Faith & Culture

As a College, masses and liturgies are an integral part of College life and culture. We recognise the valuable role masses and liturgies play in both our students' spiritual formation and wellbeing, as well as nurturing our communal connectedness as a Terrace Family.

An essential part of our masses and liturgies is to provide students with tangible faith experiences, allowing our Gentlemen of Terrace to be fully included and actively involved in the Sacred. Terrace has a special tradition of student participation and leadership in masses and liturgies. Students are provided opportunities to plan and write prayers, read scripture and lead the service. Our College and House Captains are gifted with the opportunity to be Eucharistic Ministers.

Our annual masses and liturgies include :

• Opening Mass
• Year 12 Induction Liturgy
• St Joseph Feast Day Mass
• Blessed Edmund Rice Day Mass
• Anzac Day Liturgy
• Remembrance Day Liturgy
• Easter Liturgy (End of Term One)
• Justice and Solidarity Liturgy (End of Term Two)
• Inclusive Community Liturgy (End of Term Three)
• Christmas Liturgy (End of Year)

The College is blessed to have a beautiful contemporary Chapel on campus. The Chapel is utilised throughout College life not only for weekly masses, but also for House gatherings and classes. The Chapel is a special part of our student formation, learning and wellbeing, providing students with a tangible space to engage in their personal faith development and experience the Sacred.

The Chapel hosts our weekly Tuesday morning masses, which are open to all members of our Terrace Family – staff, students, parents, and extended community members. Our Tuesday morning masses commence at 7.45am and are presided by Fr Anthony Mellor, Dean of St Stephen’s Cathedral.

The Chapel of the Holy Family is available to past pupils for weddings and other special occasions. If you are interested in hiring the Chapel, please contact Mrs Judy McGuire in the Identity Offices

Daily prayer plays a purposeful and meaningful role in the life of our College. Prayerful moments are woven throughout our students’ day, from morning prayer shared in PC Group to prayer at the start of assemblies and gatherings. At the end of each school day, the College pauses together to share in our College Prayer. Both students and staff recite the prayer as one collective voice, offering gratitude, thanksgiving, unity and love for one another. The words of our College Prayer are an integral reminder to our Gentlemen of Terrace of who they are called to be.

Our College Prayer -

O’ Jesus
Make our hearts so human that others may feel at home with us.
So like yours, that others may feel at home with you.
So forgetful of self, that we might simply become the place where you and they meet.
In the power of your love and in the joy of your friendship.

Live Jesus in our hearts … Forever.
St Joseph … Pray for us.

Within our Terrace Family is the representation of 23 different Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Nations. The Barrambin Yarning Group is the College’s cultural and spiritual program for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students and is led by Cultural Mentor Mr Marlon Riley. The Barrambin Yarning Group provides a safe space for First Nations students to explore and develop their cultural, spiritual and ancestral identities. It is also a time for connection, support and brotherhood through the sharing of stories and traditions.

The Barrambin Yarning Group engage in :

• Cultural dancing and performing
• Cultural workshops, excursions and immersions
• Cultural Collaboration Days with First Nations students from various schools
• Barrambin Family Dinners (for students, parents and families)
• Leading the College in Reconciliation Week and NAIDOC Week
• Leading Acknowledgement of Country at College events, assemblies, masses and liturgies

“We get to learn and explore more about our culture and what we must do as indigenous men for both our culture and in being cultural leaders for Terrace. Barrambin Yarning has helped me develop a deeper desire to learn more spiritually and culturally about my heritage. The land that you stand on will always be Aboriginal land. May you embrace this as much as I do.”

– Eliah Browning, Student, Yuhambeh Country

The College is blessed to have the guidance and knowledge of Cultural Mentor Mr Marlon Riley. Marlon has been an educator at Nguntana-Lui Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultural Studies Centre for over 20 years.

Marlon shares wisdom, stories and culture throughout our College by :

• Providing cultural mentoring and education to students in the Barrambin Yarning Group
• Leading Acknowledgement of Country and smoking ceremonies at College events
• Providing Indigenous perspective in classes across year levels and subject areas
• Facilitating cultural awareness workshops for students and staff
• Working with College staff to provide education around cultural safety and reconciliation

Our Reconciliation artwork, Ever Connected To The Past Boldly We Walk Forward Together, captures the College’s meaningful commitment to build upon our Edmund Rice tradition as we look forward to a future of true reconciliation. The artwork features symbols that reveal our story of tradition, identity, spirituality, reconciliation and hope as we walk in solidarity alongside Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Our Reconciliation Artwork is an integral part of our Terrace identity. The artwork can be seen throughout our College – in classrooms, on sporting jerseys, on signage, framed in offices, and as stickers on books and laptops. Students and staff embrace the artwork as a part of their story.

The St Joseph’s College Reconciliation Artwork is by David Williams of Gilmbaa.

