OSA CONNECTIONS NEWSLETTER

Dear Old Scholars

Welcome to the Christmas edition of our 2025 Connections newsletter.

A very warm welcome to our newest OSA members, the Class of 2025. We look forward to seeing you at the celebratory afternoon at the School on Tuesday 17 February at 4pm. Thank you to Cate Leedman (2006) for being the keynote speaker at the Year 12 Induction Assembly on Friday 7 November.  Cate Leedman is the Development Director at Teach Learn Grow (a Perth-based not-for-profit with the mission to help rural, regional and remote students overcome barriers by improving their educational outcomes and expanding their aspirations).

The OSA Committee is already working on next year’s calendar to provide a wide range of events for our OSA community to reunite and extend opportunities. We are planning the next Women Lifting Women Summit on Wednesday 11 March, and reunions in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane in April and through Asia in July to coincide with Principal Fiona Johnston’s 2026 school travel; please see the proposed details below.

Also in this edition you can read some Old Scholar News about Elizabeth Oliver (1997), Zoe Thomson (2015), Marnie Allan (2019) and Andrea de Fircks (1977), some St Hilda’s news including the ‘hot off the press’ Ammonite, St Hilda’s plans to research old scholars for its 130 year celebrations, and its new financial literacy program.

Our OSA Golf Day was a great success and a huge thank you to Jan McFarlane (Anderson, 1970) who assembled the teams and organised the play. Congratulations to the winners of the 2025 Bonnie Tollafield Shield: Anne Tregonning (1973), Amanda Cook (1982), Suzanne Watt (1982) and Sarah James (1983).

The final event of our 2025 OSA calendar was the lovely Christmas service in the Whitby Chapel. We thank Father Philip Schonken, David Gething (organist), Andrea Black (Shepherd, 1999), Laura Rogers, student choir, and Old Scholar volunteer readers for making this service so special. You will enjoy reading Father Philip’s Christmas message below, the Christmas Eve Service, and our historic Christmas photographs!

CHRISTMAS MESSAGE

This December, we will gather with families, churches and communities to celebrate the birth of Christ. I pray that you will use these opportunities to restore, rekindle and celebrate relationships, which you may have forged at school, or in later life. May the spirit of Christmas inspire us all to continue in our learning, growing, and sharing in a Christ-like manner.

In the words of the prophet Isaiah, “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; on those who dwelt in a land of deep shadow, a light has shone.”

Let us carry this light forward, illuminating the path for those who follow. God bless and have a wonderful Christmas season.

CHRISTMAS EVE SERVICE

Date: Wednesday 24 December at 3.30pm

Father Philip Schonken, Chaplain

As always, we would love to hear from you. Please send us your news via oldscholars@sthildas.wa.edu.au, and if you need to update your contact details, you can do so at the link below:

Click Here to Update Your Contact Details

致以最美好的祝愿、

阿曼达-伯特博士（科德，1989 年）
President of the GHS & St Hilda’s Old Scholars Association

We rounded off the 2025 events on Monday 1 December filling the Whitby Chapel with music and readings at the OSA Christmas service followed by refreshments in the Heritage Centre.

The evening was supported by students from the School Choir, under the direction of Andrea Black (Shepherd, 1999) who is Head of Music, accompanied by organist David Gething and Laura Rogers.

Thank you to Father Philip for creating a very special end of year event and we so enjoyed welcoming so many Old Scholars to this festive get together.

Our huge thanks to Jan McFarlane (Anderson, 1970) who was responsible for assembling the teams and organising the play on Friday 7 November.

Winners of the 2025 Bonnie Tollafield Cup: Amanda Cook (1982), Anne Tregonning (1973), Sarah James (1983) and Suzanne Watt (1982).

The OSA had a wonderful “Bonnie Tollafield Shield” Social Golf Day at Mosman Park last Friday playing 9 holes-Elimination Ambrose with 44 players from six different golf clubs.

This special day was introduced in 2012 and we hope it will continue in years to come as a great way to keep our Old Scholar friendships together and having a few laughs on the golf course.  We hope to see new faces next year!

Runners Up: Sue Marshall (Love, 1974), Ermie Robinson, Jill Benbow (Dempster, 1971) and Pia Young (Stodart, 1971).

With thanks to Jan MacFarlane (Anderson, 1971), Tony Howell, General Manager of the Mosman Park Golf Club and his staff, and Nigel Williams from the Tee Box for his generous donation of vouchers, and to those who donated merchandise for the raffle and cakes for lunch.

