Faith, Family and Community

At a gathering of students, families and teachers in Rome in 2014, Pope Francis reflected on his school years and his love of school, including his time as a teacher of psychology and literature. He also quoted the well-known African proverb, “It takes a village to raise a child”, emphasising that the school is to be a “place of encounter where parents can meet teachers and collaborate with them and that is why family and school go hand in hand”.

Throughout our Archdiocese, families, Catholic schools and parish communities work together for the education and Christian formation of children and young people. These partnerships are vital to the support of families as the fundamental and essential educating community for transmitting the religious and cultural values which help the young person to acquire his or her own identity.

The Catholic School is a community of faith

Fostering of partnerships with families requires the Catholic school community to endeavour to create an atmosphere that reproduces, as far as possible, the warm and intimate atmosphere of family life built upon a common spirit of trust and spontaneity, that promotes the involvement of parents in the life of the Catholic school. Close cooperation with the family is especially important when treating sensitive issues such as religious, moral, or sexual education, orientation toward a profession, or a choice of one's vocation in life. It is not a question of convenience, but a partnership based on faith.

The Catholic Education Tasmania Framework for Learning@Home is a practical expression of the family-school-parish partnerships in action, particularly at a time that requires us to respond as the Catholic education community to COVID-19, providing guidance to our Christ-centred communities dedicated to learning for life in Christ!