g en az za no f c j col l eg e
Kevin Frawley Chair of College Council
A Message from the Chair of College Council 2016 has been a significant year in the life of Genazzano FCJ College. At the beginning of the year we welcomed our new College Principal, Ms Karen Jebb. Karen has immersed herself thoroughly in all aspects of College life, and has experienced first hand the passionate involvement of our parent community. The warmth and strength of the College community in supporting the education of our daughters has always been, and remains, one of the hallmarks and key foundations of our College. As I indicated to the parent community at Gen Welcomes in February, College Council is committed to the delivery of high quality education which is broadly based, contemporary and authentic in its Catholic identity. We seek to equip our girls to reach their full potential grounded in, and able to express their Catholic identity in meaningful ways, based on the Ignatian principles and charism of the Sisters Faithful Companions of Jesus. As Chair of Council, it has been my privilege to work more closely with the FCJ Sisters, and to learn more about their education ministry, both in Australia and abroad. In July my wife Cathy and I travelled to France with Karen Jebb and others from Australia, England, Ireland, Canada and the USA on an FCJ pilgrimage conducted by the FCJ Sisters. Our pilgrimage retraced key parts of the life of Marie Madeleine d’Houet, prior and subsequent to her founding the FCJ Order.
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It was inspirational to learn more about the life and work of Marie Madeleine, a woman of means and substance from a privileged background, and her considerable efforts, despite many obstacles, to provide for the education of those less fortunate, and her desire that each child be given the opportunity to fulfil their potential. Some two hundred years later, Marie Madeleine’s aims and ideals remain relevant today, as we strive to provide a meaningful education for our girls, within a moral and just framework, and with an authentic Catholic identity, to equip them for life and leadership in an increasingly secular world. Consistent with the principles of the FCJ Sisters, at the beginning of the year College Council reaffirmed our guiding principles for the education ministry of Genazzano. In particular, Genazzano will remain, as it has always been, a non-selective Catholic school, which embraces the individual needs and talents of all of the young people entrusted to our care. While we will always delight in and celebrate the often remarkable achievements of our students who excel, our primary aim is to maximise the potential of each student, both educationally and personally, by providing a broad range of academic, extra-curricular and social justice programs, and by seeking measurable improvement in individual learning outcomes.
My inaugural year as Chair of College Council has brought with it considerable rewards. It has been my great pleasure to attend a broad range of College activities. In each case, I have been continually amazed and reminded of the talents of our girls, in a broad range of educational, artistic, musical and sporting endeavours. It is a great privilege to witness their achievements. This reflects not only the considerable talents and efforts of our girls, but also the dedication and support provided by our teachers, who are to be commended.
Council looks forward to continuing to support our Principal and all College personnel, the education and welfare of our girls and furthering the education ministry of the Sisters FCJ at Genazzano. We wish every Genazzano family, past and present, a faith filled, happy and safe Christmas and New Year.