Christmas Fair 

The School community has enjoyed an action-packed week commencing with the PFA reigniting the Christmas Fair last Friday evening. We then enjoyed the colourful Diversity Dash relished by Barbreck and Senior students earlier this week.  

The PFA Committee’s creative flair and high level of organisation is renowned, and the Christmas Fair provided, once again, a joyous celebration of the Christmas season. I acknowledge the work of 2022 PFA President, Mr Kevin D’Souza, who so enthusiastically galvanised the most amazing team of St Catherine’s parents to reimagine many of the PFA events this year. The end-result last week, was a spectacular evening blessed with sunny blue skies and wonderful support from families in attendance. 

At the PFA AGM this week, I wholeheartedly shared my congratulations to the Committee for their successful year of events that has ensured opportunities for parents to reengage in the School. The Father and Mother’s Day Breakfasts, the Ruth Langley Luncheon and the Christmas Fair have been heralded for many years as generating much community spirit and are a welcome return to the post-COVID calendar of events. This year, the PFA gifted to the School the full 360° black-out curtains in The Jamie and Rebecca Gray Theatre and most recently, pledged $100k to the She is Strong capital campaign for the development of the new sports centre occurring over the next five months. 

Years 9 and 10 Leadership Diploma 

St Catherine’s School has always regarded service and responsibility integral elements of a girl’s education. It is important that every girl experiences some form of leadership whilst at School and is prepared for responsibilities. 

To this end, leadership skills are nurtured in every girl commencing in the Senior School with the Year 7 Beyond Boundaries Camp experiences, opportunities to participate in the Student Representative Council (SRC) and commencing this year, the Barbreck Ambassador Program. This Program for girls in Years 5 and 6 is founded on developing leadership skills. This development continues across the years and is formalised through the Leadership Diploma offered in Year 9 (Light Blue) and Years 10 and 11 (Dark Blue). 

The Diploma is a unique qualification to St Catherine’s and offers students the opportunity to strengthen the School community and refine their own leadership skills. The Leadership Diploma incorporates all components of the Years 9 and 10 curriculum and recognises students’ involvement in, and achievement from, their academic and co-curricular programs. It drives the girls to be organised, proactive, altruistic, insightful, and empathetic, with the opportunity to make a tangible difference to their School and local community.  

Students must successfully complete a list of criteria which includes developing positive relationships, involvement in mentoring programs, community service and environment programs, performance and public speaking, outdoor education and being a positive role model. Students who complete the Diploma are then eligible for leadership selection for roles such as School Captain, House Captain, and the many co-curricular captaincy roles available in Year 12.  

Mattea Demetriou and Stella Jesudason collected over 400 books for the Indigenous Literacy Foundation

This week in Assembly, we recognised students who have completed their Dark Blue Leadership Diplomas. The community service projects supported by the students were many and varied. Inspiringly, many students selected causes that are focused on the health, wellbeing, and care of women in our society.  

Megan Chang and Charlotte Upton raised awareness for the plight of women living with financial disadvantage through their ‘Share the Dignity’ project, raising $200 and donating toiletry products for the cause. Nguyen Thu (Anna) Nguyen Diep, along with her peers, led an awareness and fundraising campaign for the Breast Cancer Network. Mattea Demetriou and Stella Jesudason collected over 400 books for the Aboriginal Literacy Foundation that will be distributed to Northern Territory and Far North Queensland schools.

Music Theatre Guild News 

In recent weeks, we received wonderful news that our Senior School production of Urinetown: The Musical presented in Term 2 has been acknowledged by the Music Guild of Victoria.  

The Musical was attended by three Judges from the panel of the Music Theatre Guild of Victoria. Between them, the panel visit hundreds of performances across the year all over the state, allocating points in a range of categories to determine the shortlists for commendations and nominations for school and junior theatre company productions. The shortlists were announced last week for the 2021-2022 season. These acknowledgments are very hard to come by, given the competition across Victoria and the sheer number of member companies of the Guild.  

Our production of Urinetown was awarded four commendations and one nomination. The year culminates in a celebratory awards evening, where the nominations of each open and junior section category are announced, and the overall winner is presented with a Guild Award. This year, the 35th Annual ‘Bruce’ Awards will be held on Saturday 10 December 2022 at Robert Blackwood Hall, Monash University. 

