The Gospel reading of Thomas the Doubting is a familiar one, retelling the story of how Thomas found a belief in the Risen Christ difficult without having seen him with his own eyes. It’s a story I remember fondly as I recall my own father calling me a “Doubting Thomas”, when I dared to question him in my youth. 

Maria Potter, principal of Sacred Heart College, Lower Hutt.

“Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.” 

Thomas needed tangible proof that Christ had, in fact, risen from the dead, and would not take the other disciples at their word. 

Fast forward a couple of millennia, and we are all asked to believe without seeing. It is a familiar scene from the Bible, because it is so relatable, and I am sure we all know someone like Thomas, or perhaps have been a Thomas ourselves. All we have today are the Scriptures to encourage us to believe in God. In the end, however, the choice to accept the words of the Bible is ours. 

This has led me to reflect upon where the tangible signs of a Risen Christ are for us. Working in a school has many challenges, but it can also be richly rewarding, and it is at school where I find moments of true beauty that reinforce my belief: 

• When I see our staff rally around to support another staff member who is unwell or struggling with their workload or home pressures.
• When I see students give service to the community, donate of their time, or simply share a smile with someone who is lonely.
• When I see an embrace at the school gate, and hear kind words as caregivers drop off our students; many a time I have heard “I love you” or “Have a great day”. 
• When I see students and staff members laughing together, greeting each other warmly, or discussing a task in class. 

These moments, in which we bear witness to the Lord’s presence among us, and find him within the people around us, are the tangible invitations to believe that we need. It is, therefore, vitally important that we not only take notice of these moments when our faith runs deep, but also at those times when it does not.  

Belief cannot be forced, and we simply cannot convince a doubting Thomas with stories and Scripture. However, experience of working in a school has taught me that our words and actions can help. 

We have all read the statistic that tells us overwhelmingly that New Zealand is becoming less religious, and that there is a sharp fall in the number of people identifying with any religion.  

In our Catholic schools, we are seeing this effect too. Increasingly, students we teach are unchurched, and we have become the only church that many of our students experience. Some would argue that it is the parents’ role to teach religion, and many do this well, but the increasing busyness of 
modern-day life often prohibits this from happening. 

So, as a school, we have an amazing opportunity to do that teaching and modelling — to evangelise — and we do this both overtly and covertly. Masses, liturgies, and daily prayer are a component of this teaching, but more important than this is our way of being. The values we have, and the emphasis on respect for all, regardless of belief, race or social status, are keys to students wanting to be part of what we have and do. We want them to see us as people who put their faith into action. Action that is simple, daily, and achievable by all. 

Importantly, our youth need to see that they can contribute in some way, and that they, in fact, have something significant to contribute. They are not part of the solution; they are the solution.  

The Church has a challenge ahead; it is not a new challenge, but it is a challenge we need to embrace and meet head on. 

Blessed are we who have not seen, and yet still we believe. 

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In our modern, connected world, where it is easy to take offence, we seem to have fallen into the habit of limiting how many times we forgive each other. 

Maria Neville-Foster

Working with young people over the last number of years, I have seen how they struggle with emotion around friendships and relationships with their peers. 

The online environment has added extra pressure to the situation, and unfortunately it nearly always comes back to a negative emotion. 

That negativity drives a certain type of retaliatory behaviour that often results in them receiving negative feedback. This, in turn, can get them into difficulties, and have an adverse effect on their well-being. 

They don’t feel good about themselves when they are in that space, which is understandable. Who would be able to function normally feeling like that? 

To address this issue, I believe we need more conversations and focus on what it means to forgive. 

In the Sacrament of Reconciliation, we ask God for forgiveness for our sins. We make sure we mend our relationships with him if we’ve done wrong or we’ve not followed the teachings of the Bible. We do that very naturally, but actually we need to start practising that in our own lives. 

As Catholics, we believe that God is in everyone, so shouldn’t we continue to be forgiving? No matter how many times you go back to God and Jesus, they’ll always forgive you. It’s unlimited, so why do we put a limit on how many times we forgive someone else?  

