St Catherine's News Autumn 2020

Incorporating the Old Girls’ Bulletin AUTUMN 2020

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Leadership

In The News

Student Perspectives

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Curriculum

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VCE Results

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Early Learning Centre

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Junior School

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Senior School

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Rowing

For the latest St Catherine’s news and regular updates visit www.stcatherines.net.au Editorial Ms Anna Cairo Assistant Editors Miss Rebekah Browne, Ms Kerrie Mussert, Ms Narda Edmondson Design Ms Ruth Gavin

School Captains

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Boarding

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Archives

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STEM

Staff Profiles

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Our Community

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Foundation

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Old Girls’ Bulletin

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Debating

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Welcome to Country

Cover Photo Bella Bufe (Year 11) Contributors Thank you to all Early Learning Centre, Junior School and Senior School staff and SCOGA (St Catherine’s Old Girls’ Association).

The Bulletin Editor Chrissy Ryan (Graham ’79)

For editorial queries, feedback or change of address, please email marketing@stcatherines.net.au For extra photos and video, read St Catherine’s News eMag online at www.stcatherines.net.au/ about-us/publications

“I glanced down the driveway, barely able to look at our beautiful gates, standing strong but closed. I reassure myself and others around me that this will pass, and the gates will re-open, the roses will bloom and we will laugh together again.”

MICHELLE CARROLL PRINCIPAL

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St Catherine’s News Autumn 2020

From the Chair of Council

From the Principal

The nurturing and supportive environment of St Catherine’s School through its academic program, student wellbeing and co-curricular opportunities underpin a commitment to support its girls navigate the highs and lows of the teenage journey.

Our Teaching for Thinking Agenda, was launched based on the premise that students will have the opportunity to develop a stronger capacity in critical, creative and analytical thinking.

Today’s generation of girls face a contradiction of opportunities mirrored with challenges. The ordinary pressures of growing up are now cluttered with distractions of technology and competitive landscapes. St Catherine’s close-knit community offers a shared journey between students, teachers and parents.

Through its age appropriate Wellbeing Programs, St Catherine’s supports our students to navigate the school years with an integrated approach to physical, emotional and social wellbeing. The building blocks start young and are

grounded in the foundations of our values. Under the guidance of highly qualified staff, the programs are tailored for each year level and provide opportunities for students to build on their self-confidence, resilience and self-esteem.

We can learn a lot from nature and process of growth. The story of the bamboo tree is one of slow evolution, laying unseen foundations, growth and incredible strength. Once a bamboo seed is planted it appears to be inactive for years. Underground, it is building its foundation and building a network of strong roots. When it is time, this underground supports the plant above the ground.

St Catherine’s Wellbeing Program exposes students to a range of experiences and learning, supporting developmental skill building. These skills are essential in preparing our girls to embark on their journey and to face life’s challenges beyond the school gate with confidence and a strong base, which is not shaken in the face of adversity.

Ms Jane Hodder Chair of Council

Yet, notwithstanding the most unprecedented and demanding challenges of recent times, our vision developed at the beginning of 2020 continues. We surge ahead in planning for a rapidly changing educational landscape, as we prepare our students with the confidence and capability to embrace the unknown ahead.

At the heart of our inclusive and connected School community is the holistic nurturing of young women – intellectually, emotionally and spiritually.

It is this richness of relationships that has been developed over many years that stands tall through turbulent times, and it is this unwavering sense of community spirit that has re-emerged during this current global pandemic.

I reminded the Senior School girls of St Catherine’s history during World War II, when students and staff were relocated to the country town of Warburton.

With the Defence Force acquiring the residence of Sherren House, and without the technology enjoyed in 2020, it was

LEADERSHIP

STRENGTH IN THE FACE OF ADVERSITY The St Catherine’s School year commenced with conversations focused on developing the new School Strategic Plan with excitement around the opportunity to plan for the changing educational landscape for our students.

unquestionably a challenging school year. These testing times defined these courageous women, and imbued a spirit at St Catherine’s that continues today.

This year, I have witnessed the incredible commitment and strength of the School community. Despite the global upheaval, the St Catherine’s community has demonstrated a genuine sense of care, generosity and spirit apparent to all that are connected to the School.

Our students have shown resilience and determination in the face of disruption to learning. Despite social distance from their friends and teachers, they have approached their Learn@Home programs with eagerness and curiosity, supported and encouraged by family teachers.

The St Catherine’s teaching staff in the space of a few, short weeks have experienced years of professional learning and personal development.

Their commitment and genuine concern for student learning and wellbeing has been profound and remarkable. When presented with no other alternative, they prepared teaching programs with dedication and readiness, as they equipped themselves for teaching in a different format.

This transition to online learning was made easier by the enormous work undertaken by our teaching staff and ICT teams who envisioned this need well before many other schools. Our readiness with technology and the collaboration of colleagues, has facilitated positive outcomes that were beneficial for student learning, offering as minimal disruption as possible.

Comments from students have been favourable and encouraging, and I give heart-warm thanks to parents who have taken the time to email me with their generous comments. I enjoyed reading these emails and forwarding their appreciation to our dedicated staff. I do, though remain mindful of the strain that this has caused many people amid a time of confusion.

Yet, it is through this commitment and spirit that has seen the St Catherine’s community come together to the beat of a new rhythm and will see our community adapt and thrive in these uncertain times.

The St Catherine’s community is diverse and strong, and the expertise of the wider community has also been evident across a range of financial, medical, legal, education, and economic sectors. Their guidance,

strength in diversity and critical thinking will ensure the School navigates with wise consideration through this challenging period.

At the end of March, with the closure of our School Campus and transition to our Learn@ Home Program, I reflected on the sadness of not seeing our girls within the School grounds.

During these unique and extraordinary times, I share those reflections again: “In Term 4 of every year, I reflect on the joy of celebrating with the Year 12 graduating class on their last day of School as they undertake a rite of passage walking through the wrought iron gates of Heyington Place for their final time as schoolgirls. Together, teachers and younger students line the driveway, forming a guard of honour to cheer on the girls. It is a colourful dash for the girls with laughter, singing and smiles. And so it was, today, with much sadness that I glanced down the driveway, barely able to look at our beautiful gates, standing strong but closed. I reassure myself and others around me that this will pass, and the gates will re-open, the roses will bloom and we will laugh together with our extraordinary Year 12 girls, the Class of 2020, as they too will make their colourful dash in Term 4 through the Heyington Gates.”

Mrs Michelle Carroll Principal

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St Catherine’s News Autumn 2020

NURTURING THE LEARNER

St Catherine’s School staff pride themselves on knowing our girls and knowing them well. We recognise that an essential component of supporting students is a holistic approach to Academic Care; nurturing the learner in their academic and personal journey.

how to adopt efficient problem solving and study strategies, specifically to ‘set themselves up’ for a productive year. Students will continue to utilise their ePortfolio to set goals, track their learning progress, reflect on feedback and take part in readings and discussions.

In recognition of this integral connection between the cognitive and social emotional development of each student, the Pastoral Program in the Senior School includes a weekly Academic Advisory session with the House Tutors.

In addition to the Wellbeing sessions, the Level or House Assemblies, and the Academic Advisory sessions, these all offer students academic ‘checkins’ to discuss strategies for meeting challenges and attaining their goals.

In the Years 10 to 12 Academic Advisory sessions, these conversations will also be supported by data provided by the Dean of Academics, Ms Kirsten Wiley, who monitors individual student data as they progress through the upper year levels in the Senior School. House Tutors are already commenting on the value of this dedicated time to get to know the girls personally and as learners.

Initial sessions have included activities, readings and videos to support students with a better understanding of the learning process, the neuroplasticity of the brain, the importance of a growth mindset and

As part of our journey mapping of each student’s progress through the school, the Academic Advisory sessions focus on achieving the broader goal of guiding the students to become resilient and courageous learners, to achieve ‘academic buoyancy’ as it is often

dubbed. Australian psychologists Andrew Martin and Herbert Marsh proposed that building students’ academic buoyancy is one way to promote long-term resilience.

Martin defines academic buoyancy as the ability of students to rebound from daily setbacks that are a normal part of schooling, such as a poor grade on a test, negative feedback from a teacher or being cut from a sports team. He demonstrates the key link between academic ‘skill’ and the ‘will’ to succeed, noting the interrelationship between personal and social wellbeing and academic progress.

The Academic Advisory sessions aim to assist the girls to see learning as a progressive and challenging journey, where set-backs, mistakes and failures will occur as part of that process, with each one building stronger cognitive pathways and greater personal resilience.

Ms Merran O’Connor Deputy Principal – Student Wellbeing

CURRICULUM

CRITICAL INQUIRY, INTELLIGENT LEARNING At St Catherine’s, every teacher’s primary focus is to deliver the best education for the girls they teach every day. Despite our very high standards of practice, there is a strong belief that we can improve.

Of particular interest, and a growing concern amongst teachers, is that students are too often focused on learning facts to obtain grades. A more sophisticated approach to their learning is required.

The School has commenced a collaborative relationship with the University of Queensland and Peter Ellerton who is a lecturer in critical thinking and the founding director of the University of Queensland Critical Thinking Project.

Peter argues that: “Schools need to better prepare young people for an increasingly complex world.

Of paramount importance is the ability to think critically and work with others to approach complex problems in novel ways. These are becoming ever more important for all young people to acquire in order to thrive in a world increasingly globalised and augmented by technology.

There are, therefore, more frequent calls

for students to have stronger capacities in critical and analytical thinking so that they might identify biases in news, data and in their own interpretations, develop deeper understanding of complex ideas and empathy for different perspectives.”

This project aims to improve teacher capacity to teach for thinking, not just for learning. At the heart of the project we are evolving the best ways to develop student understanding by focussing on their thinking. Teachers are concerned about the passivity students can demonstrate in the face of intellectual challenge.

Peter Ellerton has developed a pedagogical schema which is focussed on the content knowledge of intellectual inquiry. Three imperatives or principles of action are to: 1

Shift the focus from knowledge to inquiry;

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Think and plan in the language of student cognition; and

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Work collaboratively when thinking can be shared.

The schema outlines a relationship between cognitive skills, intellectual values and intellectual dispositions, which will be the focus of our teaching and learning across the school. Teachers will develop their skills and knowledge in ensuring all classes emphasise three critical aspects of intellectual inquiry.

OGNITIVE SKILLS such as C Evaluating, Analysing, Interpreting, Synthesising and Problem-solving.

VALUES (provide feedback on the acquisition of the cognitive skills) such as Clarity, Precision, Accuracy, Coherence and Tolerance of ambiguity.

DISPOSITIONS (habits that come from mastery of the values) such as Independence, Persistence, Resilience, Integrity, Curiosity, Empathy and Global responsiveness.

We aim to grow our learning culture at St Catherine’s so that teachers and students have common language, common understanding and common approaches to high quality intellectual endeavour.

John Dewey the prominent educational reformer in the first half of the twentieth century, whose ideas have been influential in education and social reform commented that “Thinking is the method of intelligent learning”.

Our goal is to make sure intelligent learning is in every classroom, every day.

Mr Robert Marshall Deputy Principal – Teaching and Learning

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St Catherine’s News Autumn 2020

A Bright Future The future is bright for our Class of 2019 with 100% of graduates who applied for a tertiary course, receiving an offer to study in 2020.

6%

23%

LAW / SOCIETY & CULTURE

STEM

STEM

100% Received Tertiary Offers

30%

MANAGEMENT & COMMERCE

2%

EDUCATION

33%

ARTS & CREATIVE ARTS

6%

Our Class of 2019 will be remembered for their enthusiasm and eagerness to achieve their best in all aspects of life at St Catherine’s, participating in cocurricular programs and contributing to our School and community.

Their commitment has resulted in outstanding performances

HEALTH / MEDICINE

MEDIAN STUDY SCORE 35 One hundred per cent of our class of 2019 who applied for tertiary courses received an offer to study in 2020.

