St Edmund’s College Canberra, Eddies, SEC; all terms used by those in our community to make reference to who we are.
Principals and School Leadership teams constantly evaluate and ponder the question of who we are in our community. Are we religious, are we sporting, are we pastoral or academic? Are we traditional and cultured, or progressive and modern? Are we a good school, producing good humans, who provide a good service to those in our local and global communities? Whatever it is you think about the answers to these questions, I think we can all agree that St Edmund’s, Eddies, SEC, is diverse, and that we have boys from all walks of life who get educated within these walls.
So, while we are all unique, different, diverse, and we celebrate this, like any successful business or institution, we do need to have a single, common set of standards and expectations that surpasses our individuality, and unites us together.
We must not only have, but live out theses clear standards and expectations around our behavior, so that no matter how outsiders classify us, we always have a clear and definitive answer to the question, Who are we? “We are men of vibrant spirit and strong character.”
I’m really excited that this term, we have been able to launch our Statement of Eddies Pride. This is an improved, more aspirational version of what we have previously known as the school rules or the Non Negotiables. The College Leadership Team, College Captains, our House Captains and House Vice Captains, and some surveys with primary students, have all contributed to the Statement of Eddies Pride. We wanted to create a new set of expectations for our students, because unlike previous school rules, we wanted to give our students more of a voice and sense of autonomy in creating them. Ultimately, we believe if the student body are involved in creating this set of moral and ethical expectations, they will feel a much greater sense commitment and desire to hold themselves accountable in living them out.
Ensuring students and teachers alike meet the expectations outlined in the Statement of Eddies Pride, will successfully determine our daily actions and interactions with one another, measure the strength of our character and shape our hearts and minds for the future. I fear that as French Author, philosopher and journalist, Albert Camus, stated ‘ Man without high expectations, a strong moral compass, or ethical code of conduct is a wild beast, loosed upon this world’.
The Statement of Eddies Pride has been developed in conjunction with the school wide positive psychology framework. It was launched at the beginning of this year and Martin Seligman’s PERMA+H framework is the foundation by which the Personal Formation Program was developed.
Therefore, the Statement of Eddies Pride acronym is linked to 5 of the Positive Psychology PERMA domains. Understanding this will help us redefine what we mean when we say ‘we have Eddies Pride’.
Students will be awarded in House group contexts when they can demonstrate the following:
P in PRIDE is linked to the domain of POSITIVE EMOTIONS
R is linked to the domain of Relationships
I is linked to Identity, understanding the role we play in the world and therefore giving us a sense of meaning and purpose.
D is linked to Developing a growth Mindset and Desire for learning, so we feel a sense of accomplishment
E is linked to Engagement, so that we can use our strengths to meet the challenges that we will face, and see the relevance in our daily activities and interactions.
I invite you to all spend time as a family reading through and making sure our boys have a clear understanding of our Statement of Eddies Pride and how they can live out these expectations on a daily basis.
Leanne Gair
Head of Treacy House