Principal

Blessed Edmund Rice

It is wonderful to be back after a pilgrimage to Ireland to walk in the footsteps of Blessed Edmund Rice.

The congress/pilgrimage was organised by Edmund Rice Education Beyond Borders (EREBB) which is an international network of Catholic schools educating young people from many different faiths and cultures.

Edmund Rice educators are inspired by the teachings of Jesus, Gospel values and the spirit of Edmund Rice. In over 20 countries we endeavour to promote global solidarity and offer a transformational education for justice and liberation.

EREBB was inaugurated in May 2014 when leaders representing Edmund Rice Education gathered in Nairobi Kenya to establish an inclusive international network of Edmund Rice educational communities. The Edmund Rice Family has spread across the world since Blessed Edmund opened his first school in 1802.

The highlight for me was the walking tour of Waterford that really helped to put into context who this man was and what has led to this incredible movement around the world to liberate children through education. Being in a Eucharistic celebration in the place where he worked and was buried was a privilege I will never forget.

Students have asked me how I will use what I learned overseas.

The EREBB Congress has served to remind me and put into even sharper focus that our school is a Catholic school which promotes a Christian concept of the world with a spiritual and moral values system that contributes to the good of society as a whole. 

Being true to the founding intention of Blessed Edmund and to our Touchstones we are committed to the formation of young people of faith, grounded in the concept of social and ecological justice and equipped with the leadership skills to make a difference in today’s and tomorrow’s world.

So, what must you do to be an Edmund Rice person? I think the answer is with Edmund himself. He lived in such a way that his heart was broken open for people – we are told that he opened his whole heart to the poor – compassion – was at the heart of what Edmund was about. And compassion means opening my heart so that someone else comes into the centre – and I am not in the centre of my life; someone else is at the centre of my life. When was the last time someone was at the centre of your life? When was the last time you moved away from the centre and let someone else in? 

This Friday, we will be celebrating our Founder’s Day. And if you really want to celebrate the feast, then I invite you over the coming days – even today, for one moment, for one experience, for one situation – put someone else at the centre, see who needs you. You belong to a group that is much bigger than the school – the Edmund Rice Network spreads all over the world, in over thirty countries, in all of the continents; can you open your heart large enough and big enough – to allow people from other parts of the world to occupy that central space – so that their needs come before your own! When you do that – then you are celebrating Founder’s Day!

Thanks!

A very special thanks to Mr Adrian Byrne who was Acting Principal in my time abroad. He did an amazing job in running the school with the team of dedicated staff that we have. I appreciate his work in making sure some of our key, special events ran smoothly like Mother’s Day Mass, the Blue Black and Gold Dinner, and the production of Shakespeare in Love to name just a few. I hope that if you come across him in the next week or so, you give him your personal thanks too.

In Memoriam

We pray for Mrs Ovijach (Performing Arts Faculty) on the loss of her father last weekend. 

We also pray for the family of William Allen (Year 10) and Jack Allen (Year 9) who recently lost their grandfather, Thomas Allen.  

Dr Vittoria Lavorato

Principal

SPC boys can do anything! 

**except divide by zero