The end of Term 1 is nearly upon us. Perhaps it is a function of becoming older, but this term has for me, sped along at the speed of a Formula 1 race car. While there were many in Melbourne who attended the Grand Prix last weekend, I was enjoying a somewhat slower paced sporting event on the Barwon River for the Head of the School Girls (HOSG) Regatta. While the boats move at a more sedate pace than the race cars, the competitiveness and enthusiasm for the event was high. The regatta is an extraordinary event which attracts over 2,000 student athletes at what must be the biggest girls sporting event of its kind in Australia. Apart from the fact that our senior crews excelled by winning the 1^st VIII final and the 2^nd VIII achieving a silver medal for their event, in many ways, the highlight of the weekend was watching how our girls conducted themselves. Echoing our school motto, winning is great but were they good? I think the answer is absolutely.

One of the best parts of enjoying the rowing is engaging with students and parents on the banks of the river. I am always impressed by the values our parents and students demonstrate in their everyday conduct.  An example of this was that during the afternoon, a single scull rower from another school capsized her boat right in front of the St Catherine’s families. After some assistance from officials in the safety boat who follow every race, the girl righted her boat and managed to row on.  Our parents and students broke into spontaneous applause for this student. This moment said so much about why sport is a wonderful thing and also, why character is vitally important not just for the competitor but the spectators as well. The good character of our community was on full display.

On Saturday night I had the pleasure of being a guest along with our Principal Natalie Charles, at the parent’s rowing dinner. I was asked to give a speech, and I commenced by talking about wine! In the week previous to the HOSG I was mindlessly looking at Instagram videos as one does at times and up popped a clip from one of my favourite movies, Sideways.  There is a scene in the film when the main character Miles, describes his passion for Pinot Noir.

“It’s thin-skinned, temperamental, ripens early. It’s, you know, it’s not a survivor like Cabernet, which can just grow anywhere and uh, thrive even when it’s neglected. No, Pinot needs constant care and attention. You know? And in fact it can only grow in these really specific, little, tucked away corners of the world. And, 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. Then, I mean, oh its flavours, they’re just the most haunting and brilliant and thrilling and subtle and… ancient on the planet.”

It’s a wonderful scene and after viewing it again, it occurred to me that this description was very much a metaphor for not only our rowers but all of the girls at St Catherine’s. In my speech to the parents, I commented that like the Pinot grape, our girls also need ‘constant care and attention’. Our school is a ‘really specific, little, tucked away corner of the world.’ As teachers we provide ‘patience and nurturing’.  We do understand our students’ ‘potential’ and we also ‘coax our girls into their fullest expression.’  The final line of the quote from this scene resonated for me in describing the character of our students.  While I am very familiar with the deep care and support our staff provide, the other part of the equation is that the values and deeply embedded character of the girls comes from their parents.  To use the wine metaphor further, you can only obtain good wine from good grapes which have been carefully nurtured. I have no doubt that all of the rowing girls who represented the school so well last weekend and indeed all of our girls at St Catherine’s, display the values of their families and especially their parents.  Good parents make for good kids! In my mind our 2025 vintage of students is excellent and full of character!