Welcome to my blog. I document my adventures in travel, style, and food. Hope you have a nice stay!
I am pleased to let you know that we have two new videos which might interest you. The first comes from Marcellin College, Bulleen and is titled 'I am known'. The second is a conversation I had with 'Br Joaquim Clotet', the President of our Marist University in Porto Alegre, Brazil.
This year I have had the privilege of working with emerging leaders in schools. I would like to share with you three of my learnings from this experience.
When invited to make a presentation to a meeting or other gathering, what is the best approach to adopt? How should one prepare? I am asking these questions at the moment as I get ready to lead a number of gatherings on leadership over the next couple of months.
During the week I flew from Sydney to Melbourne. Before getting on the plane I visited the airport bookshop and found some new publications which collect key Harvard Business Review articles.
When we think about Marcellin Champagnat we can think of him in the context of the French culture of his day. Then we must necessarily relocate ourselves back into our own time - the here and now - to gain benefit from our reflection on Marcellin in his time. I would like to suggest five activities that apply to our lives as Marists on mission which incorporate the spirit of Marcellin conveyed to us from his time. The acronym is CLEAR.
On Friday 20 March, 2015 Joe McCarthy and I worked with our REMAR Coordinators as together we considered Marist Identity and the new Marist Association. The Coordinators came from REMAR schools across the Marist Province of Australia.
Leadership proved to be an energising topic as 12 newly appointed staff lead learners at Our Lady of the Sacred Heart College and I gathered at the Traeger campus on the 3rd and 4th March, 2015 for our Emerging Leaders' Seminar. Fortunately the College's air conditioning was working well as Alice Springs turned on two nearly 40° days for our time together.
The second keynote address at our Marist Higher Education Conference held recently in the Philippines was delivered by Br Sean Sammon, currently Scholar in Residence at Marist College Poughkeepsie and former Superior General of the Marist Brothers.
The first of the two keynote presentations of our Meeting was given by Cardinal Quevedo, Archbishop of Cotabato, Philippines. He spoke with deep appreciation of the education given him by the American Marist Brothers who came to the Philippines as missionaries.
Every two years the Marist International Network of Institutions of Higher Education (#MINIHE) holds a one week meeting for its representatives. This year hosting the VI meeting is the Notre Dame of Marbel University in the city of Koronadal in the Philippines. Over twenty participants from across the Marist world are attending including Br David Hall and me from Australia.
The love of God is inspiring. I find it hard to fathom the depths with which God loves us and the fact that God loves us the way we are! It amazes me just how God can be with us as life unfolds. On any particular day, we have intentions about what we are planning to do, or with whom we are intending to speak. Sometimes our day looks quite different in the morning to what it turns out to be in reality. God is flexible!
We recently continued our series of reflections on the characteristics of Marist Education, this time considering Marist Presence. The six of us who assembled at Marcellin College Bulleen saw presence as one of our very alive characteristics and central to the way Marists relate.
The five characteristics of Marist Education described in the 1998 text In the Footsteps are now well accepted and understood. A recent call from some staff in Marist schools has sought the opportunity to reflect together on a subject being called 'Deepening the Characteristics'. You might ask, what does such a 'deepening' process involve.
It was a privilege to be able to attend the blessing and opening of Champagnat House at the North Sydney campus of Australian Catholic University on Tuesday 22nd July 2014. Bishop Peter Comensoli DD officiated at the ceremony assisted by Marist Provincial Br Jeff Crowe and Vice Chancellor Prof Greg Craven.
Pope Francis inspires us by modelling excellent leadership. Fr Noel Connolly writes that leaders who exemplify leadership like the Pope have three characteristics:
This year, our Superior General, Br. Emili Turú is inviting us to participate in a three year preparation period for our Marist Bicentenary celebrations in 2017. He is suggesting we adopt three stages inspired by three icons:
In April, Br Joaquim Clotet, rector of our Marist University in Porto Alegre, Brazil received the country's President Dilma Rousseff during the launch of a national program for technical education and employment.
Fifty Marist Educators from Schools across Australia gathered at Mittagong, NSW from 23rd to 25th March, 2014 for a special Colloquium.
Our 2014 Conference at Mittagong took place from 13th - 16th March. The Conference began with community leaders participating in the #Serve program led by Br Michael Akers and Ryan Gato from the Mission and Life Formation Team.
Eighteen Staff from Sacred Heart College Adelaide joined the Graduate Certificate Course in Marist Methodology which commenced at the College (pictured above) on Thursday 13th February, 2014.
