School Renewal Action Plan - St Thomas More College

Priority 1 - Religious and Evangelising Mission
Priority Goals for 2012
Implement the new BCE RE Curriculum in Years 8-10
Provide staff with professional development in regard to Catholic traditions
Use the ‘Catching Fire’ framework to support prayer life at the College
The College has continued to grow as a faith community. Central to this growth has been our focus in 2012
on Pastoral Care Prayer and the development of a whole-College approach to Liturgy. Work has also
continued in religious and evangelising mission. In June of 2012 Mrs Denise Bryant retired from her position
of Assistant Principal Religious Education after five years at the College. Mrs Bryant began her association
with Brisbane Catholic Education at Our Lady’s College Annerley in 1973 and worked in various teaching
and leadership roles during this time. The College community is most appreciative of her work and extend
to her our best wishes on her retirement. Mrs Kathleen Ashton was acting APRE for terms 3 and 4. Mr John
Thomas has been appointed as APRE from the start of the 2013 school year.
College Masses and Mission Weeks. In 2011 the College moved to have Mass celebrated as a whole school
community up to eight times during the school year. These masses were to replace the before school mass
program where attendance was voluntary. Additionally, one mass each term would be dedicated to one of
the Junnebei (House) Patrons as a way of further promoting the charism of this person. Mission weeks are
now well established in the College calendar.
The celebration of mass and liturgy has grown in 2012. The College is appreciative of the involvement of Fr
Dan Ryan, Fr Augustine Obi and Fr Baiyi Gong (Peter). Of significance was the Year 8 Instructional Mass in
Term 3 and the attendance of Year 9 to the Sunnybank Parish mass in Term 4. Further to this our Year 11
students were invited to participate in the sacrament of Reconciliation on their retreat, which centred
around various forms of prayer. This, along with the celebration of Eucharist, emphasises the way the
College uses sacraments in our vision to be a sacramental community.
Connection with the Parish and Parish Primary Schools: The College has continued to build the connection
with Parish and Parish Primary Schools. At the start of the school year the College began a daily Parish bus
service from the car parks of Parish primary schools. After the first year this bus is now full each day. To
cater for the expected increase in numbers the College has purchased a 45 seat coach to run this service in
2013. Additionally the College will begin a bus service from St Mark’s Inala and Our Lady of the Sacred
Heart Darra. Both schools were identified by their proximity to the College and because of the relatively
high number of students, who at the completion of Year 7, did not transition to a Catholic secondary
college.
Principals from Parish schools meet at least once a term with Fr Dan. These meetings, along with the
meetings of APREs, provide valuable conversation around collaboration. The development of a Parish
Schools brochure has been one of the outcomes of these meetings in 2012.
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