Our acknowledgments included:  

MTGV 2021-2022 Season 

Junior Female Performer in a Leading Role 

Nomination – Charlotte Aston, Bobby Strong, Urinetown, St Catherine’s School 

Commendation – Freya Cantwell, Hope Cladwell, Urinetown, St Catherine’s School 

Musical Direction of a Junior Production 

Commendation – Mr Nick Grunden and Mr Tim Collins, Urinetown, St Catherine’s School 

Direction of a Junior Production 

Commendation – Mr James Brown, Urinetown, St Catherine’s School 

 And finally, our ENTIRE TEAM has been recognised in the category of Junior Production of the Year 

Commendation – Urinetown, St Catherine’s School!  

Staff VCE Acknowledgements 

Over the course of Term 4, 15 St Catherine’s VCE teachers have engaged in the opportunity to be Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA) markers and assessors. Whilst most teachers assess written examinations, members of our Language Faculty also contribute to assessing the oral examinations or the practical component of subjects such as Music and Stagecraft Examinations in 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 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 year, the following St Catherine’s staff have contributed to the state-wide process:  

Staff Acknowledgements 

As the school year draws to a close, I take this opportunity to thank all 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. Undoubtedly, the true job of the teacher at St Catherine’s is to take our students on a journey to discover their talents and potential.  

In particular, I very much appreciate the lengths each staff member at St Catherine’s School has undertaken in helping our Year 12 girls discover and unlock their individual possibilities. The level of expertise and experience is significant, as evidenced by the number of our teachers undertaking roles as VCE markers and assessors.  

We are also fortunate to have teachers who are highly regarded leaders in their fields across Victoria, including: 

• Head of Science, Ms Vanessa Jackson-McRae who was invited to participate in the writing of the new VCE Chemistry syllabus;  
• Mrs Janette Matt who has for many years undertaken the role of Victorian Assistant Chief Assessor in Specialist Mathematics; and 
• Ms Sue Macgeorge, who is the VCE Biology Assistant Chief Assessor. 

At this time, we farewell and acknowledge the retirement of Ms Carol Curtis (ELC), Ms Sue Macgeorge (Science Faculty) and Mrs Janette Matt (Mathematics Faculty) who have each made extraordinary contributions to educating students of all ages, in long held careers in teaching.  

In my recent conversation with Carol Curtis, a staff member for over 20 years, she described much joy in the shared stories of our graduating Class of 2022. Carol was instrumental in starting the educational journeys of many of our current Year 12 girls who commenced at St Catherine’s when they were just three years of age. We wish Carol, along with Janette and Sue, the very best of good health and happy times in their retirement. 

I also take this opportunity to thank and say farewell to Ms Julia West (Arts Faculty) and Mr Craig Roberts (Language Faculty) who are both relocating with their families to regional Victoria, along with Mr Michael Hein (Humanities Faculty), Mr Richard Walker (Mathematics) and Mrs Angela Klancic (Mathematics Faculty) who are commencing at new schools in 2023.  

The School finalised the recruitment for all new staff in early Term 4 and we feel excited by the level of expertise and value our new staff will bring to the School. In completing the staffing matrix for 2023, we have also made internal appointments for staff stepping into leadership positions. 

In our Wellbeing Team, I congratulate Mrs Alison Cassidy on her appointment to a new role as Director of Senior Years. We also welcome Ms Freda Armstrong, starting next year as Director of Middle Years and teaching Mathematics. Ms Armstrong has many years’ experience and expertise working in girls’ education at both PLC and Avila College. Ms Roslyn McCulloch and Ms Kathryn Lucas both look forward to stepping into the Wellbeing Team as the Head of Year 10 and the Head of Year 7, respectively.  

Following many years in the Wellbeing Team, Miss Jenny Molloy will step out of this significant pastoral care role. The impact of her support, care and attention as a Head of Year is renowned and I take this opportunity to share the appreciation of many students, parents and teachers for her expertise and contribution to the life of many girls. Jenny will remain as a Humanities teacher in the School and particularly looks forward to embracing the Harkness-inspired teaching program in Year 9. 

Next week, we look forward to the Year 6 Graduation on Monday 5 December and the much-anticipated House Arts Competition on Thursday 8 December commencing at 6.00pm in the Dorothy Pizzey Hall. This exceptional event is the culmination of five days of rehearsals completely led by students. House Arts requires exceptional teamwork, months of planning, collaboration, and leadership.

Finally, community members are invited to join the School for our Christmas services: 

Junior School Christmas Service 

Thursday 8 December at 2.00pm
Toorak Uniting Church
Toorak Road, Toorak 

Senior School Christmas Service 

Friday 9 December at 11.00am
Toorak Uniting Church
Toorak Road, Toorak