With all your heart and, all your soul and all your mind…

Last week I had the privilege of attending the biennial conference of the Catholic Secondary Principals of Australia. Three of the keynotes were significantly challenging and have given me great food for thought especially as we commence a new semester. 

One such keynote was delivered by Br David Hall titled ‘Transactional to vocational: arresting the leadership drift’. In this keynote, Br David asked the question ‘In what world are we called to proclaim the gospel?’ He spoke about how the transcendent has been rendered redundant and how humanities spiritual instinct has been numbed. The exponential rate of changes that are being waged upon the human race especially in the area of innovation, digital transformation and AI can feel overwhelming and often we feel adrift without an anchor. In times such as these, fear and division can overshadow hopes and dreams – how do we live a purposeful and joyful life in such a time? His antidote was to reclaim our connection to our soul, something that perhaps we don’t refer enough to except maybe in times when someone passes away. It is the soul, Br David reminds us that touches most deeply into our humanity. The great spiritual writer Thomas Merton says that the soul is the deepest centre of the human, untouched by illusion and beyond ego, the place where God can be found. We are reminded in Matthew 22:27 to ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ The soul is integral to human completeness. Br David reminded us of the power of daily prayer and contemplation to stay in touch with the soul, the place that can anchor us in times of turbulence, doubt and fear. It is here we remember that God has hopes and dreams for us, here we can find meaning and purpose and here that we can find the source of renewal and vitality. 

Compass Implementation feedback 

The last week of Term 2 saw a very successful launch of our new Compass platform. After a week of preparation and a number of sessions of staff training, students were given an introductory session hosted by Compass and then we were set to go. The Office staff reported positive feedback from parents. We are grateful for the support of parents who have downloaded the app, responded to messages on Compass and accessed the resources provided to support your navigation of this system. Please remember that this is where parents notify the College of absences, access all College communications and give consent to excursions. Students have also provided very positive feedback about the usability of the system from their perspective. Semester 1 reports are available to parents in Compass.  

Big Picture Learning 

One of the strategic commitments of our School Improvement Plan 2025-2028 is to be Bravely Ambitious: Expanding and renewing learning design, pathways and experiences within and beyond the classroom. We are delighted to announce that after several years of exploring the possibility we will be introducing our first Big Picture Learning advisory class at Years 9 and 10 in 2027. Following ‘Come and Try’ days in Term 2 and a family information evening we have secured enough support to begin with further interest continuing to be expressed. Big Picture Learning aligns with our Learning Charter principles which provide the compass for our approach to learning at Clonard. This states that we believe learning is: relational, contextualized, personalised, transformative, intentional and for life. Big Picture Learning design is based around four key elements, learning in advisory, assessment by exhibition, learning through interests and learning through internships. We are thrilled that we have a number of staff who are also excited about teaching in this space and have received the appropriate training from Big Picture to set us up for successful implementation. To learn more, please visit our website Big Picture Learning – Clonard College Geelong 

Pupil Free Day Outline – Wednesday 22 July 

Next Wednesday the College staff will be undertaking a day of professional learning. The focus will be as follows 

1. Responding to ‘Drawing New Maps of Hope’ – Catholic accreditation  
2. Revisiting our Graduate attributes in light of our work with New Metrics for Success as we look to the implementation in Years 11 and 12 
3. Safeguarding Learning – as part of our commitment to ensuring ongoing staff training and culture building around safeguarding 
4. Teacher practice and our annual action plan goals – a time for teachers to look at their goals for development in their practice  
5. Compass Learning – introducing teachers to assessment task in Compass. 

This full day of learning for staff covers a number of key areas and is critical to the ongoing development of our staff and College processes Students are not required at school on Wednesday. 

Anniversary dinner and Celebrating 70 scarves 

We are well underway with ticket sales for our anniversary dinner to be celebrated on Friday 28 August at Truffleduck. Please secure your tickets here. 

Last chance to order your anniversary scarf. This limited edition scarf is available on CDFPay (Under ‘Events’) for purchase until 24 July 2026. If you do not have CDFPay, please call our office to make your order.

Finally, gratitude for a successful immersion to Timor Leste 

On the first day of the break we welcomed back a very weary crew of travellers from our Timor Leste immersion. It was a very successful trip with positive feedback about the students and the way they embrace the experience and looked out for each other and the staff. In a year when we are thinking about the value of ‘justice’ this experience is one that heightens the awareness of all attendees in a very real way. A huge thanks to Jen Talbot, Michael McCallum, Tanya O’Toole and Ned Holland who accompanied the students. Their professionalism, care and commitment to this program is second to none. We are truly grateful. 

Blessings 

Luci