Heads of House

We. Not Me.

This week has the highlight of the Mount Alvernia College calendar. The Celebration of Excellence evening places a well-deserved spotlight on the students and staff who excel at their craft. Academic, sporting and cultural excellence are acknowledged and celebrated.  It is also a night to enjoy the outstanding talents of our Franciscan Colleges Instrumental Program (FCIP). We are so fortunate to have the opportunity for our students to interact in a meaningful way with our brother school, Padua College. 

In her Principal’s Address, Samantha Jensen spoke of our mantra – ‘We. Not Me.’ Success happens when ‘we’ are the focus. Teachers and students working together to problem solve. Sporting teams following advice from coaches and communicating on the pitch, court or field. Music ensembles making beautiful music when they attend rehearsal, practise and follow the instruction of their conductor. No one at Mount Alvernia works in isolation. Every member of our community is part of an intricate set of moving parts. When the moving parts align, the magic truly happens.  That magic was certainly evident on Monday evening!  Our tradition of having Year 7 attend Celebration of Excellence as a cohort is to make the moving parts visible to the newest members of our community. They can see what is possible and begin to plan their own magic at Mount Alvernia College.

‘We. Not me.’ was also evident on the previous Friday when our Year 10 students, accompanied by the 2024 Captains Elect, welcomed our Year 7 2024 students for a formation evening to introduce them to their Houses. There were get-to-know-you activities, laughter and, most importantly, the teaching of the House war cries. The Heads of House are incredibly excited about the calibre of this new cohort and the nurturing and leadership skills of their senior school ambassadors. Bring on 2024!

Knowing how successful our community is when we apply ‘We. Not Me.’ to our daily practice, the pastoral team hold our students to account when things become ‘all about them.’ We wholeheartedly believe we are preparing our students for life beyond our gates when we do this.  The choice to be consistently late to school or class; to wear elements of the uniform that contravene our uniform policy; or to breach our academic policy has a flow-on effect to their community. Regular lates not only interrupts a good habit (and manners) of being on time, it also interrupts the teaching and learning of others. Not following our uniform policy that is well-matched with the Franciscan value of simplicity, places personal, physical appearance above that of the community of which they are a part. 

Our Celebration of Excellence evening; the vast range of extra-curricular and sport programs and the many leadership opportunities available give our students every opportunity to stand out as individuals. We thank our families for placing value on a Mount Alvernia education by ensuring students get to school on time and in their full, correct uniform to embrace the multitude of opportunities available in a thriving community. We hope the ‘We. Not Me.’ mantra follows our students long after they graduate. It is certainly the guiding principle of our patrons, St Francis, St Clare and Elizabeth Hayes.