Heads of House 

Every week, Mount Alvernia students assemble in various formats as a way to learn and connect with each other and the Mount Alvernia story. We celebrate our identity and charism along with student success – both inside and outside the classroom. These assemblies are significant in contributing to the formation and whole development of our students.

Last week, the students in Clare School (Years 8 and 9) participated in a very special College assembly which allowed them to learn about and celebrate the life of St Clare. Through listening to her life story, students learned that St Clare was a woman of great vision and courage.  She built strong relationships and was known as a woman of deep faith, compassion and light. Just like St Clare, students were encouraged to ‘leave the walls of the city’ to go deeper into their learning and broaden their relationships with others as a way to create meaningful and purposeful lives. From her words and actions, it became abundantly clear that St Clare is the perfect role model for Mount A students.  As part of the ritual, students were asked to reflect on her life and identify a courageous act they could adopt in their learning and/or relationships while in the Clare School. Students wrote their action onto a piece of paper that was placed in a House basket. 

As is always the case, students who actively ‘listen’ to the messages as opposed to ‘hearing’ the message benefit greatly. These messages create opportunities for quiet reflection; to consider how the message is relevant to their own lives and how they can grow from understanding the message. Assemblies also afford students to be mindful, present and to focus on the bigger picture and beyond themselves – something that is often hard to do in the ‘busyness’ of their lives. 

In the book Raising Resilient Kids, Dr Michael Carr-Gregg identifies five major traits of resilient children. Two of the traits are ‘spirituality’ and ‘islands of competence’. Carr-Gregg asserts that better mental health is achieved when one feels connected to something or someone beyond themselves or their material world. This sense of connectedness also acts as a moral compass for navigating life. Additionally, resilient children demonstrate a willingness to grow their skills and competence and, along the way, grow in self-esteem, patience and persistence. Hence, through rites of passage and ritual - learning about St Clare’s spirituality, resilience, persistence and passion - becomes the perfect platform upon which our students can also appreciate and develop these skills. 

A disappointing outcome of the later start on Thursdays is the higher-than-usual ‘late to school’. Students who arrive late as ‘its just assembly’ are missing vital formation experiences that enrich their lives and build their connection to school, their peers and the Mount Alvernia experience. Arriving to school on time develops essential skills including self-regulation, decision-making, routines, acceptance of responsibilities, critical social skills with peers along with observing and learning the norms for behaviour in school. This eventually becomes their wider world where they need to show up every day for work. For the sake of routine, taking the same bus or transport on Thursday as any other day is encouraged. La Cucina and La Foresta are wonderful meeting places to meet and wait for the beginning their days, and especially so, on Thursdays.