St Catherine’s Community Groups

2022 started with a bang with calendars full of events and programs, starting the year with reunions, the Leavers’ Panel, and Year group cocktail parties. A fabulous way to begin the year, we had much to celebrate, reflect on and look forward to. Whilst the year was in full swing, we continued with our annual Fellowship Program. We look forward to presenting our recipient of the SCOGA Fellowship 2022 to the entire St Catherine’s School community in the near future. This year has been the first year of my Presidency. I had the absolute pleasure to participate as a mentor in the Mentor Program and attend our 2022 reunions program. As always, these events have been filled with many stories, a lot of laughter and reminiscing. I look forward to our 2023 programs which will be advised in coming months and look forward to seeing more familiar faces.

To the SCOGA Committee Members who have volunteered their precious time for the benefit of all St Catherine’s Old Girls, thank you for all you have done and continue to do for the entire community. To St Catherine’s Principal, Michelle Carroll and St Catherine’s staff, School Council, Advancement Office, Marketing Department, Business Office, and Community Engagement Committee, thank you for your time and commitment to making the Old Girls’ community as strong as possible for our alumnae. Lastly, to the Old Girls community, I hope all who attended our events enjoyed their time together and look forward to seeing many more of you next year. Thank you for your engagement, donating your time, your money, your enthusiasm, your feedback, your stories, and your memories. We encourage you all to continue to share updates and information and, if you wish to do so, please visit our social media platforms or connect via email.

President, St Catherine’s Old Girls’ Association

This year, we saw the return of our much-loved biennial Cranlana all Year levels social evening on 27 October. This event was due to be held in the glorious gardens of Cranlana which has become a much loved and anticipated event. However, with Melbourne’s La Niña and over a week of rain and sudden huge downpour on the day, the event was moved in a matter of hours from Cranlana to St Catherine’s new Jamie and Rebecca Gray Theatre, which was an amazing logistical achievement.

The Jamie and Rebecca Gray Theatre holds 200 guests for cocktail events, and we welcomed 150 on the night. This year, we again held a joint event with SCOGA and had an even split of guests. We had a good range of past parents attending going back about 30 years. Through holding a joint event with SCOGA, we had attendees who are both Old Girls and past parents which is always a special category of guest. Despite the rain and last-minute change of plans, everyone enjoyed the catch up. While everyone was disappointed not to have been to the wonderful Cranlana Gardens, as it happened, it did provide us all with the opportunity to see and experience the wonderful new theatre. The Past Parents’ and Families’ Network is planning the return of a full calendar of Year level events in 2023. With a particular focus on the first 10 years out, we will be working with families to help hold a reunion during the year with the past parent tradition of bringing a ‘plate and a bottle’ format for the night’s get together. If you would like to hold an event, update your contact details, or if you are interested in joining the Past Parent Committee, please contact us via St Catherine’s School’s Advancement Executive, Ms Meredith Taylor at mtaylor@stcatherines.net.au

Chair, Past Parents’ and Friends’ Network

I am continually encouraged by the warmth and philanthropic generosity of our community. At its core, the St Catherine’s School Foundation strives to build strong relationships to support the purpose of the School’s Scholarship, Building and Endowment Funds.

After a very successful fundraising campaign, we celebrated the official opening of The Jamie and Rebecca Gray Theatre in May. The wonderful new theatre space was opened by the Honourable Julie Bishop. In her opening speech she talked about the impact of giving and the longstanding dedication and generosity of Jamie and Rebecca Gray. It was a truly memorable evening where we thanked those generous donors who supported the project. The next phase of redeveloping the Dorothy Pizzey Centre, the ‘She is STRONG’ capital campaign, is now in progress. Our goal is to change the sporting landscape at St Catherine’s by offering a contemporary indoor sports court, a dedicated High-Performance Training Studio, and a Little Gym for our younger students. Over the next 12 months, our aim is to raise $1M towards the total cost of $2.4M for the re-imagined Sports Centre. We look forward to working with our supportive community to achieve this exciting new space for the girls. Earlier this year we welcomed Ms Kathy Hines to St Catherine’s School as Advancement Manager. Congratulations go to Kathy and the Advancement Team for their important work supporting the Foundation, and the successful delivery of events and fundraising initiatives during 2022. The St Catherine’s School Foundation Board comprises a group of remarkable volunteers. I would like to personally thank and acknowledge their collective contributions during this year. This year we farewell Fiona Menzies (’87) whose contributions over the past few years have been invaluable. We welcome new Foundation Board Member, Chrissy Ryan (Graham ’79) and look forward to working with Chrissy to help grow and develop our community connections. Recognising philanthropic generosity is important and can be the catalyst to inspire others to make similar commitments, an Impact of Giving report was distributed this year to our Foundation Members and loyal donor families. This report celebrates and acknowledges the incredible support received from our St Catherine’s community. On behalf of the St Catherine’s Foundation Board, I extend our most sincere thanks and gratitude to the extraordinary support from our valued philanthropic community.

