Now that the Melbourne Cup has been run and won, it seems a truism the weather in Melbourne becomes more summer-like. Consequently, we tend to go outside more and experience the great climate in Victoria at this time of year.  

Last weekend I was at my country property in the Central Goldfields making the most of the sunshine, and planting tomatoes in our vegetable garden. In this part of the world, you never plant tomatoes before Cup Day lest a late frost kills them off!  

With Spring in full swing, we took the opportunity to visit a few of the spectacular open gardens in the local district and in the process enjoyed lunch at one of the nearby wineries. Enjoying a spread of antipasto accompanied by a glass of my favourite wine, pinot noir. My wife and I, and a few friends, enjoyed the best of a pleasant afternoon overlooking the rolling hills. 

On the way home, I found myself thinking about a movie from a few years back that tells the tale of two friends taking a road trip to Santa Barbara wine country in California. Sideways is an intelligent, funny, and moving motion picture. Miles is the main character in the movie and an aficionado of pinot noir. His friend Maya, at a particularly emotional part of the movie, asks Miles “So why are you so into Pinots? They’re like a thing with you.” 

Miles responds with the following: 

“It’s a hard grape to grow, as you know. It’s thin-skinned, temperamental. It’s not a survivor like cabernet that can grow anywhere and thrive even when neglected. Pinot needs constant care and attention, you know? And it can only grow in these specific, little, tucked-away corners of the world. And, only the most patient and nurturing of growers can do it, really. Only somebody who really takes the time… to understand pinot’s potential… can then coax it into its fullest expression.” 

It occurred to me that growing pinot noir is not unlike what we do at St Catherine’s School. Children, especially teenagers, can be at times temperamental and easily upset. Resilience is a hard-won attribute. Children do not develop into good, well-rounded people in an environment where they are neglected. Children need care, support, and love. Children are not cabernet grapes which thrive no matter what the conditions! For children to thrive they need constant care and attention in a special environment if we are to see the best in them emerge.  

St Catherine’s is a special place that Miles might call a “tucked away corner of the world” where our students can grow. Our teachers are indeed patient and their dedication to nurturing the girls with just the right amounts of care, support, gentle prodding, and enormous amounts of careful planning and delivering lessons of high quality, all combine to create conditions where our students thrive. By the end of their school journey, we see our alumnae achieving great things. 

At a girls’ school like St Catherine’s, our students are treated with respect and kindness within a culture that does not limit what girls aspire to do and what they can achieve. Miles is adamant the difficult pinot noir grape requires a special amount of skill and time to nurture it. Our girls at St Catherine’s require similar treatment. The wine produced from the pinot noir grape is subtle, bright, structured, complex, and full of character. You could say exactly the same about our students.