Our graduating students will be represented at institutes including The University of Melbourne, Monash University, Australian Catholic University, Deakin University, Latrobe University, RMIT, Australian National University and Swinburne University of Technology, and overseas at University College London and University of California.

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TOP IN THE STATE

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%

TOP IN THE STATE

20

%

TOP IN THE STATE

20% ATTAINED A STUDY SCORE OF 40 & ABOVE 34% ATTAINED AN ATAR OF 90 & ABOVE 66% ATTAINED AN ATAR OF 80 & ABOVE

V C E R E S U LT S 2 0 1 9

OUR CLASS OF 2019 EMBARK UPON LIFE B E YO N D T H E HEYINGTON G AT E S

Studio Arts

Literature

History Revolutions

Health & Human Development

Psychology

CH

Geography

Legal

Physics

Chinese Second Language Advanced

F

French

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Biology

English

Maths Methods

PE

GABRIELLA TYMMS 2019 GRADUATE

SOPHIE TURNBULL 2019 GRADUATE

HENRIETTA PATERSON 2019 GRADUATE

EMILY SUTHERLAND 2019 GRADUATE

Congratulations to the 2019 Dux, Gabriella Tymms who is planning on studying Bachelor of Commerce and Mechanical Engineering at The University of Melbourne.

With an interest in the areas of bioethics and political science, Sophie is now undertaking studies in Philosophy, Politics and Economics at ANU.

Henrietta is on the path to pursuing her dream of becoming a paramedic now studying a Bachelor of Paramedicine at the Australian Catholic University.

Our 2019 Langley Templeton Co-Captain Emily Sutherland, has accepted a major in Biopsychology on a rowing Scholarship at the University of California.

There have been many highlights during her time at St Catherine’s.

In addition to Gabriella’s “One of the most rewarding academic achievements, things I have done would be she also made an outstanding the Overland Track in Tasmania. contribution to the co-curricular Though physically very life as Debating and Public demanding, the group of girls Speaking Captain, as well a member of several ensembles, and teachers were incredible and made the trip memorable. including the Chamber Another standout was debating.

Flutes and Senior Concert Although emotionally and Band, Netball, Tennis, AFL academically challenging it and Cricket. was also incredibly rewarding.”

Commencing her journey at St Catherine’s in Prep, over the years Henrietta has made a tremendous contribution to the School’s Rowing Program, which saw her receive the Rower of the Year Award and a Light Blue Award for Performance in Rowing. She was also a member of the St Catherine’s First XIII that competed at the Australian Rowing Championships.

The support she received from her teachers and sports coaches helped her to achieve her goals. “They encouraged me to always strive for more and push to reach my potential in every domain of my life.

I think this is the best education anyone can receive – the lessons about how to be the best you, and the lessons that empower you to believe in yourself and your abilities.”

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St Catherine’s News Autumn 2020

Inspiring Learning Space for Young Children

At the heart of St Catherine’s Early Learning Centre (ELC) philosophy is an acknowledgment of the importance that the physical environment plays in a child’s learning and development.

Contemporary theories and research informed by the Reggio Emilia approach recognise and value the environment as the ‘third teacher’ and it is seen as an integral element of the learning process.

As the learning spaces have the potential to influence what and how children learn these spaces support and promote wonder, curiosity, inquiry and research. Authentic artefacts, cultural provocations, and

interesting items from the natural world are used extensively throughout the learning environments. They provide both a rich visual stimulus to prompt children’s wonder and questioning, as well as opportunities for hands-on, sensory discovery.

Active participation in the learning environment develops a child’s understanding of concepts, and expands their thinking and inquiry processes.

E A R LY L E A R N I N G C E N T R E

These skills are necessary for lifelong learning. “Children can challenge and extend their own thinking, and that of others, and create new knowledge through collaborative interactions and negotiations.”

ACECQA, National Quality Framework, Quality Area 3, 2018.

The concept of belonging is linked to a child’s sense of identity, and the physical environment contributes significantly to both identity and belonging. Factors such as the children’s lives, cultural backgrounds and their needs are reflected considerately in the learning spaces through the materials, resources and decorations that are used.

This provides a feeling of ‘homeliness’ and leads to a sense of comfort, security and belonging. The learning environment is inclusive and accessible to all.

Much thought is put into the planning and design of the learning spaces to foster interaction, encourage communication and support relationships. Areas for

small group projects, social interactions and conversation are built into the learning environment. “We place enormous value on the role of the environment as a motivating and animating force in creating spaces for relations, options and emotional and cognitive situations that produce a sense of wellbeing and security.” Loris Malaguzzi, Reggio Emilia.

Learning spaces are designed to promote each child’s sense of agency where they can be active contributors to and have an influence in their world. Children are invited to contribute resources and items of interest to the classroom environment and engage in discussions regarding changes or modifications to the environment.

Experiences and materials are open-ended and offer flexibility. In this way, the environment promotes decision making and choice and demonstrates respect for the children’s emerging skills, competencies and independence. The children are encouraged to take ownership of and

responsibility for the learning environment as part of the community.

The concept of beauty is reflected in the learning environment to support selfdiscovery, exploration and collaboration.

As the environment is designed in a calm, well organised and aesthetically beautiful manner, elements such as light, colour, sound and motion are considered. “Being surrounded by these elements can spark children’s imagination, focus their attention and calm their spirits.” Curtis & Carter, 2003.

Our recently refurbished ELC learning spaces were designed with these elements in mind.

As a result the spaces are an incredibly calm, light filled, wonderous environment for our young learners to actively play, learn, investigate and discover. The role that an inspired learning environment plays in a child’s learning, development and wellbeing cannot be underestimated.

Ms Sarah Bethune Head of Early Learning Centre

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St Catherine’s News Autumn 2020

Improving Teaching Practices With Cognitive Sciences At Barbreck, our objective is to ensure that all our students are thriving academically, socially, and emotionally.

During these important junior years, developing an environment that nurtures and provides opportunity for learning and development is our highest focus. The emphasis on improving teaching practices is fundamental, we pride ourselves on being at the forefront of utilising the most innovative and forward-thinking teaching practices. With this in mind, the cognitive science space offers many opportunities for developing how we educate students.

The Explicit Teaching Model has been implemented as best practice in our Barbreck classrooms. This model introduces new knowledge by taking individual pieces of information (Chunks) and grouping them into larger units. The process of Chunking enables students to process the information more effectively as they retain the new knowledge in their working memory for longer. (Good and Brophy, 2003, as cited in Marzano, 2017, page 41).

Drawing on psychology, artificial intelligence, linguistics, and philosophy, cognitive science is advancing theories on thinking, awareness and learning (Merriam & Webster). One theory underpinning our teaching practices is the Cognitive Load theory which examines the load on the brain when it processes information therefore impacting the design of lessons.

The use of the chunking method provides opportunities to engage students in processing activities to deepen and broaden their understanding of new knowledge. The time allocated for processing is important as it assists students to actively engage with content and their learning.

Studies have identified two beliefs: (1) “the human brain has a limited capacity to how much new knowledge can be processed at one time and (2) there is no limit to how much stored information the brain can process at on time.”

(NSW Centre for Education Statistics and Evaluation, 2017).

Our teachers at Barbreck consider the cognitive load limit for the age level of their class dependent on their level of development and brain maturity. This then enables our teachers to design lessons for the optimal learning of students.

Examples of chunking and processing exercises in the classroom include: 1 A lesson on Insects and Arachnids – Students begin by examining the physical structures of insects and arachnids, looking for similarities and differences, organise the new information and then refine their understanding of the new knowledge.

2 Learning a phone number sequence by separating individual elements into larger blocks, the number becomes easier to retain and recall.

3 Improving literacy skills by encouraging students to break words into manageable ‘chunks’ to sound out, rather than sounding out each individual letter.

JUNIOR SCHOOL

8 Reflect

7 Record

1 Identify Critical Info

2 Organise Students

3 Preview

Gradual Release

6 Elaborate 5 Process

4 Content Chunk

The chunking and processing model represents best practice when teaching new content, allowing students the opportunity to understand and internalise the knowledge before moving onto the next chunk of new learning.

Barbreck staff actively seek professional development and current research to refine their professional practices and ensure they are working to provide the best outcomes for the students they teach. This research, together with a number of Harvard courses currently being undertaken, ensures our teachers are continually refining and improving professional practices in response to current research.

Ms Karen McArdle Head of Junior School

Teacher Responsibility Focus Instruction

References https://www.cese.nsw.gov.au/publications-filter/cognitive-loadtheory-research-that-teachers-really-need-to-understand Marzano, R. (2017), The New Art and Science of Teaching, ASCD, USA. Marzano, R. & Sahadeo-Turner, T. (2015), Processing New Information: Classroom Techniques to Help Students Engage with Content, Learning Sciences International, USA. https://www.merriam-webster.com/ dictionary/cognitive%20science

Explicit Instruction: Gradual Release of Responsibility

I do

Guided Instruction

We do Collaborative Practice Independent Practice

Student Responsibility

You do

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St Catherine’s News Autumn 2020

Psychoacoustics

& THE HARMONIC SERIES

Before music hits our ears it exists in the air as an intricate series of pressure waves. What is fascinating is the incredibly complex decoding that our brains perform in order to perceive this jumble as music. Simply being able to recognise an instrument from its tone (timbre) requires incredible computing power.

HARMONIC SERIES How is it that most of us can instantly distinguish whether we are listening to a trombone or a violin even if they are playing simultaneously, or buried deep within a symphony orchestra? When any physical instrument (not a synthesizer) ‘plays a note’, it also generates a number of other notes.

When a trombone plays an ‘A’ at 220 Hertz, it also produces the note ‘A’ (440Hz) an octave above, the ‘E’ (660Hz) above that, the ‘A’ (880Hz) above that, then C# (1.1kHz), E (1.32kHz), G (1.54kz), A again (1.76kHz), B, C, C#.

This pattern continues ad Infinium but the frequencies get so close together that they no longer correlate notes on the piano.

This is the harmonic series and was well known to Pythagoras in the 6th Century BCE. The harmonic series occurs in nature and contains within it a pentatonic scale (A, C#, D, E, G, A in the above example).

Possibly, this is why most cultures share the pentatonic scale as the basis of their traditional melodies. All of our students in Year 8 will be familiar with the pentatonic scale as it forms the basis of our aural training in Years 7 and 8. The harmonic series is the reason the bugle can play the Last Past without any valves at all.

SENIOR SCHOOL

TROMBONE VS VIOLIN When a trombone plays an ‘A’ and a violin plays an ‘A’ the same harmonic series is present in both. It is the relative volume of each one of these ‘overtones’ that is specific to the instrument.

It seems that we have developed some form of built-in harmonic template that guides us to only hear the lowest frequency and identify that as the ‘note’.

It is different for the Trombone. The 3rd harmonic (E an octave and a 5th above) is the loudest. This is apparent when we tune the trombones in Senior Concert Band.

The 2nd harmonic (‘F’ when we tune) is very prominent (reinforced by multiple instruments), however, it is the (softer) fundamental (Bb) that we think we hear.

It is only after I point out the 2nd harmonic, by (singing it) that students appreciate its presence in the room. Even then, not everyone can hear it. It’s one of those things that is impossible to communicate with words. Students are often unsure that they have heard the right sound but it is easy to tell from their faces when they discover it.

Once you have heard it, it’s impossible to unhear. This ‘frequency template’ that we store for the trombone and can apply, no matter what note the trombone is playing.

Even more amazingly, when listening to an orchestra, our brains can ‘recognise’ the trombone profile, from amongst all the other instruments that are playing. A trained musician can even transcribe the trombone melody into notation. This requires the incredible, parallel computing power of a brain. We currently do not have a computer powerful enough to emulate this skill.

MISSING FUNDAMENTALi

HARMONIC SINGING

This harmonic series generates some interesting anomalies and artefacts, two of which are described here.

