Principal’s Report

The Mater Christi theme for 2021 was "Who is my neighbour?" and it seems that this question is more poignant than ever. The very core of this theme, from the parable of the Good Samaritan, challenges us to think of those beyond our inner circle. In a year where it would have been easy to wallow in our own isolation, we witnessed students and staff show incredible care for each other in the most difficult of circumstances. They have also continued to raise awareness of what is happening more broadly and challenged us to think about the world they want to build beyond COVID-19. The leadership shown by our students in areas such as action for Climate Change, combatting period poverty and working towards reconciliation with local first nations people has been nothing short of inspirational.

With the support of Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools, the College underwent a review in 2021 and developed a new School Improvement Plan to take us from 2022-2024. After recommendations from our reviewers, staff spent the latter half of Term 2 and all of Term 3 collaboratively developing our plan to strengthen learning, promote well-being and enhance engagement. To complement this plan, we also reviewed our Positions of Leadership and Administration support structures. This is ongoing work as we adapt to the disposition and needs that each new generation of learners presents.

We are particularly mindful that COVID-19 presented both challenges and opportunities. Included in the challenges has been maintaining community cohesion during lockdowns, particularly in the areas of staff and student well-being. The sense of community in the College enabled us to stay connected with one another, which was especially important during Term 3. In addition, we needed to facilitate learning for students which was both challenging and accessible - this was enabled by teacher commitment to collaboration and innovation and augmented by technology. It is pleasing to note that the 2021 senior school results placed us in the Top 10 Victorian Catholic schools, and we hope to continue to build on this strong performance.

The College continues to look for ways to improve our infrastructure and to this end we returned to an in-house model of facilities management. This has enabled us to make significant improvements to a number of areas in the grounds and to buildings. One of these was the renovation of an old classroom which is now the Well-being Hub.

It is with great appreciation that I acknowledge the work of the College Executive Team during 2021, particularly our Deputy Principal Mrs Julie Feeney who will complete nearly two decades at the college when she retired in June. I must also acknowledge retiring College Board Chair Mr Paul Kremer, and all Board Directors for going over and above to ensure the College is in a sound position into the future. We are a proud school in the Good Samaritan Benedictine tradition and therefore I gratefully acknowledge the support of the GSE Governing Council, the executive officers and our company members. Thank you also to education support staff, teachers, parents, carers and of course students for their wonderful welcome and extraordinary support in my first year at Mater Christi.