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HEIRS AND TRUSTEES OF THIS NOTRE DAME TRADITION

Notre Dame RC Girls’ School: 630 girls aged 11 – 16 92% Roman Catholic students Funded by Government with a budget of over £4.5 million per year plus a £12million building project underway at present Girls come from a wide range of ethnic backgrounds, with 70% speaking a total of over 40 different languages.

65% are of Black African heritage and 15% are Hispanic.

Over ¼ of students are eligible for free school meals The majority of students are below the national average in terms of ability when they enter the school, but leave well above the national average.

Introduction

“Spirituality is what you do because of what you believe.” Joan Chittister We all believe in young people – that is why we choose to work in education.

In our schools, colleges and universities, however, our beliefs, and therefore our spirituality, are informed by the ethos of a Roman Catholic school and by the heritage we share as a Notre Dame School. We are Heirs and Trustees of this tradition. It is our responsibility to encourage our students to be heirs of the past, children of the present and makers of the future.

A Roman Catholic School In our Roman Catholic schools and colleges, we believe in the Gospel values of justice, peace, reconciliation and love. We must work to make these evident in the way we treat one another and in the way we treat our students and encourage the students to live by these values. We won’t

always get it right – at least I know that I don’t – but, in the words of St Paul,

“I am far from thinking that I have already won. All I can say is that I forget the past and I strain ahead for what is still to come; I am racing for the finish, for the prize to which God calls us upwards to receive in Christ Jesus.”

Living the values of the Gospel is not an easy option. Accepting the spirituality of Jesus means that we are often faced with tough choices, asked to go the extra mile, invited to stand firm in the face of opposition. If we believe in the message of Jesus, we have no option but to embrace a spirituality which is rooted in Gospel values, which reaches out to the poor and marginalised and which respects the dignity of each person.

For me, I don’t have to look very far to meet the poor and the marginalised because they are in my school:-

The students who are refugees and asylum seekers The students whose families have no money The students who live in violent homes The students who don’t have a bed, clean clothes, warm flat The students who are passed from one parent or guardian to another The list is endless – but it will be different for each school and college.

Our challenge is to reach out to these students and support the development of their spirituality. In doing so, we may find that we develop our own.

How would a visitor know that your school or college was a Catholic institution – by overt signs such as statues and crucifixes or by the values which are at the heart of the school or college?

How are the Gospel values of love, peace, joy and reconciliation reflected in your school or college?

A Notre Dame Community As well as being Roman Catholic schools and colleges, we have a rich heritage as members of the worldwide family of Notre Dame Schools and Colleges.

Although the examples I will give today come from my own school, I am aware that each establishment has to discover their own examples.

In our school liturgies we proclaim, “Ah, qu’il est bon le bon Dieu”, whether in French, Spanish, Yoruba, English, Ibo, Portuguese or one of the other languages of the Sisters of Notre Dame. The message is always the same.

We acknowledge and respond to God’s goodness which is always present in people and events. When we pray each day with our students, when we educate about systemic social change to address the needs of the poor, when we proclaim God’s loving care for all peoples, we proclaim God’s goodness.

How do you proclaim God’s goodness in your school or college?

More than 200 years ago, Julie Billiart was providing education for poor girls and teaching them basic skills to allow them opportunities for the future.

Today, in our school, we see education as power, as the door to a brighter future. We are still serving the needs of the poor and the needs of girls.

Our students live in some of the most deprived areas in London, yet something special happens in our school. Many people ask us why this happens. The heritage that is passed on from one generation to the next is one reason, but the relationships that are built up in the school, I believe, are of even greater importance. These relationships, between staff, between students and between staff and students are at the heart of our spirituality. As I remind the students, at the end of the day, we will be judged not on how many prayers we say (although praying is important) but on the way we treat other people.

What would the relationships in your school or college say about the Notre Dame tradition?

“Teach the children what is necessary for life”.