The Class of 1985 40 Year reunion on Saturday 25 October was a fantastic night!  We began the evening at the Heritage Centre on the school grounds for a quick tour, finishing with a lovely slideshow of old school photos that brought back lots of memories and bad haircuts!! 

We then made our way to the Claremont Hotel, where we had a private room serving bubbles and canapés. Many of us had travelled from far and wide including New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, rural WA, and even Los Angeles.

Some of the girls attended St Hilda’s for just a couple of years, while others had been there since Primary School, but we all agreed they were such formative years that created many long-lasting friendships. It was truly wonderful to reconnect with people we hadn’t seen for such a long time. The night was filled with laughter, shared memories, moments of mischief, and plenty of good times. All agreed that we must do it again in five years rather than ten! 

We would like to thank Katie Gardner from our year for helping to organise such a great night along with Niamh Fitzpatrick and Sandra Naude from the School Development Department.

Rowena Walsh (Keall, 1985)

The Class of 2005 returned for our 20 year reunion on a gorgeous Spring night on Saturday 15 November. 61 girls attended, and there was a buzz in the Heritage Centre from the second we arrived. We started with some sparkling wines and waters, and then did a tour of the school, of which the Joy Shepherd Performing Arts Centre and the redesigned Una Mitchell ESSTEAM Hubs were the highlights, as well as the coffee menu at the Bay Café.

We then convoyed down to Samson’s Paddock on foot, chatting away. We had booked out the whole top area and completely filled it.

Girls had travelled from far and wide; Bangkok, Gippsland, Melbourne, Sydney, Canberra and Albany, at least. We started at 4pm and some people were still kicking on at midnight!

We also all noted and remembered the girls that were no longer with us – Kiah, Lizzie and Tash (absent friends).

Susie Neate (Hill, 2005)

Date: Sunday 14 December 2025
Time & Venue: 4.00 – 6.00pm – Heritage Centre & Tour of School
Next Venue: From 6.00pm Sundowner at Mosman Park Bowls Club
Cost: $40 (includes one drink and food).
Booking Link: https://events.humanitix.com/st-hilda-s-class-of-2015-10-year-reunion

Organisers: Alexandra Finlay-Jones and Georgia Sturgeon

We would love to see the 2025 cohort reunite, to congratulate you on your Year 12 achievements and hear about your future plans.  Please join us on:

Date:  Tuesday 17 Feb 2026

Time:  4pm – 5:30pm 

Venue:  Heritage Centre, Bay View Campus

The 2025 Chronicles will also be available for collection and please register via the link below:

https://events.humanitix.com/2025-leavers-celebratory-afternoon

Boost your career and save the date!

Save the date for next year’s Women Lifting Women Summit. Four incredible speakers, sensational networking opportunities and a goodie bag!

Speakers will be announced early next year.  The Summit will be held from 4.00pm to 7.00pm, Wednesday 11 March 2026, at Euroz Hartleys Head Office, in the city.

This month we look back through the archives to find photographs taken at the end of the year themed around Christmas.

Elizabeth Oliver (1997) is passionate about enhancing the quality of life and wellbeing of older adults utilising best practice models such as person-centred care and the Montessori approach to ageing.  She shares with us her inspiration and professional journey to founding a new “Task Box Therapy”.

Year 12 School Photograph

I remember standing outside the Grove Shopping Centre in formal St Hilda’s uniform shaking a tin to fundraise for a worthy cause as part of our community service, and how it had struck me that the people who stopped to talk or to donate were almost always seniors. They would ask about the cause, comment on our uniform, fondly share memories of their school days. Other people rushed by, preoccupied with their own schedules and to do lists, but seniors just seemed to have what many of us don’t have – time.

Clinical OT work with clients.

My love of learning about the world, using evidence to understand how things work, and creative problem solving, was fostered by the excellent STEM teachers at St Hilda’s. I graduated from St Hilda’s (as Fitzroy House Captain) in 1997 and went on to study a double degree of Occupational Therapy and Business Administration at Curtin University, graduating with distinction. Occupational Therapy is the art and science of helping people do the everyday activities (“occupations”) that are important to them — no matter their age, ability, or health condition. For 15 years I worked for not-for-profit aged care providers, initially in a clinical role and then progressing into leadership roles to enhance the care and services for older people.

The Task Box

Becoming a mum to two beautiful girls, Sasha and Rosie, I started my own business, Memory Box Collective, designed to bring joy to older adults, by providing consultancy, training, resources, research and special projects. One of the sets of resources I have created are called “Task Boxes” which contain all the items required to engage someone living with memory loss in simple, familiar everyday tasks like sorting buttons, pairing socks, or organising nuts and bolts. The purpose of the boxes is to ensure people use their remaining skills and to help them to share memories of the good old days, and in doing so, promote quality of life and wellbeing.

