Vale Queen Elizabeth II (1926-2022) 

It was with sadness that we learned of the passing of Queen Elizabeth II last week. This is indeed a momentous and historical period of time. Her life of bountiful service and devotion to duty was an example of leadership that inspired all with her deeply held values of kindness, poise and dignity ever present.  

During a speech to the United Nations in 2010, Queen Elizabeth shared her insights on leadership: 

“I know of no single formula for success. But over the years, I have observed that some attributes of leadership are universal and are often about finding ways of encouraging people to combine their efforts, their talents, their insights, their enthusiasm, and their inspiration to work together.” 

At the heart of her leadership was a willingness to serve. Ever since training as a truck mechanic during World War II, she was still working over 30 years after the retirement age in the UK. This included meeting people, encouraging their effort, and representing the nation. Inspiring people to work together. 

This week, we also celebrated the leadership of our current Year 12 students, in particular the School, House, and Co-curricular Captains, as they passed an array of symbols to their Year 11 counterparts. House costumes, sports gear including a cricket bat, relay batons, cross country skis and a science coat, and a musical score to name just a few.  

Whilst our Senior School Assembly was not quite as grand as the proclamation ceremonies witnessed over the weekend, marking the official accession to the throne for King Charles III, the Handover Assembly is an annual occasion that brings much joy to all students and marks the point in time every Spring, when our Year 12 students officially step away from their role as Captains and embark on the final journey of their schooling, preparing for their VCE examinations.  

We thank our departing 2022 Captains and welcome our emerging 2023 Captains below. 

On behalf of our School community, I thank Angela Yu and Madeline (Maddie) Powell for their leadership this year as School Co-Captains. This is a significant undertaking in Year 12, keeping in balance one’s academic studies, a commitment to co-curricular pursuits and the leadership responsibilities that come with such a role.  

Both Angela and Maddie have ensured a very friendly approach, and always demonstrated School pride, School spirit and an understanding of the essence of being a St Catherine’s girl. The girls have been well supported by an outstanding cohort of Year 12 girls, and their commitment, energy, and motivation has been felt by all. Their success as leaders has inspired girls to participate, to collaborate and to be fully immersed in the life of our School.  

Over the course of the September break, our focus remains firmly with our Year 12 students who enter the final phase of their VCE Exam preparations. The Nicholas Library will remain open every day throughout the two weeks, providing a quiet place to study. A number of subject tutorials will also be held over the course of the break with trial exams commencing in the second week. I encourage the girls to strike a balance of enjoying a restful break, maintaining a healthy level of exercise and nutrition, and developing an earnest study schedule. 

Snowsports Success

Congratulations to our St Catherine’s Snowsports Team for an incredible return to competition this season, following a two-year COVID hiatus. 

Competing at the Australian Interschools Snowsports Championships in Perisher last week, our Junior School took out the Overall Female Junior School Championship and our Senior School were runners up in the Overall Female Senior School Championship. The podium success at Nationals follows on from Victorian Interschool Championship wins for both our Junior and Senior Teams, along with the Victorian Interschool Cross Country Overall Female Junior School Championship and third place in the Victorian Overall Female Senior School Cross Country. 

Thank you to Miss Olivia Cody, Snowsports Coordinator and Mr Tom Crebbin, Barbreck Coordinator of Sport for your commitment to our Snowsports Program and our athletes. I extend my appreciation also to the many parents and families that travel to and from Mt Buller and Perisher during the Snowsports season, volunteering their time in blistering conditions to support their daughters. 

For a full report on the Australian Interschools Snowsports Championships click here. 

Staff Announcements

As Term 3 draws to a close, I write to provide an update to the staffing matrix for Term 4 and 2023.  

Today, we farewell Mr John Toulantas, Director of ICT. As a member of the Senior Leadership Team, John has provided outstanding support and service to the School over the past 12 years. His ability to manage the technical infrastructure, network and software of the School has been exceptional, in addition to his leadership of staff and students through implementing our eLearning Strategy.
 
Owing to John’s dedicated work ethic, the School has lifted the technology offering to ensure St Catherine’s leads across the educational sector with a level of sophistication in Cloud computing. John also enjoyed the opportunity to work on our major building projects, creatively solving problems of technical interface for all users in the Senior School, Barbreck Junior School, Edna Holmes Centre for Science and, most recently, The Jamie and Rebecca Gray Theatre. John also played a central role in the successful transition to the Learn@Home programs across the COVID lockdowns in 2020 and 2021.

 
This week we also acknowledge the dedicated and much valued work of Ms Merran O’Connor, in her role as Deputy Principal – Wellbeing. Merran will enjoy her Long Service Leave in Term 4 and return next year as a fulltime member of the English Faculty. As an interim measure, Mr Rob Marshall will continue his ‘Year of Acting’ as he steps into Merran’s role for Term 4.  

During her time in Senior Leadership, Merran was instrumental in developing a school partnership with Swinburne University to establish our Emotional Intelligence Program. Merran wrote our ELC to Year 12 Wellbeing program weThrive:Wellbeing@StCatherines and her work in shaping the Child Safe Policies has been exemplary.  

Merran has also built a wonderful library of resources for all parents that can be found on mystcatherines here.  

In alignment with our Towards 2025 Strategic Plan, we have taken the opportunity to re-structure this role into two roles: Director of Senior Years and Director of Middle Years. This restructure capitalises on the establishment of our Senior Years Learning Model in Years 10 to 12 and strengthens the work of our Academic Care program, in addition to guiding younger students in Years 7 to 9, as they emerge from the covid period. Importantly the re-structure will provide a sharpened focus on three cohorts for each Director, with enhanced support for the Heads of Year, ensuring a close network of care for each student. 

I look forward to announcing the successors of these two roles early next term.  

As the term draws to a close, I wish our St Catherine’s families a restful and relaxing holiday. All students can be justly proud of their achievements this term. Many of our girls have committed wholeheartedly to their study and co-curricular pursuits. The capacity of our girls to ‘juggle’ numerous activities never cease to amaze me. I am convinced this can only be made possible with the extraordinary level of support and guidance of our highly committed St Catherine’s parents. I do hope the girls remember to show their appreciation for their parents’ support and love over the holidays.