When we sing or speak we are constantly modulating the timbre (harmonic spectrum) of our voice. Sing the vowel sound ‘iiii’ (as in Yip) then ‘or’ as in (more) both on the same note. The first sound is rich in upper harmonics and sounds ‘bright’ and piercing.

The ‘or’ sound is warm and dark, because its upper harmonics are suppressed. This is what happens when you turn down the tone knob on a stereo system. Students in Years 7-12 music are used to describing timbre in this way. With a knowledge of harmonics, we can do things with our voice that instruments cannot. By changing tongue position and mouth shape it is possible to isolate and amplify a single upper harmonic and suppress the others (harmonic singing) thus giving the impression that you are singing two notes simultaneously.ii iii iv

When a Violin plays ‘A’ at 220Hz this is the loudest and is the ‘note name’ we assign to this sound. This is called the fundamental.

The 2nd harmonic (1st overtone) an octave above (A 440Hz) is ½ as loud as the fundamental (A 220Hz). The 3rd harmonic ‘E’ (2nd overtone) is a 1/3 as loud, and the 4th (‘A’ 2 octaves above) is ¼ as loud.

This forms a timbral ‘profile’ for violin that we have stored away somewhere.

Even though I may no longer be able to hear 27Hz in a hearing test, I can quite clearly perceive the lowest note on the piano which is A (27Hz). This is because hearing tests are conducted using pure sine waves but the low ‘A’ on the piano is rich in harmonics.

The upper harmonics of this note, which I can still hear, generate a waveform that has the same period as the fundamental, so I still perceive this note, loud and clear.

The landline telephone system can only carry frequencies as low as 300Hz but we can still hear a male voice as low as 100Hz because of the same phenomenon. Mp3 files and tiny speakers also make use of this.

This article is simply about the harmonic series of a single note. Really interesting and complex things start to happen when you combine more than one note but that is for another time.

Mr Tim Collins Head of Music References: i. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0amvhGzeCnQ – 11. The missing fundamental ii. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iyhXP_wfnz4 – David Hykes & the Harmonic Choir ii. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vC9Qh709gas – polyphonic overtone singing – Anna-Maria Hefele iv. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xa0v0pT9flo – Live Performance Bukhchuluun Ganburged TEDxSydney

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St Catherine’s St Catherine’s News Autumn 2020 2018

In many team sports an individual can stand out and be a champion within a team. In rowing every member of the crew works together to contribute equally to build a champion team.

Each individual in the crew plays a key role in driving the boat towards the finish line.

They must execute their role together, to the best of their ability in order to propel the boat as efficiently as they can. Because of the importance of working together and the synchronicity required, rowing is often considered the ultimate team sport.

The most important element of rowing it could be said is, camaraderie and teamwork. In order to achieve success as a crew, everyone needs to be committed and determined to challenge themselves to work hard for each other. So, why is camaraderie in rowing so strong?

It is all about the journey that they take on together… it is about the shared experiences that the crew and squad have together. It is about those early mornings, those physical and mental challenges, the victories, the failures and all the memories created along the way. Rowers and coxes commit to work together, they share a common goal and together they put everything they can towards this.

TEAM SYNCHRONICITY

R OW I N G

Rowing offers invaluable lessons about teamwork. It requires one to put the best interest of the crew above themselves.

The role of the crew is to ensure that everyone can perform at their best, and together individuals must work to be the best version of themselves and enable those around them. Crews learn to work together through being patient, empathetic, hardworking and driven.

The teamwork required in rowing teaches students to have a mutual respect for one another, to communicate and to be disciplined when working towards a common goal.

Although many people cannot understand why anyone would wake up very early in the morning to row a boat backwards down a river, rowing is a sport that teaches students so much about themselves and is exceptionally rewarding. Rowing not only develops strength, power and aerobic capacity but also instils resilience, determination

and the value of hard work. It is a sport in which effort is rewarded, and the more you put in, the more you will get out of it.

Since the beginning of Term 3 the students involved in the St Catherine’s Rowing program have been working exceptionally hard, trying to be the best they can. The culmination of the Rowing season is the Head of School Girls Regatta 2020, which was established over 30 years ago. The Regatta includes over 2000 competitors from 50 different schools and is the biggest single sex regatta held in the Southern Hemisphere.

The St Catherine’s crews were well positioned in the 2020 Head of Schoolgirls Regatta with 12 out of our 15 crew boats winning their heats on Friday. The competition was to be held over 13-15 March 2020, though it was unfortunately cancelled on the Friday afternoon, accepting the advice of the Chief Medical Officer of Australia regarding the Coronavirus.

As the Head of School Girls Regatta is the final event of the Rowing season, the girls were naturally disappointed but handled the situation with grace. They had dinner in Geelong before returning to Melbourne, allowing them time to celebrate and reflect with their coaches on what they had achieved this season.

For the St Catherine’s Rowing Squad, this season has been one to remember.

In the face of many challenges and hurdles, as a group the girls have demonstrated pride and professionalism, resilience, commitment, and teamwork, both on and off the water. The St Catherine’s Rowers and Coxes can be proud of what they have achieved this season. We look forward to coming back next season stronger, fitter and faster than ever before.

Miss Brigette Carlile Head of Rowing / Physical Education and Health Teacher

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St Catherine’s News Autumn 2020

Creating Deeper Thinkers “We don’t want girls to give up easily.

For example, girls often retreat from difficult mathematics subjects around Year 10. So how can we teach them problem-solving skills and academic resilience”

St Catherine’s has a community of strong, inspirational women leaders.

They are passionate, curious and fantastic role models for our students as well as the broader community.

Meet two of them.

When Kristy Forrest joined the teaching staff at St Catherine’s in Toorak she was drawn to the school’s “top class” English faculty. As an advocate of quality literature and thoughtful writing, the leading girls’ school was a perfect fit for Forrest. “St Catherine’s was the first school I taught at after graduating and 15 years later I’m still here and very happy,” she says.

As well as teaching English and philosophy to students in Years 9 to 12, Forrest contributes to curriculum development and assessment design. In 2017, she was awarded the Excellence in Teaching and Learning Award by St Catherine’s in recognition of her efforts to support fellow teachers to enhance their teaching practices.

“I began running some professional learning teams focused on best practice in the classroom. The groups were voluntary for teachers who wanted to talk about teaching and how to improve what they do and to share new strategies and ideas,” Forrest says.

She was given a fellowship by St Catherine’s to help fund a professional certificate in clinical teaching at the University of Melbourne. She has also since completed a Master of Education (pedagogy and assessment). “Clinical teaching involves taking a more diagnostic approach to teaching and looking at students in a similar way to how a doctor looks at a patient,” explains Forrest.

“It’s about looking at each student and diagnosing and adjusting strategies, rather than using the same strategies with each student. The groups with teachers during schooltime are a chance to share what is happening in their classroom, to highlight any areas of teaching they want to look at and we share strategies for staff and students. We learn from each other.”

Helping students build academic resilience and develop deep and effective thinking skills are also a focus of Forrest’s work at St Catherine’s.

“We don’t want girls to give up easily.

For example, girls often retreat from difficult mathematics subjects around Year 10. So how can we teach them problem-solving skills and academic resilience so they persist with difficult mathematics or difficult texts?” she says.

This year, St Catherine’s is working with academics at the University of Queensland’s Critical Thinking project to help embed a culture of effective thinking across the school.

“It places learning how to think at the core of curriculum design and teaching,” says Forrest.

“It will shift how students talk about their learning.

Instead of a student saying, ‘I got this score on my English essay’ they might instead say, ‘My writing isn’t clear’. It helps them speak more meaningfully and thoughtfully about their learning and will help decision-making and problem-solving skills. At the end of the day, we want our girls to be the best possible thinkers and communicators.”

Forrest says a handful of strong female teachers opened her eyes to the excitement of exploring new ideas and the power of good writing.

She shares those passions with her students.

“It fascinates me how teachers can influence young people’s lives. I remember some of my best teachers were those who challenged me” says Forrest.

“I didn’t grow up knowing I wanted to be a teacher but teaching has allowed me to continue exploring ideas and to be curious.

Soon after I joined St Catherine’s I knew I’d found the right career. I’m never bored and I enjoy the academic side of teaching and the human connections you build with students.”

“A good day at work for me is a mix of banter, some high-end academic work, reading some great writing from my students and sharing good moments with my colleagues.”

Sarah Marinos Domain Review Wednesday 4 March 2020

IN THE NEWS

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Inspiring Tomorrow’s Future Women Leaders When it comes to planning your future, the challenge to find the right career can be overwhelming.

With so many choices, and competitive male-dominated industries, it can be challenging to get a foot up the career ladder.

Empowering young women to be leaders of tomorrow is a huge responsibility.

In Melbourne’s east, independent girls’ college, St Catherine’s School, is tackling this head-on.

Nurturing students’ interests across a diverse range of subjects and providing opportunities to engage with female role models from industry, the school is working to break down gender stereotypes in the workplace.

It is this encouraging approach that has empowered 2019 School Co-Captain Georgina Cottrill (’19) to pursue tertiary studies in global politics.

Fundamental to the decision was her VCE global politics and legal studies classes receiving the opportunity to meet with former Federal Deputy Leader, Julie Bishop.

“I am extremely fortunate for my childhood and education as I’ve never felt restricted in what path I should be taking,” says Cottrill.

“However, being able to see other women accomplishing their dreams has made this feel all the more achievable.”

Last year, the VCE global politics and legal studies classes were invited to partake in a “boardroom style” meeting with Bishop, using the time to ask prepared questions focused on their studies to learn from her extensive experiences as Minister for Foreign Affairs and overall time in Parliament.

“The Honourable Julie Bishop left [many of us] in awe,” says Cottrill. “We definitely did not approach [her] lightly when it came to asking questions.

There was a significant variation from the very political and tough questions… to more personal.”

However, Cottrill says part of what was so important about this question and answer session was the respect the students received from the former politician.

“She notably gave each of us a handshake upon first meeting, and respect within the discussions.

No matter the topic, Ms Bishop astounded us with her poise and in-depth answers.”

It is an approach to empowerment St Catherine’s has taken throughout its and curriculum, not just through selection of guest speakers, but by instilling in students core school values of mindful thinking, optimism, gratitude and leadership – something Cottrill has in turn tried to embody through her leadership position at school.

“Especially at this younger age, I believe the notion of “leading by example” is the most important role a leader can take.

“I have seen the likes of the Honourable Julie Bishop and the Honourable Julia Gillard leading Australia with confidence, intelligence and grace.

Having public figures and strong leaders such as these women has undoubtedly ignited my, and many other girls’, passion and desire to enter leadership roles.”

In 2020, Georgina Cottrill began studying at the Australian National University in Canberra, undertaking a double degree of Law and PPE (Politics, philosophy and economics). She is planning to focus on the field of public policy, and hopes to be a part of sustainable changes in any of the range of categories policy encompasses, on a national or international scale.

The Age | International Women’s Day Saturday 7 March 2020

“Especially at this younger age, I believe the notion of ‘leading by example’ is the most important role a leader can take.”

– Georgina Cottrill

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St Catherine’s News Autumn 2020

Meet Our School Captains SENIOR SCHOOL CAPTAINS ALEXANDRA SHERGOLD & SOPHIE BOYCE JUNIOR SCHOOL CAPTAINS ELODIE SCOTT-ELLIOT & GISELLE UPTON

Senior School Captains WHAT DO YOU HOPE TO ACCOMPLISH IN YOUR ROLE AS SCHOOL CAPTAIN THIS YEAR? Alexandra: I want to build on the harmony and strength of community that St Catherine’s has become so familiar with over the years; to make all the girls feel as if they are an important part of St Catherine’s community, because they are.

Sophie: Like every good leader, I hope I have the ability to influence girls in achieving their best but also leave a legacy at St Catherine’s. I want to focus on leading from within rather than the front meaning I want to build valuable relationships with girls.

