Principal

Easter Light

The use of the metaphor of “light” looms large in my life, especially at this time of our liturgical year. Our College motto, Luceat Lux Vestra, inspires our students, past and present as a simple description of what we are called to do as God’s people. Holding the lit taper at the Easter Vigil mass from the light of our Parish Pascal candle, reminded me that Easter is a time when God used light to remind us of his love for us.

The earth was dark twice. Once, it was dark at the original creation before God first created light. But later, there was an even deeper darkness, on Good Friday, between the 6th and 9th hour, when we were crucifying God, and Jesus dying on the cross cried out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Utter darkness. In response to that, God created the most staggering light of all—the resurrection.

It is interesting to look at how scripture describes the creation of original light. The Bible opens with these words: “In the beginning God created heaven and earth. Now the earth was a formless void and God breathed over the waters. God said, ‘Let there be light’ and there was light.” A combination of God’s breath and God’s word produced the first light. The ancients identified God’s presence very much with light. For them, God was the antithesis of all darkness and, indeed, the symbol of God’s fidelity was the rainbow, namely, refracted light, light broken open to reveal its spectacular inner beauty.

But it got dark a second time! The Gospels tell us that as Jesus hung on the cross, though it was midday, darkness beset the whole land for three hours. We don’t know exactly what occurred here historically. Was the entire earth plunged into darkness? Perhaps. After all, the earth was crucifying God, and God is light! Irrespective of how literally or not we take this, what happened on Good Friday triggered a different kind of darkness, a moral one – the darkness of godlessness, hatred, paranoia, fear, misguided religion, cruelty, idolatry, ideology, and violence. This is the most blinding darkness of all.

What was God’s response? God’s response to the darkness of Good Friday was to say a second time, let there be light! The resurrection of Jesus is that new light, one which at the end of the day eclipses all other lights.

The staggering new light that Jesus brings into our world in the resurrection is also one of the things that our Christian creed refers to in its stunning phrase that, in the darkness of Good Friday, Jesus “descended into hell.” What’s meant by this? Into what hell did he descend? Simply put, the new light of the resurrection (unlike natural light that can be blocked out) can go through every locked door, every blocked entrance, every impenetrable cell, every circle of hatred, every suicidal depression, every paralysing anger, every kind of darkness of the soul, and even through sin itself, and breathe out peace. This light can penetrate into hell itself.

The renowned mystic Julian of Norwich coined the famous phrase: “In the end, all will be well, and all will be well, and every manner of being will be well.” To which Oscar Wilde added, “And if it isn’t well, then it is still not the end.” The resurrection of Jesus has brought a new light into the world, one that proclaims against all counterclaims that light still triumphs over darkness, love over hatred, order over chaos, and heaven over hell. For our students within the College context, we need to remember that we are Resurrection people and that no matter how we transgress, how much pain we cause others, tomorrow is a new day, and we can all start again.

Safework NSW Investigation

In a recent push notification, I advised the College community that SafeWork NSW would investigate our science laboratories following a recent evacuation of all personnel. The investigation has occurred, and I am pleased to advise that the College will not be issued a notice. As we are settling into these new laboratories, it seems that the air-conditioning vents above teacher workspaces can contribute to smoke being pushed towards the smoke detectors and experiments that give off gases are best conducted in the fume cupboards. We are yet to complete our own internal investigation into the events leading up to the incident.

Parental Choice in Education Saves Taxpayers Billions

Last week, I was sent an article by Save Our Schools (SOS) Australia, an organisation that purports to fight for equity in education. According to SOS Australia, published budget figures demonstrate the bias against public schools in Australia’s school funding system. Further, they claim that Government funding for Catholic and Independent schools has increased much more than for public schools since 2009. Government funding has enabled private schools to have a much higher income per student than public schools and to provide more teaching and material resources per student than in public schools. 

