Deputy Head of College News

The Times They are A-Changin'

If your time is worth savin', then you better start swimmin', or you'll sink like a stone.

For the times they are a-changin'.

Bob Dylan's anthem of change, like all great pieces of art, contains messages which will always be relevant, and always true.  Catholic education for young people in Australia is most certainly 'changin'' on many fronts. This isn’t a new story, anthem or ballad. However, it's a reality we need to explore with curiosity, open minds and hearts.

The societal context in which we provide a Catholic Marist education has changed since 1940. The mindsets of a young people are different. The social needs of young people are different. The emotional needs of our people are different. And there are the big kids too! Our teachers, our staff, our parents and our community - our needs have also greatly evolved since 1940. In short, the needs of our Marist Family 'are a changin'.'

Through our change, our Mission remains steadfast, as does our commitment to providing a life-giving Catholic education for young people. From this firm foundation we can lay down the needs of our students, the gifts of our staff and the dedication of our parents. To ensure these are layered, built, constructed to the fullest life-giving extent as possible, we need to know and understand these building blocks.

To this end, we have had an encouraging response from our parent-body with respect to the Enhancing Catholic School Identity (ECSI) Survey. This is no ordinary survey. The ECSI Survey has been expertly constructed and shared by Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (KU Leuven), Belgium. The Catholic education context of Belgium over the last several decades has been fascinating, and one which has driven much inquiry of Catholic education contexts around the world.

The College joins Marist Schools Australia with wanting to understand our individual and shared perspective on Catholic education. That is, understand your needs, so we can continue to evolve as a leader of Catholic education in the country - to keep swimmin' as the times are a-changin'.

To encourage your participation in this important survey, respondents to the survey will go into a draw with a chance to win one of three $100 VISA gift cards.

To register for the ECSI survey please complete this brief form before Friday 28 March. The College will then contact you with instructions on how to complete the survey.

Access to the survey will be distributed this week and will remain available to responses until 4:00pm Monday 28 April.

The College looks forward to your participation in this important undertaking which will shape the future directions of the College, and our Marist tradition.