ONE WORD THAT BEST DESCRIBES WHAT KIND OF SCHOOL CAPTAIN YOU WOULD LIKE TO BE? Alexandra: Real. In the interview panel in assembly last year, this was both the first word that came to mind when asked this question, and the word I used. I still stand by that. I want to lead by being no one else but me, to reach out to the girls in an authentic way and to show them that by being themselves is more than enough.

Sophie: Approachable – I want the girls to feel comfortable to have a chat with me about anything and everything.

WHAT IS THE MOST ENJOYABLE ELEMENT OF BEING PART OF ST CATHERINE’S SCHOOL? Alexandra: At St Catherine’s, there are always moments that ignite that sense of belonging that the School community never lets slip away. All the enjoyable elements of being a part of this School lead back to such strength of community. Countless times spent with both my year level and others have constituted an unbreakable bond that we will share forever.

Sophie: The ability to get involved in as many co-curricular activities as you wish.

I love being able to meet different girls playing sports through Girls Sports Victoria, participating in the plays, involving myself in music and dominating in debating.

HOW DID YOU BECOME INTERESTED IN A STUDENT LEADERSHIP ROLE? Alexandra: Putting myself up for School Co-Captain was a direct result of how much I admired the ones preceding me; the result of the unfathomable (at least, for me) thought that I could inspire other girls just as they had inspired me. I love to reach out and connect with people, and I have always wanted to have an impact on the School in some form or another.

Sophie: I have always found myself in a leadership role throughout my life.

When I was appointed Junior School Captain I began to realise my potential and how my desire to create valuable relationships with everyone translates into my leadership perfectly.

WHAT IS ONE QUALITY A GOOD LEADER NEEDS TO HAVE? Alexandra: Empathy.

Sophie: A good leader must be able to delegate. This is an everyday task that is valuable especially in Year 12 to maintain a healthy balance.

HOW WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE REMEMBERED AS A STUDENT LEADER OF ST CATHERINE’S? Alexandra: I want to be remembered as the kind one, the one who harmonised the School just that little bit more. I don’t necessarily feel the need to leave a big legacy, just a unique one.

Sophie: I wish to be remembered as someone who was always up for a chat, whether it is in the library about school work or around the fountain about weekend activities. I want to be able to use my role to create those friendships and be approachable.

WHAT IS ONE THING YOU WOULD LIKE TO TAKE WITH YOU FROM THE EXPERIENCE OF BEING SCHOOL CAPTAIN? Alexandra: An understanding of how to be a good leader, and a better version of myself.

Sophie: Hopefully I will be able to take the ability to influence others with me into future life and jobs. School Co-Captain allows Alex and I the opportunity to leave a positive impact on girls which I know we both are so excited to do.

S C H O O L C A P TA I N S SENIOR SCHOOL YEAR 12 CAPTAINS

Junior School Captains HOW DID YOU FEEL WHEN YOU FOUND OUT THAT YOU HAD BEEN ELECTED TO THE ROLE OF JUNIOR SCHOOL CO-CAPTAIN? Elodie: I was overjoyed; at first, I thought it was a dream.

Giselle: I was over the moon excited!

My sister Charlotte Upton had been one and I really wanted to be a School Captain like her! I was thrilled to find out I was a School Captain.

WHAT DOES THE ROLE OF JUNIOR SCHOOL CO-CAPTAIN INVOLVE? Elodie: The role of Junior School CoCaptain involves running the assembly and representing the school at special events.

Giselle: It involves a lot of thinking, learning, listening, trust, responsibility and many more things.

WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO ACHIEVE IN YOUR ROLE AS JUNIOR SCHOOL CAPTAIN? Elodie: I would like to support students being more confident when speaking to a large crowd of people as I think it is important for students to be confident.

WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO THE MOST ABOUT BEING JUNIOR SCHOOL CO-CAPTAIN?

Giselle: To be the best School Captain I can. I want to achieve that because it proves to myself that I can do it.

Elodie: I am looking forward to speaking at assembly each week.

HOW WOULD YOU LIKE YOUR EXPERIENCE OF BEING JUNIOR SCHOOL CO-CAPTAIN TO BE?

Giselle: I am most excited to work with Ms McArdle and learn new things from her.

WHY WAS IT IMPORTANT TO YOU TO BE JUNIOR SCHOOL CO-CAPTAIN? Elodie: It was important because it was my first big leadership role.

Giselle: I wanted to prove to myself that I can do something major. I wanted to prove that just because you have had surgeries, time off school for a while, being unique doesn’t mean that I can’t follow what I want to do.

Elodie: I would like it to be challenging, everyone loves a challenge, right?

Giselle: I would love everyone to respect other people, be kind 24-7, and know how to treat people the way they want to be treated and just a really nice place to be.

WHAT DO YOU ENJOY THE MOST ABOUT ST CATHERINE’S SCHOOL? Elodie: I enjoy the hands on learning at St Catherine’s.

Giselle: I enjoy knowing that I will see my friends and playing with them because they are really special to me.

School Co-Captains

Student Executive

Art & Design

Boarding

Community Service

Cultural Diversity Debating & Public Speaking Drama Duke of Edinburgh Music Choral Music Instrumental Spirit & Wellbeing Sport

House Beaulieu Blair

House Davis

House Holmes Kilbride

House Langley Templeton

Jorgenson Orchestra Concert Band Athletics Cross Country Rowing

Snowsports Swimming

Sophie Boyce Alexandra Shergold Sophie Boyce Claire Hayne Isabella McDonald Chloe Rodgers Alexandra Shergold Serena Sitch Isobel Simon Lara Natrass Elena Tan Zoe Meggitt Ella Carton Penelope Drummond Kaiyue Ren Isobel Tanner Serena Sitch Margaret Handolias Indiana Wilde Julia Thompson Tess Hogan Thalia Barbayannis Harriet Fortey Charlotte Murdoch Emma Robertson Isabella McDonald Romy Cantwell Millie Fraser-Smith Charlotte Gough Sophie Hogan Annabel Whiter Sophie Hogan Lucy Croft Isabella McDonald Charlotte Gough Harriet Fortey Romy Cantwell Charlotte Murdoch Romy Walker

BARBRECK LEADERSHIP POSITIONS School Captains

Music Captains

House Langley-Templeton

House Davis

House Holmes-Kilbride

House Beaulieu Blair

Library Captains

Academic Reporters

Arts Reporters

Environment Reporters

Sport Reporters

Giselle Upton Elodie Scott-Elliott Isabelle Cao Minnie Chen Isabelle Peter Mia Upton May Sutton Amity Morris Emma Peele Lexie Hill Lulu Kyriakou Diya Asthana Alice Sutton Ava Ward May Aiello Mila Heng Chloe Thomas Ava Murray Scarlett Evans Harper Roberts Kristin Dodd Lily Van der Venne

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St Catherine’s News Autumn 2020

B OA R D I N G | I L L AWA R R A

B U I L D I N G S T RO N G E R COMMUNITY TIES Many adults have formed their impressions of boarding schools through their exposure to both literature and movies. Joan Lindsay’s novel, Picnic at Hanging Rock and its 1970’s movie adaption, the 1980’s movie Dead Poet’s Society, Enid Blyton’s exploits at Mallory Towers and St Claire’s; and in recent years the books and movies have all created an interest and aura around boarding schools. The positive effect has been an increase in boarding numbers with now over 25,000 boarders attending nearly 200 boarding schools throughout Australia.

Prospective boarding parents often ask what are the benefits of boarding. There are the obvious advantages such as access to academic opportunities, the chance to participate in a range of Cocurricular activities, exposure to cultural diversity, and the encouragement to develop resilience and self-management.

Boarders discover organisational skills and independence from an earlier age than most students. And boarding structure delivers boundaries for students, concerning leave arrangements, study times and responsible use of devices. From Year 7, boarders have established and set study times for each school night. By their VCE years they have developed significant study skills and time management techniques to monitor their own study periods. Boarding staff are always available to assist with their homework and preparation for assessment tasks.

The boarders themselves often form their own study groups to work together in the evening. With the introduction of round study tables this has certainly encouraged and facilitated more group study sessions. Many of our boarders compete in outside school sporting teams, including netball, hockey, cricket, equestrian and basketball. Dance

classes have always been popular and each afternoon our musicians can be found practising in the Music School.

Community Service is an important part of living in a communal environment. Over the recent summer some of our families have been impacted by the ongoing drought, bushfires and more recently the hail storm.

Keeping in touch and offering support is an important aspect of our boarding culture. Late last year many of the boarders donated toiletries which were assembled in pre-loved handbags and donated to the Share the Dignity Campaign to support female victims of domestic violence and homelessness. This year St Catherine’s is establishing a relationship with the local branch of the Country Women’s Association in Lansell Road, Toorak to assist with their fundraising initiatives.

Participation and involvement in community activities is a key strength of the Illawarra Boarding House. It is with this spirit of contribution that boarders engage with the wider community, develop friendships and strengthen existing ones, facilitating a stronger and connected school community.

Mrs Sue Collister Director of Boarding Services

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FROM THE ARCHIVES

JA PA N E S E

L A N G UAG E E D U C AT I O N As an exemplary language teacher, Mrs Mioko Wood spent her teaching career at St Catherine’s, teaching Japanese language from 1976 and establishing the Japanese exchange trips at St Catherine’s School. The Japanese language programme had been running since 1971, but the first Japanese exchange commenced under Mrs Wood’s guidance in 1978,

with three girls attending Keimei Gakuen Senior High School in Tokyo, over the School Holidays.

The International Student Exchange program grew from strength to strength and in the early 90s, under the guidance of Mrs Dorothy Pizzey, St Catherine’s established relationships with two sister Schools – the Skukutoku School in Nagoya,

and The Otsuma High School in Tokyo, which continue today.

The Japanese language program remains a strong and greatly enjoyed part of the curriculum at St Catherine’s today, and our current students enjoy trips to Japan biennially, forgoing their Melbourne summer holidays for a Japanese winter – much like the students who accompanied by Mrs Wood did.

If you would like to help with identification of images dating from 1980 to 1996 please email mcampbell@stcatherines.net.au available on Mondays but can make arrangement to send scans to you.

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St Catherine’s News Autumn 2020

Try Try

try try try try again again

In December 2019 our year was drawing to a close, yet the Barbreck STEM Lab was abuzz with action as a trio of highly committed and dedicated girls and Dash, a blue robot with a cheeky sense of humour, entered the 2019/20 Wonder Workshop Wonder League Robotics Competition.

Competing alongside 8,400 students from 90 countries they worked together to program the adventurous Dash through a range of obstacles, from navigating their way through a labyrinth to building a pulling system to open gates to the Lost Realm. This engaging learning task saw the team develop life skills that transcended both the competition and classroom.

Over three long days, the St Catherine’s team wrote lines of code, filmed hours of video, and used metres of hot glue, but most importantly they were met with difficulty on multiple occasions. At times, they failed spectacularly. Despite their best attempts Dash crashed, he fell… several times off a bridge. But it was in this failure that the team learnt much more about the School’s values of perseverance. As Einstein said, “it’s not that I am so smart, it is just that I stay with problems longer” and in this engaging coding experience the girls were forced to try numerous solutions.

They had to rethink and adjust in order to find success. It was hard and there were times when they wanted to give up, however, they didn’t.

Perseverance is often considered a natural by-product of coding because things often don’t go to plan and one must apply effective communication and problem-solving skills to forge ahead. However, it is through this fun and engaging environment that allows students to foster positive connections in real life situations that allows students to develop the essential value of perseverance in a meaningful way.

Throughout the competition students demonstrated that with perseverance, even in the toughest of times, they could find success. As students move forward in their development this underpinning value of perseverance will benefit them all both in and out of the classroom. They learnt that if at first you do not succeed, do not give up, rather, try and try again.

