PRINCIPAL'S PEN 

Over the last three years, there have been some major shifts in our school-wide pedagogy at Saints. Due to COVID, we quickly and effectively embarked on our Sustain the Change project. As our community is keenly aware, Sustain the Change led to a significant shift in our teaching – with all units of work made available online using the Teams and OneNote platforms. The teachers now have first-class resources at their fingertips, and students can access work easily and effectively. 

Interestingly, a Gratton Institute report titled Ending the Lesson Lottery released in 2022, recommended that “governments should invest in high-quality, comprehensive curriculum materials, and make them available for all teachers, whether in government, Catholic, or independent schools”. I wait with bated breath to discover how long it will take governments to act on this recommendation. Fortunately, through our Sustain the Change project, we completed this recommendation two years ago.

 Our focus now must be on how we best use this impressive resource in an all-boys school. Therefore, a major goal for our staff this term is a renewed focus on boys' education. This may seem an obvious position for an all-boys school, however, it is an area that we regularly need to revisit to continue to deliver a relevant education for our students. 

We have formed a boys' education committee tasked with getting boys' education back to the forefront of our thinking at Saints. As part of our re-engagement efforts, we have strengthened our relationship with the International Boys’ Schools Coalition (IBSC). 

Last week, Jesse Zell and I had the rare opportunity to join a Zoom meeting with Tom Batty, the CEO of IBSC. Our discussion was robust, affirming and insightful. 

Tom Batty described many aspects of boys’ education that we are doing well. We know that boys learn much more from their teachers than just subject content, that relationships are key, they are more kinesthetic, and that they need to know what their purpose within the group is and how they contribute to that group. Boys love stories, humour and activity. Boys respect clear boundaries, structures and expectations.

One point Tom Batty made clear was that boys' schools need to be immersed in ritual and ceremony. And the messages that we give students during these times are crucial in the boys' development. This may sound like a stretch but consider the following.

Our recent Mother’s Day assembly is one such ritual. The messages given at this assembly were powerful and deliberate. Our boys told their mothers they love them. All 350 mothers present received a rose from their sons. The message was clear that mothers are special in our lives and good men recognise this. 

Click on the image below to view the Mother's Day assembly.

National Boarding Week 

It's National Boarding Week. This is an opportunity to highlight the wonderful work of boarding schools, particularly in Queensland. St Augustine’s has always been a very respected and successful Catholic boarding school in Far North Queensland. We continue to offer high-quality care for each individual boarder. I would like to extend thanks for, celebrate and recognise our outstanding boarding college. Many thanks are extended to Mr Brett Toombs our Head of Boarding, Heads of Residence and all staff involved in the special and committed care of your sons and daughters.