Young people often have a very one-sided understanding of what forgiveness means. They see it as letting someone who wronged them off the hook, whereas I see it as giving a gift to yourself. 

When you forgive someone, you’re not giving them something, you’re actually giving yourself something. You’re releasing yourself from that connection of negativity and discomfort, or just that anger. 

Everyone knows how to express anger, but when you are released from that anger, your well-being is nourished. 

I’ve had some young people say: “Oh, but I don’t want to forgive, I want to hold grudges.” It is a stubbornness that comes through, but what if we became stubborn with forgiveness? Wouldn’t that be a different world? 

It is our job as Catholic educators to bring God back into this space. However, this concept is not just limited to Catholics. Even if you are not religious, you can seek to bring light back into the situation.  

Ephesians 4:31-32 reminds us to “Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as, in Christ, God forgave you”. 

When we do wrong, it can have an impact on everyone around us. Admitting this, and asking for forgiveness, is a powerful action to learn.  

If we all practised forgiveness, the world would be a much more peaceful place. If we don’t teach our young people to forgive, how can we ever expect to get there? 

As Martin Luther King, Jr said: “Forgiveness is not an occasional act; it is a constant attitude.”  

When we find ourselves in situations that require us to forgive, we need to ask ourselves: “What would Jesus do?” 

Maria Neville-Foster is principal of Sacred Heart Girls’ College in Napier. 

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In recent years, the Mission Sisters in Aotearoa, New Zealand have been hosting student leadership camps annually for the head students of their Mission secondary schools. These have been under the direction of Sr Anne Sklenars, RNDM.  The purpose has been to share more deeply with college leaders aspects of the charism for individual spiritual nourishment through tangible and practical opportunities to engage with the teachings of foundress, Euphrasie Barbier, and to challenge the student leaders to take the missionary spirit and zeal back with them to their schools.  

Paula Wells, Tumuaki, Sacred Heart Girls’ College New Plymouth.

The fearless, extensive missionary experiences of the Mission Sisters, being graciously completely present for those most in need and being compassionate companions, sometimes in the most extraordinarily challenging of circumstances, is the epitome of discipleship. Their devotion to contemplation, communion and mission provides a highly-attuned foundation from which accompaniment, in its purest form, manifests itself. 

An important aspect of the camp is the students being hospitable to one another. Things are simple. The accommodation is adequate, yet comfortable. The food is self-catered, with a roster that enables students to plan in advance how they might nourish others. They work collaboratively in preparing kai and serving one another. The environment is nestled in nature. Paring back, slowing down, noticing and being appreciative, form part of the existential essence of the Mission Sisters’ contemplative spirit, and the simple beauty of the leadership camp, in its physical sense, provides a purposeful backdrop. 

This year, the student leaders closely examined The Visitation, and related the experiences of Mary and Elizabeth, from an historical and biblical perspective, before applying the learnings contextually to their present-day lives and experiences. It is in being wholly present, in communion,  that we can be attuned with those in our presence, accepting and understanding who another is in that moment of vulnerability, without judgement. It is in that state that one can walk alongside the marginalised, inconspicuously, unwaveringly, being a conduit for the Holy Spirit.  

A special guest was Shanti Mathias, a young Christian academic, who writes a regular column in Tui Motu. Shanti spoke of her inter-cultural upbringing, and her life of faith now being lived out as a student at Victoria University. Eloquent, energetic and engaging, Shanti mesmerised the student leaders in sharing of herself with a freedom of expression that both transcended and liberated the young faithful. Her gift to them was one of being totally in communion, present, effervescent, a modern-day example of a joyful disciple of Jesus Christ.  

Students were challenged to consider the learnings they had gleaned from these trailblazing feminine role models, and to plan how they would incorporate missionary zeal in little and big ways into their “everyday”. Within school groups, college leaders planned initiatives and projects to take back to their schools, and they presented their intentions to one another for critique and encouragement. Thank you to the Mission Sisters for engaging with the highly capable, committed Catholic student leaders of our colleges. Thank you for being present in communion with them, for sharing in the charism, for nurturing and uplifting them, and for entrusting them to keep the spirit of mission alive in our schools. 