In the case of this story it is the hard work and dedication that saw this team, one of over 4,500 entries make it to the Invitational Round! While there were more mistakes, slip ups and failures, they persevered and get to do it all over again, building skills that they will continue to use throughout their lives.

Miss Alyssa Flint Junior School STEM Teacher

STEM

Shell Shell Shock Shock At the end of last year Indiana Wilde, Erica Pan, Jasmyn Jiang, Amber Lee, Claire Hayne and myself participated in the SUPERHACK engineering hackathon at Melbourne University.

The competition invited girls from different schools all over Victoria to compete in teams of three or four to solve engineering design challenges; there were over 25 teams in the whole competition.

At the beginning of the competition, we were split into groups from our school, and I was in a group with Erica and Amber. We then met with our mentors who were engineering students at Melbourne University and they took us through coding technology.

The task of the competition was to design a robot for ‘Elon Musk’.

In our teams we thought about what issues Elon Musk would have and how our robot could potentially fix those issues. Then we decided that due to Elon Musk owning so many cars he would need an excellent alarm system to make sure no one could steal them.

Finally, we decided to make our robot act as an alarm system. The robot would circle around Elon Musk’s cars and if it were to detect a moving object, the robot would light up and make a loud alarm noise.

Over the two days, we did coding for the robot, wired the switch boards, built the frame of the robot as well as designing the appearance of it. As a group we called, our robot ‘shell shock’. This name resembled the robot’s appearance, which consisted of a turtle shell exterior.

I really liked the way our robot looked because it was very unique.

At the end of the competition all 25 robots were judged, and we all got to see each other’s. It was great to see what everyone came up with and to see how different everyone interpreted the challenge. At the completion of the competition we were unexpectedly announced the winners which was a great surprise.

Overall, the experience was really fun. I learnt new skills in coding and engineering and got to know girls in other year levels. It helped me see what career options are out there if I wanted to pursue a career in STEM. I would strongly suggest this experience to everyone, as I was surprised with how much I enjoyed it, as well as how much I learnt.

Lucy Campbell Year 11 Student

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St Catherine’s News Autumn 2020

D E B AT I N G N E W S Each year the Debaters’ Association of Victoria (the DAV) invites high scoring students from the previous year’s Senior Debating Competition to trial for the Victorian State Team.

Debating skills which they hope to be able to use in the 2020 competition.

All Senior debaters were encouraged to trial for the Victorian State Team, despite the challenges involved.

As debaters with consistently strong performances in 2019, Isabella McDonald (Year 12) and Paula Chen (Yearr 10) were invited to trial this year along with 200 other students across the State. Catherine Karas in Year 9 also tried out as the competition is open to all Senior Debaters. All three girls found the standard of the try outs to be extremely high and competitive.

All Junior and Senior debaters were also offered an opportunity of attending a two day non-residential Debate Camp in January where Year 7 and 8 students watched an Exhibition Debate and received training in the skills of rebuttal.

Year 8 students, Nadia Mohamed, Sophie Abbott and Jisu Yang found the experience valuable and informative; they were encouraged to think outside the box when preparing and responding to topics, and felt their confidence grow with each debate.

Students were asked to prepare for two debates with only an hour of preparation.

The topics were challenging and ranged from the issue of introducing a wealth tax (in A Grade – Year 12) to the banning of political donations (in C Grade – Year 10). The State Trials provided students the opportunity of seeing first-hand the complexity and detail involved in preparing for Secret Topics, and experimenting with some new

Year 9 students, Catherine Karas and Flora Du were challenged by being placed in a variety of Speaker roles.

Detailed feedback from the adjudicators also meant that the students developed greater awareness of the DAV marking system for debates. Year 10 debaters, Maddie Farrer and Angela Yu had their

interest piqued by being exposed to the energetic and animated British Parliamentary style of Debating.

The camp has become increasingly popular with students wishing to extend their skills in the off-season, in a casual and collaborative atmosphere which promotes the meeting of like-minded students, and we thank the students involved for their feedback on all of these events.

Ms Mary-Anne Keratiotis Coordinator of Debating & Public Speaking

JUNIOR SCHOOL

Welcome to Country St Catherine’s students and staff had an incredible opportunity early in Term 1, to host Aboriginal Elder Murrundindi at the School. Although he has visited before, the students embraced the opportunity to learn and hear his experiences.

With our Class of 2019 also in the audience, Murrundindi attended the Senior School Assembly, sang a song of welcome, and delivered a Welcome to Country, filling us with a sense of deep significance and weight as he spoke in his Aboriginal language. A Welcome to Country is performed by Traditional Owners of land who have received permission to do so, and in modern times, is an adaptation of the parent ritual that has been performed for thousands of years by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Last year, St Catherine’s began developing a Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) with a group of staff, students, parents and community members, bringing together a wide range of cultural backgrounds and experiences to reconciliation. Through open and thoughtful conversations combined with deliberate actions, we seek to increase our community’s understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, histories and experiences, and to encourage further reconciliation. One of the first completed actions was to engage an elder to lead the Welcome to Country and Smoking Ceremony for the 2020 school year, facilitated by Wurundjeri Elder, Murrundindi.

Murrundindi shared details of his life – how he was born in the kitchen of his family home in 1945 (some clever Year 8 girls figured out his age of 75 the fastest when he asked us!), and how he grew up.

Hearing these experiences is not new for many of our girls, yet it weighs just as heavily in heart and mind. We listened intently with open ears as he described not being educated in the school system, and his journey to becoming the spiritual custodian of the Wurundjeri tribal region.

Following Senior School Assembly, Murrundindi spent time in the Early Learning Centre, telling stories, playing

the didgeridoo, and singing and dancing with the children. The delight on his face is evident, as is the ‘hanging-on-every-word’ look on the face of the students.

During lunch, the Junior and Senior Schools, as well as staff were privileged to a Smoking Ceremony. An ancient Aboriginal custom led by an Elder, a Smoking Ceremony consists of the burning of native plants, paving the way to a brighter future. The sacred plant used in the Smoking Ceremony was that of the Stringy Bark tree which is cut, then stored in the ground for a specific period of time until it grows a fungus, and this is when it is burnt. The sacred fungus of the Stringy Bark tree is the original plant used for Smoking Ceremonies for the Wurundjeri people, and differs from the often seen Smoking Ceremony involving gum tree leaves.

As the girls gathered around the fountain, Murrundindi adorned his possum fur coat, circling the fountain and singing a song of welcome before lighting the sacred fungus.

The smoke had an almost floral scent to it – with our clothes holding the scent for hours afterwards. For those in attendance, the Smoking Ceremony was a spiritual and collective experience. We are grateful and enriched to have been gifted the day’s events

by Murrundindi, and the RAP Committee.

St Catherine’s will be welcoming Murrundindi back to the School in the coming weeks, to bury the remains of the sacred fungus as per Wurundjeri tradition. The chosen place for the fungus will become a place of reflection for our students.

Miss Rebekah Browne Marketing & Communications Coordinator Mrs Gina Peele Director of Student Programs

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St Catherine’s News Autumn 2020

Meet four of our students...

MADELINE POWELL, YEAR 10

ISABELLA AYRE, YEAR 6

What are some of your favourite aspects of School life?

The culture is one of my favourite aspects.

Every day I come to school assured that each teacher and girl will support you.

What do you like most about school?

I love almost everything about school but the subjects I love most are Art and Humanities and Social Sciences (HASS). Both of them are topics I have loved since I was little.

What do you hope to do by the end of the year at School?

I hope that I am feeling confident and prepared to start my two years of VCE. What would you like to achieve during your time as a St Catherine’s girl?

Too often I hear young women start their sentences with ‘I’m sorry but...’.

I want to raise awareness for how often those words are said.

What does it mean to you to be a St Catherine’s girl?

To me, being a St Catherine’s girl means being a part of the big and incredible family at 17 Heyington Place.

What are your favourite things to do away from School?

Outside of school I love doing lots of things like reading, yoga and, not going to lie, I do enjoy a binge watch.

What are you most enjoying that you are learning in the classroom at the moment?

Right now in English we are reading Romeo and Juliet which I am really enjoying. It is satisfying when the beautiful, yet difficult, language of Shakespeare begins to make some sort of sense.

What are some of your dreams, upon graduating St Catherine’s?

It is a dream of mine to be an entrepreneur.

I want to make sure that whatever I do, that it positively impacts the lives of women.

What are you looking forward to learning this year at school?

I am looking forward to finishing our art projects that we are doing at the moment. We get to choose an animal and draw ourselves with the animal as a hat or something related to us.

It’s really enjoyable to draw in art.

What would you like to be when you grow up?

I would like to be a full-time lawyer. Law and history related to politics interests me greatly. Otherwise, I would be an illustrator for a Japanese form of comics: Manga.

What are your favourite things to do away from school?

I love speaking and learning Japanese.

I have a tutor who comes on Fridays.

At the moment, I’m learning the way of locating objects: ko, so, a, do.

Japanese culture has interested me greatly over the past few years.

What does it mean to you to be a St Catherine’s girl?

It means to always try your best, even if whatever you are doing is extremely difficult.

To be caring, even to people who aren’t so to you. To be curious and understanding of others. I know that staying true to being a St Catherine’s girl will positively impact when I’m older. That’s why I’m proud of being a St Catherine’s girl.

STUDENT PERSPECTIVES

SOPHIE WILLIAMS, YEAR 11

ALICE SUTTON, YEAR 6

What are some of your favourite aspects of School life?

The co-curricular activities that allow friendships across all year levels.

What do you like most about school?

The best part of school is learning new things and seeing my friends.

What do you hope to do by the end of the year at School?

I’m hoping to take part in the coaching program for debating and develop my debating and leadership skills.

What would you like to achieve during your time as a St Catherine’s girl?

That I have made a difference for the community by creating lots of friendships.

I would also like to do an awareness day for Dementia, as my Grandma has Dementia.

What does it mean to you to be a St Catherine’s girl?

Having pride for the school and what we stand for as a community which means, wearing the blue ribbon and acting as a member of the school community.

What are your favourite things to do away from School?

I love to watch musicals and plays that are showing in the theatres, and playing my guitar.

What are you most enjoying that you are learning in the classroom at the moment?

I am enjoying my two science subjects, chemistry and biology. It is fascinating to see how some of the theories can overlap and also relate to everyday life.

What are some of your dreams, upon graduating St Catherine’s?

I am hoping to go on a medical exchange, then study Medicine and specialise to become an obstetrician. I’m looking forward to see what challenges I will face once school ends.

What are you looking forward to learning this year at school?

I’m looking forward to learning about government when we go to Canberra.

Also, I am looking forward to learning more maths.

What would you like to be when you grow up?

I would like to be a professional surfer or a netballer.

What are your favourite things to do away from school?

I like to play netball, surf, play violin and do ballet.

What does it mean to you to be a St Catherine’s girl?

I am grateful and proud to be a St Catherine’s girl and to have all the opportunities to do everything I enjoy.

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St Catherine’s News Autumn 2020

Miss Brigette Carlile HEAD OF ROWING PHYSICAL EDUCATION AND HEALTH TEACHER

“The Rowing Program’s definition of success is ‘achieving a personal best performance’. Our focus is always around developing and refining our preparation and process, to ensure that all crews can execute their race plan to the best of their ability.”

As the Head of Rowing, Brigette Carlile is responsible for organising and overseeing the St Catherine’s Rowing Program, which includes coordinating the schedules, prescribing and implementing the training programs, mentoring and developing coaches. Overall “it is about ensuring that the Rowing Program is fun, safe and rewarding for our students.”

Brigette began teaching Health and Physical Education at St Catherine’s in 2016. She has a Bachelor Degree in Exercise and Sports Science and a Graduate Diploma of Education. After being awarded a scholarship from Rowing Australia early last year, Brigette is currently completing a Master of Sports Education.

