Term 3 is always one of my favourites because it comes with the promise of spring, longer, brighter days and the appearance of tiny buds yielding pink blossom atop bare branches. Like the green tinsel that adorns the Australian bush after any fire, it seems there is life in the most lifeless of forms and witnessing its arrival is a salient lesson in patience and hope.

And patience and hope are needed now more than ever before, as we hold on tight to an increasingly polarised and fractured world. But as nature demonstrates with seasonal certainty, it is never too late, too cold or too dark to push through into the sun, and our girls need reminding of this enduring truth.

After thirty years of enduring and exceptional service to St Catherine’s School, Ms Narda Edmondson has made the decision to retire from her role as Executive Assistant to the Principal at the end of this term, a role she has fulfilled with kindness, energy and a famously dry wit since 1995. Narda has worked alongside no less than six Principals: Miss Dorothy Pizzey AM, Mrs Judy McCowan, Mrs Laraine Sharr, Dr Sylvia J Walton AO, Ms Michelle Carroll and Ms Natalie Charles, and one interim, Mr Rob Marshall. She has also served six Council Chairs in that time.

Through it all, Narda has remained the quiet, steadying force behind transitions in leadership, policy, and practice – a grounding, no nonsense presence in fast-moving times. But it’s not just the milestones she has witnessed. It’s the way she has served that defines her legacy. Self-deprecating and humble, Narda doesn’t suffer fools gladly, and engages every encounter and every individual, without fear nor favour, seeking always to put St Catherine’s interests first, above even her own.

To have remained in one place for thirty years is rare and this act of service reflects the very essence of what it means to contribute to something bigger than oneself – in this instance, the education of thousands of St Catherine’s girls through the careful support of their Principals – two of whom (Mrs Laraine Sharr and Ms Michelle Carroll) flew from interstate to attend her farewell earlier this week. I know you will join me in thanking her for her service.

At the end of this year, we will also farewell Mr Robert Marshall who, like Narda, is looking forward to retirement and holidays booked in term time! Rob commenced at St Catherine’s in 2018 and, due to his good nature, impressive intellect and extensive experience in independent schools, has undertaken a variety of roles since then including Director of Teaching and Learning, Deputy Principal Strategy and Culture, Deputy Principal Head of Senior School and of course, Interim Principal! Rob’s unabashed love for his family, the St Catherine’s School community and the Collingwood Football Club (in that order!) is well known and I look forward to celebrating Mr Marshall’s time at St Catherine’s with you over the course of Term IV.

The annual St Catherine’s Music Gala aptly entitled “Raise Your Voice” was held for the 8^th time, at the Melbourne Recital Centre on Tuesday 9 September with an ambitious and inspirational program. This was our biggest Gala Concert to date, with over 325 students taking to the stage – eclipsing the record of 209 in 2023.

And these numbers ought to fill us all with great joy and optimism for they affirm what we know to be true – that at a time when social cohesion is being challenged, global and domestic tensions are rising, and our environment is under pressure, that music helps us to live well. It’s not a ‘nice to have’ – rather it’s at the heart of what it means to be a sentient human in a complex world, as a powerful counterbalance to feelings of disquiet or despair. It’s pleasing therefore, to note the steady progress being made on the largest building development that St Catherine’s has seen in the last ten years with the Music School and Wintergarden gradually taking shape on Heyington Place.

Term 3 is one we won’t forget in a hurry, not least because it’s been nine weeks filled to bursting with the myriad of opportunities that accompany a holistic education and the sheer joy that comes with seeing your daughters flourish!  But as we know, all roads lead to Rome, and as pilgrims who are on a journey with a clear end point and destination, the coming weeks are some of the most important for our VCE students as they prepare for their final exams in October and I hope that they come to comprehend the vast potential that lies within.

The fact is, adolescents are an inherently a vulnerable group at the best of times due to the challenges of their specific psychosocial development as well as the structural and functional changes occurring in the brain – add to this, the pressure of Year 12, and it is little wonder that they’re feeling the pinch. They need us now more than ever – to drown out the voices of self-doubt that threaten to overwhelm them; to believe in them when they’re incapable of believing in themselves; to see them clearly when all they can see is that final score and to love them when they’re at their least likeable!

And so, whatever your year level and with two weeks together at home, I’d encourage you to:

• Give them authentic words of encouragement every, single day – you never know when they’ll need to draw on your perspective of them.
• Remember to point out the things they do right – not just their mistakes. To this end, choose your battles – generously and knowingly.
• Be equally generous with your affection and your time. Be present.
• Avoid at all costs, criticism that takes the form of ridicule or shame; they are intimately familiar with both.
• Help them to focus on their strengths by identifying all of their talents and abilities – not just the ones related to the school and to an ATAR.
• Be prepared to broaden your own definition of success.
• Allow them to make mistakes but be the first to greet them afterwards with outstretched arms.
• Remind them over and again that the sky won’t fall in and that this too, shall pass.

As Edgar Allan Poe reminds us, “invisible things are the only realities” so let’s make their reality in the coming weeks, one of continued hope and optimism.

Nil Magnum Nisi Bonum

Natalie Charles