As our 2023 School Co-Captains, Ava Colosimo and Flora Du commence their leadership roles, they share their thoughts for the coming year.

What do you hope to accomplish in your role as School Captain this year?

Ava: As School Captain this year, I hope to inspire and ignite the same passion within the students that St Catherine’s School has kindled in me. 

Being School Captain is such an incredible opportunity and I hope to continue uniting and growing the community that is St Catherine’s. I have had so many incredible opportunities and been able to play many different roles at School. I hope to encourage girls to pursue their interests and passions and really find their voice over the next year. St Catherine’s is full of talented students, and I hope to inspire them to follow their dreams and embrace the opportunities at School. 

Flora: I hope that my role as School Co-Captain will allow me to engage, interact and connect with many students in our School.  

From an individual perspective, I hope that I can actively create opportunities to know others and allow meaningful friendships to form. I hope I can share the captaincy role with other Year 12s, allowing them to partake in opportunities that showcase their leadership skills.  

I believe that as a Year level we can lead our School to become an even more open and well-rounded collective.  

How did you become interested in a student leadership role?

Ava: There are so many incredible women and leaders at St Catherine’s School who have demonstrated the value of leadership over the years. One of the many incredible things about going to an all girls school is that you are constantly surrounded by powerful female leaders, who inspire us to find our own inner strength.

Flora: I’ve never really considered myself as an extrovert or a leader, but when the opportunity presented itself, I thought that leadership would be a good challenge. I had ideas, through my own experiences and through talking to others, about how to improve our School. I wanted to use this valuable learning opportunity to make our students at St Catherine’s have the most enjoyable, memorable experience. 

What are the key responsibilities of being School Captain?

Ava: I think that being School Captain means not only being a voice for the School, but also encouraging and ensuring that each girl knows that their opinions and ideas are valued and that they too have a voice within our community, a voice that people will listen to. I believe it is important for young women to know that what they have to say is incredibly important and that their opinion matters just as much as anyone else’s. I think a key responsibility of the Captain is empowering students to stand up and speak up, both for themselves and others.  

Flora: It is one’s duty to be the best version of themselves upon gaining a leadership role. While I can’t say that I’m perfect, I still think that it’s my responsibility to constantly improve and be someone who others can look up to. On a lighter note, I believe that a School Captain should be actively bridging the divide across different Year levels and friendship groups. We should be an approachable figure for all students around the School and help people in our community become more open to each other.  

What is one word that best describes the kind of School Captain you would like to be?

Ava: At the end of the year, I hope to be remembered as a fearless leader.  

A School Captain who fearlessly supported her peers. Who fearlessly empowered students, who fearlessly pursued her passions, and above all else someone who was a fearless friend. I believe that it really is the little moments that have defined who I am as an individual, and I hope to be someone that others can look to both for inspiration, and for friendship and support throughout the year.  

Flora: Versatile.  

I want to be able to support our School across many different aspects. I want to be there for our students and perhaps most importantly, be able to conquer many different challenges.  

Describe the most enjoyable aspect of being part of St Catherine’s School?

Ava: There is something so special about being part of the St Catherine’s community. We are such a tight-knit group of girls who constantly support and lift each other up. I believe that this is what makes our School unique.  

It is so rare to find a school in which every student helps each other despite their Year level or interests. I believe that our community really fosters a true sense of unity and cohesion. Being a St Catherine’s girl is so much more than putting our blue ribbon in our hair each day, it is coming to School with a positive attitude and a desire to learn with the knowledge that you have a whole community of friends helping you along the way. It is the understanding that even after we graduate and continue with our lives beyond school, we will forever have the support of our collective blue ribbon girls.  

Flora: Personally, I find St Catherine’s diverse activities most enjoyable. St Catherine’s students are encouraged to extend themselves across different areas, including Sport, Music, and Public Speaking to name a few. I think that it is our wide range of co–curricular activities, as well as our academics, that make St Catherine’s students truly special.  

What is one quality a good leader needs to have?

Ava: I believe that being a good leader involves passionate enthusiasm and a desire to leave something better than you found it. It means being positive when others cannot and finding the words to speak for those who cannot. Above all else, I believe that a leader must be brave. She should be someone who can lead the way to empower others to create their own journey. I do not think that a leader needs to be perfect or flawless all the time, but rather someone who fearlessly pursues her interests and speaks her mind, while inspiring others to do the same. 

Flora: Resilience. Resilience in bouncing back after failure, resilience in preserving through challenges and resilience in leading the School. I think that it is important for every student to showcase this trait, but even more so for a leader of St Catherine’s – School Captains and all Year 12 students, who will act as role models for the rest of the students.  

What is one thing you would like to take from the experience of being School Captain once you leave the Heyington Gates?

Ava: I hope to inspire girls to pursue their interests and find their voice. Provide advice and support for the students and continue learning from, and being inspired by, my peers.  

There are so many talented and unique individuals at St Catherine’s and as School Captain I hope to be able to get to know each student and learn from the knowledge and ideas that they have to offer.  

Being School Captain in 2023 is such an incredible opportunity that I am so grateful to have been offered. I am confident that whatever the following year brings, I will come out of it a more rounded and experienced individual thanks to the support and community of the teachers and students at St Catherine’s.  

Flora: I hope that I can become more confident around others and be more adept at incorporating and listening to many ideas. I want to be able to include many in the conversation and allow them to take part in forming the community we all share. 

St Catherine’s has granted me a valuable learning opportunity, allowing me to learn how to look for improvement and expect the best from myself as well as others. I can only hope that these qualities will become second nature as I move forward in life.  

“I am so grateful and excited to have been given the opportunity to be St Catherine’s School Co-Captain for 2023, and
I know that next year will be one of passionate learning, of an empowered community and most importantly, one full of blue ribbon determination and fearlessness.” Ava Colosimo 

 

“I am extremely grateful for the opportunity that our School has provided Ava and I. While I do think that every Year 12 plays a crucial role in leading our School,
I am honoured to continue Angela and Maddie’s legacy from 2022, as one of St Catherine’s 2023 School Captains.”  Flora Du