From our Principal

Dear Parents, Students and Friends,

Last weekends Gospel reading from John was themed around one of the most significant messages of Christ’s teachings, “I give you a new commandment: love one another. Just as I have loved you, you must also love one another” (John 13:34). Sometimes this can be easy to do and at other times this places us in a challenging space. It may be that we might not like someone, or something they have said or the way they treat others. Jesus challenges us that it is in these very instances where we must reach out the hand of friendship. Because it is at this very time when we are needed the most by others. It was St. Francis of Assisi who said it best, “For it is in giving that we receive”. So with this scripture message in mind, consider the following: when was the last time you did something nice for someone?, what was it? How did it make you feel? Perhaps in the week ahead we can commit to showing a random act of kindness to a stranger or even a friend. An extension of this thread is to imagine if everyone took up that challenge I wonder what our community, our world would look like then? With this gospel message resounding in ourselves, a prayer

Your Love

Bless us with Love, O Merciful God;

That we may Love as you Love!

That we may show patience, tolerance,

Kindness, caring and love to all!

Give me knowledge; O giver of Knowledge,

That I may be one with my Universe and Mother Earth!

O Compassionate One, grant compassion unto us;

That we may help all fellow souls in need!

Bless us with your Love O God.

Bless us with your Love.

School Review

Continuing with our fortnightly snippets of the outcomes of the School Review, the focus this week is on the following recommendation: “Outcome 2: Explicitly make meaningful links between Catholic Social Teaching in all curriculum areas and aspects of school life”.

So… What is Catholic Social Teaching? Caritas states that Catholic Social Teaching: “offers a way of thinking, being and seeing the world. It provides a vision for a just society in which the dignity of all people is recognised, and those who are vulnerable are cared for. It consists of an interrelated body of Catholic social thought and principles which can be used to reflect on and guide how we relate to one another in our local and global communities”.

It calls on us all to: See, Judge and Act

Looking at the social justice issues as they affect society – SEE
Understanding what is happening and why it is happening – JUDGE
Discerning the actions needed to respond – ACT

These Principles are best presented in the format below:

So the questions to explore with our key stakeholders, staff, students and parents are:

Where do we see the principles of Catholic Social Teaching evident at St. Peter’s College currently, and
What should be our focus area/s on the principles of Catholic Social Teaching for the next four years, why and what are the intended outcomes.

These very questions are to be explored to determine the key strategies we will implement in the next four years to ensure explicit links between Catholic Social Teaching, our curriculum and the school more broadly enrich and empower our students.

Child Safety

St. Peter’s College is committed to providing and promoting a child-safe environment for all students to ensure learning is maintained to an optimal level. To assist us in ensuring the highest possible standards are always met a set of seven Child Safety Standards have guided and informed our practices since 2017. From 1 July a new set of eleven National Child-safety standards are to be implemented. In short, these new standards build on the current practices and are responsive to the current climate around child safety and, although similar to Victoria’s current Child Safe Standards, include four key changes:

to involve families and communities in organisations’ efforts to keep children and young people safe
for a greater focus on safety for Aboriginal children and young people
to manage the risk of child abuse in online environments
in relation to governance, systems and processes to keep children and young people safe.

St. Peter’s College is undertaking an audit and review of all Child Safety policy, protocols and processes to ensure we are compliant with the revised standards and to continue maintaining the high standard of Child Safety Standards currently experienced. Our newsletter will be a major vehicle to present updated policy and procedure. Our two Deputy Principal – Heads of Campus are our registered Child Safety Officers and designated Child Safety Champions.

Questions and queries around Child Safety are always welcomed and contact can be made at any time with your respective Head of Campus.

Enjoy the week ahead.

Mr Chris Black

Principal