The post Nurturing everyday missionaries appeared first on NZ Catholic Newspaper.

Patrick Walsh

Within schools, growing levels of anxiety of students, the negative impact of social media on self-esteem, cyberbullying, ready access to graphic pornography, and substance abuse are also growing concerns.

These are confronting issues and the stakes are high. These issues cause considerable soul searching and fierce debate. It is reassuring that Catholic schools, which are
Christ-centred and Gospel-focused, have an inbuilt blueprint to address these matters. The response nationally is various iterations of faith, service and community. Our Catholic schools provide the anchor and compass on how to frame a response including:
• Every person is created in the image of God, and is loved irrespective of race, gender, sexual orientation and socio-economic circumstances. All people are, therefore, deserving of our respect and love. Christ did not discriminate in the outpouring of his love, including for those who harmed him. He is our role model.

• We recognise sickness and death as the natural path of all humans. We embrace the sick and dying through charity, compassion and karakia.

• As Catholics, we listen to the “cry of the poor” and respond as Jesus called us to. We know those in material need are our brothers and sisters in Christ, and we are his hands and feet in the world.

• Human life is sacred and a gift from God, whether still in the womb or terminally ill. This  shapes our worldview on abortion and euthanasia.

• Your body is a temple of the Lord. What he made in you is good, and he has a plan for you which will bring you real happiness and satisfaction.

You will find messages like the above in school newsletters, spoken by principals at assemblies,  and in board reports to school communities. They are distinctly Catholic, and clearly signal to students the Catholic perspective and view and moral compass of the school.

Contemporary secular education experts have devised programmes and strategies to address student issues, including mindfulness, restorative practice and retreats. They have merit, and enjoy a high measure of success. They are, however, not new, and often overlook the rich traditions and practices of the Church which have
worked for centuries. High quality meditation and prayer, such as Taize, and spiritual guidance achieve results as effective as mindfulness. The acts of forgiveness and reconciliation have always been central to Catholic schools, but are now in part reinvented as restorative practices.

Likewise, the rite of reconciliation has a very therapeutic and healing effect upon the person confessing that is not too dissimilar to counselling. I am not suggesting that the two are mutually exclusive or that one is superior to the other. The key message
is that Catholic schools have already a well-spring of practices and rituals
which can support our tamariki’s needs, in addition to these modern practices.

I have been to many secular retreats where we are offered professional input, followed by silent time to reflect and plan. Far from being a novel experience, the format and structure is identical to what we have been offering in our Catholic schools for decades.

There is a growing despondency among young people about their future. They are too often fed messages from adults in their lives that Covid-19 is here to stay, climate change will destroy the planet and technology will take their jobs.

Catholic schools, however, offer a different paradigm, namely that God has bestowed talents on them, and he calls each by name to use in the service of others. Our message is one of optimism. Catholic schools can be the beacons of hope the
world needs, and create the Kingdom of God here and now, which is the imperative Jesus gave us all.

As a Catholic principal of 18 years, I am proud that our network of Catholic schools is turning out young men and women confident in their God-given talents, committed to social justice, and to making a positive difference in the world.

We must, however, remain vigilant that the prime motivation in this is their personal relationship with Christ, and to fulfil the mission of the Church.

Patrick Walsh is the principal of John Paul College, Rotorua.

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Justin Boyle

As the rector of St Bede’s College, I have adopted the servant-leadership model. The greatest servant leader of all time is Jesus Christ, and I have done my very best to uphold that model throughout my working life. I am keenly aware that one does not attain respect from a position of leadership. You earn it by what you do. Therefore, forming good relationships with people, who show not only empathy and compassion, but also justice, are qualities I believe in. I am also a firm believer in doing the right thing for the right reason, without fear of the consequences.

