Rosebank College, Five Dock NSW.

Philosophy of Education

All who are part of Good Samaritan Education share an understanding that the universe is graced and all creation is inherently dignified and worthy of reverence. In Jesus the Christ, God has become one with us in our humanity. We believe that our lived experience is the meeting place with the Divine, where we are invited to listen and to hear the Good News that we have been loved into life.

We encounter God as Creator, Word and Spirit in our relationships with others, the Earth and all creation. We hear both the cry of the Earth and the cry of the poor. As an ecclesial community sharing in God’s mission, we are called to respond to those cries with wisdom, joy, creativity and hope. Our Benedictine legacy also requires us to steward the Earth and its resources with care.

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Education in the Good Samaritan Benedictine tradition is focused on developing learning communities which assist students, staff and families to:

  • grow in their knowledge and relationship with the Divine
  • realise their inherent dignity, worth and potential
  • deepen their appreciation of goodness, truth, beauty and the diversity of human cultures
  • grow in their ability to relate respectfully and reverently to each other and to the world
  • develop their capacity to recognise and challenge attitudes that exclude the vulnerable
  • nurture their inner life by developing resilience and habits of compassionate reflection
  • work for creation and for the common good (Gaudium et Spes)

Because Good Samaritan Education was established by the Sisters of the Good Samaritan of the Order of St Benedict, we share a vision of Catholic education that is:

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*     to be neighbour, especially to the excluded and disenfranchised
*     to respect all persons and all creation as sacred vessels of the altar (RB31:10)
*     to stand with and be a voice for those who are voiceless
*     to seek peace through justice

*     to create safe, welcoming communities where everyone has a place (RB53; RB4)
*     to value community that challenges and nurtures, where the strong have something to strive for and the weak have nothing to run from (RB64:9)
*     to cultivate a love of learning and beauty so that in all things God may be glorified (RB57:9)
*     to seek wisdom through prayerful discernment, listening with the ear of the heart (Prologue 1)

*     to exercise leadership with particular attention to the voice and experience of women
*     to recognise need and respond generously and creatively
*     to be nourished and challenged by the Gospel
*     to be informed by contemporary educational theory and pedagogy
*     to foster talents and abilities so that all students are fully engaged in their learning

Download Full Statement

PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION

Good Samaritan Education Statement 2019