To come to know the person that was Jesus Christ- both in word and in deed, is something that holds significant value for students in our schools today.

It cannot be understated just how important the Catholic School Identity is for the development of young people within our care. Each individual schools’ Catholic Identity is a symbol for belonging- belonging that students cry out for in today’s society.

Our own personal identities are shaped primarily through our upbringing, personal experiences, relationships and through culture. What has never been clearer, is the significant positive impact that the identity of each individual Catholic School has on such shaping. Young people who can go out into the world and not just achieve because of the wonderful education their Catholic School provided- but also contribute to society because their Catholic School showed them that giving others hope, striving for love always, and coming to know faith, can also play a significant role in developing the whole person: spiritually, emotionally, socially, intellectually and physically.

For our young people, the Catholic School Identity symbolises belonging. In years gone by, this belonging came every Sunday when you attended Mass with your family and then went to school the following day- seeing lots of the same familiar faces and engaging in that same faith practice through the religious life and religious curriculum delivered at school. You came to know faith and Catholic Identity through your family experiences within the Parish, and this was then supported beautifully through the school. We know that this has looked a little different for some time now, and while this is certainly an area for improvement, students continue to seek this belonging in other ways- most prominently today in relationships formed and experiences shared with others through the religious Life of the School and in the Religious Curriculum delivered.

Before I moved into the AP Identity and Culture role at Southern Cross- my own personal identity was being formed as a student at Holy Spirit Catholic School (Primary) and Ignatius Park College (Secondary) in Townsville in the late 90’s and early 2000’s, with their respective Mercy Sisters and Edmund Rice Traditions. Both schools- vastly different in their contexts and with their own Catholic Identity markers, Vision and Mission- have had such a profound impact on my own identity today. Mass, Liturgies, Volunteering opportunities, Religion lessons and Retreats, within all three contexts above- all with the same result of coming to know Jesus and ourselves on a deeper level. These experiences led to assisting in establishing each individuals identity- because it impacted them in some way and of course continued to roll the welcome mat out to a life guided by faith, hope and love.

When I engage with students about their Catholic Identity within schools, it is not often that I will delve into what those two specific Catholic Identities did for me personally, just as it is unlikely I will hear students discussing how great it was on Sunday when they went to Children’s Liturgy together with their families or friends, or the morning tea they had after Mass with those same people (often a Vietnamese smorgasbord- such was the diverse culture of Holy Spirit Parish at the time). The point I always ensure I make with them is that I am the person I am because of those schools- and that those schools were a product of the strong Catholic Identity and Culture which they grounded themselves in. So I think for the most part for our students, a Catholic school identity means belonging to a community that gives them a purpose, an opportunity to grow and establish values that will impact and shape their own identity, and finally an opportunity to come to the faith and be evangelised through word and deed.

Understanding Catholic School Identity for Students

Our Southern Cross-  

College Vision: Our Marian Charism inspiring us to live compassionately, courageously and justly to enhance the lives of all, and our,

College Mission: Providing quality education that empowers each student to love, serve and shine, through Mary to Jesus,

Only emphasises one part of a larger vision and mission that encompasses all schools within our Catholic system.

National Catholic Education Commission’s: The Mission and Purpose of Catholic Schools in Australia (2024) highlights the following:

“Every member of a Catholic school community is “called to a personal relationship with Jesus”. Through an invitation to relationship with Christ, Catholic schools provide a unique opportunity to come to know God and what it is to be fully human. By encountering Jesus in liturgy, prayer, scripture, and the Sacraments, students can develop a sense of meaning and purpose, inspiring them to become agents of change in the world.”

A Catholic School Identity most certainly mean something for our students. More often than not, they seek to be change makers in a world that desperately needs them. The Catholic school identity lays the platform for them to have that sense of meaning and purpose when they continue to enact those changes in the world throughout their lives.

What the Catholic Identity of each school gives to them is a helping hand in ensuring  they have a ‘why’, and our hope is that a relationship with Jesus is brought about when we accompany them along their schooling journey. We cannot simply refer to the Mission and Vision of the specific school each year after completing a Mass or a collection drive for Vinnies. Catholic School Identity means belonging and belonging to a community that lives out its Gospel values every single day- a lived mission.

Encountering God through relationship with one another- in all the ups and downs that are in stall for us in our own personal journey that God has laid out for each of us; this is the lived experience we want for our children in Catholic Schools.

Development of Character Values

When students begin to embed themselves into the school’s Catholic identity, the values that are entrenched within the stories of the Bible start to take on new meaning and value. Forgiveness, love, respect, kindness, empathy, compassion, patience, courage; these values- and there are plenty more- underpin everything that a Catholic School Identity seeks to nurture in its students. From what I have seen from childhood, to student, to teacher, to leader- is that our Catholic schools do a remarkable job in ensuring that the Catholic Identity means something to our students- and it will continue to do so long into the future.