Our students learn by doing. As stated by the bishop, “A genuine and on-going encounter with Christ gives rise to a desire to know more about him and his teaching. Facilitating that encounter is an essential function of the Catholic school.” (The Catholic Education of School-age Children No. 14) The encounter with Christ doesn’t necessarily happen in a classroom, therefore our challenge as educators in a Catholic school is to create opportunities for students to experience this encounter with Christ.

A mantra we have at St Bede’s College is around the concept that we are not in the game of making St Bede’s great, but creating an environment that gives every boy the opportunity to be great. St Augustine said, “God loves everyone as if they are the only one”, and this is an aspiration we have in the way we deal with the boys.

Everyone matters. Young people need hope: hope that the world they have begun to navigate is preparation for the next world; hope, also, that young people will discover their talents which we, as a college, help them to realise; finally hope in the fact that school days are not the best days of their lives, but preparation for the best days of their lives.

At St Bede’s, our priority is to help parents form their sons into good young men. We also strive to give them learning opportunities, both in and out of the classroom, to prepare them for their adult lives. Part of that is to prepare our students, not only for New Zealand, but also to prepare them for the world, so we welcome students from all over the world. By mixing with other students and by learning different cultures, we believe we prepare our students well for when they leave school.

Our boys are not examined before they are accepted to the college. Rather, they are placed in the school because of their openness to the Catholic and Christian ethos of the college. Boys are tested when they arrive, and our aim is that every student achieves — no matter what their ability — over their five years at high school.

In our college and other schools, the general well-being of the students is a priority. Happy children achieve. Trained counsellors play an important part in the school environment, and students are taught how to deal with disappointments and failure in their lives. At our college, we talk about failure as an opportunity to learn. Personal mistakes are also good learning opportunities for growth and maturity.

A good all-round education that encompasses the spiritual, the academic, the physical and the cultural facets, we think, forms good young people who are equipped for the modern world.

Justin Boyle is the rector of St Bede’s College, Christchurch.

The post Young people need hope appeared first on NZ Catholic Newspaper.

Catherine Gunn

opportunity to be like Mary, and lay out our version of a just and equitable society, and grow our young women to be the generation which will challenge and shape our world into a place of justice and peace? This past year has changed us all in numerous ways, and the changes, especially in education, are not slowing down. Consequently, we are forced to rethink and reimagine, in fundamental ways, the experience of school for students and teachers, and for a Mission School, what does it mean to be like Mary and bring Christ into this world?

Our vision and mission expressed is: Ignite the passion; inspiring young women to change the world — me aro ki te hā o Hineahuone. Such a lofty and aspirational statement raises the question…what kind of woman does this? What kind of woman is this? The proverb, “She is clothed with strength and dignity, and she laughs without fear of the future. When she speaks, her words are wise, and she gives instructions with kindness” provides an image of the kind of young women we shape and form at Sacred Heart Girls’ College to be world changers. Although we usually look to our own mothers as the primary example of “inspired” women, it is the image and example of Mary that captures the essence of a strong, dignified woman of faith, hope and justice.

Mary, whom we meet as a young girl, full of potential, who said “yes” to changing the world, and whom we accompany through her mission, continuing to say “yes”, who greets her kinswoman, Elizabeth, at the Visitation, where we learn of her vision for a transformed world, through the words of the Magnificat: a world of justice, peace and reconciliation. We are fortunate to live in a part of the world where we can exercise choice, claim our right to education, participate in society, earn an income, and live a life that’s free from violence, discrimination and unrest; and we also know this is not the case for all, and the education and formation of women can, in particular, as we have seen through Euphrasie Barbier and her Mission Sisters today, initiate and sustain social change and justice, and indeed change the world.

Therefore, at Sacred Heart Girls’ College, our philosophy is to encourage our young women to influence the world as women of faith, hope and justice: we want them to engage with the big ideas that shape our world; we want them to develop the attitudes and attributes they will need to navigate these big ideas; and we want them to be sufficiently skilled and competent to serve and be in a world that is unpredictable and ever-changing, as a consequence of these big ideas: so who is this 21st century version of Mary?

