Parent / Student / Teacher Interviews – March 21
You should have received advice by now of our Parent / Student / Teacher Interviews next Thursday and the process for booking. In the allocated time, you will receive a snapshot of your young person’s progress designed to address areas of strength and areas for growth. You will appreciate that there is a domino effect if an interview runs over time that will inconvenience many others. Should you require a longer discussion, please end the interview on time and arrange for a follow-up at a later date. It is an expectation that interviews be conducted respectfully.
EREA National Charter Renewal
Principals of the 55 Edmund Rice Education Schools from across Australia gathered in Adelaide this week to discuss the charter for our schools that was developed in 2017. What was apparent when we gathered is that Edmund Rice Schools are both very diverse and can be found in every jurisdiction across the country. There are large and smaller secondary schools, both co-educational and single-sex, flexi schools, early learning centres and schools that cater predominantly for indigenous young people. We should feel proud of our place in a network of schools that continues to respond to the needs of the community. This is very much in the spirit of the founder, Blessed Edmund Rice.
We also found that we had much in common and these are shared beliefs captured in the touchstones:
- Gospel spirituality
- Liberating education
- Inclusive community
- Justice and Solidarity
Certain themes emerged during the conference that reflect the desire for EREA schools to continue to offer excellent learning outcomes for all young people, remain accessible, and be places of hope. Our new charter needs to be aspirational. Over the coming weeks, a call will go out to members of the community to contribute to the charter renewal process in preparation for the launch of the revised charter in November.
Mass of St Patrick
We have four students representing St Mary’s College at the Mass of St Patrick today at St Patrick’s Cathedral. Representatives will come together from across the Archdiocese of Melbourne to share mass and celebrate our Catholic identity as we commence Catholic Education Week. We also enjoyed a visit from Bishop Anthony Ireland this week. Bishop Ireland is very interested in St Mary’s College and met with the leadership team to discuss how we may be able to capitalise on the resources that are available in the St Mary’s precinct in coming years. Thank you to Fr Jerome for his organisation of this visit.
Triple J Hack Podcast
Our 2023 School Captains, Audrey and Raj, were interviewed last week to share their views on the student experience in a school that had moved from single sex to co-educational. As we have come to expect from our student leaders, they were both highly intelligent and articulate in sharing their thoughts on the challenges that St Mary’s had faced in building a culture in which both girls and boys believed they could flourish. Deputy Principal, Shaun Lancashire, was also able to contribute with great insight into the deliberate decisions that had been made by the College to help build an inclusive culture where all felt that they could flourish.
Triple J Hack Podcast - Listen
Darren Atkinson
Principal