I have successfully trialled the boxes in residential care and have recently concluded a successful pilot in an acute hospital setting for people with dementia or delirium, the results of which will be presented at the World Federation of Occupational Therapy Conference in February. One of the best moments was when a doctor referred a patient for “Task Box Therapy” rather than using the typical pharmacological route. Task Boxes will soon be used at some other major hospitals in Perth, which is great news given that dementia is now the leading cause of death in Australia.

Maggie Beer’s Big Mission Social Documentary (ABC)

One of the highlights of my career was being the part of the expert team in Maggie Beer’s Big Mission, a real-world social experiment designed to improve the mealtime experience of older adults living in residential care, depicted in a 3-part ABC documentary. My role was to project manage this innovative cultural change process, research outcomes, and to provide staff training and mentorship. I also created a set of resources to help other aged care providers to replicate the improvements. Working alongside Maggie, with her passion for fresh, nutritious food, was an exhilarating honour, that utilised every single bit of my knowledge and experience to achieve the ambitious outcomes in the short time frame under the pressures of filming. I was delighted that this project culminated in me being awarded the WA Allied Health Leader of the Year in 2024.

Teaching Curtin Students.

I have recently taken on a full-time role as a lecturer in the School of Allied Health at Curtin University. It is my role to inspire occupational therapy students to learn about ageing and to consider a career working with older adults. In the units that I teach, students complete weekly Intergenerational Service-Learning visits with older adults living in residential care to work on a creative intervention together like gardening, crocheting or making a life story. I remember visiting aged care facilities during my time at St Hilda’s, so I have come full circle!

Juggling a professional career with a young family is not easy. Coming back to my memories of community service – we would go back to school with a full tin of coins, but also with our hearts full of stories. Today we live in a world that moves fast, but some of the most important lessons come from slowing down and spending time with the people who hold our history, who have lived long, full lives.

I have such fond memories of my high school years at St Hilda’s especially significant events like outdoor bound, arts festivals, being one of the first groups to have school laptops, interschool swimming, dinner dances, the arrival of Caedmon’s Cross, dissecting a pig’s eye and watching a cow’s lungs inflate in human biology. But I also treasure the fun of the everyday – the friendships, the school bus, playing Tetris in form class (well before mobile phones!), singing hymns, cheese toasties and chocolate muffins, rowing, breaks in the Year 12 common room.

I reflect on the quality of teaching which created an environment where we felt safe to learn and grow. Teachers who nurtured us through our teenage angst (and thin eyebrows!!) to bring out our best, and were at times strict, but always wise, patient, kind and fair. I am forever grateful for the integral role that St Hilda’s has played in me becoming a life-long learner and for shaping my career to educate and serve others – at school we were taught that we are “Women of the Future” and that we are!

We are delighted to hear that Zoe Thomson (2015) was awarded Female Sailor of the Year 2025 on Friday 14 November at the prestigious Australian Sailing Awards. This follows on from Zoe’s success representing Australia at international regattas during 2025 and her campaign at the 2024 Olympics. 

Zoe has been a committed sailor since the age of eight, joining Royal Freshwater Bay Yacht Club (RFBYC) in 2011. Her journey reflects extraordinary perseverance and passion, with unwavering dedication to the sport. From humble beginnings sailing Pelicans at East Fremantle Sailing Club, and transitioning to the Open Skiff at RFBYC, Zoe rapidly progressed through the ranks, ultimately becoming a Youth World Champion in 2016. She has also secured national titles across multiple classes, including the Open Skiff, Laser 4.7, Laser Radial, and National 125.

As a member of the Australian Sailing Team/Squad since 2019, competing in the ILCA 6 class, Zoe has been named Western Australian Female Sailor of the Year in 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024, and was a finalist for the Australian Female Sailor of the Year in both 2023 and 2024.

In 2024, Zoe reached two historic milestones:

• Represented Australia at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, finishing 20th overall (July 2024), and
• Earned selection to the inaugural Women’s “Team Australia Challenge” squad for the Youth and Women’s America’s Cup in Barcelona.

This past year has marked the beginning of her campaign for Los Angeles 2028. Zoe’s performances have demonstrated tactical growth and competitive excellence, most notably her first overall win at an international regatta; a key breakthrough that validated her Olympic medal aspirations.

We wish her great success.

