At the end of term 1, current Principal Mary Cook and former Principal Collene Roche spent three days in the school looking at the Catholic nature of Garin, and the quality of our RE programme. We take being a Catholic school very seriously – and our staff and Board were proud of what they found here.
So it was good to read things like …
- There is no doubt that gospel values are a key to the operation of the school
- The relationships in the school are most positive and visitors are treated with respect
- The school has worked successfully to enhance academic achievement
- The faith-based vision of the school is clear
- The Catholic culture is strong with prayer celebrated in many formats.
- Pastoral care is clearly evident and students can be confident that they are part of a safe environment which supports their learning and well being.
- Restorative Justice is the key to the way in which behaviour management with student issues is carried out.
- Students report that they feel safe at school. The dignity of all persons in the community is highly respected and this is borne out through support and structures.
Those observations are the results of eight years of planning and hard work by staff, parents, Boards and students. In the first few years when staff, students, parents and Boards were coming from different experiences and had different expectations, everyone had to work very hard to develop a shared vision for our school – and then to build the school we wanted Garin to become.
We are still not the school we hope to become. There is still plenty to do – but this report shows that we have come a long way and can feel justifiably proud of what we have managed to achieve in our first few years. Congratulations and a big thank you to all of our supporters over the years for your contribution and support in building our school.
Read the full report.