Chair, St Catherine’s School Foundation

The PFA’s Charter and primary objective is to build and maintain a sense of community spirit amongst students, staff, parents and our wider School community, and support St Catherine’s philosophy to build strong, resilient, and independent women through fundraising. Despite the ongoing challenges presented by COVID, the PFA hosted a range of community events, providing opportunities for families, both past and present, to enjoy and share in the St Catherine’s community spirit. Our annual welcome event for all parents from the ELC, Junior and Senior Schools at the commencement of the year provided a relaxed environment for families to reconnect. Year-level social events, held in March, were extremely successful with above average attendance. The Twilight Picnic for all Junior School and ELC 4YO families was also held in March on the Village Green, with strong attendance once again reinstating a much-loved annual event.

In association with the Past Parents’ and Families’ Network, the PFA held a Father’s Night in April at the Toorak RSL, with an incredible attendance and the request to have this as an annual event for fathers. We were extremely excited to hold our Mother’s Day Stall and Breakfast once again with Keynote Speaker, Miss Georgia Beattie (‘04), CEO of Bulla Park. Our Father’s Day event was equally successful with Mr Kevin Sheedy, OAM entertaining dads and their daughters with reflections on his exciting career. The Ruth Langley Luncheon was held at Zinc at Federation Square this year, with the Honourable Julie Bishop as Keynote Speaker. In a Q&A style format past parent, alumnae and St Catherine’s Foundation Board Member, Ms Fiona Menzies (‘87) interviewed Ms Bishop on the challenges of politics and her career defining moments liaising with some of the world’s most powerful leaders. With overwhelming enthusiasm and excitement, the PFA held our annual Christmas Fair with various stalls, food trucks, live entertainment and Santa making a special appearance all the way from the North Pole. A key aspect of our fundraising is the PFA Second Hand Uniform Shop. Now in its sixth year of operation, it continues to provide an exceptional service for our community and a welcoming window to the School for new parents. To all parents, please consider volunteering in the Uniform Shop, becoming a Class Representative or joining an Auxiliary. It is not just an opportunity to be an integral part of your daughter’s life at St Catherine’s, but also an incredible opportunity to meet new parents and build lifelong relationships. I am grateful to have served as PFA President this year and would like to thank each member of the PFA Committee, as well as all the PFA Class Representatives, for their dedication, enthusiasm, and hard work.

President, Parents’ and Friends’ Association

The 2022 season of Rowing has gone down in history as the most successful ever. With the First VIII winning back-toback Head of the Schoolgirls, Nationals, and the Prince Philip Challenge Trophy at the Henley Royal Regatta in the UK. The season commenced in late November, with 65 girls including six Junior Crews, three Intermediate Crews, two single scullers and two Senior VIII boats. For a small school this is a mighty program. Our Captains of Boats, Zara Bongiorno and Bronte Cullen, presented all squads with a named kit bag including drink bottle, socks and towel. In January, the new Empacher boat, generously donated by eight families arrived. It was named the MMXXI (Maxi) to reflect the wonderful season of 2021.The official boat christening and the naming of the crews was a superb night. The Heyington Club presented all the Senior Squad girls with visors. When regattas commenced, merchandise was available for fundraising which allowed us to purchase the best equipment for the girls. St Catherine’s families became the envy of many on the riverbanks of Geelong, Ballarat and Nagambie with Heyington Club spray jackets, chairs, and umbrellas. The Head of Schoolgirls weekend provided a gorgeous riverside marquee for some serious race viewing. All squads competed, and the Year 10 Gunn crew and Year 10 single sculler gained Bronze, the 2nd VIII, The Fearless Girl, getting Silver and 1st VIII, Maxi, claiming victory and defending the title from 2021. The dinner was also successful, raising a record amount and the Heyington Cup was launched. Parents learned to row and at the end of May raced in the ‘Heyington Cup.’ We hope this tradition continues. The Crew Presentation Award night in March at Kooyong, was a season highlight with all crews presenting stories of the season and their coaches.

