Dean of Identity | Mr Charles Brauer

Right Relationships

A key strength with being a faith and learning community is the clear reference points we can trustfully turn towards when encountering points of discernment.  School communities are forever challenged with articulating clear messages to their respective communities to maximise the impact on individuals and groups. Be it messages regarding teaching, learning or social objectives, ensuring stakeholders clearly understand the aims and intentions, and the role they play in enabling these, is critical. As a Catholic school, our compass is set and our messages clear, even before we know what these messages are to be.

As a Terrace Family, particularly within our student body, we are focusing our attention on respectful relationships. Our definition of these relationships, our aspirational relationships and our path to right relationships all point in the same direction, towards the Gospel of Jesus. Often times we might take for granted (I certainly do!) the age-old phrase of ‘treat others as you would like to treated’. For me, this emphasises the driving force behind ensuring right and respectful relationships stems from the power of our shared humanity and the desire to have our dignity affirmed by one another, which is a key tenant of Jesus’ teaching and ministry.

From this perspective, we have been able to readily advocate the intentions of the Federal Government’s National Day of Action against Bullying and Violence. While we shared with the students and staff the intentions of the program, the confronting facts and figures and the strategies we can adopt with dealing with the issue of bullying, it became evident that we are well positioned as a school to keep responding positively to this important issue. As with any family, our Terrace Family is underpinned by right relationships that are centred on the Gospel.

As we continue to tackle the issue of bullying within schools, let us not lose sight of a message that is over two thousand years old and likely to remain resonating for another two thousand:

I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.
• John 13:34

Eddie's Van

This Saturday, Bed Kings Stafford are donating 10% of profits from their Grand Opening to the Eddie's Van.  If you are looking for some new bedding, we'd appreciate the support.