National Championships in the same year.

This is only our second time winning this Australian Championship trophy, the ‘Sydney Cup’. In one of the most tightly contested races of the Regatta, the MMXXI surged to the lead in the closing 50 metres of the 2km race to win by the narrowest of margins, less than a canvas of a boat.

It was certainly a thrilling victory watched by many attending at Nagambie, as well as on a live stream broadcast to members of our community. Thank you to our parents, who have been an amazing support for the girls, and all our teachers for their academic care of the girls during this busy training schedule, in particular, Ms Jeanette Gunn for her weekly academic support of the girls across the season.

Congratulations to the coaches, led by Mr John Saunders and Head of Rowing, Miss Brigette Carlile, and the First VIII Crew: Summer Balla-Kellett (Cox), rowers: Bronte Cullen, Jemima Wilcox, Zara Bongiorno, Sarah Marriott, Chloe Nevins, Sienna Darcy, Lucy Green, and Zara Peele.

The Senior Team also included our Division 2 Crew competing at Nagambie. Rowing in the boat, The Fearless Girl, the Crew also had a stellar regatta, racing against and beating many First VIIIs from across the country, finishing 11th overall out of 22 crews competing in the Regatta. A very impressive accomplishment.

Staff Information

As Term One draws to a close, I thank and farewell Ms Natali Nishanian from our Early Learning Centre and wish her the very best for the future. I also take this opportunity to acknowledge and thank Ms Alison Cassidy as Acting Head of Year in Year 8, Ms Kana Yokouchi as Dean of Academics, and Ms Liv Cody as Acting Head of Sport. Ms Cassidy will be stepping into the role of Dean of Academics from Term 2 and we look forward to welcoming from maternity leave Ms Skye Stansfield, returning to her role as Head of Year 8, and Mr Nick Racina, as our Head of Sport, from his much-enjoyed paternity leave.

It is with much sadness that I advise of the resignation of Miss Jeanette Gunn AM from St Catherine’s School. Jeanette joined the Staff in January 2009 as a Mathematics teacher and held the positions of VCE Coordinator in 2011 to 2012 and Dean/Head of Years 11 and 12 from 2014 to 2018.

Jeanette has provided outstanding support and service to the School over many years, and we thank her for her loyalty, dedication, and commitment to our students. As a VCE Maths Methods teacher and VCAA Methods Marker, Jeanette played a central role in the Mathematics Faculty; her departure will be felt deeply by her colleagues.

Jeanette is well-known for her enthusiasm for sport, and love of the Sydney Swans. She was the Team Manager for the Australian Women’s Water Polo Team from 1995 to 2008 which included attending 2000, 2004 and 2008 Olympics Games and World Championships. She was also awarded the Harry Quittner Medal for Service to Women’s Water Polo. In recognition of her significant service to elite sport, Jeanette was honoured with an AM in the 2021 Australia Day Awards.

At School, we have appreciated Jeanette’s contribution to our own sporting programs, where she coached and managed St Catherine’s Water Polo teams for many years, and Tennis teams. As a rowing enthusiast, Jeanette strongly supported our Senior crews by providing academic support whilst in-season and travelling at regattas. Jeanette never missed an opportunity to stand on the banks of the river whether it be NSW, Tasmania or Victoria cheering our rowing teams to victory. She was a wealth of sporting knowledge whenever we travelled together to regattas and it was our privilege to honour her contribution through naming one of the quad boats: The Jeanette Gunn.

I thank Jeanette for her professionalism, warmth and approachable nature, characteristics highly valued by me and the School. We wish her good health and happiness in the future.

She will be dearly missed.

The following staff will be commencing their Long Service Leave in Term 2: Mr Tim Olsen, Mrs Virginia Midgley, Ms Sandra Ching, and Mr Andrew Gold. I trust their time of leave provides some well-deserved rest and recuperation.

I wish you all the very best for the Easter holidays. I extend my best wishes to students kayaking near Eildon, Victoria as part of their Gold Duke of Edinburgh Award and to the students hiking the Three Capes Walk and Maria Island, Tasmania. As communicated in my correspondence earlier this week, I look forward to returning in Term 3 after completing my six-week sabbatical leave and three-week long service leave across Term 2.

Following the hectic nature of Term 1, Easter provides a much-needed time for stillness and an opportunity for our students to achieve a balance between their academic work, co-curricular activities, commitments to others, and some time to enable gentle interactions in their relationships.

I encourage our families to enjoy this time together.