This season St Catherine’s have 15 crews, across Junior (Year 9), Intermediate (Year 10) and Senior crews (Years 11 and 12). All crews competed successfully in a number of regattas since November 2019. Brigette explains that the Rowing Program aims to “foster an environment based on learning and striving for improvement. We encourage students to challenge themselves and work together to improve. The camaraderie

within each of the Rowing Squads is something very unique to St Catherine’s and is a huge strength of ours.”

During the rowing season, a typical day usually starts with a “4.40am wake up, heading into the Mercantile Rowing Club, and then in the speedboat to coach the St Catherine’s Senior Rowers. The session usually involves rowing out to the Westgate or the Maribyrnong. Afterwards, I debrief with the coaches over coffee before heading into school. During the day I continue organising and planning the Rowing Program, do some lesson planning, and depending on the day, I may teach a class. Around 3pm I head back to Mercantile Rowing Club, meet the St Catherine’s Rowers and Coaches, and hop on the bike for the training session and then head home around 6.45pm.”

“I really enjoy being active, spending time outdoors and helping students develop a love of sport and physical activity, and coaching allows me to teach new skills.

Everything I have done has always been based around sport and physical activity” In her spare time and in summer, you will always find Brigette at the beach.

S TA F F P R O F I L E S

MRS MELISSA BRADDY LEARNING PLUS/EDUCATION SUPPORT TEACHER

MS LYN ZARIFIS HEAD OF GLOBAL PATHWAYS & PARTNERSHIPS

Melissa has been with St Catherine’s, on and off for 25 years. Her contribution has been considerable, encompassing a variety of roles, including Head of Boarding and Head of Year 12. Melissa is currently teaching the Year 11 and 12 Learning Plus Classes.

Lyn is new to the School, having joined in November 2019. With a Bachelor of Arts and a Diploma of Education, she taught Modern Greek and Humanities for many years, and was Head of Middle School at a previous School, and more recently, a role organising programs for visiting overseas students.

“There have been many highlights. I have had the privilege of being a staff member on three USA exchanges; the opportunity to teach extraordinary young women, who continue to make a difference. And living in Illawarra when I was Head of Boarding – what a privilege.”

Melissa has a background in Psychology as well as supporting and teaching students with learning disabilities, and has spent time working overseas in the UK. She believes the strengths and assets of St Catherine’s is the small class sizes, enabling teachers to know their students so well, the wonderful Co-curricular opportunities, and the pastoral support and wellbeing programs.

Melissa’s days are usually spent with her students, supporting their learning in the classroom. Otherwise, she is meeting with therapists, ensuring that the students’ language and psychological testing is current, and working with parents and teachers to continue the support.

Melissa’s commitment to the School saw her acknowledged with the St Catherine’s Excellence in Teaching and Learning Award for her pastoral role as Head of Year 12.

“I was humbled and honoured. I am not one to seek the limelight and to be recognised in front of the whole school was overwhelming and unexpected.”

“All of these experiences have fostered a deep respect and belief in the value of experiential learning. St Catherine’s values in this respect align perfectly with mine.

I am thrilled to be involved in coordinating and providing opportunities for the girls to live and experience so many parts of the world, build global relationships and become citizens of the world.”

Lyn explains that she is “fortunate to have great variation in my day: meeting with staff to support them with the organised trips, meeting with our students and the exchange students and meeting with families who are hosting or whose daughters will be going on an exchange.”

Already, it is the strength and support of the School community, particularly the staff and parent body, which have made her feel extremely welcome.

“St Catherine’s great culture of respect and understanding is its strength” explains Lyn. “The Wellbeing Program has a strong focus on emotional intelligence and resilience, there is a lot of support for the students at all levels and I am immensely impressed with the school’s culture of experiential learning through the numerous trips and exchanges they offer.”

MS SARAH BETHUNE HEAD OF EARLY LEARNING CENTRE Sarah has always been passionate about early childhood education and enjoyed her pursuit of this as a career. Having been with St Catherine’s for 19 years, she has enjoyed a significant journey of educational leadership, from an Early Learning Centre (ELC) classroom teacher to ELC Coordinator, to currently Head of ELC. “It has been a privilege to observe the growth, development and learning in many children over the years and see their unfolding educational journey as they continue through the School from ELC to Year 12.”

There is no typical day for Sarah, as her role is quite diverse, but it is this that makes her work so exciting. Throughout her day she will support staff, children and their families, guide the curriculum and program, “ensuring that we provide a high-quality educational service to our children” as well as manage the day-to-day running of ELC. “I believe St Catherine’s has a wonderful sense of community. It has been exciting to see the community diversity evolve over time. The pastoral care offered to students and families is also a strength. Students and families are really welcomed and supported individually.”

Sarah’s dedication at St Catherine’s was acknowledged with the St Catherine’s Excellence in Teaching and Learning Award presented at the Annual Speech Night Awards at the Melbourne Town Hall in 2019.

“It is incredibly rewarding to know that we are making a difference in the lives of young children and providing them with the education foundation for a positive future.”

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St Catherine’s News Autumn 2020

across year levels and with teachers and staff. This contributes to a deeper engagement with the school and makes the school community stronger.

HAVE YOU BEEN INVOLVED IN OTHER ROLES AT ST CATHERINE’S?

Charlotte Wood (Year 8), Annabel Wood, Samantha Wood and Amelia Wood (Year 1)

CONNECTION, CONTRIBUTION & BUILDING OUR COMMUNITY This year sees Mrs Samantha Wood as President of the Parents’ and Friends’ Association (PFA). Mrs Wood has been an active member of the School community for the past ten years, and shares the PFA objectives for the coming year.

The most important objective of the Parents’ and Friends’ Association (PFA) is to create opportunities for the St Catherine’s community to come together in a warm and welcoming way, to build a connected community.

With ‘friend-raising’ as our focus, we have a calendar of events that provides many opportunities for parents to meet and engage with each other and with staff. This way we enhance the growth and wellbeing of our children and inspire lifelong connections.

WHAT DOES THE PFA HOPE TO ACHIEVE DURING THE COMING YEAR? Our main aim is for our events and activities to bring parents, staff and families together to foster a warm and friendly community.

We want to provide opportunities for parents to feel welcome and connected to the school, to enhance communication and friendship between parents across year levels and within individual year levels.

The secondary aim is that our fundraising efforts are successful so that we can continue to provide donations that enhance the girls’ experience at school now and in years to come. We have recently completed our four year pledge for the ‘Village Green’ in Barbreck and would like to be able to donate similarly to the school’s next major fundraising campaign.

We hope parents support our fundraising efforts by making use of the PFA run Second Hand Uniform Shop, buying hot cross buns and Christmas treats in our fundraising drives and by participating in the raffles and penny auctions at the Ruth Langley luncheon.

WHY DO YOU THINK VOLUNTEERING IS SO IMPORTANT? Firstly, volunteers organise many events and activities which enhance the experience of the girls, their parents and families, and which only happen because of the work of the volunteers. For example, the PFA Class Representatives organise activities for parents from individual year levels to meet and form friendships.

Secondly, being a volunteer provides the opportunity for greater involvement in the school activities and to form closer connections with other parents

Prior to taking on the role of PFA President, I was a member of the PFA Committee for three years, two of those as PFA Secretary. I have also been a PFA Class Representative for each of my children’s year groups. I am currently the Barbreck Liaison on the Creative Arts Auxiliary (and was a member and then Treasurer of the Music Auxiliary before it merged with Drama and Fine Arts to create the CAA).

I was also a member of the Snowsports Auxiliary for several years.

CAN YOU TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOURSELF AND YOUR BACKGROUND? I am married to Stuart and have four children Charlotte (13), William (11), Amelia (6) and Annabel (18 months).

We joined the school community in 2010 when Charlotte started at St Catherine’s in 3YO ELC. Charlotte is now in Year 8, Amelia is in Year 1 whilst William is in Year 5 at Scotch College, having previously attended the St Catherine’s ELC. Annabel will commence 3YO ELC in 2022 (and finish Year 12 in 2036)!

I’m originally from Adelaide but have lived here for 21 years now. I have a BComm from the University of Adelaide and a BSci(Hons) from the University of Melbourne. Whilst undertaking some post graduate research, I lectured Mathematics to overseas students in the Trinity College Foundation Studies Program at Melbourne University, and then worked as a Quantitative analyst/Programmer/Trader for a small investment bank in Melbourne until taking maternity leave when Charlotte was born. I am still on that maternity leave!

I enjoy spending time with my family and friends, travelling to new places, going to concerts and museums. I like skiing, playing tennis and walking (with a pram it seems!).

Mrs Samantha Wood 2020 PFA President

OUR COMMUNITY

PA S T PA R E N T COMMITTEE Introducing our Past Parent Committee for 2020: Scott Reinke, Jodie Cody, Libby Stopp, Sophie Gardiner, Chrissy Skinner (Condon ’76), Lisa Steven, Amanda Hamer, Anna Field and Malcolm Stopp (absent: Julia Anderson (McKinley-Wilson ’69), Wendy Buller, Leanne Deacon, David Swann and Anne Waterhouse)

Past Parents at Cranlana Our All Years Reunion, co-hosted by the 2019 Past Parents and SCOGA Committees, was a wonderful success. Lindy Shelmerdine (’80) and Lady Southey AC (Myer ’45) provided the most stunning venue of Cranlana making everyone there feel welcome and indeed a part of the St Catherine’s family. We are grateful and appreciative of their offering us such a beautiful venue in which to gather.

Cranlana celebrates its 100 year anniversary this year and the gardens were looking magnificent as a result of the extensive works and detailed care and attention in preparation of the big birthday year.

We are proud to be maintaining the strength of the School’s wider community by providing a broader range of opportunities for us all to stay in touch.

Our thanks to Chrissy Ryan and the St Catherine’s Old Girls’ Association Committee for co-hosting this event with us.

We anticipate that this reunion of past students, past parents and past staff will become a regular event and we hope you will join us next time.

Mrs Lisa Steven & Mrs Anna Field Past Parents’ Comittee

Save the Date All Years Past Dads Reunion Thu 6 Aug 6.30pm Heroes Club Toorak RSL 72 Clendon Road, Toorak

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St Catherine’s News Autumn 2020

Past Parents Indigenous Scholarship Fund Giving Circle In the same year St Catherine’s School established a partnership with Yalari, to educate and support Indigenous students from across rural, remote and regional Australia, the daughters of the 2008 past parents began in Year 7.

Two years later, in 2015, the St Catherine’s Indigenous Scholarship Fund was established to facilitate bridging the gap between funding sources through Yarali and the full cost of educating our Indigenous students. This partnership has gained significant momentum and depth over time.

In 2020, St Catherine’s will have its first Yalari student undertake Year 12, with three other Yalari students following in her footsteps. Also this year, a Past Parents Indigenous Scholarship Giving Circle will be launched, led by Foundation Board member

Lisa Steven, and supported through the generosity of the past parents of 2018.

Collectively, this giving circle will sponsor a current Year 7 Indigenous student through her secondary years. The aim is to obtain a commitment from 23 families to pledge an annual tax-deductible gift of $1,000 for five years, ensuring the student is fully supported throughout her course of studies and able to participate in all activities and experiences on offer.

Together, this group of donors will change the course of the life of one student, and potentially set a precedent for other Past Parent year groups.

