Statement of Learning

Seeds of the Future: Learning and teaching in our schools

To educate is to sow the seeds of the future. Conscious of this privilege and responsibility, we, the staff of Catholic schools in the Diocese of Parramatta, place on record our belief that:

To be a teacher is to be a gift to generations to come. To teach someone is to enter into a relationship characterised by care, respect, authenticity and challenge. Good teachers have a wealth of knowledge about their subject matter and draw skilfully on a broad repertoire of teaching strategies. Ours is a vocation of hope, in which we constantly stretch the limits of learning both our own and that of our students. In all that we do, Jesus is our greatest example.

Learning should be, above all, a joyful journey towards wisdom, maturity and empowerment. It should take place in environments which promote a positive and growing sense of self, which facilitate connections among learners and which create links to the wider world of people and ideas.

The recognition of excellence and effort in the context of explicit standards will ensure not only that students learn how to learn, but that they come to love learning as a lifelong commitment.

Our schools should be vibrant learning communities which make a fundamental contribution to society by working to bring culture and faith into harmony. They should be places within which students gain the knowledge, skills and attitudes to critically engage with society as they become effective global citizens.

Our schools must be places of welcome and safety for students, their families and staff. As communities of faith, our schools form an integral part of the mission of the Church expressed in the pastoral work of the parish.

Launched at the Focus on Learning Conference 13 May 2003.