Principal’s Address Administration
I
t has been my absolute privilege to be part of our magnificent school throughout 2006. In this report I wish to provide a brief review of aspects of Trinity life whilst alluding to current successes and future challenges. Since our inception in 1894 a formal Christian Brothers presence at Trinity has been a constant reminder of our heritage and a link to the founder of the Brothers, Blessed Edmund Rice. That formal presence concluded when Br Robert Callen left at the end of 2005 and thus the year 2006 is an important milestone in Trinity’s history. I am pleased to advise that throughout 2006 the College has continued to give authentic expression to the values and charism that have served us for 112 years. Our challenge now is not only to preserve the past but also to ensure Trinity continues to evolve as an Edmund Rice college. Mr Robert Henderson Principal
What is happening at Trinity is mirrored throughout the country. The four Edmund Rice Provinces (we are part of the Holy Spirit Province – WA/SA) are in the process of forming Edmund Rice Education Australia (EREA). This process of change extends beyond governance issues and is both exciting and daunting. Trinity is a wonderful school but we are faced with certain challenges. We live in an era of rapid economic and technological development when schools have become more complex than ever before, adopting the language of business with ‘strategic planning’ and ‘mission statement’ becoming part of the education vocabulary. Education is a lot more complicated than it was in the past. A senior Christian Brother put it beautifully when he said ‘schools were pretty simple to run in my day. If you were a big bloke and it looked like you could handle 100 kids they made you head of Year 8. If you were a big bloke with a booming voice and it looked like you could handle 1,000 kids they made you headmaster!’ (perhaps CBC Fremantle appoints principals by this criterion!). In the past few years education has been constantly in the news and often for all the wrong reasons! In Western Australia the educational landscape continues to change and as teachers we feel at times as if we are political pawns grappling with the conflicting demands imposed by the state and federal governments. I marvel at the dedicated Trinity teachers as I sit back at meetings and listen to them speak. Their constant overarching concern is to deliver the best possible education as they engage in healthy debate with healthy divergence of opinion about the merits of an outcomes based approach. Then they just roll up their sleeves and get on with it. There is no doubt that at all times the staff wants what is best for our students. 4
Another challenge for Trinity is financial. My background is in teaching economics and one of the first questions we learn in elementary economics is ‘How do I best allocate my scarce resources to satisfy my many needs and wants?’. This question is particularly pertinent to Trinity. Colleagues from other PSA schools often ask how Trinity manages to deliver comparable services on half the fees. The answer is ‘with extreme difficulty!’. Over the past decade one way that the College has been able to keep fees comparatively low is by increasing student numbers and gaining the benefits of economies of scale, but we are now at saturation point with plenty of enrolment applications but no room at the inn! It is an economic imperative that our finances are well placed to deal with the obvious infrastructure needs: the possible transition of Year 7 students to Middle School; the refurbishment of Gibney Hall and the Chapel (now under way); improved performing arts facilities (an absolute necessity – I marvel at our brilliant teachers and performers, but we do not have facilities of a comparable standard); development of the playing fields at Waterford; having a suitable maintenance program for buildings over 40 years old. It is a long list! A Middle and Senior School fee of $6,000 is the 2006 reality; in 2007 it will be closer to $7,000. Our fees will never be as high as those of other PSA schools but should be in the range equivalent to 65-75% of them. This is a significant issue for the future.