At Nationals, our 1st VIII remained undefeated all season and went on to claim this title. Training continued until June, then the MMXXI travelled to the UK where for the first time in history St Catherine’s became the “best schoolgirl VIII in the world,” winning the Prince Philip Challenge Trophy at the Henley Royal Regatta. New boats have been ordered for the 2022/2023 season with four new single sculls and a new quad to further develop our talent in the Junior Programs. I am signing off and welcome our new President, Tom Shelton. Over my four years, The Heyington Club has provided a wonderful environment for my family. We have forged many strong friendships. I would not have been able to do this without VPs Symone Demetriou, Kate Nielsen, Secretary Emma Green and Treasurer Charlie Howitt and the rest of the Committee.

Wishing you all another incredible rowing season. Go St Cath’s!!!!

The Creative Arts Auxiliary (CAA) recognises the importance of creative arts education and the benefits of sustained involvement in the arts.

The CAA exists to support the students, the Music, Art, Drama and Performing Arts Departments in both the Senior and Junior Schools, and all creative arts staff by supporting their performances and exhibition events and raising funds. The CAA also promotes the development of whole School community friendships by drawing on parents, past parents, and Old Girls to assist in our activities.

Transitioning to face-to-face from unprecedented times which moved everyone globally, has been received with great hesitation and exuberance, but the spirit of the St Catherine’s community has been benevolent. This has been validated with the audience responses from the many events hosted during 2022. The Senior School production of Urinetown, was a performance like no other. The show was the epitome of a Broadway production, as the atmosphere fostered a sense of belonging, the family-school unity, honour, admiration, and infectious energy. The lighting console donated by the CAA Auxiliary, captured, and emphasised many cinematic episodes with its ability to intensify dramatic moments. Known as intelligent lighting it was instrumental in audience direction, setting the tone and dramatising emotions. Following that, Jazz Night made its maiden appearance in the prestigious Jamie and Rebecca Gray Theatre. The elegant black with bling evening was immersed in hypnotic jazz passion, flawless performances from the musicians, professional direction from Mr Nick Grunden and his team, with the collaboration of pianist Rory Clark and his ensemble. A special thank you to Ms Olive Morgan (grandmother of Olivia (Rosie) Bogdan, Year 12) and Dr Vanessa Morgan (parent), who bequeathed the black tablecloths that were befitting for all future events. In addition to the CAA members who hosted the Crémant champagne bar. The dedication and commitment from CAA members with the collaboration of Mrs Vicki Marinelli, enabled us to purchase pe-requisite equipment, and as such a second kiln was donated in 2021 for the Art Department. This qualifies all student ceramicists to have their work fired immediately, with consideration to time, environment, cost, and staffmanagement. Furthermore, I thank every CAA member’s contribution through donations, assisting with stalls, event settings and promoting and fostering the St Catherine’s community spirit which has been instrumental to our existence and the importance of creative arts education. I look forward to celebrating the creative arts in 2023.

President, Creative Arts Auxiliary We welcome new members by contacting Meredith Taylor on mtaylor@stcatherines.net.au

Our season got off to a fantastic start with 84 girls signing up for our season opening ice skating event. Still shaking off COVID we re-scheduled the event, and it was fantastic to see so many attend! Our thanks to Tiffany Pascoe for organising. With parents in mind, our next event was the season opening drinks and information evening hosted by Tamsin Greig and Cameron Hall.

