"I
have come so that you might have life -
life in all its fullness." JOHN 10-10
Pastoral Care is the process in the School Community for the
development of the whole child, involving the integration of the
spiritual, academic, social, physical and emotional aspects of
the child's life; i.e. Pastoral Care is modeled on the person of
Jesus and therefore permeates all our actions and relationships
with one another.
In the words of Douglas Hamblin - "The
Teacher and Pastoral Care" -
"Pastoral Care is that element of the teaching process which
centres around the personality of the pupil and the focus in his
(her) environment which either facilitate or impede the
development of intellectual or social skills and foster or retard
emotional stability. The pastoral effort is also concerned with
the modification of the learning environment, adapting it to meet
the needs of the individual pupil, so that every pupil has the
maximum chance of success whatever his (her) background or
general ability."
Having Gospel values as the basis of our school's reason for
existence, enables us to build up these relationships between the
members of our community - students, parents, staff and clergy,
that result in a respect for each others worth, as people.
This enables us then to carry out the work of our Lord and to
bring the Kingdom of our Lord to His people on earth.
Structures that
already support and foster Pastoral Care initiatives at St.
Mary's College include:
(a) The sense of belonging to our
community (i) celebrations (ii)
traditions (iii) signs of Transformation
(b) Communication
(i) open lines of communication (ii) the need to listen/the need
to be heard
(c) Climate of Affirmation
(i) building up self esteem (ii) appreciating all that is good and recognising the need for
forgiveness and reconciliation in all members of the community
(iii) awards
(d) Pastoral Care Organisation
(i) Year Level and House meetings (ii) peer support system
(iii) personal development programme (iv) Pastoral
Care teachers, pastoral
House co-ordinators, counsellors, chaplain,
The Leadership team especially the APA.
(e) School structures
(i) time tabling/restrictions (ii) integration (iii) assessment
(f) Quality Presence of Teachers
(i) availability of teachers to students (ii) the need for every student to have access to a teacher and
to be known by a number staff members,
especially their own Pastoral Care teacher.
(g) Teaching
- Through the care taken in the planning, preparation and
methodology of the class room teacher.
(h) Student
Participation/Representation in School life.
(i) Leadership structure (Student
Leaders, PC captain and
vice-captain) (ii) senior
committees (iii) Student
Representative Council
(i) Discipline Structures
(j) Career Education
(i) job seeking skills - integrated in various programmes
(ii) career information through
the Counsellors and Senior Schooling VET Co-ordinator.
(k) Parental Involvement
(i) School Board (ii) P & F (iii) Tuckshop (iv) Camps and
cultural activities (v) Committees and decision making processes
(l)
Access to camps, retreats,
cultural activities, special interest groups, sport
(m) Gospel Values and Curriculum.
Conscious integration into the
whole curriculum.
(n) Creative Teaching and Formal
Learning (i) assessment procedures (ii)
availability of Resource teacher (iii) extra classes given in
teachers own time.
(o) The School as a Just Place (i) through our actions and relationships (ii) policy decisions
(p) Teacher Development in
Pastoral Care (i) staff welfare
(ii) pastoral care of Staff,
Leadership Team
(q)
Commitment to the Wider
Community (i) community service (ii) use
of community resources.
