As Term 2 draws to a close, I wish our St Catherine’s families the very best for the forthcoming school holidays. Thank you for supporting your daughter’s endeavours at School this semester in both her academic and co-curricular programs.  

Our Senior School students in Years 9 to 11 over the past week have been admirable in their diligent and determined approach to study for their end of semester examinations, along with the Year 12 students who have recently completed Unit 3 SACs.  

The End of Semester Reports, inclusive of Academic Transcripts, Student Reflections and House Tutor Comments will be circulated via the mystcatherines portal over the course of the holidays. Further details regarding your daughter’s academic achievement and specific assessment results are regularly provided across the semester through our Continuous Reporting Method. This is relevant for all Senior School students, in addition to the Barbreck Years 4 to 6 Cohorts.  

Our Barbreck Wellbeing Festival focused on wellbeing without a screen

On Wednesday of this week, our Barbreck girls celebrated their inaugural Wellbeing Festival – focused on Wellbeing Without a Screen. Our Barbreck Wellbeing Day served as reminder of the many activities that can be enjoyed over the holidays without using a screen. Families with young children are encouraged to embark on days over the next three weeks that intentionally reduce the use of technology in their homes, aiming to limit screen time, and replace with board games, cooking, reading, bike riding and craft activities. Our Deputy Head of Barbreck, Mr Luke Russell provides further details regarding the Wellbeing Festival in his Blue Ribbon article here. 

I was interested to listen to one of Australia’s leading professors on Childhood and Adolescent Wellbeing, Emeritus Professor Donna Cross OAM, who presented at the International Coalition of Girls’ School Conference in Hobart recently. Professor Cross concluded her presentation highlighting the “actions that are most strongly associated with girls’ wellbeing…” listing school culture of significant importance. 

School culture is often described as how a school feels in everything it says and does. This extends to creating, importantly, a sense of inclusion. Also noted was the need for girls to have Student Voice, with research revealing this is more important than for boys, in addition to a sense of calmness that is created across the school environment.  

Professor Cross also spoke of the benefit of frequent conversations for daughters with their parents. Notably, Professor Cross recognised the value of social cohesion in the home, which showed a strong correlation with wellbeing. This factor seemed to be more important than family structure. 

As we embark on the school holidays, I encourage you to seize this valuable time to reconnect with your children and engage in meaningful conversations. These conversations provide unique opportunities to share and reinforce family values such as compassion, kindness, tolerance, and integrity. While navigating the challenges of growing up, children seek to define their identities. Having clear family values can provide them with a sense of stability and a reliable framework amidst an uncertain world. 

Once again, I express my gratitude for your ongoing support and wish you and your families a restful and enjoyable school holidays. May this break be filled with treasured moments, rejuvenation, and quality time spent together.