I am from women less quiet,

women of the shout and the stomp,

testifying wherever they could

make their voices heard.

I am from Miriam and Mary

and Magdalena and from women

unknown and unnamed,

women who carried their prayers

not in books

but in their blood

and in their bones,

women who passed down the

sacred stories

from body to body.

I am from them,

listening for their voices,

aching to hear,

to tell, to cry out,

to make a way for those

yet to come.
(Jan Richardson, adapted from “In the Sanctuary of Women”)

Defying the stereotype of a meek, mild-mannered woman, we encounter Mary throughout the Gospel as a courageous, passionate, visionary woman, who, ultimately, stood at the cross, as she grieved the death of her son: still faithful, courageous and dignified; still hopeful for a better world, and still saying “yes” to justice, as she led the early disciples through difficult and transformative times for the early Church. God often chooses unconventional people for an important task, and the call of Mary was no less radical than the call of Elizabeth, Miriam, Hannah and Judith, all of whom also sang songs of salvation, and victory songs of the oppressed.

For our college, this significant piece of Scripture helps us to focus on what matters most: a culture of learning that emphasises the holistic formation of our learners: balanced, healthy and abundant with opportunities for growth in faith, hope and justice. Indeed, like Mary, we want our wāhine to sing a song of justice and turn their world upside down.

The Magnificat also serves as a pertinent reminder that our mission takes us to places where we may not want to go: to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, welcome the stranger, visit the sick and imprisoned . . . literally and metaphorically, we do this every day for our community: for the students in our learning spaces, for their whānau in their homes, and for the wider community who make the streets their home.

Bringing Christ to the world, like Mary, is hard work, because it’s heart-work: Sacred Heart work! Despite that, “my soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices . . . and the Spirit imbues us every day, with abundant grace, to follow our own calling, as our companion in hope reminds us, “have confidence in God, be humble, love prayer and be very kind” (Euphrasie Barbier, 1789).

Catherine Gunn is principal of Sacred Heart Girls’ College, Hamilton.

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                  Kieran Fouhy

Twenty-seven years earlier, on January 6, 1994, my family were at Mass in a tiny room in Kathmandu, Nepal with a Jesuit priest (dressed in saffron Buddhist robes) and a small group of western worshippers.

An East vs West event?

It was the feast of the Epiphany, where the Magi came from the East bearing gifts . . . Gold (earth), Incense (deity) and Myrrh (death).

Strangely, this Mass brought back childhood memories for me of aspiring to be a Columban missionary and being sent to convert China!

But I remember the scriptural phrase about the magi who were commanded in a dream — “Go back home, but in a different way.“

Not to go around. Not to go forward. But to go back.

The magi were told the universal message of change. Reclaim the past, in order to progress to the future. But do so in a different way.

That is the challenge for our New Zealand schools. The need to prepare for a future without discarding our Christian/Judaic past.

Schools — traditionally conservative institutions — are often reluctant to change because they offer a stability to their students that is often not present in their families. But in the last few decades, schools have been under the wand of what I call educational day-traders. Short sellers. Short term change agents.

Change agents who have short term ideas. They want to remove a sense of the past. They incentivise achievement ahead of long-term character building.

This phenomenon is aptly captured and researched in a recent education report titled “The Education Delusion”.

The report summary would be: There are ideas which are reasonable, but simply un-researched and half-baked with regard to educational change.

Millions of dollars have been thrown at their implementation, and then press statements have been released about being the best in the world. New Zealand is living in a delusion.

Too dramatic? Some examples:

• Witness the millions spent on the maths numeracy project with now lowered international rankings. 2015 (23rd), 2019 (27th).

• Witness the high stakes NCEA assessment — largely internal — being manipulated to give an illusion of progress. No other western country has adopted the NCEA system.

