Building a St Catherine’s Character
“Character is doing the right thing when nobody is looking”
J.C Watts
Character education is the process of learning common attitudes, beliefs and behaviours. Character is a developmental concept that begins at a young age and through educational experiences and deliberate teaching, character dispositions and attributes can be shaped through student learning and programs.
A clear message emerging from both research and school practice is that students respond best to learning approaches that are authentic, relatable to their everyday lives and allow self-expression. With this evolves greater self-awareness, improved critical thinking and an enhanced understanding of one’s own personal capacity.
St Catherine’s School offers a broad range of Co-curricular programs and experiences supporting students with opportunities for them to reach their own unique potential. Our high-quality programs support each student’s academic, social, emotional and physical wellbeing, as well as complementing the skills learned in the classroom.
St Catherine’s Towards 2025 Strategic Plan, envisions the development of a bespoke Co-curricular Program, Her Signature, designed to encourage, inspire and enrich participation for our students, and empower them to be authentic and fearless in all that they pursue. Within this Intent, we aim to develop a St Catherine’s character in each of our girls – resilient, persistent and responsible young women, possessing courage to take risks, curiosity to explore, and strength to lead.
Marshall, Caldwell, and Foster (2011) suggest character education provides a facilitated journey where students are being nurtured in the direction of seeing things in different perspectives; in other words, training them to exert maturity whilst in the midst of challenging situations.
Our Her Signature Program is underpinned by three essential pillars, designed to provide opportunities for students to step outside their comfort zones in supportive and safe environments, encouraging them to learn, investigate and challenge themselves. These pillars include:
Character, by creating resilient, persistent and responsible women,
Engagement with a community focussed approach; and
Leadership, through inspiring the next generation of aspiring leaders.
The moment a student walks through the Heyington Gates, there is the possibility to prosper; through every program resides the potential to explore. Character development and the ‘gaining of wisdom’ are interwoven within the culture at St Catherine’s. As a School, we aim to engender traits of generosity, honesty and courage. Through our Towards 2025 Strategy, character development will underpin the learnings of Her Signature Co-curricular programs.
