Mission It might seem when we look around our communities that the influence of religious orders such as the Christian Brothers has markedly diminished over the years. Despite the decrease in numbers of brothers, however, the spirit of Edmund Rice is living strong in our community, in schools such as here at St Joseph’s, in Edmund Rice Camps, in the Edmund Rice Asylum Seeker Project and the St Kilda Food Van. This year St Joseph’s College undertook an EREA Renewal which aimed to establish how well we as a College were living up to being a Catholic School in the Edmund Rice tradition. In a wonderful vote of confidence the Renewal affirmed that we were living out the Charter Touchstones (Liberating Education, Gospel Spirituality, Justice and Solidarity, and Inclusive Community) in a sincerely authentic manner, one that is true to our local Geelong community. Part of the way that we do this is by providing our students with experiences through which they explore their beliefs and values and reflect on their place in life, such as through the experiences mentioned below. The team this year has farewelled Mr John Stephensen from the role of Director of Mission and Identity, replaced by Ms Jo Hart. And we welcomed Ms Claire Wrigley to the role of Community Service Coordinator. She has given the role a new energy and has been a hard working addition to this area of the school. A liturgical highlight this year was the full school participation in the Stations of the Cross in Holy Week at a number of locations around the school. Liturgies have been held in times of bereavement for classes, year levels and groups of friends. The Chapel is now open every day for anyone to drop in, and many classes visit for meditation, prayer and viewing the stained glass windows. Curriculum in Religious Education continues to develop, with the next challenge being to create a program for our 2014 Westcourt students. There will be two major foci at Year 9 – “The Women in Jesus’ Life” & “Prayer – a way to communicate.” Another aspect of curriculum in the RE domain is Wellbeing.
This sequential curriculum has been trialled across all year levels in 2013 and will be officially launched in 2014. It is divided into four spheres – social, physical, emotional & future wellbeing, the aim being to meet the needs of our students in each of these areas. Year 11 student, Seb Rawson, had the privilege of attending World Youth Day in Rio with the Melbourne Archdiocesan group. He returned filled with the Spirit, energised and empowered by the amazing experiences he’d had. On his return, Seb wrote: “The time spent there will stay with me forever and the lessons and experiences I gained are immeasurably important to strengthening my faith.” It was humbling and satisfying to learn that the Sudanese Community no longer feel the need for the tutoring program that our students have supported for some eight years. However, there are many other refugees and asylum seekers who have more recently arrived in the area, hence our partnership with Diversitat, Clonard and Sacred Heart Colleges, to support the Refugee Homework Program at Northern Bay College for primary school students. This program began in term four and we look forward to it continuing in 2014.
“Whilst the pilgrimage is now over, we, as former pilgrims and now evangelisers, will go forth and spread the word of World Youth Day.” - Seb Rawson
2013 has seen a change for our staff reflection day. After three years of sending all staff out on community service, we are bringing all staff in for a “Mind, Body, Spirit” day to provide them with experiences which will nourish and develop their own physical, emotional and spiritual journey. Staff have also enjoyed throughout the year professional development in the areas of meditation, the Eucharist and how to lead their students in reflecting more deeply on community service. Jo Hart, Vicki Mills, John Harmon, Claire Wrigley The Mission Team
Stations of the Cross for the Easter Liturgy World Youth Day in Rio
Raising awareness for Asylumn Seekers without a voice
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