• Witness the growth of modern learning classrooms which group 90 students in a room and, as such, undermine the personal influence of the teacher. Boys are especially disadvantaged in such rooms.

• Witness the systematic rubbing out of the Christian/Judaic tradition from schools and classrooms in small and large ways. (For example, the exclusion of Catholic integrated schools from the recent Government maintenance money.)

The challenges (and opportunities) for our New Zealand Catholic schools are to reclaim our Tradition in order to have a future which is grounded and sustained. There is no future in joining the lemmings headed to the cliff!

I suggest a reclaiming of our Christian/Judaic past in five ways.

1. Reclaim in our assemblies, in classrooms, our students’ human need for deeper meaning, for prayer, for mystery. I think the Catholic Church used to have a mortgage on the word “Mystery”, which filled the gaps of explanation! (“can’t understand because it is a mystery” comment) Students really do need to understand that “Help” is the perfect prayer.

2. Reclaim the intellectual tradition of schools being monasteries of learning. Not credit collection agencies. But places where text and context slug it out. Places where discipline leads to discernment. Places where the structures of learning and the syllabi of learning are the backbone. Places where thought and theology are normalised.

3. Reclaim the teacher as being an educator. Not the facilitator of mutual ignorance, but the person of influence who owns his/her class. How many founders of religious orders said of their members — “you must love your students before you teach your students”.

4. Reclaim the view that our schools are to serve (and be served by) the village. We need to find ways that parents — as first educators — can be “enrolled” in the school without taking over as entitled stakeholders. Students need to see service in, and to, their community as a normalised state of mind. Teachers would serve their classes by being given freedom to teach.

5. Reclaim the notion that schools are places of character formation. Respect for others with manners, in dress, in language, in civil behaviour, in ethnic and economic differences, etc. — are as important as respect for scholarship and achievement. Turning up daily is a reflection of our Christian sense of presence.

I often wonder if the three magi had come, not from the eastern capitals of Iran, but from the western capitals of Northern and Southern Hemispheres — what “gifts” would they bring?

Would they bring their national treasures of debt (not gold), secularism (not incense), individualism (not myrrh)?

Go back home in a different way.

Kieran F. Fouhy is headmaster of St Paul’s College, Ponsonby, and has taught in Catholic boys’ colleges for 50 years.

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There are many reasons families look for a Catholic secondary school education. A faith-based, traditional education, with an emphasis on pastoral care and community, is attractive to many. Most Catholic secondary schools have waiting lists and are unable to keep up with demand.

James Bentley

Since the early days of integration, with the odd exception, many of our schools faced falling rolls, and were not performing to acceptable academic standards. Many Catholic families stayed loyal to their local Catholic schools, but the reality was that far more looked to the state or private system for the education of their children.

The changes over the last 25 years have been vast. From Pompallier in the north to Verdon in the south, our Catholic network of schools are popular because they provide outstanding education outcomes for their students. In some regions, our Catholic schools regularly academically outperform their nearby state and private school colleagues.

Catholic schools have always been highly competitive on the sporting stage, and in recent years Catholic schools have been crowned national champions in Girls Hockey, Girls Football, Boys Waterpolo, Boys Rugby and Boys Football. In 2018, Rosmini College won the national boys basketball title after defeating St Patrick’s College, Wellington, in the final. Catholic schools are a force to be reckoned with in sport.

Kapahaka, music, theatre, art and drama all thrive across our schools, as our students’ diverse interests are catered for.

Every Catholic school is unique, each flourishing under its own charism, and identity.

The reasons for the success of our schools vary from school to school, and from region to region, but we all have several things in common:

A Christ-centred faith; Our faith-centred education teaches our students, through the Gospel values, that they are not the centre of the world. We aim to make our students outward-focused, and aware of the needs of others. This is central to our mission as schools.

Academic excellence; With outstanding teachers and clear expectations, students in our Catholic schools have high academic ambitions. Religious studies as an NCEA (and now scholarship) subject also provides our senior students with a subject, which is not only rigorous, but is something they are good at, due to the foundational knowledge they have gained in their time in our schools.