“Teach at the children’s speed, not your own” “Introduce, explain and apply” Not the words of one of the endless Secretaries of State for Education, not the wisdom of the latest educational guru, or a memo from the numerous Directors of Education we have had, but the words of Julie Billiart as part of her educational principles. She, herself, would be amused to hear us speak of educational principles. “Talk sense” was what she required of the Sisters who were teaching in the schools. She would never have thought of herself as having a philosophy of education.

Yet in her writings she gives advice and guidance that we are still able to apply today.

“Vary the types of lessons, because the interest does not last”.

“The work must be well prepared – how can you teach what you do not know?”

“The teacher must have the goodwill of the child, otherwise she can do nothing.”

“You can be as firm as you like if sweetness won’t work.”

Perhaps one of her most telling sayings speaks to us as we look at our responsibility for the spiritual development of our students:-

“What the teacher is, is more important than what she does or than what she knows. What the teacher does herself matters little, it is what she causes to be done that is all important.”

What educational philosophy dominates your school or college? Are results the be all and end all? Do you offer a broad, balanced curriculum? Does the curriculum cater for individual student needs?

“Actions speak louder than words”.

Education is not all about examination results, but about forming young people who will make a difference in our world. To support this we are

involved in a variety of activities which develop confidence, leadership and a sense of justice in our students.

Each year our students raise over £10,000 for charity, including supporting our sister schools in Nigeria and Peru. They are active members of London Citizens, an alliance of community organisations working for social, economic and environmental justice. A wide range of leadership roles (with badges!) are offered to students, including Big Sisters, Junior Prefects, Committee representatives, Eucharistic Ministers, Leadership Team and Form Sponsors.

Our liturgies, both Eucharistic and non-Eucharistic give students a positive experience of being Church and allow them to share their gifts and talents to support the spiritual development of all. At the beginning of each liturgy, when I invite them to “close your eyes, bow your head and remember that we are in the presence of our God, the God who lives in the heart and mind of each one of us”, complete prayerful silence descends as 630 students take the time and space to listen and respond to God.

How members of staff are treated in our school is important. We have one staffroom, which is shared by all staff – teaching and support staff. We provide free tea, coffee, hot chocolate, soup and water throughout the day for staff. They have access to a free support service which can give them legal advice, counselling, financial advice and specialist services. Sr Magdalen Lawler SND provides reflection time after school at least three times a year. Financial incentives for teachers taking on responsibilities in the school are not confined to academic subject areas. We develop teachers’ leadership by offering posts such as: Leading Teacher – Global Citizenship Leading Teacher – Economic Awareness and Contribution to society (community and citizenship) Leading Teacher – staying safe and healthy Staff and students have easy access to me and others on the Senior Leadership Team. Every effort is made to support staff who have child care or parent care issues.

Every teacher has a laptop. I-pads were offered to staff who wanted one.

Laptops with internet connection are provided to our young carers to enable them to work from home when necessary.

What do you do in your educational establishment to ensure that your love is not just words or mere talk but something real and active? How do you show that all members of staff are valued?

We may never know the impact that we make on the lives of our students.

Sometimes they return to see us, or we meet many years later. When I meet students that I taught at Notre Dame in the 1980s or ones who left us more recently, I am always humbled by their gratitude for all that the school did for them. I remember one young woman coming back who had been what we would call today a “challenging student�. As I walked with her on her trip down memory lane, she spoke of the fact that although she rarely went to church, she prayed every day. She said that our school had enabled her to develop a relationship with her God that had stood the test of time. It gave real meaning to her life in a way that the institutional church never could.

How could any of us ask for more?

What experience of Church do you create for your students?

As community women, Sisters of Notre Dame are called to build community wherever they are. For those of us working in educational establishments, it is important that this sense of community exists. I have the privilege of taking visitors around the school and often ask students to tell the visitor what makes Notre Dame special. The answers may vary slightly, but the message they give is always the same.

