Principal's Post

Good day to you all. Firstly, I would like to thank everyone for personal messages of congratulations and well wishes. Being appointed Principal of FCJ College Benalla is an honour. Reading, and listening, to your encouraging messages was, at times, a little overwhelming. FCJ College, and the wider community, has been very good to me and my family. I am a better person due to the influence of the FCJ Society, the FCJ charism, and the people of our College. I am excited by the challenges ahead and thrilled to work every day for the betterment of our students. I would like to publicly thank Pauline Fisher, Chair of the FCJ College Council, for her kind words within the formal announcement and her ongoing support. I will work hard for the best interests of each student, and I am privileged to work alongside very good people. Our staff are remarkable champions of hope and witnesses of our characteristics in Companionship, Justice, Courage and Confidence, and Gentleness. I am grateful to you all.

This year celebrates the 125th year of our College. Our College has a unique story and providence; a story that you are now a part of. To share in these celebrations please save the date of Saturday 16th August for our 125th Anniversary Gala Dinner. Tickets for this event will be publicised shortly.

We are saddened by the death of Pope Francis; yet, we have been blessed by his papacy. What memories do you have of Francis? How has he influenced your life? I valued his renewed focus on our environment, our common home, through the encyclical Laudato Si; the words of author bell hooks spring to mind, “When we love the earth, we are able to love ourselves”. He lived simply, rejected expense and demanded the clergy, the shepherds, to be amongst their people and “have the smell of the sheep on their hands”. Ultimately, I valued his message of inclusion: he appointed cardinals across the globe; welcomed the LGBTQI+ community; washed feet of prisoners; fostered a culture of dialogue through synodality that involved women and the laity. Pope Francis reminded us all that we are all born in the image and likeness of God when he famously responded to a reporter on a plane when asking about the gay community within the Church: “.....who am I to judge...?"

How do we learn? How do we best support another to learn? As educators we spend most moments thinking about and researching these questions. FCJ College has deliberately partnered with the Diocese of Sandhurst in the Magnify Program. As part of this program, all staff, teachers, administration, facilities, and support officers participated in 3 days of professional learning titled The Science of Learning with Doctor Jarrod Cooney Horvath, a cognitive neuroscientist. Topics investigated across the 3 days included:

- Why relationships are not an add-on - they are education

- What brain science reveals about learning

- Memory and classroom connection

- How teacher agency and curriculum design work hand in hand

- Why learning must come before creativity and critical thinking

- The cognitive cost of multitasking

- Importance of sleep

Each session drew from guiding principles from Jared's best-selling book, Stop Talking, Start Influencing. I encourage you to listen to Jared Cooney Horvath through the Sandhurst podcast titled Magnify Matters. https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/inside-the-science-of-learning-with-dr-jared-cooney-horvath/id1809689915?i=1000705160591

Our students and staff were prominent in the communities of Benalla, Mansfield and Euroa during ANZAC day services. Our College Captains and members of the Student Representative Council led marches, read poems, and laid wreaths at the base of the cenotaph at each service. I thank all students and their families for taking the time to publicly honour those who died in war serving Australia and New Zealand.

Finally, you will notice a few changes in the way we now communicate. Based on your interest and feedback, our newsletter changes form and complements the live posts through our other platforms. The ongoing purpose of this communication is to continue to showcase your child, our students, and our wonderful FCJ College community.

Pro Deo Semper

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