All children matter; Our schools cater for all students, regardless of their abilities and difference. We strive to ensure every child has the opportunity to thrive and achieve their goals, whatever they may be.

Strong pastoral systems; All schools care about their students and do their utmost to support them. The extra dimension of Catholic schools is the ability to use our faith to foster inclusiveness, love and support. We also have the ability to call on our Church in times of need.

Community; At our college, we are fond of the saying that “we not only enrol the boy, but we enrol the family”. All our schools have similar mantras, and have supportive and involved communities that work alongside the school in taking responsibility for their child’s education.

Strong Governance; Committed proprietors have enabled our schools to flourish. Matched with dedicated and motivated boards of trustees, our schools have been able to offer outstanding outcomes for our students.

Leadership; Our Catholic schools are blessed with strong leadership. Over time, this institutional knowledge and experience has been passed on to the next generation of principals. Personally, I was blessed to learn from Mr Kieran Fouhy (St Peter’s College Auckland 1989-2016, St gPaul’s College — current). His leadership has also influenced the current principals of Marist College, Sacred Heart College, Auckland, St Thomas of Canterbury, St Bernard’s College and De La Salle College.

This leadership has, over the past decade and a half, seen experienced Catholic principals Paul Ferris (ex-Kavanagh College), Patrick Walsh (John Paul College) and Sandy Pasley (Baradene College) recognised by their secondary peers with their respective elections to the position of president of the Secondary Principals’ Association of New Zealand.

Our success in being able to offer an outstanding all-round education to our boys and girls, whilst also developing their relationship with Christ, is something special.

Humility prevents my colleagues from celebrating our sector’s success too openly, therefore I have taken it on myself to do so, because this is something of which we can all be extremely proud.

James Bentley is headmaster of St Peter’s College, Epsom, Auckland.

The post Celebrating Catholic Schools appeared first on NZ Catholic Newspaper.

Andrew Murray St Mary’s College, Wellington

The parable is told in Luke 10:29– 37: A man going from Jerusalem to Jericho is attacked by robbers who strip him and beat him. A priest and a Levite pass by without helping him. A Samaritan, however, stops and cares for him, taking him to an inn, where the Samaritan pays for his care. It is a story that has stayed with me for many reasons throughout my leadership journey. I am not sure if it is because I once taught in a school called “Good Samaritan”, or the characters in the Gospel story all resound with me. I think we all may have played one or other of the characters in our time.

Each day, as a school leader, we are challenged to prioritise people over policy, procedures, and programmes. A purposeful and powerful vision for the future is an essential attribute for an outstanding leader. Sometimes, the benchmarks, strategic plans, and initiatives become the end instead of the means to the end. We can get lost in these and pass our people by.

Just recently, I was working with another principal on a way to deliver the National Education and Learning Priorities (NELP) and the Tertiary Education Strategy (TES) set out in the Government’s priorities over the next 18 months. It was a remarkable and worthwhile piece of mahi. What I noted, however, was that the focus was on the protocol instead of the people.

The best school leaders are not those who implement the best programmes; rather, they are those who empower their people to grow and lead. Getting things done without growing those responsible for executing the mahi is a way to short-term success and long-term failure. In this piece of work, I had walked right past the injured man on the road.

It took great courage for the Samaritan in this Gospel story to help the man on the side of the road. He had no idea if the robbers were still around. When I am working with my team, I often have them share with me one difficult conversation they have been avoiding, whether it is something they need to discuss with another individual, the staff, or a parent. I ask them to reflect on why that korero has not happened. Just like the Levite or priest, there is always a reason not to cross the road and do the difficult thing. It is easy to respond: “I’m too busy,” or “It won’t help anyway.”

I do not apologise for my directness in how I coach from there. I say, “Every time you choose to avoid a difficult conversation, it is a selfish decision. Why? Because the only person who could possibly benefit from avoiding a difficult conversation is you.” It is vital that, when we participate in hui, we do so through the lens of helping others, and helping the kura grow. Every difficult conversation represents a possibility for us to lead and an opportunity for the other person to better serve.

