Principal's Letter
Dear Parents, Students and Friends
200 years of Catholic Education in Australia
The official launch of the Bicentenary of Catholic Education in Australia is occurring in each state and territory this month. As the year progresses, there will be opportunities to mark the 200 year anniversary of Catholic Education in Australia. Recently the Archdiocese celebrated with Mass at St Christopher’s Cathedral, Manuka. You can view the Mass here which was celebrated by Archbishop Christopher Prowse.
Today, there are 1,751 Catholic schools educating 768,000 students and employing 98,000 staff. Nearly 40 per cent of Catholic schools are located outside of metropolitan cities in regional, rural, and remote communities. Carroll College is proud to be contributing to the Catholic tradition of delivering high-quality, faith-based education. Our graduates are strong individuals who care deeply about the world and its people, and the contributions they make to all facets of society.
Today, school communities were invited to 'Take Action Together' alongside more
than 60% of Australian schools for the 11th National Day of Action against Bullying and Violence. Carroll College takes bullying seriously, providing students with the necessary skills, strategies, and understandings to recognise what bullying is, how to report it, and where to get help. Our aim is to bring student voice to the forefront. In encouraging students to join the conversation, we aim to empower individuals to speak out and name the behaviours that concern them. Providing a safe and supportive network at the College is our priority for all students.
This morning in Homeroom, all students took part in a ‘Snapshot’ 2021 survey created by the Senior Leadership Team (SLT) as part of the acknowledgement of the National Day of Action against Bullying and Violence. The SLT with the support of our Pastoral Coordinators are keen to gather reliable data to analyse current behavioural patterns within the College. This information will be collated and actions will follow to better support the needs of students across Years 7-12.
Underpinning all that we do in relation to responding to inappropriate behaviours is our Catholic ethos that shapes what we value and the way we care for one another in our day-to-day interactions at the College.
I sometimes hear comments from parents and students around Religious Education and the compulsory nature of RE as an area of study at Carroll College. Why do students need to study Religious Education for HSC? How’s RE going to benefit my child later in life? Another subject could be more beneficial for HSC… and it goes on! Put quite simply, our Catholic faith and traditions are nurturing gifts from within. We are developing every child to be a better human being as they move through the College to adulthood. If this isn’t our goal as parents and teachers, we have missed the mark altogether! Gifts such as charity, authenticity, mercy, honesty, humility, loyalty, patience, understanding, courage, kindness, compassion, and respect are fundamental to our everyday work. These gifts are the touchstones that link directly to our expectations around behaviour and conduct. They are developed over time, modelled explicitly, and central to what we stand for as a Catholic community. At Carroll College, we don’t talk about bullying and violence without reference to the Christian message of love and acceptance of one another, promoting respect, inclusion, diversity, equality, and human dignity.
Our acts of kindness, good humour and gratitude, our moments of conscious
restraint, our willingness to forgive, compromise and tolerate, our confident
acceptance that sometimes our agenda will not prevail: these are all ways to
express and develop the deepest levels of appreciation that are in our hearts.
These are ways of saying
YOU MATTER.
(Dowrick. 2011. Everyday Kindness. P. 42)
With respect and encouragement to you.
Jacqueline Heffernan
Principal
