Marist Charism

Last week, Ms Cher Williams and I attended the Marist Footsteps Retreat in Mittagong, NSW. As a College with a dual Carmelite and Marist charism, the Marist gift and the story of St Marcellin Champagnat define us and guide us in our educational mission. Being able to come together with colleagues from Marist schools across Australia to share and learn together is a privilege. I especially enjoyed visiting the old ‘Juniorate’ buildings where my dad attended school for two years.

The Marist characteristics: simplicity, family spirit, love of work, presence, in the way of Mary, serve as reminders for us at Carmel about how we live, work and learn. Being able to unpack the story of St Marcellin and the brothers’ vision for learning was a powerful reminder of how we can make Jesus known and loved in our work. I look forward to sharing more with our wonderful staff.

Student Agency and Ownership of Learning

On Assembly this week, I spoke about the importance of students taking ownership of their learning. Importantly, I reminded students that they are already in control of their learning journey to a great extent – it is not something they need to wait for. Over the course of 13 years of school education, there will be many variables and changes which may help or hinder: different teachers, friends, classrooms, family commitments and employment, but the one constant is the student.

My challenge for students is to reflect deeply and primarily on this question: “What is your role in your learning outcomes?” When students excitedly tell me that “My teacher gave me an A!”, I remind them that what they actually mean is that they demonstrated knowledge and skills at a standard well above the expected level. Similarly, when students tell me that “My friends distract me,” it is important to ask, “What is your role in this?” 

As we come to the end of Semester 1, and with report cards now available through the Learning Dashboard, all students should be reviewing and discussing their results with parents and families. Please ask your child, “What was your role in this?” Answers may vary:

• I worked really hard on this topic and am really proud of myself!
• I crammed my study the night before – next term I need to practice for a bit longer.
• I went to student-led tutorials on Wednesdays and got some help.
• I made sure that I handed in a really good draft and got lots of feedback about how to improve.
• I realised when you helped me to check my homework last term, I did better than I have before. Thanks!
• I wasn’t diligent when my friends started talking to me and got sucked into their conversation. I should ask my teacher if I can move to a new seat next term.
• I was a bit nervous about asking the school officer in my class for help but it went really well.

I wish you all the best for the school holidays ahead and the rich learning conversations you will have at home. I pray that all in our community will be safe and return to Carmel refreshed and ready to continue their growth in Term 3.

Mr Frank Turtle