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St Catherine’s News Autumn 2021
From the Chair of Council Our safe and supportive environment encourages girls to take considered risks in their academic pursuit, personal growth and discovery of interests. Encouraging students to explore, be curious and adventurous throughout their learning journey offers a springboard to excel in wellbeing, leadership development and pushing through one’s comfort zone.
For 125 years, St Catherine’s School has demonstrated a strong commitment to nurturing and empowering our girls in a safe and supportive environment.
As a School community we continually strive to excel beyond what we believe to be possible. Our generation of girls face a wealth of opportunities rivalled with competitive landscapes and challenges. To nurture globally and environmentally responsible young women, who are bold and creative, independent and resilient, we must continually live our values: Empathy, Perseverance, Integrity, Curiosity and Gratitude. These are our foundations which continually reinforce and sustain us and will support our School moving forward into the next rich 125 years of history.
The moment a student walks through the Heyington Gates, she is supported – to be curious, to explore, to be courageous, to take risks and to be bold. Behind every door, there is the possibility to prosper and to find her voice. Every student has the potential and possibility to learn, grow and expand. When they step into St Catherine’s School they dare to step into their future. To be open to growth, to be bold, engaged and dynamic. They dare to lead, to make a difference within, and beyond School. For those who dare to be bold and fearless, to contribute intellectually and spiritually along their journey of learning at St Catherine’s, an enriching and fulfilling life awaits within and beyond the School gates. What will your story reveal? Ms Jane Hodder Chair of Council
From the Principal It was February 125 years ago, that our Founding Principal, Miss Jeanie Hood opened the doors to a girls’ school in Castlemaine, which is now known as St Catherine’s School, Toorak.
“Without an intelligent knowledge of the past, can the present be rightly understood?”
In her early years as Headmistress, Miss Hood is quoted as saying, “Without an intelligent knowledge of the past, can the present be rightly understood? For the two – past and present – are irrevocably joined together.” It is this sentiment that encapsulates much of what we are celebrating this year. We reflect and pay respect to the vision and dedication of Miss Hood, who, at the age of only 34,
left her familiar surrounds of Richmond to establish, enrol, nurture and educate young girls in regional Victoria. One can only imagine the thoughts of Miss Hood as she stood on Templeton Street, Castlemaine, 125 years ago and opened the school front door for the very first time to welcome students inside. Little could she perhaps imagine how that one act, alone with her hard work and foresight, would engender stories that span generations of St Catherine’s School students, stories that changed lives. Miss Hood may have been entirely unaware that this one small action was the beginning