Marnie Allan (2019) travelled to Paris recently to receive the DNA Paris Design Award in the Student category for her Monstera Stools and two honourable mentions for her Spindrift Low table and Spindrift Lamp.  This follows her winning a SIT Furniture Design Award in Switzerland and also, in the same competition, being awarded a Country Winner for Australia for her Spindrift Table.

Alex de Fircks graduated from St Hilda’s in 1977 and is a published author.  Her latest book is a much expanded edition of “Upheaval“; originally written by her grandmother, Olga Kleinmichel.

The true story steps into the glittering world of Imperial Russia where the reader witnesses its dramatic fall through the eyes of Countess Olga Konstantinovna Kleinmichel.  Born into the aristocracy and intimately connected to the Romanov dynasty, Olga’s life was shaped by privilege, love, and ultimately survival.

Countess Olga Wornoff in Perth in the 1970s, as she might be remembered by Sandy’s friends.

In this richly expanded second edition of “Upheaval”, Alex deepens the memoir with never-before-published diary entries from 1919, personal letters exchanged with Grand Duchesses Olga and Tatiana, and rare photographs from the family archive. The result is a vivid, intimate portrait of a vanished world.

Olga Woronoff, is buried at Karrakatta Cemetery and her grave is listed on one of their Historical Walks and in this photo.

The book “Upheaval” was published in October and is widely available.

Read More Here

A Baby Girl for Dr Alexandra Andrews (Heaton, 2006)

We are delighted to hear that Alexandra and Ben Andrews have had a baby girl, Gabriella Elizabeth Grace Andrews, born on 1 October 2025. Gabriella has an older brother Lachlan and she will be a third generation St Hilda’s baby.

We are very sorry to announce that the following Old Scholars have passed away.

4 October 1939 – 11 October 2025

Merrilee started as a boarder at St Hilda’s in 1947, followed later by her younger sister, Annette Henwood (MacDonald, 1960) in 1948. Their home was Fossil Downs, a large and remote Kimberly cattle station situated about 370km by air (430km by road) east of Broome and approximately 35km northeast of Fitzroy Crossing.

The Fossil Downs homestead, now heritage-listed, was a spacious two-storey brick structure with ‘two wings’ radiating in a V-form from a central entrance and reception hall accessed via a colonnaded, flagstone-paved veranda. This overlooked a lush lawn and gardens filled with oleanders, bougainvillea, hibiscus and frangipani and baobab trees; a vivid contrast to the red earth and rugged country surrounding it.

At St Hilda’s, Merrilee and Annette excelled at sports. They participated in many of the school’s clubs and held positions of responsibility in their senior years. Merrilee was Captain of Fitzroy House in 1957. She was also a keen debater, winning the Senior Debating Cup and her House colours, and was a member of the Chronicle Committee.

18 August 1942 – 10 November 2025

Kaye Turner (Turnbull, 1960), of Bentley and South Perth, has recently passed away peacefully in Nedlands aged 82 years.

Kaye was the loved wife of Ray (deceased) and loving mother of Damien and Jaan.  She was also a beloved sister to Anne (Nedkoff, 1961) and Nick, Ross and Pam, Jenny (Woods, 1969) and Paul, and aunty to many, of which Caitlen Woods (2002), Emma Woods (2007) and Genevieve Woods (2011) also attended St Hilda’s.

Kaye attended St Hilda’s between February 1956 and December 1958, and she will be much missed by the Class of 1960.

Besides her family Kaye was a keen golf player and a long-standing member of the Royal Perth Golf Club for over 61 years.

29 November 1942 – 12 November 2025

Royal Lifesaving Anderson Cup Under 14 Won by Saint Hilda’s Team.
Kay Zerovich (Acland, 1960), Marnie Rafferty (Balgarnie, 1960), Carol Milner ((1960) (fastest time), Gay Clarkson (Atkinson, 1960)

The Class of 1960 has also lost Kay Zerovich (Acland, 1960) who passed away unexpectedly but peacefully on 12 November.

Kay’s granddaughter, Olivia, is currently in Year 8. Our deepest sympathy to Kay’s family.

16 October 1947 – 5 September 2025

Last day of school 1964.  Anna Gray, Marg Reiffer (MacLagan (dec)), Vicki Ladyman (Cameron), Jane Chetwynd, Gill Johnston (Forbes), Jenny Brown (Garland) & Sue Elson (Myles (dec)).

The year of 1964 will be greatly saddened to hear of the death of Jenny Brown (Garland) on 9 September 2025, in Geraldton, where she lived.

Her daughters have sent the message below:

We wanted to share the sad news that our mum, Jenny, passed away in September.  She was always so proud to be a St Hilda’s girl, and she spoke often about how much her time there meant to her.  The friendships she made and the memories she carried stayed with her throughout her life.

