From the Principal

CO-EDUCATION – THE NATURAL CHOICE

Established in 1964, St Monica’s College, Epping began its existence as a regional secondary College for girls in the northern suburbs of Melbourne. Many Monicans have seen and been amazed by images from those early days of dry paddocks, a ramshackle railway station, thirty-six young girls educated by heavily-garmented Sisters of the Good Samaritan, resplendent with rosary beads at their waist and a black veil adorning their head.

Move on 22 years and Dalton Road Campus was born, and boys entered the halls of SMC.  Co-education had arrived to serve the needs of young boys in addition to the girls.  To this very day, we bless those who proposed that male and female students come together under the same educational umbrella and be educated by the Sisters.  Co-education is the real world, from cradle to the very end, and thus education serves the community so much more completely when they merge together.

This piece is not a criticism of single gender schools in our neighborhood and surrounding suburbs.  It is however a statement that they fail to provide the wholistic education so sorely needed before and now in the world.  From kindergarten to Year 12, girls and boys come out to play together and be educated in a wholesome and thorough manner.

How appropriate that when students graduate from secondary school they can feel ever so comfortable in their new world either through work or tertiary study or travelling the globe.  The majority do not feel either awkward or foreign when mixing and interacting with the other gender.  They have grown in confidence, familiarity with the opposite gender, assertiveness, wisdom and good graces.  Natural relationships have developed and grown over the course of years.

At St Monica’s College, we hold dearly and closely to the belief that equality of sexes is paramount.  Opportunities must be offered and experienced by our female and male students.  We will not tolerate or encourage stereotyping or discrimination. Academics, sport, the arts, technology, VCE subjects, VCE (VM) courses, and extracurricular activities are offered as all-encompassing endeavours.  The uniforms might differ (except for Physical Education) but the opportunities apply to all.  We respect those who have their own particular gender identification beliefs and lifestyles.

Jesus Christ lived in a co-educational world  when He walked on earth.  His message was for peoples of all genders and nationalities.  Whilst our Catholic Church could certainly do well to extend choices for females more widely and genuinely, the message of the Gospels is preached to everyone.  Strong male and female characters feature in our biblical texts and Church tradition.

Thus, the transition from preschool to kindergarten, to primary school to secondary school, to later life is one unbroken line of personal and physical development.  Let not the crucial adolescent years be a time when genders are separated and divided. It makes no sense and no empirical evidence proves otherwise.

Let us have fervent faith in co-education in our College here in Epping as we teach and form strong Australians and provide an education that suits and caters for genders and all preferences.

Mr B Hanley OAM

College Principal