Waterford Formation Framework
Mission and Identity at St Pius X College
As a Catholic school in the tradition of Edmund Rice, we are committed to proclaiming the Good News of Jesus Christ. We are a Christ centered community that recognises all people as created in the image of God. All who enter the College can expect an environment that fosters a Gospel spirituality, inclusivity, a liberating education and a commitment to justice. Just like Blessed Edmund Rice, students commencing at the College embark on a mission to be the head, heart and hands of Jesus Christ aimed at becoming instruments of change in the world.
We are unapologetically Catholic in inspiration and in nature, as described by Bishop Timothy Costello SDB where he further elaborates “We aim to provide the best education possible…… Believing as we do that, in the words of Gerald Manly Hopkins “the world is charged with the grandeur of God”, we recognise that every aspect of human knowledge and activity, to the extent that it is truly human, reveals something of the mystery of God and of God’s creative intention for the world. Because it is our firm intention to educate the whole person, and because we believe that education is for life and not just for a job, we also acknowledge and insist that an education which sidelines or excludes the mystery of God from consideration is an education which can only ever be less than complete. By leaving God out of the process, we are indeed selling our children and young people short and leaving them with a limited and distorted understanding of what it means to be a human person living his or her life to the full” A Framework for Formation for Mission in Catholic Education
As a Christ centred community, St Pius X draws on the wisdom of our ancient Catholic tradition while applying the best contemporary practice to foster a healthy spiritual life in each student. The development of such a spiritual life is supported through the Waterford Formation Framework.
The Waterford Formation Framework is expressed and delivered through the following domains using the Head, Heart and Hands Paradigm:
- Formation through Religious Education (Head)
- Formation through Prayer, Worship and Spirituality (Heart)
- Formation through Service (Hands)
Each domain is integrated into the next to create a synergy between head, heart and hands. The College is proud of the living and dynamic spiritual life that is generated and supported by each of these domains. All three domains are enriched with a Youth Ministry focus that ensures all initiatives are tailored to the contemporary needs of each student.
Waterford Formation Framework:
There is a formative dimension to every aspect of Catholic schooling. Therefore, this framework provides not only a compass for formation but an orientation for the whole life of our Catholic educational community. The Waterford Formation Framework has been designed to be in dialogue with the rich wisdom of our past while speaking to the realities of our present.
The Framework Explained – Beginning from the centre:
We are a Christ centered community. Jesus Christ is the reason for this school, the unseen but ever-present teacher in all its classes, the model of its faculties, and the inspiration for its students.
The Gospels are the windows into the very nature of Christ and form the blueprint for all relationships at the College. They formed the bedrock of Edmund’s spiritual life and framed his vision for a liberating education for all.
Through the Gospels we hear and answer the call to faith and the call to serve. The very same calls were answered by Blessed Edmund Rice to be the head, heart and hands of Christ by witnessing the streets as a monastery through which he could liberate those imprisoned by poverty due a lack of education and dignity.
As a College, we hear the same Gospel call and answer with a confident ‘Yes’. Motivated by faith and enfired to serve, we seek to form our students, staff and parents so that they can actively contribute to building a world of inclusivity, justice and solidarity, through receiving a liberating education that is infused with a Gospel Spirituality.
To achieve such a goal, requires the highest quality provision of formation for the mind (Religious Education) , the heart (Prayer, Worship and Spirituality) and hands (Faith in Action through Service).
Such formation seeks an authentic union between the head, heart and hands. Such a union enables the work, relationships and vision of a graduate of St Pius X to bear the gifts of presence, compassion and liberation. In doing so, they bear the face of Christ to see and hear the voiceless of society, bear the mind to discern how to liberate such injustice and bear the heart needed to live the sacrificial love required to bring about healing and positive change.
The four coloured arms of the Cross resemble that the four touchstones are pathways to continuing Edmund’s vision. They lead us beyond the comfortability of the familiar and the easy, as we seek to continue answering the call of the Gospels. The celtic pattern reminds us of the spirituality from which Edmund grew; one that witnessed the close intimacy of God in every moment, both positive and challenging, and one that witnessed God in everything; a life open to sacramentality.