Principal
My many years of experience in four different Catholic schools has taught me that one of the defining and distinguishing characteristics of Catholic schools, be they large or small schools, is their sense of community. The very best of them have a very deep sense of community connectedness and a feeling of belonging, which are rarely replicated in other schools. I would certainly place Nudgee College in that category and would suggest that it has been a defining quality of the College since its earliest days.
This is borne out in the 2018 EREA Parent Survey that I quoted from last week. In response to the question of ‘why choose Nudgee College for their son/s’ the number 1 response (51% of respondents) selected was ‘a school with a strong sense of community’.
Of course, not everyone who walks in the gates, be student, staff or parent, develops this connection to community. There are a multitude of reasons for that but for the overwhelming majority of individuals who do walk through our gates they experience a sense of connection to something bigger than themselves. This feeling of belonging is experienced and expressed in many different ways at Nudgee College. Three prominent occasions this week make this point clearly.
The first of these was last Saturday morning’s Old Boys’ Memorial Mass. It is a long-standing tradition at the College that we celebrate this Mass to remember especially Old Boys, past staff members, family and friends who have died over the past 12 months. In recent times, the Mass was moved to coincide with the Catholic Church’s feast days of All Saints and All Souls Day in early November.
It is always a most atmospheric occasion and it is well supported by Old Boys and their families. For some, their connections to the College go back as far as the 1940s and 1950s while it is more recent decades for others. It is apparent that they all share a mutual bond and deep connection to each other and to the College. They speak fondly of their days at the College but also quite openly about some of the hardships of their times. Their passion for the place is still evident and it is a reminder of the legacy that we, the current generation of the College, have inherited.
The second occasion was the series of Orientation afternoons that we have hosted this week for new students for 2022. Over 250 new students will join the College in January with around 140 of them in Year 5. New students and families bring with them heightened energy and anticipation. This annual surge of young boys and their families keeps enriching the school. Part of their challenge is to find their place and connection over the years ahead.
One small way of doing this, which began these past afternoons, is through the role of the current Year 11s who act as Big Brothers to Nudgee College’s newest students. I am not sure what is more impressive: the genuine way in which the older boys welcome, nurture and reassure the littlest Year 4s or the palpable excitement and curiosity, as well as unease for some, that the young boys naturally bring. In welcoming the new boys, College Captain designate, Harry Roati, spoke about the impact that his own big brother had on him when he arrived at Nudgee. It is through such interactions that community is felt and built. A section of his speech can be found in the Student Formation section.
Orientation Days means that these Nudgee College men ‘to be’ are one step closer to commencing their journey at the College. The enrolment numbers for 2022 are very strong with the College likely to start with over 1,700 students. Most year levels are over capacity with just some places being reserved for late year Boarding enrolments. I thank our Director of Admissions, Ms Susan Shakespear, and her team for their work in hosting these Orientation afternoons.
The third occasion of community building is the Ladies Auxiliary (LA) annual Mass and Dinner this Saturday night. The LA provides an invaluable source of connection and support for many mothers and their families. We are grateful for the financial support of the LA through the Tuckshop, on weekdays and weekends at sport. Importantly, they also build relationships between past and present families as well as with some future families. As always, there will be a large crowd of nearly 500 mothers in attendance. Thank you to Mrs Jo Curran, President of Ladies Auxiliary, and her executive for their work throughout the year as well as for Saturday night. We look forward to another successful and fun occasion.
In conclusion, it is also true that community connection and belonging is built far away from large group gatherings and events. It is in the one on one conversations; the gentle hand and listening ear of care; the small unseen acts of kindness and thoughtfulness. These matter and they matter profoundly. As a Catholic school it is in such private moments that we also encounter the face of Jesus.
Mr Peter Fullagar
Principal
