Edmund Rice Education Australia Touchstone
Liberating Education
As a Catholic School in the Edmund Rice tradition, we nurture and encourage the spiritual growth of each person through reflection, prayer, symbols, sacred stories, rituals and sacraments
Year 10 Retreat
An integral component of the educational experience offered to students at St Edward’s is the Years 10 to 12 Retreat Program. These programs compliment the holistic education that underpins the work that we do with our boys. The retreat program is designed to provide students with the opportunity to explore their own values, faith and spirituality in a contemporary, contextualised, safe and supportive environment.
The Year 10 Retreat, which was recently conducted on campus, is a one-day program which challenges boys to reflect on the relationships that they establish with their parents, family and friends. Students are involved in a range of activities and presentations that provide an opportunity for them to reflect on the values that are important to them in relationships, such as respect, honesty, trust, forgiveness and loyalty. This retreat is one of the many opportunities provided to students at the College to reflect deeply on the type of young man they hope to become.
A special thanks to Mr Beacroft, Mrs Palmer-Brown, Mr McCauley our College Councillors Terase and Marcus, and the Year 10 Religious Education Teachers for the thought and effort that goes into planning these reflective learning experiences.
The Year 11 Street Retreat and The Year 12 Retreat to Mulgoa are scheduled to take place in Term 2, and I look forward to sharing with you information about these experiences at that time.
Learning Conferences
The Year 7 to 12 Student Led Conferences for parents/carers and students will be held across two dates during Term 1:
- Wednesday 27th March (Week 9) from 4.00pm to 7:30pm – these conferences will be held online via Microsoft Teams. Teachers will call the students on their Microsoft Teams account at the scheduled booking time to make contact. It is preferable that students use their school laptop for this.
- Tuesday 2nd April (Week 10) from 9am to 3pm – these conferences will be held face-to-face on site at St Edward’s College. Teachers will be located in designated rooms throughout the College – a map including this information will be sent out prior to the date. On the day, students from the Prefect body will be on-site to help guide parents/carers in finding their way around the College. No classes are scheduled for the day, students will be required to attend the Learning Conferences with their parents and carers. Students who do not have scheduled Learning Conferences are to remain at home.
These conferences provide an important opportunity for parents and carers to engage in conversation with their son and his teachers regarding his learning. Earlier this term, all students were provided with the opportunity to establish learning goals for the year. This student goal setting exercise is designed to assist students in identifying specific areas that they would like to focus on in their learning and will be incorporated into the conversations in these conferences.
Students are required to attend these conferences with their parents, and I encourage all families to prioritise attendance at these conferences. Research into the education of young people, clearly articulates the link between parent involvement in their son’s learning with academic success. The Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) conducted a meta-analysis of relevant research into parent engagement in student learning.
These studies demonstrate that the children are more likely to develop positive self-esteem, be motivated to learn, be positive about school and achieve good grades. Adolescents are less likely to have discipline issues, get involved in substance abuse or drop out of school. Young people are more likely to maintain high aspirations and plan to go on to further education and build a career.
Importantly, the power of parental engagement overrides other factors that have been shown to influence a child’s achievement. Various studies have shown that, when parents are actively engaged in their children’s learning, their influence appears to outweigh factors such as parental education, socioeconomic background or the quality of the child’s schooling. Benefits of Parent Engagement (ACER)
By prioritising attendance at these conferences, parents and carers demonstrate to their sons the importance of their education. More detailed information regarding the learning conferences will be distributed to families early next week.
Waterford Service Learning and Advocacy Project
The Waterford Service-Learning and Advocacy Program supports the values based curriculum offered to students at St Edward’s. The program reflects Catholic social teachings and has unique educational value in providing experience which supports students both within and outside of the classroom.
During the Season of Lent we encourage students to give up some of their time to the completion of service-learning hours aligned with this program. The College Website provides information regarding the purpose of the program and the opportunities and events available to assist boys in completing their hours. Religious Education teachers are also a source of information about experiences on offer. College Website Link Waterford : Service Learning and Advocacy Project
2025 Enrolments
The College is now accepting enrolment applications for Year 7, 2025. The enrolment process is completed online via the College website at: https://www.stedwards.nsw.edu.au/enrolment/
The enrolment information clearly outlines the enrolment criteria. Applications received after Friday May 19, will be processed as late applications. Current families who are aware of family or friends who wish to apply for their son to attend St Edward’s, are asked to encourage them to visit the College website for information about the College and the process of enrolment.
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