All students and staff at Terrace proudly wear the College’s Reconciliation Badge. This badge symbolises an individual and collective commitment to walk alongside and in solidarity with our First Nations brothers and sisters. The badge features the main symbol from our Reconciliation Artwork. This symbol is representative of our entire Terrace Family – our students, staff, parents and past pupils, all of whom are at the heart of our story and identity. This badge visually represents our culturally safe inclusive community.

Our Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) highlights the College’s 31 priorities for mutual liberation and a truth-telling history for all Australians. This was formulated by the College’s RAP Working Group Committee which includes parents, staff and community members.

As a Terrace Family we are boldly committed to walking in solidarity with the First Peoples of our Nation. Our reconciliation journey is constant; with every footstep we take, we are forever connected to this land upon which we walk together.

View our Reconciliation Action Plan here.

As a College, we thoughtfully and intentionally seek to weave our Catholic spirituality with indigenous spirituality. Our annual Dadirri Lenten program allows our students to deepen their Catholic faith during the season of Lent by engaging in the indigenous practice of Dadirri.

Miriam-Rose Ugunmerr-Baumann emphasises ‘deep listening’, where students sink quietly into their minds. She encourages humble learning, which involves listening, watching, and waiting, giving rise to inner transformation and awareness. This reflects our Catholic liturgical season of Lent, a time of deep listening and contemplation as we prepare for Easter. Selected House groups will participate in weekly Dadirri meditation sessions for the duration of Lent.

Our Gentlemen of Terrace Framework is a moral compass that challenges Terrace students to be the best version of themselves. The Framework envisages a modern-day Edmund Rice where his legacy lives on and evolves through our students. It is in the four Edmund Rice Education Touchstones where we find the invigorated future of Edmund Rice, as actioned and told by our Gentlemen of Terrace and the wider Terrace Family. These Touchstones are Liberating Education, Gospel Spirituality, Inclusive Community and Justice and Solidarity. The faith, culture and spirituality of the College are enlivened when Gentlemen of Terrace put the Touchstones into action.

The Edmund Rice Icon illustrates the life of our founder, Blessed Edmund Rice. The Icon was created by Irish artist, Desmond Kyne, and depicts symbols, elements, stories and moments significant to the life of Edmund. The Icon is utilised as a vital part in forming our Gentlemen of Terrace. We hope our students will not only see the life of Edmund Rice in the Icon, but the role they each play in being the future hearts, hands and voices of Edmund Rice.

Just as God purposefully chose Joseph to guide Jesus in his upbringing, so too were the Christian Brothers intentional in choosing St Joseph to be the Patron Saint of our College who guides our Gentlemen of Terrace.

Growing up, Jesus looked to St Joseph for guidance, teaching and learning. For our Gentlemen of Terrace, we encourage them to do the same and to embody the characteristics and virtuous qualities of St Joseph. A seemingly ordinary man who’s values and receptiveness to serve God made him extraordinary. Our College motto, ‘To Serve God is to be Wise’ is reflected in the life of St Joseph and is an inspiration to how the Gentlemen of Terrace live their lives.

The name Joseph in Hebrew means “may God increase, may God give growth”. Joseph’s name reveals an essential aspect of his personality, a man fully trusting in God who is guided by faith not by sight. Our hope for our Gentlemen of Terrace is for them to have an unshakable trust in the unseen and find providence in God directing their lives. Like St Joseph, we hope our Gentlemen of Terrace will follow a path of humility, strength, gentleness, courage, faith, service and love.

Collectively, the Senior division of the Terrace Advocacy Group have chosen Men’s Mental Health, Ecology and Diversity as their campaign areas. These core focus areas are reflective of the Senior students’ insightful awareness of what is relevant and important in both the College community and society. Together, the senior year 11 and 12 Advocacy students lead and produce a variety of awareness campaigns throughout the year, including :

• Terrace Stands Together Week (inclusive community awareness)
• Terrace Family Multi-Cultural Fair (diversity awareness)
• Terrace Mental Health Week (men’s mental health awareness)
• Terrace Stands With Our Sisters Week (stop violence against women awareness)
• Terrace Humility Week (anti-bullying and diversity awareness)
• Terrace Laudato Si Week (ecological awareness)
• Thursday Morning Fundraising Barbecue (for various charities)

“The Terrace Advocacy Group is full of the most genuine and accepting people from around the school. Day in and day out, they make me feel like I belong and that I can share my opinion without fear of judgement.”

Kalen Mills, Student

“Terrace Advocacy Group gives me and other boys with a strong conscience a platform to advocate and voice ideas that we believe are influential to the formation of young men, improving and creating a stronger culture in the Terrace community.”

Hugo Smith, Student

Our Primary division of the Terrace Advocacy Group provides the opportunity for our most junior members of the College to begin developing a sense of voice and agency. This division is for students in grade 5 and 6.

The Waterford division of the Terrace Advocacy Group is complimentary to the Waterford Journey program and the Immersion Program. Our year nine students are provided the platform to promote, campaign and create initiatives at the Waterford Place campus which are reflective of the Waterford Journey values of mutual respect, openness and honesty.