Deputy Principal

We are Part of a Bigger Network

Last week I took the opportunity to attend the EREA National Deputy Principals Conference at the Catholic Leadership Centre in Melbourne. This is the first time this group has gathered since Covid. It was an opportunity for all of us to catch up and connect with and hear from each other about what is happening in all our schools across the country.

There was a lot of discussion around the new Charter for Catholic Schools in the Edmund Rice Tradition. This Charter was launched recently after much consultation where all stakeholders including parents were given an opportunity to help shape it. There was a parent meeting held here at our College last year. 

Throughout the Charter there are three common threads. These include Scripture, First Nations and Church. As a College leader, it is my role to ensure that I spread the good news of the scripture as well as walk with our First Nations brothers and sisters to ensure that I can help to create a better future for them. This all occurs in the context of change within our Church. 

What doesn’t change is our commitment to Justice and Solidarity and ensuring that we all work together to help those that are marginalised. This is our call as Christians, and our calling as educators in Edmund Rice schools is to ensure that the young men that we help to form over their time here at school know that they have an obligation to always think of others and work towards helping others long after they have left our gates for the final time.

The time away in Melbourne was also a time to reflect that St Patrick’s College is one school throughout a network of over 50 schools in Australia, and part of even a bigger network of schools throughout the world. We are forever grateful that Blessed Edmund Rice and the Christian Brothers had the foresight to start this order all those years ago which educated young men at the time and nowadays continues this wonderful legacy for young men and women around the world.

Adrian Byrne

Deputy Principal