Ms Jacqueline Williams Director of Advancement

O U R F O U N D AT I O N B O A R D

Mr Wayne Kent, Chair, past parent

Mrs Gina Israel (Shackell ’76), President, alumna and past parent

Mr Lachlan Armstrong (’95), alumnus and current parent

Mr Cameron Bertalli, current parent

Mr James Chen, current parent

Mr Andrew Demetriou, current parent

Mrs Sally Joubert, current and past parent

Ms Fiona Menzies (’87), alumna and current parent

Mr Dale Rodgers, current and past parent

Dr Anne Waterhouse, past parent

Mrs Lisa Steven, past parent

Welcoming new Foundation Board Member, Dr Damien Grinsell, current parent

F O U N DAT I O N

THANK YOU TO OUR 2019 DONORS 1 January – 31 December 2019

Anna (Nieuwenhuysen ’91) & Ian Abbott

Karissa Searle (’01) & Tim Finocchiaro

Robert Marshall

Simone & Thomas Shelton

Judy Matear (Spry ’49)

Ammy Huang & Hua Shen

Nina (Kirby ’94) & Paul Aberdeen

Alexandra Mayes (’80)

Charles Sitch

Margaret Adams (Cameron ’54)

Sarah (Scambler ’93) & Andrew Foote

Jackie (Barnes ’77) & Greg Sitch

Sally (Watson ’74) & Stephen Ahern

Pamela Fraser† (Wallace Smith ’54)

Deirdre McDermott

Sandra Allen

The Rev Dr. Peter French & The Rev Dr. Robyn Whitaker

Susan McDonald (Officer Brown ’50) Catherine McDowall (’76)

Chrissy (Condon ’76) & Andrew Skinner

Patricia McKenzie

Michelle McDade & Dean Sleigh

Fiona Menzies (’87)

Jann Smeaton (Norman ’52)

Christina Michelle

Anne Smith

Farah Pasha (’91) & Matheen Mohamed

Lady Southey AC (Myer ’45)

Paula & Stuart Moir Annabel Montgomery (Darling ’76)

St Catherine’s Parents’ & Friends’ Association

Rebecca & Jamie Gray

Annabel (Plumber ’82) & Rupert Myer AO

St Catherine’s School Second Hand Books

Rebekah & Lachlan Armstrong (’95) Jo Atkins Ann Badger Jill Baker Barbara & John Barber Kate Barber (’96) Lisa Barker Anna Thomas & David Barrington Caroline (Purves ’63) & Stephen Brain

Sarah Fulford (’70) Sophie & Tim Gardiner Rosie (Waite ’78) & Tony Garrisson Lyra & Marco Gattino Julia Sher & Ian Glaspole Joan Glover (Barwood ’40) Gemma Goorjian (’02)

Catherine & Jonathon Sprott

Helen Rofe QC & Rowan Gregory

Rowena & Alistair Mytton

Lisa & John Steven

Roger Brookes

Tanya Margetts & Damien Grinsell

Caroline & Gary Nattrass

Elizabeth Burman (Harley ’55)

Chloe Fu & Wilson Guo

Christina & Anthony Nicholas

Amanda (Trumble ’69) & Bruce Stewart

Gail & Jim Butler

Fleur & Lars Heidenreich

Wendy & John Nickson

Sarah Butler (’12)

Lisa & Jack Hennessy

Lisa Nicoll-Cooke (Nicoll ’63)

Andrea Donaldson & Bruce Caine

Andrew Herold

John Nieuwenhuysen AM

Noel Calvert (Davidson ’55)

Liz Addison-Baker & Michael Hill

Merran O’Connor

Gillian Cameron (Hain ’62)

Bill Hogg

Annick Houle & Stephen O’Connor

Penny Campbell

Annabel (Levy ’79) & Allan Holmes

Julie-Anne & Dean Pagnin

Clare (Darling ’77) & Andrew Cannon AM

Mary Hope OAM (Molesworth ’40) Noelene Horton AM

Betty Alexopoulos & Bill Papastergiadis OAM

Meng (Sherrie) Zeng & Yi (Gary) Cao

Jane Shen & Roland Hu

Claudette Passon

Louise & Don Carroll

Weiwei Chi & Yini Huang

Jill Paterson (’61)

Michelle & Justin Carroll

Weibin Liang & Mengjie Huang

Annie & John Paterson

Diana Tran & Walter Chang

Maddie Hunter (’05)

Jan Peele

Chartwells Catering

Gina & Stuart Peele

May & James Chen

Ann (Pisterman ’64) & Tony Hyams AM

Ivy & Chon Hing Chiam

Margaret Ironside (’48)

Samantha Pfeifer (’78)

Sue & Marc Collister

Gina (Shackell ’76) & Peter Israel

Debbie & Michael Plastow

Anne Connellan

Pamela Jacobson (Shallman ’44)

Emma & Ian Pratt

Axi Cooper (’05)

Sally & Richard Joubert

Elizabeth Prowse

Astrida† & Craig Cooper

Sue & Nick Karunaratne

Meredith & Michael Pryse

Anne Court (Lowry ’58)

Sonia & Wayne Kent

Quayclean Australia Pty Ltd

Shaloo & Mineesh Datta

KISS Print Services

Corrie & Shawn Read

Hilary Day (Oliphant ’52)

Peter & Cathy Kudelka

Fiona & Scott Reinke

Sally & Phil Dreaver

Stephanie (John ’86) & Justin Lazar

Jill Richards (Sargood ’48)

Harriet Edquist (’65) Virginia Edwards AM (Smith ’56) Jenny Elstoft (Latreille ’58) Jane & Scott Favaloro Belle Ding & Xiang Fei Anna & John Field

Vivian Le Marita (Batty ’96) & Julian Lincoln Elizabeth Loane (Hayes ’56) Nicole Li & Ivan Ma Margaret Mackie (De Steiger ’58) Thea (Coltman ’51) & Ian Manson

Angie Fox & Justin Perelberg

Samantha Roussis Chrissy (Graham ’79) & Paul Ryan Margaret Scrambler (Drummond ’62) Tina Li & Ye Shao Kate & Stephen Shelmerdine AM Letitia Shelton (Cole ’58)

Natalie & John Tabbagh Meredith Taylor (’79) Melissa Sweetland (’86) & Nicholas Taylor Charles Tegner Monique Rosshandler & Ion Teska The Yulgilbar Foundation Rupali Kashyap & Arjun Thyagarajan Rebecca & Nick Turnbull Caroline Vaillant (Officer Brown ’56) June Vose (Mackay ’46) Yong Qiang Wang & Juan Xu Jane Hodder & Murray Ware Anne Waterhouse Hualu (Lulu) Dai & Li Wei Jacqueline Williams Willis Towers Watson Samantha & Stuart Wood QC AM Alison Wood Jenny Woods O’Donnell Ju Yoo & Sun Yang Emily Wu & Mankin Yu Gillian Ruan & Paul Yu Katherine Zhao (’16) Lin Lin & Guanghan Zheng Rico Feng & James Zhu Joanna Sun & Joe Zhu Anonymous 16 † Deceased

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St Catherine’s News Autumn 2020

A Word from the President 2019 brought enormous highs to SCOGA, but with the dawning of 2020 and the smoke billowing across the state, we are reminded about the fragility of our land and the torment it has brought to so many. Our hearts go out to those who are directly affected by these tragic events brought on by the fires, and to those fights being fought by so many. To those within our SCOGA family and the wider community as a whole – we embrace you.

Planning started early this year for SCOGA with our centenary only 12 months away.

Not only do we need to cement our core program, we also feel that some areas need refinement. Old Girls communications will be a key element of focus this year, along with setting out how we want to celebrate our 100 years of SCOGA in 2021.

SCOGA continues to flourish and evolve, and with this comes the need for diversity within our Committee. We are thrilled to head into 2020 with an extraordinary group of 17 committee members whose ages spread across the decades, and have skills to match our plans and programs.

2020 will see a continuation of the incredibly successful, and much sort after, Mentor Program. We are in the process of securing our mentors for the year and will be giving plenty of notice prior to the release of the 6 golden seats for each industry sector.

Overseas and interstate SCOGA chapters have come into our line of sight. With St Catherine’s Old Girls spread over the globe, we feel that wherever we dwell, sometimes there is no place like home… well at least a feeling of it. As a committee we are keen to commence this project and for it to become a regular part of our SCOGA program.

to work with the school to refine and improve its database, and one way to do this is with all Old Girls updating their details. This can be done via email to us (see address below), or by visiting stcatherines.net.au – clicking on the SCOGA tab, then the Update Your Details button, and filling in the form.

Alternatively, you can advise your Year Group Representative of any changes.

In October last year, SCOGA donated the magnificent sculpture named ‘The Hands’ to St Catherine’s. Installed into the gardens outside the Mary Davis Centre, we are once again reminded about our remarkable Old Girls. A chance meeting with Lisa Roet (’84) when Dr Jane Goodall visited the school, led to an opportunity for us to purchase this extraordinary piece of work.

I must wholeheartedly thank the SCOGA Committee of 2019 who unanimously voted ‘YES’ to acquire this gift for St Catherine’s.

Our e-News will continue to be emailed out each quarter. Please feel free to forward stories about what you are up to scoga@stcatherines.net.au

SCOGA social media will be ramped up in 2020. We will be developing Instagram and Facebook pages dedicated to Old Girls, as well as active promotion of the current LinkedIn group. We will advise the community once these are ready for you to ‘follow’.

Year Group Representatives are a conduit from SCOGA to our Old Girls community.

We appreciate their work on continuing to encapsulate their cohort. SCOGA continues

We look forward to hosting nine Reunions this year – 2015, 2010, 2005, 2000, 1995, 1990, 1980, 1970 and Pre 1961. We had sensational attendances last year, and look forward to filling Sherren House with laughter, memories, connections and reconnections.

Thank you to the SCOGA Committee of 2020 who are embracing our direction.

To Principal, Michelle Carroll – your open door and open ears are greatly appreciated.

To Jane Hodder, Chair of School Council and her team – thank you for enabling us to be relevant, and worthy of delivering a voice on behalf of all St Catherine’s Old Girls.

Chrissy Ryan (Graham ’79) SCOGA President scoga@stcatherines.net.au

St Catherine’s Old Girls’ Association

THE BULLETIN

Main photo: L-R Patrick Cody (St Catherine’s School Council), Chrissy Ryan (Graham ’79), Lisa Roet (’84)

The Hands

I have always encouraged people including children to physically interact with my work as it is only then that the works, for me, truly come to life. My sculptures are highly textured, with the skins of the fingers and hands made to be touched and experienced close up. When a child’s hand is placed on the bronze hand of a chimp or a child is placed within the palm of the Chimpanzees hand, the relevance and meaning of the work becomes apparent.

The differences and similarities between ‘us and them’ through comparison can be seen, and subsequently empathy takes a part in the artworks ability to educate.

I hope for ‘The Hands’ is to became a meeting point for the girls, a destination reaffirming our interconnection with nature and each other.

St Catherine’s School proved to be an important turning point in my life sending me on my lifetime journey in art making and raising awareness about Humans relationship with nature. My connection with the school has been strengthened

by SCOGA and our mutual connection with esteemed scientist and female role model Dr Goodall with whom I am working on a large scale art project to tour globally during 2020-2021, celebrate the anniversary of her seminal scientific research at Gombe National Park.

I am so touched that my bronze sculpture, titled ‘The Hands’ has been purchased by SCOGA and donated by them to St Catherine’s School, offering the same pertinent message that we need to interconnect with nature to create a sustainable future.

Lisa Roet (’84)

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Fellowship SCOGA 2019

It was an honour (and shock) to be awarded the 2019 SCOGA Fellowship and I am excited to be able to pursue my studies and research in a field that I am very passionate about.

Since leaving St Catherine’s in 1990, almost 30 years ago now, I have continued my relationship with the school and have returned on occasion to speak for NAIDOC week assembly as well as to provide Indigenous cultural support and advice.

When the opportunity came up to apply for the SCOGA Fellowship last year, I jumped at the opportunity. I knew I would have some tough competition, but I figured there was no harm in trying!

I have been doing my own research and reading on anti-racism, diversity, and inclusion for many years and it is an area I am very passionate about.

I come from a family of strong social justice activists, so advocating for equity and equality is in my blood.

I have wanted to study anti-racism in the United States for many years. The area of racism prevention in Australia is still in its infancy compared to the USA, and the USA has a long history of consistent, well-funded racial justice programs and research that has led to a very evolved approach to antiracism focusing on long-term solutions.

