Our Mercy Values Guide Our School – Jennifer Oaten
Catherine McAuley, our foundress, lived a life of service, guided by values. She showed kindness and compassion to all she met each day, particularly the sick and vulnerable. Throughout her life, she worked to ensure that women and children were protected, safely housed, educated, and empowered with skills that helped restore their dignity. She is an excellent example of a life lived, guided by values.
Values can be defined as principles that guide our thinking and behaviour. Our Mercy values keep us close to the beliefs we consider essential and guide our actions, decisions, and all that we do at Santa Maria College.
Our values are not only the foundation of College life, but they are also highly valued in the wider community. If we can instil the Mercy values in our students, so they live their lives based on values, we can endeavour to change our world’s ethical nature little by little.
Over the past months, we have reviewed our values and redefined them to ensure the language is contemporary and relevant to students. During their journey at the College, we hope all students learn to understand and live our Mercy values in their daily lives.
Our newly defined Mercy values are shared with our community for the first time today.
We believe values become deeply instilled through discussion and are more likely to inform behaviour and actions when students become familiar and comfortable with the language explaining what they mean.
I ask the following questions of you.
- What are your family values?
- Have you had this discussion with your children about your values?
We all have a responsibility to make a difference in the world, even just in small ways. Living a life based on values, whether they be our Mercy values or your own family values, is a way we can all make our world a better place.
Combating The Attention Span Crisis In Our Students – Jennifer Oaten
It is no secret that attention spans have been steadily declining, especially among younger generations growing up immersed in digital technology. The average person’s attention span when using a digital device has plummeted from around two and a half minutes back in 2004 to just 47 seconds on average today – a dramatic 66% decrease over the past two decades.
With Laurissa Knowles From Valley Depths to Mountain Peaks (1993)
Laurissa Knowles (1993) has had an incredible career journey so far, from Santa Maria College Teacher to Celebrant and Councillor.
Elevating Spaces: Diana Ellis’ Signature Touch & Architecture Magic
What happens when you mix a love for art, travel, nature, and creativity with construction and building? You get the essence of Diana Ellis’ career!
- Featured
Author: Santa Maria College
Santa Maria College is a vibrant girls school with a growing local presence and reputation. Our Mission is to educate young Mercy women who act with courage and compassion to enrich our world. Santa Maria College is located in Attadale in Western Australia, 16 km from the Perth CBD. We offer a Catholic education for girls in Years 5 – 12 and have 1300 students, including 152 boarders.