In this school, we are like one big family.

This sense of community is vital to the spiritual development of our young people. For many of them, school is Church. For some, school is the one secure base they have – somewhere where they know they are loved no matter how difficult they try to be. By providing them with opportunities to serve the community e.g. Peer mediators, Student Leaders, Committee members, we develop them as community minded people.

This sense of community does not stay in the institution in a Notre Dame school, but reaches out to others. Our work with local primary and secondary

schools and the wider community and the outreach work we do with other Notre Dame schools in Britain and abroad are examples of this collaboration and development of community. For example, our Global Citizenship network which links ND schools in London, Liverpool, Norwich and Sheffield with Liverpool Hope University or the revision course at Oxford University which is run for able students from Notre Dame Catholic College in Liverpool and Notre Dame Southwark.

It is our global perspectives, however, that in many ways provide our students with the greatest opportunities to develop the sense of being citizens of our world. As part of an international family of Notre Dame Schools, we are well placed to help our young people appreciate the universal nature of the Church to which they belong.

By focussing on the Family of Notre Dame worldwide, we not only allow students to develop as global citizens, but we enable them to give from the little they have to those who have even less than they do. We help them to appreciate the goodness of God in their lives and provide them with the tools to challenge the values of a materialistic society.

How do you encourage your students to be Global Citizens?

Notre Dame educational establishments are happy places. When Angela Parsliffe, a former Deputy Head of my school wrote the history of the school for our 150th celebrations, the people working on the printing and layout of the book came up with the title. Having read the material, they said that there was only one title for the book and that was, “This Happy Place” Julie told her Sisters,

“Parents will never want to send their children if they think that you are as solemn as a row of nightcaps.”

A sense of humour is vital to any teacher, but in a Notre Dame school a spirit of joy must exist and a smile must be on hand. Our religion is not one of doom and gloom, hell, fire and damnation. As Catholics, we are Easter people and “Alleluia” is our song. We are children of the resurrection who

believe in a God of love. That joy and that love should be the hallmarks of our spirituality.

How happy is your school or college? Is it a place in which students and staff want to be?

For over 150 years, the Notre Dame tradition has run through the veins of my school. This does not mean, however, that everything is as it was in the beginning. It is vital that each generation explores Julie’s vision anew and makes it real for our time and our culture. This is important for all schools and colleges, but perhaps harder to do in those Notre Dame establishments which no longer have the presence of a Notre Dame Sister. Keeping everything as it was when the last Notre Dame Sister left can be appealing, but it does not allow for the growth of the charism. Heritage and tradition are not things of the past, but platforms for projection into the future.

Conferences, such as the one we have each year in Britain, which draws together headteachers and members of staff from the eight ND schools and colleges in Britain and Liverpool Hope University and this one, together with the work of the Notre Dame Virtual School and the international publications of the Sisters of Notre Dame, enable us all to share the tradition as it is being lived at this time.

How can your school or college ensure that it is the living tradition of Notre Dame that is being handed on to students and staff?

Conclusion Education is a work of faith, where every job, even the most insignificant, becomes great in God’s eyes. Education is an act of hope, hope in a better tomorrow, hope for the future of all people. Education is a work of love, love for God and for those God sends into our care. Education is a work of prayer, which transforms our own hearts to keep the vision alive. Through our work in education, we can develop, not only our own spirituality, but the spirituality of our students. St Julie called education the greatest work on earth. We are heirs and trustees of this Notre Dame tradition. Let us treasure it, nourish it and develop it. Thank you.

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION 1.

What do you think makes your school different from other schools?

2.

If spirituality is what we do because of what we believe, what would a visitor to your school or college see in your spirituality?

What would your spirituality say about your beliefs?

3.

How can the Sisters of Notre Dame help you, as leaders of Notre Dame educational establishments, to treasure, nourish and develop this Notre Dame tradition