Each year, we celebrate the founding of our school on 5 March, and this year, we decided to make the event even more special by honouring the Class of 1975 at our Foundation Day Assembly, before they joined us for the Jane Barker Luncheon. We ended the day with our Generational Afternoon Tea.

Welcoming Back the Class of 1975

We were so honoured to have the Class of 1975 join us back at school for a special celebration on Foundation Day.  When the Class of 1975 last gathered at St Cath’s for a reunion, the OJ Simpson trial was making headlines, Disney’s Pocahontas had just hit theatres and Microsoft was preparing to launch its first stand-alone Windows program. It was 1995, and Dr Diana Whitton (STC1975) had organised their 20-year reunion, spending weeks tracking down classmates across the country through a series of handwritten letters. “Don’t worry about what you have or haven’t done over the last 20 years,” she wrote at the time. “This reunion isn’t about achievements — it’s simply a chance to reconnect, catch up and remember the things we shared all those years ago.” 

Now, as the Class of 1975 prepared to celebrate their 50-year reunion, it was significantly easier to bring everyone together — but the occasion was no less special. As the group arrived, it felt as though no time had passed since they were students. Stories, laughter and memories were flying thick and fast, with Diana remembering burning her foot on a hot water urn while helping her mum coordinate the Devonshire Tea stall at the Magnolia Fair, while Celeste Dunn (Dawson, STC1975) brought along a remarkable piece of St Cath’s history, a 1910 school report she had discovered hidden behind a cabinet while doing home renovations. “It must have been left by a member of the clergy who lived there at the time,” she said. “It just goes to show that no matter where I go in life, I’m still connected to St Cath’s.” 

This year, we decided to pull out all the stops to properly honour the Class of 1975, by introducing a new tradition into our Foundation Day festivities, on Tuesday 4 March 2025. Historically, our alumni who graduated 50 years ago are honoured at our Jane Barker Luncheon in May. But this year, we decided to move the luncheon forward to Foundation Day. This change meant that we were able to invite the Class of 1975 to join us for a special K-12 Assembly. While not everyone could attend, we were thrilled to welcome those from the Class of 1975 who were available to be with us on the day. 

The group excitedly made their way to the Jo Karaolis Sports Centre for the first school assembly they had attended in over 50 years, where they were invited to proceed in with the official party. This was a special highlight for Jennifer Fealy (Grouse, STC1975) who remembered doing the same thing as a prefect during her time at St Cath’s. At the assembly, our students surprised the Class of 1975 with a special presentation about what life was like in their final year at school. 

Then, each alumni was presented with a Magnolia Pin by a junior school student — a symbolic gesture celebrating their legacy as St Cath’s Old Girls. For Diana, the entire day was a wonderful opportunity to reflect on her school days. “We had some strict teachers, some hard teachers — but boy, they were good at their jobs,” she said. “They made sure we learnt and understood the world. At the time, I probably didn’t appreciate that in the way I do now.”

 

50 Years Out and Still United

Years ago, Susan Mattey (Nutt, STC1970) was walking with her brother when they passed a boy from his school. 
“I asked him why he didn’t say hello and he said that he didn’t know him. It was strange to me because I knew everyone at St Cath’s. I could have gone up to any one of them and said hello,” Susan said. 

This was certainly true at our 2025 Jane Barker Luncheon as alumni excitedly greeted one another with huge hugs and smiles. The event is a wonderful opportunity for alumni who graduated 50 years ago or more to catch up, share stories and see how the school has changed. As our alumni converged on the Performing Arts & Aquatic Centre on Tuesday 4 March, it didn’t seem to matter that they had been in different year groups — with Old Girls joining us from the Class of 1948 all the way up to the Class of 1975. Everyone was eager to see each other again and celebrate the time they spent together at St Cath’s. 

Dianne Keniry (Cooper, STC1962) reminisced about Miss Hind getting her in trouble after her hair lightened from spending the summer holidays at the beach, while Jacqueline Warnock (Asher, STC1968) fondly remembered having picnics under the Magnolia Tree on Sunday afternoons with the boarders. “It’s so nice being together again after all this time. Even if we were in different years, we all still remember each other,” she added. “It’s so lovely to see how beautiful the school still is and all the little ones learning here. It’s been such a long time in the making. St Cath’s really had such a big impact on what my life became, which I hadn’t really realised until coming back here.” 

Susan also felt the same, noting that St Cath’s had been the main constant of her childhood after she became a boarder at age nine following the tragic loss of her mum. “The school became my home. The fact that there were the same teachers and the same girls gave me a place to belong.” 

Threads of Time

Familiar songs and traditions united our alumni at this year’s Generational Afternoon Tea. Since her daughter Maeve started at St Cath’s last year, Leah Kirwan (Park, STC1995) has found herself frequently reminded of her own school days. This happened for the first time when Maeve came home singing the Friday Friends Birthday Song last year. It had been decades since Leah last heard the beloved tune — as a junior school student herself — but she could instantly recall every word. 

It’s a common experience for many alumni whose daughters now attend the school, and a popular topic of conversation at this year’s Generational Afternoon Tea, which brings together alumni families who currently have daughters at the school. As Helen Kwong (STC2003) reflected at the event, “I used to spend my days running around here with my friends and not want to leave because I wanted to hang out with them more. Now my girls are here doing exactly the same thing which just feels so incredibly special.” 

It’s so nice that Mum did the same things I’m doing now. It’s like I’m walking in her footsteps.

Sarah G (Year 9)

It’s just as meaningful for the daughters of our alumni, who now get to experience for themselves the stories they grew up hearing. For example, Suzannah and Sarah G love taking part in the same cocurricular activities their mum, Rachel Greenwood (Jensen, STC1995), once enjoyed. “I grew up with lots of talk from Mum about her sports career and now I’ve been able to play lots of the same sports, so it’s like I’m continuing her legacy,” Suzannah said, while Sarah added, “Mum did a lot of debating and won many public speaking competitions. I currently do Archdale Debating and am part of the public speaking program. It’s so nice that Mum did the same things I’m doing now. It’s like I’m walking in her footsteps.” 

Of course, not everything has stayed the same. Rachel vividly remembers spending a PE class doing abseiling lessons off the Dame Joan Sutherland Centre. “They obviously don’t do that anymore, it was probably quite dangerous,” she said, “but I will say that St Cath’s gave me every opportunity to pursue everything I was interested in. That’s why I wanted my girls to go here.”