This is not the case in Australia. There are some very effective initiatives to be found in the USA that Australia can learn from.

Thanks to the SCOGA Fellowship, I will be travelling to Maryland and

New York, USA to attend the Leadership for Diversity Institute and the AntiRacist Alliance in August this year.

As Australia continues to become more of a multi-cultural and diverse society, there is an increased need for us as a society to value and welcome similarities and differences among others as well as the ability to examine our own unconscious biases that impact our interactions with others.

We live in a diverse society that still struggles with daily practices of racism and bias. Systemic racism persists because privilege and oppression are built into the social institutions of our society. As an Indigenous woman, I have experienced first-hand the impact of racism on an individual, community and systemic level.

This fellowship will enable me the opportunity to develop my leadership in the area of anti-racism, diversity, equity and Inclusion.

I look forward to creating a platform that fosters culturally competent, inclusive and safe spaces in schools, organisations, and government departments.

It is my greatest intention to make a meaningful and impactful contribution to my community and the greater community at large.

Yolanda Finette (’90)

St Catherine’s Old Girls’ Association

CRANLANA

COCKTA I L PARTY An excerpt taken from SCOGA President Chrissy Ryan’s (Graham ’79) speech at the Cranlana event, in October 2019.

“When the idea came about to merge a function with SCOGA, the Past Parents and Friends Network and past teachers… it seemed like a great concept. But me being me…

I needed to be sure that there was commonality between us all, besides that of St Catherine’s School. Having been a past parent and being an Old Girl and having a great respect for our teachers – despite the fact that many here either didn’t teach me or perhaps wished they hadn’t; I came up with a list.

Parent – bought the uniform; Student – wore the uniform; Teacher – put the uniform in lost property.

Parent – helped with the homework; Student – handed in the homework; Teacher – corrected

the homework and knew the parents had done the homework; Parent – made the lunches; Student – binned the lunches; Teachers – sorted the queues in the tuckshop.

Parent – paid the fees; Student – no idea why they had to eat so many sausages, mince and potato gems four times a year; Teachers – good numbers for the exchange program.

Parent – oh god oral reports, Students – oh god oral reports, Teachers – oh god oral reports.

So to finish… I want you to imagine this…

Old Girls are chicken. Past Parents are avo.

Past teachers are lettuce. Delicious individually.

But if we were to add St Catherine’s as mayo and bind it all together we end up with a sensational Heyington sandwich.”

Chrissy Ryan (Graham ’79) SCOGA President

THE BULLETIN

Leavers Panel On Monday 10th of February three old girls, Mackenzie Leyden (’17), Meg Jansen (’16) and Hannah Wentworth (’16), were invited to attend a leavers panel with the 2019 year 12 cohort.

The old girls discussed the many challenges of university including timetabling and enrolment, university workload and joining clubs/societies, how to maintain a work-life balance involving friendships, part-time jobs or internships and volunteering.

It was an invaluable opportunity for the girls to learn about how to make the most out of their post-school life by participating in networking opportunities through SCOGA, being involved with their university through O-week, making new friends and attending classes whilst at university and making time to travel and make new university friends.

It was also great to see how SCOGA still remains a large support system in the girls lives during and after their education at St Catherine’s. With SCOGA organising numerous initiatives to encourage unity between girls of different ages and by developing resources, organising mentorships and fellowships and hosting reunions, SCOGA is an imperative part of all St Catherine's girls lives.

Overall, the girls garnered knowledge regarding how some things don’t go to plan, but how it works out in the end as long as they remain determined and show resilience.

Brooke Maat (’16) SCOGA Committee

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St Catherine’s News Autumn 2020

REUNIONS

TOP LEFT: 2014 Year Group – 5 Year Reunion, Year Rep: Lucinda Davies and Tess Price; BOTTOM LEFT: 1994 Year Group – 25 Year Reunion, Year Rep: Samantha O’Brien; TOP RIGHT: 1969 Year Group – 50 Year Reunion, Year Rep: Prue Dobson (Cameron); BOTTOM RIGHT: 2010 Year Group – 10 Year Reunion. Year Reps: Amy Wilson and Lucy Cameron

2020 Events & Reunions Saturday 2 May POSTPONED 30 Year – 1990 Lucy Fortey (King) lucy.fortey@pdsgroup.com Friday 8 May POSTPONED 40 Year – 1980 Annabel Bowden (Lewis) acmbowden@gmail.com

Friday 7 August 20 Year – 2000 Tour 5.45pm Drinks in Drawing Room 6.15pm Megan McDonald (Benson) meganbenson99@hotmail.com Angela Johnson angejohnson@gmail.com

Wednesday 9 September 50 Year – 1970 Tour 5.45pm Drinks in Drawing Room 6.15pm Barb O’Brien (Whiting) barb@notrace.com.au Friday 9 October 5 Year – 2015 Tour 5.45pm Drinks in Drawing Room 6.15pm Nicola Sitch sitchnicola@gmail.com Jacquelin Cantarella jacquelincantarella@gmail.com

Friday 23 October Pre 1961 Luncheon Noon – 2.00 pm Friday 13 November 25 Year – 1995 Tour 5.45pm Drinks in Drawing Room 6.15pm Phoebe Norman (Olsen) phoebe_norman@icloud.com

THE BULLETIN

St Catherine’s Old Girls’ Association

Pre '60 Luncheon At SCOGA we love a reunion and the Pre ’60 Luncheon in October was no exception. We were thrilled to welcome back so many Old Girls to this fabulous event. Drinks in the Drawing Room followed by lunch in the Ballroom. Rolling

memories of times past scrolled across the screen of St Catherine’s girls at play prior to 1959. Sensational hampers were won, SCOGA keyrings were hot property, grandchildren and great-grandchildren popped up from Barbeck to

give Granny a hug, and the beautiful floral table centres went home with their lucky winners.

A truly wonderful event, which we hope will continue to attract great numbers to celebrate life and times at St Catherine’s.

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St Catherine’s News Autumn 2020

When REMEMBER

We look back through the archives for memories of St Catherine’s from 1955 to 2002. From camps to sports days and boarding house memories, we remember the camaraderie shared by our Old Girls.

1955

1962 1998

2002

1961

St Catherine’s Old Girls’ Association

THE BULLETIN

MENTOR PROGRAM SCOGA is passionate about connecting Old Girls’ and understands the significance of facilitating professional development between women in similar industries.

In October 2019, SCOGA launched a new initiative – the Mentor Program.

This was developed to allow Old Girls to come together in the hope of building strong networks and developing professional connections.

We were incredibly fortunate to open this program with our first Mentor – Jane Hodder, a Partner at Herbert Smith Freehills. Our Old Girls snapped up the opportunity to sit down with Jane to discuss their careers, and are looking forward to meeting with her again in 3 and 6 months’ time.

Chrissy Ryan (Graham ’79) SCOGA President

Jane Hodder is currently a Partner in the real estate group of Herbert Smith Freehills. Jane has a depth of commercial experience in professional services and holds a Batchelor of Arts (Hons) and a Batchelor of Law from Monash University.

She possesses knowledge of and familiarity with the building and real estate industries acquired over the last twenty five plus years through advising clients and bringing together parties on a range of transactions and is committed to the betterment of those industries.

a board member of the Committee for Melbourne, a member of the Advisory Board to the Dean of Monash University Law School and a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, as well as a Williamson fellow and Cranlana fellow. She is also a past member of the Herbert Smith Freehills Global Council and Australian Freehills Board prior to the merger with Herbert Smith, former Global Partner Head of Diversity and former chair of the Monash Law School Foundation.

Jane has significant expertise serving on boards. She is currently the chair of the St Catherine’s School Council (and member of building and property sub-committee), chair of the Centre for Contemporary Photography, a board member of the Queen Victoria Market,

Jane is a proud and passionate Melbournian with a strong interest in our education community and the arts, current business issues and matters affecting Melbourne, the State of Victoria and Australia.

We look forward to announcing more industries and Mentors for this exciting program shortly.

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St Catherine’s News Autumn 2020

Weddings

Emma Ryan (’06) married Peter Antonopoulos on 24th July 2019 in Glyfada, Greece. Maid of Honour was her sister, Eliza Ryan (’11), Mother of the Bride, Chrissy Ryan (Graham ’79), Grandmother of the Bride, Angela Graham (Tolhurst ’53)

Stephanie Spring (’03) married Ryan Rupert in Alaska, where they are currently residing, in 2019. The Bridal party included Jen Szuster (Matthies ’03) and Emily Dawson (’03).

SCOGA Committee President Chrissy Ryan (Graham ’79) Vice Presidents Sarah O’Brien (’02) Deb Berry (Manos ’77) Honorary Treasurer Liv Molesworth (Hocking-Brown ’13) Honorary Secretary Steph Lazar (John ’86)

General Committee Nicolle McCurdy (Austin ’88) Melissa Sweetland (’86) Becky Simmons (’07) Virginia Edwards AM (Smith ’56) Persephone Holdenson (’16) Brooke Maat (’16) Sally Hartmanis (’10) Alison Owen (’67) Roz Mackay (Kirk ’75) Prue Pisani (Gerritsen ’97) School Council Nominees Kate Barber (’96) Melinda Truesdale (’81)

If you are interested in joining this remarkable group of volunteers and becoming part of the SCOGA Committee, please feel free to contact Chrissy Ryan at scoga@stcatherines.net.au

BACK: Prue Pisani, Deb Berry, Chrissy Ryan, Roz Mackay, Melissa Sweetland; FRONT: Brooke Maat, Olivia Molesworth, Alison Owen, Nicolle McCurdy, Sarah O’Brien, Persephone Holdenson, Stephanie Lazar, Sally Hartmanis; ABSENT: Kate Barber, Becky Simmons, Virginia Edwards

S t C a t h e r i n e ’s O l d G i r l s ’ A s s o c i a t i o n

THE BULLETIN

Babies

1. Reuben James Clark, a son for Monique (Watson ’10) and Stuart Clark. A brother for Oliver and Emelia.

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2. Angelica Róisín King, a girl for Kara Maisano (’00) and Bradley King.

3. Lucy Susan Heather Ryan, a daughter for Morgan Lacey (’01).

A sister to Mary, Patrick and William.

4. William (Billy) Jack Mahon, a son for Kristina Moussalli (’09) and Tom Mahon.

5. Phoebe Melin, a daughter to Sarah (Munckton ’99) and Ben Melin. A sister for Charlie and Sophie.

6. Miles Ahern Mitchell, a son for Sophie Ahern (’04) and Nick Mitchell.

7. Olive Grace Taylor, a daughter for Madelaine (Mountford ’09) and Jeremy Taylor.

8. Lachlan Samual West, a son to Penrose (Burge ’03) and Edward West. A brother for Clementine and Arthur.

Also acknowledging:

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Charles Alexander John Carah, a son for Catherine Hutton (’04) and Alex Carah.

Vale Mrs Sheila Lyall (McCallum ’39) Mrs Suzanne (Susie) Hastie (Holden ’50) Mrs Mioko Wood (Past Teacher ’76-’96 & Honorary Old Girl) Mrs Elizabeth Joy Douglas (Gillon ’67) Ms Alison Margaret Storey (’64) 5

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Ms Suzanne (Sue) Bird Ms Joan Florence Ingram (Carr ’37) Ms Beth Wilson (Neville ’62) Ms Elizabeth (Anne) Bishop (’51)

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www.stcatherines.net.au 17 Heyington Place, Toorak

www.facebook.com/stcatherinesschooltoorak

Victoria, Australia 3142

@stcatherinesschool

T +61 3 9822 1285 E info@stcatherines.net.au CRICOS 00574F ABN 90 004 251 816

www.linkedin.com/company/st-catherines-school Join the St Catherine’s Old Girls’ Association (SCOGA) closed group page on LinkedIn. This page is set up for Old Girls to communicate, network and hear about upcoming alumnae events. Once you are a member you can then share with other Old Girls in your LinkedIn network.