Mrs Gina Peele Where Girls Thrive

Name: Michelle Carroll Title: Principal Date: 4 February 2021 Strategic Intent: Embrace our Community

125 YEAR FOUNDATION DAY SERVICE ADDRESS

On this day, 125 years ago, 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. 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 today. 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. This week our Year 12s challenged the Senior School students to adopt the word ‘Dare’ as their guiding ‘thought’ in their actions this year. One cannot help but see a clear thread that endures into the past when a young woman dared to conceive the idea of establishing a new school. One can only imagine the thoughts of Miss Hood as she stood on Templeton Street, Castlemaine, 125 years ago today (probably at this exact time, 9am) and opened the school for the very first time and welcomed students inside. Little could she perhaps imagine how that one act, coupled with her hard work and foresight, would engender stories that span generations of St Catherine’s School students, stories that changed lives. Little did Jeanie Hood know at the time, that she had just opened the front door to a school that has, through its 125-year history, established itself within the educational culture and fabric of Melbourne and Australia.

A visionary leader and contemporary educator of her time, Miss Hood’s aspiration for her School was to develop “not only students, but girls gifted intellectually, morally and physically to be the women of the future.” This intention resonates into the 21st century and is just as relevant today for our girls as it was 125 years ago. It speaks to core values that transcend and echo through time. Since our School’s Foundation on 4 February 1896, St Catherine’s School has remained committed to Miss Hood’s vision through the work of Principals such as, Miss Ruth Langley, Miss Edna Holmes, Miss Mary Davis, Miss Dorothy Pizzey AM, our Head of Junior School, Miss Anne Smith – all stewards of the School for a time. These impressive leaders, and others, were all earnestly committed to educating generations of remarkable young women. So that today, in 2021, 125 years later, their names remain familiar to our current students and staff, as they walk the halls of the Edna Holmes Centre for Science, the Dorothy Pizzey Centre, the Ruth Langley Research and Learning Centre and, of course, the much-loved Mary Davis Centre. Our Barbreck girls arrive at School every day and walk Anne Smith Avenue – these are all places in our School that today honour their contribution to St Catherine’s. Indubitably, as our School’s future unfolds, we recognise that our success is contained in respect for this past. As we celebrate this magnificent milestone, I would like to think Miss Hood would be proud to witness the success of our students, the commitment of our staff and the warmth and strength of our School community. Thank you for attending this Foundation Day Service today and for supporting St Catherine’s School.

Michelle Carroll

Principal

Name: Mrs Gina Peele Title: Director of Student Programs Date: 25 February 2021 Strategic Intent: Co-curricular Opportunities

WHERE GIRLS THRIVE

Co-curricular programs at St Catherine’s School provide opportunities and experiences to enhance the development of the whole child, complementing skills learned in the classroom and nurturing lifelong learners. Every opportunity and program present a different environment for our girls to thrive, by empowering and nurturing independent globally responsive students who approach all endeavours with empathy, integrity, commitment, and determination. With an increasing emphasis on soft skills in university placements and the workforce, there is a requirement for young people to expand their skills and experiences beyond the classroom. “The large-scale social, economic, environmental and technological changes that have taken place across the globe, are elevating softs skills as essential learning in school,” (Griffin et al, 2012, Bruett, 2006; Autor et al, 2003, Trilling and Fadel, 2012, Voogt and Roblin, 2012). Opportunities for our girls to develop resilience, empathy, and curiosity by challenging themselves to step outside their comfort zones in a supportive and safe environment, opens the gateway to learn through goal setting, success, and failure. The OECD states, “Students will need to apply their knowledge in unknown and evolving circumstances. For this, they will need a broad range of skills, including cognitive and meta cognitive skills (e.g., critical thinking, learning to learn and self-regulation): social and emotional skills (e.g., empathy, self-efficacy and collaboration): and practical and physical skills (e.g., using the latest information and communication technology devices.” With an increased focus from the tertiary sector on students’ skills and achievements, the Co-curricular programs, and activities at St Catherine’s School, that promote the ongoing engagement of our girls, and facilitate their learning outside the classroom, is essential. Soft Skills are defined by Slade and Lambert, 2019, as: “fluid and malleable, adjustable, suited to multiple situations and circumstances. They adapt, change, and grow. They morph, are usable and fit (because they are fluid) into every arena. They are necessary for everyone…” St Catherine’s School’s Co-curricular programs from the Early Learning Centre to Year 12, has prioritised the following eight soft skills underpinning our programs: • Resilience, Persistence and Responsibility • Cultural Learning and Global Citizenship • Leadership, Confidence and Responsibility These soft skills are valuable in the journey our girls take as they learn through each stage of their schooling, tertiary pathways, and careers. The variety of Co-curricular choices at St Catherine’s offers avenues for our students to pursue their interests, talents, and passions, whilst finding their place in our community. The journey through these programs supports students with the learning experience through persistence, practice, and failure. The ongoing learning, reflection, and development of skills in a variety of experiential programs through the School’s Cocurricular program provides the development of soft skills. In learning skills and developing knowledge, gaining feedback is a key component of this process. Feedback is what tells you what went wrong, or what went right, and obtaining feedback