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Providing For Children In A Catholic School: A Vision For All Staff & Governors (A Dickinson September 2012) The Part Timers who worked in the cotton mills of Shaw and attended school the other half of the day – it was parents of such children – poor as they where – who built our school! “Those who are in charge of Catholic Schools are to ensure --- that the formation given in them is, in its academic standards, at least as outstanding as that in other schools in the area” !!!! Canon 806 of the catholic Church “A good school provides a rounded education for the whole person. And a good Catholic school, over and above this, should help all its students to become saints.” Pope Benedict speaking at “The Big Assembly” 17th Sept 2010 Put simply – do we need any more motivation than this in our strive for excellence for our children. We are caretakers of a very special heritage that we have inherited – and in turn will pass on to another generation. That mission – that vision – remains the same – and the role we have is nothing less than Sacred, To prepare the children for saints – that indeed they are supernatural in their creation – on a journey back to God the Father. As such – “outstanding” is merely the bottom rung of the ladder for us in a Catholic School – we must do all we can above this – in all our abilities – to strive for excellence. This is why it is enshrined in Canon law that a catholic School should be at least (AT LEAST) as outstanding as other schools in the area! “Education is integral to the mission of the Church to proclaim the Good News. First and foremost every Catholic educational institution is a place to encounter the living God who in Jesus Christ reveals his transforming love and truth.” Conference Hall of the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. 17 April 2008 The Catholic School is central to the mission of the church – a place through which they are able to encounter adults who bear witness to Christ and where in all their learning they can come to know God and the Glory of his creation. We believe that there is no such thing as a “secular” curriculum! ALL learning and all that goes on in a catholic school is part of that process that helps a child to grow and to come to know and love God and his creation. This should never be restricted to simply an specific religious education nor the planned or spontaneous act of worship. Learning is all about the world they live in and we believe that this is GOD’S WORLD. So – all learning they encounter in a catholic School is a Holy curriculum and part of our “religious Education”. The holistic approach is then taken and it provides in every way for every child and this is why our Catholic education also provides inclusively and equally for children of any faith in our school – for it is based on the premise that it is God’s world WITH THE ONE GOD and whilst Religion may be seen across the world to divide – Spirituality unites! It is the Spirit which unites us therefore as we build community and strive for excellence – for all children! This is also why the school, in preparing children in such a way – with such a responsibility – not only serves the purpose or mission the church created our school in – it ensures that our children are able to able to make a vital contribution to the mission of the Church and to truly serve society. In the words of Pope Benedict “the dignity of education lies in fostering the true perfection and happiness of those to be educated” and it is happy, perfect children in all the Glory of their creation that we must strive for. Archbishop J. Michael Miller, CSB identifies from a repeated papal and Roman documents that there must be certain characteristics present for a school to be considered “Catholic” These I summarize here as: 1. Inspired by a Supernatural Vision The Church sees education as a process that, in light of man's transcendent destiny, forms the whole child and seeks to fix his or her eyes on heaven. The specific purpose of a Catholic education is the formation of boys and girls who will be good citizens of this world, loving God and neighbour and enriching society with the leaven of the gospel, and who will also be citizens of the world to come, thus fulfilling their destiny to become saints. 2. Founded on a Christian Anthropology Emphasis on the supernatural destiny of students brings with it a profound appreciation of the need to perfect children in all their dimensions as images of God (cf. Gen. 1:26-27). Catholic theology teaches that grace builds on nature. Because of this complementarity of the natural and the supernatural, Catholic educators should have a sound understanding of the human person that addresses the requirements of both the natural and the supernatural perfection of the children entrusted to their care. 3. Animated by Communion and Community A third mark of Catholicity is the emphasis on the school as a community – a community of persons and, even more to the point, "a genuine community of faith." Such an emphasis proposes an alternative model for Catholic schools to that of an individualistic society. This communal dimension is rooted both in the social nature of the human person and in the reality of the Church as "the home and the school of communion." That the Catholic school is an educational community "is one of the most enriching developments for the contemporary school." 