Catholic schools in the Diocese of Lismore are committed to excellence and equity in the growth and development of all students as lifelong learners who are actively engaged with a passionate curiosity and wonder about the world. At its heart, education equips students with the attributes, knowledge, skills and confidence they need to live fulfilling, productive and responsible lives. Students engage with a range of people, places, and disciplines to grow as critical and creative problem-solvers who embrace society in all its diversity. Learners in our schools are empowered to become co-responsible for their learning as they explore an increasingly interconnected and complex world through:
- a rich curriculum that engages;
- pedagogy that empowers;
- environments that enable;
- a powerful culture of learning for continual growth.
These four dimensions are at the heart of learning and teaching which inspires, challenges, empowers and develops students’ love of learning. Schools draw on the Catholic tradition, providing direction and meaning for students as they engage with the religious and spiritual dimensions of their lives.
Highly skilled teachers, and those who support them, have a central role in the learning process as they use their expert knowledge, skills and dispositions to engage in learning and feedback in partnership with students. They build learning communities that inspire, engage and challenge students as they seek to make sense of their world and their role in it. They model lifelong learning through intentional collaborative practice, feedback and reflection. Through deep thinking and meaningful engagement, they challenge themselves and their students to co-construct and apply new knowledge in a range of contexts.
Teaching is a vocation that calls for a recognition that in building relationships with and among students, and their families we recognise that we are walking on the “sacred ground of the other” (Evangelii Gaudium, 169).