Our Snowsports Swap continues to get bigger and better. Our thanks to all families who contributed their pre-loved snow gear – we could not do this without you. This year, our list of suppliers included Molony's Ski Shop, and we also introduced a coffee cart – a must-have for those families who lined up hours before opening! The event is a major logistical challenge with over 20, St Catherine’s families volunteering over a two-week period. We thank all of those involved, especially Tamsin Greig. Our attention then turned to the snow; lots, and lots of snow! A record-breaking early snowfall suggested this could be one of the best seasons ever. Participation in our June/July holiday Cross Country Skiing Program was high. This was closely followed by the House Snowsports weekend, where our junior schoolgirls took full advantage of an additional day on the mountain with Snowboarding, Cross Country, and Alpine Race Skiing events organised with expert instruction. Thank you to Mr Tainsh, Ms Cody, and Mr Crebbin for their on-mountain support. Shaking things up a bit this year, we trialled our on-mountain House Snowsports function at the Whitt on a Friday and moved to the Enzian for our Cross-Country social evening for the Victorian Interschools Cross Country event. Our thanks to Felicity Wilkins and Emma Cunningham for organising. After two years being unable to compete, our girls took overall first place at the Victorian Interschools in both the Primary and Secondary categories, with some exceptional individual and team performances across Divisions. We would like to thank Ms Richards and Mr Russell for their on-mountain support. Travelling to Perisher for the Nationals our Senior girls took second place in the Australian Overall Female Championships with our junior girls winning the competition, to be crowned the Overall Primary School – Female, in Australia! Team podiums were achieved in Cross Country Division 4 Classic and Relay and Division 3 Classic, with Camilla Aberdeen winning third place in the Division 3 Classic. A fantastic achievement. We would like to thank the Committee for all their support this year. We say farewell to Holly Shergold and Kristine Lempriere and welcome Felicity Wilkins, Ineke Thomas, and Georgina Switkowski.

We look forward to seeing you all in 2023!

Co-chairs, Snowsports Auxiliary

The St Catherine’s Sports Auxiliary recognises and acknowledges effort, participation, and excellence in the sporting achievements of our girls. With our efforts hampered the past two years we really rolled up our sleeves and celebrated the girls’ sporting endeavours with gusto in 2022! The Auxiliary celebrates sport and aims to bring parents and students together in a fun community environment. This year, we provided a combination of fun, healthy breakfasts at end of season training sessions and House Carnivals, icy poles at sporting finish lines and drink stations at running events with our Committee Members thoroughly enjoying the appreciation the girls showed. This year we focused on three large key events, the Father Daughter Dinner, Huntingtower-Heyington Cup, and the Celebration of Sport Breakfast. The Father Daughter Dinner, held in the Long Room at the MCC, saw St Catherine’s fathers and daughters enjoy the privilege of listening to the humble success of Dr Richard Harris, a pivotal member of the global recovery effort in 2018, saving 12 Thai junior soccer players and their coach from a Thai cave after monsoonal flooding. Auxiliary Member, Mr Andrew Demetriou, as Master of Ceremonies, created a wonderful environment for the evening as he reflected on his own sporting journeys in the MCC Long Room. The event raised over $4,500, all of which is dedicated to supporting St Catherine’s sporting events, with Senior School Head of Sport, Mr Nick Racina excited that we “might be able to afford Cornetto’s rather than Icy Poles for the girls moving forward!” Once again, the Sports Auxiliary was thrilled to assist the Sports Department in running the Huntingtower-Heyington Cup, otherwise known as the Senior School St Catherine’s verses Lauriston AFL match. This event demonstrated terrific camaraderie amongst students, staff and parents and was hosted at St Kevin's College. The 2022 Celebration of Sport Breakfast acknowledges the achievements of all our girls throughout the 2021-2022 GSV calendar. Tokyo Olympics, Track and Field Olympian Bendere Oboya, an Ethiopian refugee, was Guest Speaker at the Breakfast and spoke to the girls about her sporting journey and the importance of having sport in her life. As I depart the Sports Auxiliary after a glorious seven years across a range of roles, I’d like to take this opportunity to thank all my current and previous Auxiliary Members and our Head of Sport, Mr Nick Racina for their shared commitment to girls sport. I invite all parents to consider joining the St Catherine’s Sports Auxiliary, a wonderful group of sporting and not so sporting parents, who thoroughly enjoy supporting and cheering from the sidelines and observing the joy that sport brings to young people.

President, Sports Auxiliary