4 minute read
MIDDLE SCHOOL
HEAD OF SENIOR SCHOOL – GIRLS
Learning and teaching in our Senior School at Corio extends beyond the academic environment. Catherine Krause (Parkinson, Fr’00) has been a teacher of English, History and Religious Studies, but believes her most rewarding lessons happen outside of the classroom. “I’m not interested in working in a day school that is 9 to 3.30,” Catherine said. “I am here for the 3.30 to 9. The beauty is in that.”
Head of The Hermitage House since 2018, Catherine commenced a new role as Head of Senior School - Girls at the beginning of the year. She brings a wealth of experience in a boarding school environment, having spent 12 years at Lancing College, a co-educational boarding and day school in West Sussex, on the south coast of England. Catherine was head of a girls’ boarding house at Lancing College for seven years (having also been a tutor and assistant head of house) before returning to Australia and Geelong Grammar School. “I wanted to come home and GGS is the pre-eminent boarding school in Australia.”
After studying at Melbourne University, Catherine completed a Master of Education (Educational Leadership) at The University of Buckingham, but she said her biggest lessons have been hands-on. “From the moment I started teaching, I was like a sponge,” she said. “I would sit in the common room and listen to colleagues’ strategies, thoughts, and experiences. I will learn from anyone, regardless of age, gender, subject, school. There is the classroom teaching and then there is everything else.”
The “everything else” is centred around building relationships with students. “They are just the best company. They are funny. They are interesting. They are enthused. They are angry. If I ever have a bad day, I’ll go and sit on a chair in a boarding house and the girls will walk past or the boys will walk past, and we’ll have a chat, and it lifts my spirits. It’s magical.” Although she is no longer a Head of House, Catherine enjoys the day-to-day contact. “I have meetings in the houses rather than my office,” she said. “I’m still doing (boarding house) duty. I want kids to see a known face who they can trust.”
Catherine said the focus of her new role is “helping students at their most vulnerable moments”. “What I want for our students is for them to be safe, secure and supported,” she said. “I want them to know that they have someone who will listen and who will care. We don’t solve all their problems for them, but we will stand by them to try and get the best outcome for them. I’m not here to judge. I am an educator, so I’m always striving to make those scenarios where students make mistakes or have a problem an opportunity for them to learn and to grow.”
Catherine Krause Head of Senior School – Girls
Our Year 6 students visited Parliament House in Term 1 as part of the annual Canberra camp. During their visit, they had the opportunity to take part in the Parliamentary Education Office’s role-play; an immersive programme which explores the function, purpose and value of Australia’s democratic system of government.
In Term 2, Year 6 students built on their Unit of Inquiry - we can influence our community through our effective leadership - by planning a mock parliament to put their learning into action. One of the first tasks was selecting a topic or project to debate and vote upon, and the class was inspired by the activism of the School’s Environmental Action Team (EAT) around the proposed new gas terminal at Viva’s Corio refinery. “We enjoyed the fishbone analysis (looking at cause and effect) to break apart the issue and explore the different perspectives of the people involved,” Tessa Baines (Yr6 Hi) said. “That helped to develop our speeches and cue cards, which we really enjoyed later in our parliament debate.” EAT members Myrah Dhawan (Yr12 EM), Millie Forwood (Yr12 EM) and Dan Tadmore (Yr12 Cu) spoke to the Year 6 class prior to the mock parliament to provide further background on the issue and detail the actions that have been taken thus far, before the matter was debated in Year 6 mock parliament.
The parliamentary session straddled the line between realistic, with a chorus of “hear, hear!” ringing out after each party member made their case for or against, and fantastical, with the Leader of the Opposition, as well as many members of government, crossing the floor on the final vote. A fine example of learning in action nevertheless!
