PRINCIPAL'S PEN 

I am a Teacher

Recently I was watching my daughter play sport on a Saturday morning. I happened to start speaking to another parent who asked, “What do you do?” “I'm a teacher,” I replied. 

Usually as teachers we then get one of two questions, either: where do you teach? or what do you teach? In this instance I was asked, “What do you teach?” A teacher at this point usually answers by quoting their subject area – I teach maths, or I teach music or history. But the question made me think more deeply. As teachers we don’t just teach a subject or subjects. A better answer to this question may be, “I teach boys to become men” or “I teach young people how to cope with the demands of the 21st century.” 

These sentiments tap into the holistic dimension of good educators. Ultimately our goal as Marist educators is to realise St Marcellin’s vision to lead young people to become “good Christians and virtuous citizens”. This highlights that as teachers of boys, focusing solely on content, while important, shouldn’t be our only goal.  We know boys excel when they have positive relationships with their teachers. Boys are relational learners, and we must reach them before we can teach them (Reichert). One way to reach them is to provide opportunities outside the classroom where teacher and student can connect. Recently these opportunities have included the Years 9 and 10 camps, the Year 11 retreat, sporting trips locally as well as to Townsville and Brisbane, music extension evenings, rehearsals for Treasure Island, debating competitions and our Japanese exchange program.

I wish to acknowledge the teachers at St Augustine’s who invest heavily and generously in these opportunities. Work outside the classroom reinforces work within it, and it is important to acknowledge this aspect of teaching. It is invaluable, and our staff are to be congratulated on “going the extra mile” for the benefit of the young men at Saints. I am sure we will read more about these opportunities in the newsletter. 

Feast of Mary MacKillop

I have always been intrigued by the similarities between the first Australian saint, Mary of the Cross MacKillop, and the founder of the Marist brothers, St Marcellin Champagnat. Both saw a need and were moved to do something about it. Both saints saw education as a key to helping those in need. 

On Tuesday 8 August we celebrated the feast of St Mary of the Cross. Better known as the founder of the Australian order - Sisters of St Joseph. Like Marcellin, Mary MacKillop paved the way for the education of poor children, especially in the country and a variety of ministries that addressed the needs of 19th-century Australia. St Mary encourages us to be courageous, forgiving, compassionate; to be people of justice and hopefulness, and to have a deep faith in God who provides. Her legacy continues today in countless ways. 

Catholic Education Week

The College recently celebrated Catholic Education Week, an annual event across all Catholic schools that brings together the community to celebrate and reflect on the essential values that define Catholic education. With the 2023 theme "Communities of Faith, Hope and Love," this week serves as a reminder of the fundamental principles that guide our educational philosophy and the strong sense of purpose that unites us as an authentic faith-driven learning community.

Faith is at the heart of Catholic Education Week. It reminds us that we are not merely recipients of knowledge, but participants in a personal learning, wellbeing and spiritual journey. This unique week in our college calendar calls upon students, teachers, staff and parents to deepen their understanding of their faith and particularly of Catholic education. On 27 July four Saints leaders and I had the good fortunate to attend Mass at the Cathedral as part of the celebrations.