Maybe this story resonates with me because I want to be the very best school leader I can be. Why? Because for me being a principal (or a teacher, for that matter) is more than a job, it is a vocation. I do not go to work to produce something, to sell something, or to manage something. I go to work to make a difference, and that difference is measured in people’s lives. Just like the Samaritan.

What I do, the decisions I make, the school culture I create, the way I lead, will make a difference in countless people’s lives. It can make a difference to the earning capacity of a young person; it can make a difference to a young person’s sense of self-worth; to their well-being and to their family. The sense of responsibility is huge. What I do know is that helping those struggling by the side of the road is what we are all about. Some days I am tempted to be the Levite or the priest, but most often I am the Samaritan, and that is the challenge we all have.

Andrew Murray is principal of St Mary’s College, Wellington.

The post The challenge to prioritise people over policy appeared first on NZ Catholic Newspaper.

A few years ago, I wrote a school newsletter piece about the previous Sunday’s Gospel, the well-known Scripture reading “The Vine and the Branches” (John 15:1-17).

Kavanagh College principal Kate Nicholson

At the time, when I was listening to this passage and, probably influenced by my plant science background, I remember thinking about the need for the vine to have the right environmental conditions to bear fruit, be pruned and stimulate new growth. And so, I wrote about the analogy where Catholic education is like the quality of the soil that provides the vine with all it needs to thrive and flourish.

I often think about that analogy in my privileged work as a Catholic secondary school principal. Young people, our young vines, are growing up in an environment where they are very exposed to the elements.

Connection, through technology, has the danger of creating an environment of materialism and individualism, and where “if it feels good and makes you happy, then just do it” can become the mantra by which they live.

Many of our teenagers live their lives through an “Instagram lens”, where carefully curated and posed photos cause them to think that their life should be as wonderfully exciting, successful, and happy 24/7, as those whom they follow. Therefore, the downside of our digitally-connected world is that it can create unrealistic expectations and, in my opinion, has influenced the resilience and mental health of our teenagers. Instead of the outward-looking view we would expect from global connection, it can cause our children to become very inward-looking and dissatisfied with what they see.

Catholic education, done well, can provide a healthy protection against these damaging environmental elements to which our young people are exposed. Faith in action within our schools gives an alternative view of the world around us. Looking outward, putting others first through social justice actions, encouraging hope, learning to think critically, and keeping a “what would Jesus do” lens on everyday life, gives our young people protection against the elements, and allows them to grow stronger in the face of challenges, creating a more positive view of themselves. Schools have become the “go-to” for governments wanting to create social change, and the work schools are being asked to do — to
help fix social issues and produce better future communities — grows every year. While some in education may complain about these requests taking time away from the curriculum, Catholic schools consider that creating a world with respect for ourselves, each other, and our environment, is our mission.

Catholic schools’ pastoral care is second-to-none, and the belief that every child is made in the image and likeness of God influences the way we prioritise relationships, belonging, identity, and inclusiveness. Many of our schools become a successful “fresh start” for those who arrive somewhat battle-scarred from previous experiences. Rather than conflicting with the aim of delivering curriculum, our high-quality pastoral care becomes the foundational support that increases academic outcomes. Media reports often point to the fact that Catholic secondary schools in New Zealand are consistent in providing excellent academic results, as compared with state schools. What they omit to report, because it is not always visible from the outside, is that our faith-based pastoral care is the “how” of these excellent academic outcomes.

We are about more than curriculum and assessment. We are about contributing to the Kingdom of God on earth. We are about providing the nutrients, the water, the soil structure, and the protection against the elements, that will allow the young vines in our care to grow strong, flourish and bear much fruit.

Kate Nicholson is principal of Kavanagh College, Dunedin.

The post Pastoral care key for academic success appeared first on NZ Catholic Newspaper.