Jen married Colin (deceased), and together they had two daughters and two grandsons, Joe and Charlie, who Jen adored.  She was a great sports woman, a master Mah Jong player, and loved to travel.  We miss her deeply, but we’re grateful for the love, laughter and stories she has left behind.

Jodie and Shelley (Jenny’s daughters).

Whilst at School Jenny was an Assistant House Secretary and the Table Tennis Captain for Gascoyne and a Lower VI A Form Captain. It was also remarked in the 1962 Chronicle that Jenny gave up many lunch hours to help the House secretaries, who were both boarders, in tidying up.

31 December 1970 – July 2025

The Class of July 2025 has lost Emma after a long illness.

Emma lived in Bridgetown and has four beautiful girls, the youngest of which is 14.  Emma pursued her love of dance and taught ballet in Bridgetown.

1987 Years 11 & 12 Art Camp at Nanga. Back L-R: Sophie Rosser, Bridget Walsh, Janelle Swinney, Suzanne Wyllie, Claire Shallcross, Emma Davies, Roslyn Meney, Dimity Hector, Penny Meecham, Tessa Ipp. Front L-R: Emily Cunningham, Emma Habermann, Anne MacDermott, Arianne Smalley, Georgie Gardiner, Josie Lee.

Emma was a day girl but is remembered by her cohort as being very kind and one day she made and delivered a cake as she felt sorry for all the starving boarders.  She is also remembered, together with Ariane Mainwairing (Smalley, 1987) as the standout “Sandy and Danny” from “Grease” at St Hilda’s 1987 Arts Festival.

St Hilda’s turns 130 in 2026, and Sandra Naude is assisting the Year 7s to research 130 Old Scholars that have made a significant contribution to society. Sandra would like to hear about any Old Scholars who have been recognised over the years, such as in Australia Day, Queen or King’s Birthday Honours, International Honours, Bravery Decorations, or have contributed significantly to society in their field.

The school acknowledges that many deserved Old Scholars may not be included in the Year 7 research of only 130 Old Scholars as this is a specific year level task, however Sandra wishes to receive your contributions not only for this project but for the Heritage Centre records and future research.

If you have suggestions across all year groups, Sandra would love to hear from you.  Please email Sandra.naude@sthildas.wa.edu.au.

Following on from this year’s successful Women Lifting Women series and recent OSA surveys, the resounding feedback was to provide more education on financial literacy for girls and women.

From 2026, St Hilda’s is proud to introduce MoneyVest, a micro-credentialled financial literacy program for all girls in Years 7–12. This initiative reflects our belief that financial literacy is not an optional extra; it’s an essential part of preparing young women for life.

Too often, girls enter early adulthood underprepared for the financial realities they will face. Some parents will already have lived experience of this reality, particularly if you have young adults navigating money, budgets, savings, and taxes as they take on part-time jobs, begin university, or move out of home. Their experiences confirm just how critical it is to equip girls with real-world financial skills before they graduate, and the data is equally compelling:

• More than one in three young women feel unprepared to manage their finances when they leave school (Plan International Australia, 2020).
• Only 30% of young women aged 15–35 consider themselves financially literate, compared to 45% of young men (OECD, 2023).
• In Australia, young women consistently score lower than young men in practical financial areas like tax, superannuation, and investment (ASIC, 2022).
• Gen Z women are expected to have six different careers across their lifetime, requiring adaptability, entrepreneurial thinking, and financial resilience (World Economic Forum, 2024).
• Despite comprising more than half of university graduates, only 14% of ASX200 CEOs are women, with financial acumen cited as one of the key barriers to executive leadership (Chief Executive Women, 2023).

At St Hilda’s, we believe in turning these statistics around by intentionally equipping every girl with the tools to take charge of her financial future.

"(《世界人权宣言》) Moneyvest Financial Education content is practical, relevant, and engaging, covering topics such as budgeting, superannuation, MyGov, tax returns, investment simulations, pay rates, and ethical finance. Upon completion of each year-level module, girls will receive a micro-credential certificate that can be added to their schooling portfolio, a formal recognition of learning that supports scholarship, employment, and tertiary applications.

St Hilda’s is proud to be the first independent school in Western Australia to implement MoneyVest across all senior school years. It’s a bold step that reflects our determination to design an education that prepares girls not just for graduation, but for life.

Click below to read this year’s Ammonite Magazine

To keep abreast of all job opportunities, please visit the website 这里.

The following roles arew advertised.

• Education Assistants – Senior School