The fifth good reason to be Catholic in Rohr and Martos’s article is centred on the concept of social transformation. Jesus proclaimed the coming of God’s Kingdom. In everyday terms, this is about the betterment of humanity. It is about communities that respect the dignity of each person irrespective of their nationality, culture or social status etc. A community that reflects God’s Kingdom is also one where the marginalised or abused are protected. Over time, Christians have protested such behaviours as Gladiator fights, tyranny, slavery, civil rights etc. The purpose for this is that...
The fifth good reason to be Catholic in Rohr and Martos’s article is centred on the concept of social transformation. Jesus proclaimed the coming of God’s Kingdom. In everyday terms, this is about the betterment of humanity. It is about communities that respect the dignity of each person irrespective of their nationality, culture or social status etc. A community that reflects God’s Kingdom is also one where the marginalised or abused are protected. Over time, Christians have protested such behaviours as Gladiator fights, tyranny, slavery, civil rights etc. The purpose for this is that in our Catholic beliefs, God wants everyone to reach full potential as a human being created in God’s image. This means each of us having our basic needs met and then growing to full maturity in Christ through meeting the needs of others. The difficulty for us is that our Catholic vision means that we should always challenge the status quo if it is unjust for some, especially the marginalised with no voice. Rohr and Martos contend that being Catholic means standing with those social reformers who have always wanted to change the world for the good, making it more like God’s Kingdom.
The sixth reason is that being Catholic allows us to share a communal experience. We all share and practice a common faith that brings common values. Each Sunday, and on other occasions, we can gather with others and remind ourselves of this faith through our ritual of Mass and liturgy. The reciting of the Nicene or Apostle’s Creed and Gospel messages are our reminders and spiritual nourishment. The sharing of the body and blood (bread and wine) of Jesus also reminds us that we are now Jesus’s body. This is what we mean when we say that we see Jesus in others around us. One of the great gifts of Catholicism is the gift of community. We see others as a part of what we do as well. God’s Kingdom is a community where all feel equally valued and aligned to similar values.
During the week, all the Houses have been busily putting the final touches on their Showcase performance to be ready for tonight. I am looking forward to another very enjoyable night of fun.
During this week, we have been undertaking a review of our teaching and learning practices. The College Leadership Team have chosen to do this review above and beyond other EREA reviews, as it is very much focussed on our curriculum and teaching practices. We have had three experts from the Australian Council of Educational Research (ACER) attend the College and interview many staff, visit classrooms and speak to teachers and students. The data they have collected has been collated against the nine domains that Prof Geoff Masters has identified as significant indicators to enhance school improvement. The nine domains include:
- An explicit improvement agenda
- Analysis and discussion of data to improve student outcomes
- A culture that promotes learning
- Targeted use of school resources
- An expert teaching team
- Systematic curriculum delivery
- Differentiated teaching and learning
- Effective pedagogical practices
- School-community partnerships.
We will receive a report from the team and use this to set our explicit improvement agenda and College priorities into the future. We would like to be able to undertake such a review every five years to seek evidence in our improvement and areas of challenge. This data will allow us to constantly review what we need to consider continuing to improve as a school.
Last night, we welcomed our new students who will be joining us in 2019. There was a mixture of students across all year levels, but most were from Year 5 or Year 7. It was an opportunity for the young men and their parents to meet with their House Deans and the Big Brothers for next year. There were many excited young men and I am sure that the night was useful to them. It was also an opportunity for the College Leadership to meet with the parents of the new students as well.
Our College Track and Field team competed in the AIC Track and Field Championships on Monday and Tuesday. Our students tried hard over both days and it was pleasing to see so many of them achieve personal bests. I would like to thank all the coaches for their efforts in training our young men and to each young man for representing our College and trying to the best of your abilities. Our team will be back “bigger and better” next year.
Live Jesus in our Hearts!
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