However, money directed towards schools does not necessarily improve student outcomes. A recently published research study shows that record levels of state and federal funding of Australia’s schools has coincided with a long-term decline in educational outcomes, new research has found.

An analysis of school funding by the Institute of Public Affairs (IPA) shows that despite a 43% increase in Federal and State Governments spending on schools between 2012-2022, key OECD PISA results declined by 3% over the same period.

In this period, Federal Government funding increased by 75%, while State Government spending increased by 32%. The IPA's research found that in dollar terms, adjusted for inflation, total State and Federal Government spending on Australia's schools increased from $55bn in 2012 to $79bn in 2022.

In their research note, titled: ‘More Government spending does not produce better educational outcomes’, the authors pointed out that PISA testing over the last 24 years has shown a steady decline in students’ reading, science, and mathematics standards across every socio-economic quartile, and in all three school sectors.

Furthermore, new research from Catholic Schools NSW (CSNSW) confirms the extent of money saved by taxpayers by government support of school choice for parents. Published today, it reveals that non-government schools save taxpayers at least $4.59 billion each year in recurrent funding and that Catholic schools in NSW alone represent a $500 million annual saving for taxpayers. It also shows that if all government and non-government schools received their full funding entitlement under the Australian Education Act 2013, savings to taxpayers would be $6.31 billion each year in recurrent funding. These savings include $2.04 billion for primary students and $4.27 billion for secondary students. Catholic schools make up $2.96 billion of the total amount saved, and Independent schools $3.35 billion. Parent contributions to capital funding for schools save further taxpayer money, as non-government schools typically cover over 90% of capital expenditure from private sources – around $4.48 billion in 2022. Dallas McInerney, CEO of Catholic Schools NSW, said the research cut through the hype to demonstrate the tangible benefits of parental choice in education and the strength of Australia’s diverse education offerings. “The recent debate on school funding is too often presented as a zero-sum game between different schools and unhelpfully tinged with appeals to envy and populism. The fundamentals of the mixed model of school provision remain strong: parents value choice and critically, the taxpayer is way better off when non-government schools are supported, as we see with the billions saved every year.” “Parent’s contributions to capital funding increase savings to the taxpayer and the government, as non-government schools typically cover over 90% of capital expenditure from private sources— around $4.48 billion in 2022.” “The Catholic school system in NSW alone saves the state $500+ million while also offering a low-fee, values-based educational alternative and people are voting with their feet with enrolments in the Catholic sector at a ten-year high.”  “It’s a win for parental choice in education and it’s a win for the taxpayer.” The research paper can be accessed here.

(Catholic Schools NSW represents the state’s 592 Catholic schools and their 268,000 students.)

School Renewal Experience

I will be away from the College from 3 – 5 April, participating in the School Renewal process at Rostrevor College in Adelaide, another EREA school. I am looking forward to forming part of the expert panel leading this process especially as St Patrick’s College, Strathfield is going to undertake its own School Renewal in 2025.

School Renewal provides an opportunity for schools to reflect on how the Charter and its Touchstones are evident within the life of the school. The Charter is central to the identity of Catholic schools in the Edmund Rice tradition. Primarily, School Renewal presents a structure for accountability to the Church, the Christian Brothers and EREA about the Catholicity and the expression of the charism in the schools. It is a comprehensive process leading to continuous improvement in key areas of the school life related to the EREA Charter and Touchstones. Renewal also presents a secondary accountability within the Strategic Directions of EREA, as a reporting methodology to the EREA Board and, in relevant jurisdictions, an accountability methodology to National, State, Territory and Diocesan Catholic Education system processes. Thirdly, School Renewal offers a strategic opportunity for each EREA School to capture meaningful information which may contribute to future planning and improvement. School Renewal recognises the interdependence of Catholic schools in the Edmund Rice tradition with each other, the Church, EREA Council, Board, State and Catholic Education systems.

Dr Vittoria Lavorato

Principal

SPC boys can do anything! 

**except divide by zero