To the community of St Edmund’s College,
Last Sunday we celebrated the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ. The Gospel for this Solemnity reminds us that the Eucharist is a memorial of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. We believe that Jesus is truly present to us in the elements of bread and wine. Each time we celebrate this sacrament, we prepare for the Kingdom of God. This celebration is the source and summit of the Christian life.
Our school motto, Christus Lux Mea (Christ is My Light) emerges directly from our celebration of the Eucharist – each celebration fills us with the real presence of Christ’s light and at the end of Mass we are called to carry out the Gospel message to our families, neighbours and world so that we, too, have an important role in the task of evangelisation by the faithful witness of our lives. So how does a Catholic school demonstrate a life that is filled with Christ? In an address in September 2017, the Executive Director of Edmund Rice Education Australia, Dr Wayne Tinsey, examined what an education inspired by the message of Christ and inspired by the EREA Touchstones looks like:
“We want you to experience life in its fullness. We want you to know how to love, how to be curious, how to contribute, how to transform your inner and external worlds, how to live honestly, thoughtfully and compassionately.
We want you to acquire the capacity to question, the knowledge of how to use your time on Earth wisely, and the determination to leave the world a better place for you having been in it. We want you to learn to critique our culture and its version of what constitutes a good, a well lived, an important and a meaningful life. We want you to be free to react, choose and engage with the world on your own terms; free to love, to choose truth, to do good, to create the beautiful. But also, free to reject the ugly, the false, the mean spirited and the shallow.
We want you to learn that the liberty you enjoy through the good fortune of your birth, is not license to do whatever you want. Rather, it is freedom to do what you must do for the making of a fairer and more just society. We want you to know that freedom and service are inextricably linked and with privilege comes social responsibility. In a world of emerging walls and closing borders, we hope that you will be free from narrowness and intolerance.
We want you to be happy. We want you to learn, however, that happiness cannot be travelled to, owned, earned, worn or consumed. Rather, it will emerge from the experience of living every minute with love, grace and gratitude; lives of decency, kindness and service and authenticity consistent with their inner moral compass”.
The EREA Touchstones give us ideals authentically linked with the Charism of Edmund Rice and the Christian Brothers which underpins the ministry all EREA schools and educational endeavours. They help us set our direction and define our goals as, following Blessed Edmund’s vision, we continue to reflect and to seek to make the Gospel a living reality in our communities. The Touchstones are: Liberating Education, Justice and Solidarity, Inclusive Community and Gospel Spirituality.
At last week’s Senior College Expo, we presented to our current Year 10 students what a senior school education would look like here at St Edmund’s College. The following capitalised words were used by students themselves in describing their time here at St Edmund’s. We offer a senior education where CONNECTIONS are important – connections to other students in collaborative approaches to work; connections to external educational partners such as ANU and CIT and our ASBA employers, and of course connections to the many peace and justice activities in which our students can immerse themselves, working with people of various communities locally, nationally and internationally.
We offer a senior education where PRIDE is at the forefront – the pride students have of themselves in their own individual achievements and successes; the pride students share in the achievements and successes of their fellow classmates; the pride they have in attaining an apprenticeship or gaining a tertiary entrance; the pride they have in the College and the wider College community. With this sense of pride comes a sense of BROTHERHOOD – standing alongside other St Edmund’s students in the classroom, on the playing field, on stage or wherever this may occur – a brotherhood that is supportive, collaborative and long-lasting.
We offer a senior education where OPPORTUNITIES are significant – we are so very proud of the many opportunities we offer our students in flexible learning arrangements and individual pathways. Our program of acceleration, extension and learning support is extremely strong and caters for specific individual needs and differences. A myriad of opportunities exist in leadership, in our older students working alongside our younger students, in participating in a range of co-curricular activities as well as participating in a genuine and meaningful way in the core mission life of the College. As our College Captain, Zane Hogan, expressed so perfectly in his presentation on the evening, his greatest opportunity here at Eddies has been “doing something which is more than just me”.
I thank our Director of Teaching and Learning, Ms Marianne Geoghegan and our Deputy Principal, Mr Jacob Knowles and our Heads of Faculty, in organising a great evening last Wednesday, highlighting and showcasing the strengths and benefits of an Eddies senior education.
We firmly believe that an education here at St Edmund’s, and particularly a senior education here at the College, allows us to clearly fulfil our motto in being a Christ-filled community and provides an education that is genuinely Catholic and clearly reflects our Touchstones of compassion, love, justice, solidarity and inclusion.
Let us pray that through the Eucharist we may grow into Christ’s life.
Gracious and merciful God,
in a wonderful sacrament, you have given us
a memorial of the passion of your Son Jesus Christ;
grant that we who receive these sacred mysteries
may grow up into him in all things
until we come to your eternal joy;
through our Saviour Jesus Christ
who is alive with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God now and for ever.
Amen
Blessed Edmund Rice, pray for us.
Live Jesus in Our Hearts, forever.
Walkathon
We were given an absolutely beautiful day on Thursday 31 May for our Walkathon. Crisp, clear weather meant that our boys were able to walk comfortably and confidently in their collective endeavour to raise funds for the College. These funds will be directed to much needed improvements to the Br R J Wallace Hall – this is our meeting place and is the hub of the College, so improvements here would give us a suitable space in which to gather as a community. I thank our students and their sponsors for raising over $12,000 so far. I also thank Mr Michael Monagle, our Director of Mission and Identity, and Mr Jacob Knowles, our Deputy Principal, for their tireless work in organising the walkathon, along with the many members of staff who walked with the boys or supervised a crossing or stayed back at school to prepare for lunch and afternoon activities.
Local Heart Art Exhibition
Last weekend two Year 12 students from Canberra Girls Grammar staged an art exhibition, “Local Heart”, in Kingston as part of their International Baccalaureate diploma. The exhibition included works from Year 12 students from other independent and Catholic schools in the local area. Three of our students exhibited work from their sculpture unit, demonstrating their flair and innovation in conception and technical skill. Thank you and congratulations to Louka Mantzouris (Year 12, Haydon), Matthew Brown (Year 12, Rice) and Devoynne Maburuse (Year 12, Mulrooney) for participating in this worthwhile venture. Funds raised were donated to Studio Artes, which provides tailor-made creative activities and life skills for adults living with a wide range of disabilities.
EREA (Edmund Rice Education Australia) Survey
As a parent or carer of a student at St Edmund’s College, we are interested to know the reason you chose St Edmund’s for your son. This survey is part of a wider study of school choice currently under way across Edmund Rice Education Schools Australia (EREA). Your feedback will help us as a member school of EREA plan well for the future. Your comments are important.
All parents were emailed this survey on Tuesday 29 May. There is a link below if you would prefer to access the survey here.
Please take your time to answer the questions thoughtfully. It should only take you between 5 and 10 minutes to complete. Your comments are anonymous and collected by an external consultant – no individual respondent will be identified by the survey. Once all member schools have completed the survey we will look forward to sharing the results with you.
The survey will remain open for one more week. https://www.research.net/r/EREA_School_Choice_Survey_Canberra_2018
End of Term
Please note that the College will be closed on Friday 6 July – there will be no staff on the College site to answer telephone calls or respond to emails. College Reception will be open as normal from Monday 9 July (vacation hours).
Christus Lux Mea
Joe Zavone (Principal)