4. Imbued with a Catholic Worldview throughout its Curriculum A fourth distinctive characteristic of Catholic schools is that the "spirit of Catholicism" should permeate the entire curriculum. Catholic education is "intentionally directed to the growth of the whole person." An integral education aims to develop gradually every capability of every student: his or her intellectual, physical, psychological, moral, and religious capacities. Vatican documents speak of an education that responds to all the needs of the human person. 5. Sustained by Gospel Witness A final indicator of a school's authentic catholicity is the vital witness of its teachers and administrators. With them lies the primary responsibility for creating a Christian school climate, as individuals and as a community. Indeed, "it depends chiefly on them whether the Catholic school achieves its purpose." Consequently the Holy See's documents pay a great deal of attention to the vocation of teachers and their participation in the Church's evangelizing mission. Theirs is a supernatural calling and not simply the exercise of a profession. "The nobility of the task to which teachers are called demands that, in imitation of Christ, the only Teacher, they reveal the Christian message not only by word but also by every gesture of their behaviour." It is in our realization of these characteristics that we create what is readily referred to as our Catholic “ETHOS”. So many visitors and members of our community refer to the special ethos and yet often have no full understanding of what this is – only that they can feel it and that it is something special. They often talk of the lovely atmosphere, good behaviour, caring nature etc etc and many other things too! To summarize those Characteristics and to understand them is to reflect on what it is that creates that special ethos. Our Mission is to be clear in our Catholic provision that: Children are on a journey to Sainthood – nothing less and therefore we fix our eyes on Heaven in our inspiration to help them on their journey there. We seek to provide for and perfect every child equally in absolutely everything we do The school is a true community of faith Our provision res[ponds to all of the child’s needs – the provision and the Spirit of Catholicism permeates all aspects of the curriculum and all aspects of school life All who work and volunteer in this school have a supernatural calling by God himself and as such, in imitation of Christ, the Invisible Teacher in every room of this school, we seek to reveal the Christian message not just by word and by teaching but in every gesture of our behaviour. In so doing we enable ourselves to be what Pope John Paul II described as “A window for children to be able to see out of onto the Divine”! Thus – we are witnesses to Christ in all that we say and do! It becomes easy therefore, to appreciate why Religious Education in our school must never simply be one subject among many, but the foundation of the entire educational process. The beliefs and values studied in Catholic Religious Education inspire and draw together every aspect of the life of a catholic school. “We are committed to classroom RE, then, because all pupils have the right to receive an overall education which will enable them, in the light of the faith of the Church, to engage with the deepest questions of life and find reasons for the hope which is within them” (1 Peter 3.15). Diocese of Westminster (Education) Issued Thursday 5th May 2000 Religious education is, then, the core subject in a Catholic school, indeed – it is The Core Of The Core! If this kind of classroom RE is to be achieved, then it is to be taught, developed and resourced with the same commitment as any other subject and it should be witnessed in all areas of planning, learning, curriculum, resourcing, support and assessment. “Excellence in Religious Education, then, will be characterised by clarity of succinct religious learning objectives and of key content, by appropriate methodologies, rigour, richness of resources, achievement of identified outcomes and accurate methods of assessment. Classroom RE will be a challenging educational engagement between the pupil, the teacher and the authentic subject material.” When classroom RE displays these educational characteristics, then its specific contribution to the life of the Catholic school, which as a whole is a Catechetical community, becomes apparent. Then the complementarity of the various roles which contribute to the life of the school is also clarified: the role of the leadership of the school as a catechetical community, of the school and the partnership in the religious life of the pupils between the school, the parishes and the families. All these have a part to play in the handing on of faith and its expression and exploration in daily life. In conclusion, it is clear that we have a most responsible, vocational role in choosing to work in a catholic School – whatever our role is. It is vital, valued and appreciated! Whilst responsible, it is also joyous and, no matter what the external pressures of a modern educational system, it is so essential that none of us lose sight of this vision. That mission – in which our school was founded – continues. We have had a calling, whether we realise it or not, and we should never lose sight of the entrusted, valuable mission we are undertaking. It is nothing less than the role entrusted to the many great saints of whom we read and are inspired by. This does not mean we walk boastfully! We know we are far from perfect and full of human weakness – it is human to error! Yet, because we are Christ inspired, we give of our best and strive for excellence and it is in this way that we become worthy of the heritage entrusted to us by our forefathers and worthy of the mission entrusted to us by the Catholic Church and (we believe) by Christ himself.