For some alumni, graduation was the last time they set foot on campus; while for others, it had been less than 24 hours since they had picked up their own daughters from the St Cath’s carline. But regardless of how long it had been, the consensus from alumni at this year’s Back to St Cath’s Day was unanimous: the school still feels like home.
“I belong here,” Sallyanne Morrison (STC1985) said, adding that, “for a long time, I didn’t realise that, but then I brought my daughter in for an interview and all the students were so confident, were so excited to talk to us and made eye contacted, and my daughter laughed and said, ‘Look Mum, they’re just like you’. That’s when I realised how much this school had shaped me.”
After that experience, Sallyanne jumped at the opportunity to attend this year’s Back to St Cath’s Day event on Saturday 6 September. This year, we celebrated milestone reunions for the Classes of 1975, 1985, 1995, 2015 and 2020, as well as reunions for the Classes of 1987 and 2010, and a general catch-up for alumni in between.
For Sallyanne, it was a fantastic opportunity to celebrate her 40-year reunion with her classmates. “It has been fantastic to reconnect with everyone today and celebrate the strong women we have become,” she said, “All these women are strong women in their own right, but they may not realise that the school still needs their support. I want to see St Cath’s excel into the future and rival the boys’ schools. This is such a special place.”
Being here has such an emotional element to it. It is one thing to see your friends, but it’s quite another to go into classrooms and remember the stories that took place there.
Renae James (STC1995)
The afternoon certainly lived up to that sentiment, with more than 200 alumni and their families joining us in the spring sunshine to enjoy treats from the Old Girls’ Union cake stall, pizza from Divide 8, gelato from Original Gelato, drinks from Neighbourhood Cellars, face painting by Amplified Artistry, campus and boarding tours, lawn games, live music and, of course, plenty of reminiscing.
“The school has grown so much and there are so many new buildings, but there’s still so much that is the same,” Renae James (STC1995) said, “being here has such an emotional element to it. It is one thing to see your friends, but it’s quite another to go into classrooms and remember the stories that took place there. All those times we were probably not doing the right thing, those are the memories that really stick with you.”
Olivia Burke (Duron, STC2010) agreed, adding that as a K-12 survivor, she has so many wonderful memories of her time at St Cath’s. “I remember doing swimming lessons in the old pool in Junior School, and then I also remember having a sleepover in the Boarding House one night. I had a friend in boarding and I remember calling my mum one night and asking if I could stay. We asked the boarding matron at the time, and she said it was fine, so I got to have a little sleepover.”
Olivia also shared that she initially hadn’t planned to attend Back to St Cath’s Day, but had changed her mind after receiving a message from a classmate. “She encouraged me to come and I’m glad I did,” she said, “I forgot how beautiful the school is and it is so nice to reconnect with everyone.”
The opportunity to reconnect wasn’t just for alumni who graduated a while ago. In fact, just five years out from graduation, the Class of 2020 showed up in force to celebrate together. Some girls do still see each other regularly, while for others, life has meant they haven’t had a chance to catch up with everyone since they left school. “I just moved back to Sydney after studying interstate,” Charlie Barry (STC2020) said, “so attending Back to St Cath’s day has been a great opportunity to connect with people I haven’t seen in a long time and see all the different paths everyone has taken.”
Her classmate, Lucinda Williams (STC2020), chimed in to add that the event has also been a “good opportunity to speak with girls in older years” and learn from the journeys they have taken. “It’s reminded me to ground myself and slow down a little as we still have plenty of time to accomplish things,” she explained, adding that “St Cath’s girls are always so confident in themselves. I remember coming to St Cath’s from a co-ed school and how different it was. At St Cath’s, girls actually spoke in class and were really outspoken and involved in everything. I just loved it straightaway.”
