We are Faith-centred

"WE KNOW HOW TO BE THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD."

ALoreto Normanhurst education is so much more than the things we learn in class each day. Each day has shaped us into who we are now and has helped us to figure out who we are supposed to be – giving us dreams and aspirations for what we are going to do with ourselves in this world. What we have learnt and experienced during our time here at Loreto has created the foundation for who we know we are called to be.

This foundation was built for us over 400 years ago by the woman we all know and love, Mary Ward. The legacy of her strength, her love, her values, her deep faith and her rebel heart encapsulate what it means to be a Loreto girl. Through her, we know how to stand up in the silence, to be a voice for the voiceless, to show our love in an active and influential way. We know how to be the light of the world. As we leave the halls and classrooms of our beloved school, we need to submit to this feeling to make change and work for justice.

But this comes with a challenge. Navigating our world as an adolescent has never been harder. Technology, social media and rapidly increasing globalisation and secularisation floods us with ideas and concepts that at times are too overwhelming to process and amongst all this, we are here seeking a purpose for ourselves, trying to find something steadfast to grasp onto.

Our generation is going to be the one that will have a lot of cleaning up to do. Our future as a global community depends on the decisions we choose to make now and in the near future. Our Loreto education has prepared us as much as it can, but true passion can only come from first-hand experience. So I urge you, as the leaders of the future, to immerse yourself in the real world. Travel, volunteer, take risks. See how the rest of the world lives, and the daily struggles that people go through each day just to put food on the table. See the impacts of our actions on our climate, talk to someone who has known what true pain feels like.

“It is only then, once we know the world and have really lived in it, that we can, with sincerity, break down barriers to be who we are called to be and do what we are called to do.”

Our Catholic faith invites us to be a servant to everyone around us. To empower minorities and be a voice for the voiceless. To challenge societal norms that don’t sit quite right with us. But it is unfortunate that this Christian message can only go so far. In my role as Liturgy Captain the widespread distrust in our church has never been more apparent to me, and in keeping up-to-date with news and current affairs, it’s obvious why that is the case. Yet it has also become even more clear to me why people are choosing to stay. Instead of turning away from all our church has to offer, recognise the journey of formation that our church is on and trust in it. It is up to us, as women and young people, to help drive this movement towards a truer church, in our actions, our words and the contributions we make to our community and outside our school gates. The way we must do this is real and concrete, making noticeable change and meaningful influence with the teachings and values of Mary Ward at the core of everything that we do.

So, listen to the stirrings of your heart. As we leave these school gates for the last time, remember that we go with the strength and confidence to be women of change and doers of justice. Stay true to yourself and stand up for what you believe in and let all that you do be done in love, a love that burns with a flame that can’t be put out.

CHARLOTTE DUFF-CLARKE Liturgy Captain 2018-2019

We are People-Centred

“PEOPLE DON’T CARE HOW MUCH YOU KNOW, UNTIL THEY KNOW HOW MUCH YOU CARE.”– THEODORE ROOSEVELT

CULTIVATING A CULTURE OF CONNECTION The role of the teacher is considerably more complex than simply a deliverer of content (Bishop and Berryman, 2006). We have come to understand that the cultivation of positive student-teacher relationships is an influential force in a teacher’s ability to enhance student engagement and achievement (Roorda et al., 2011). In these relationships, our students know that their teachers have high expectations of them, yet they value the support and care they provide.

“They especially value the trust we have in them, encouraging them to stretch themselves out of their comfort zone, make mistakes, learn from these and try again.”

According to Professor Stephen Dinham, teachers are required to truly know their students; the best schools are able to demonstrate that their teachers know their students as learners, but more importantly, as people (2017).

Indeed, whilst we know that current educational theory and research loudly advocates the strength and value of strong student-teacher relationships, one need look no further than the classrooms and corridors of Loreto Normanhurst to garner all of the evidence required to support such arguments. It is the trust and strength of the relationships that Loreto girls have with their teachers that underpins the success of our school. For this reason, our staff determined this year that we would further consolidate the strength of our learning model, the Loreto Normanhurst Student Growth Model (LNSGM), by focusing on the theme of ‘Knowing and Growing our Students’. With this focus guiding our work, we set about determining what more we could do to further cultivate the relationships between our teachers and their students.

This journey involved exploring the power of data as a tool to inform practice, utilising it to build clear academic and pastoral profiles of our students. We also explored methods of differentiating our practice to tailor our teaching to meet the diverse needs of students in our care. Such personalised learning is only effective if it comes from a place of truly knowing a student’s needs and motivations. As such, we have committed as a staff to consolidate key elements of our current unique model, such as our growth conversations with students, to maximise every opportunity for staff to act as mentors within these precious relationships. Our year’s work can indeed be synthesised by the powerful words of the educational provocateur, Sir Ken Robinson, “All students are unique individuals with their own hopes, talents, anxieties, fears, passions and aspirations. Engaging them as individuals is the heart of raising achievement.” (2015)

So, how do we continue to build on what is already a thriving model? We need to pave the way to ensure that this model stands the test of time, that it is robust enough to face the challenges of a future unknown, as our students move into a world that is changing at an unprecedented rate. We know that the foundations are strong, but we are keen to engage in exploration of the key learning dispositions that will equip our students for this future, harnessing the power of student voice and self-reflection as a tool to further growth. We also feel that utilising an explicit coaching approach that will elicit authentic goals and aspirations from students is also key to tapping into our students’ true sense of purpose. Such mechanisms can ensure that teachers truly know their students, in turn allowing students to truly know themselves; the ultimate product of our efforts will be the cultivation of a culture of authentic care and connection that will stand the test of time.

MRS LYNN LONG Director of Pastoral Care MS KIERYN BATEMAN Director of Learning