St Mary's
Tauranga
We have been exploring our school values. We have consulted
our parent community with a questionnaire based on suggestions from a MOE
brochure.
This was also used to engage our school PTA group at their monthly meeting. One
parent was a staff member at Aquinas - our local Catholic college. She
suggested we look at their values set. We could be linked if similar. They
refer to these as their touchstones. They are: Scholarship, Prayer, Truth,
Family, Joy and Service.
The questionnaire was used again to engage the BOT at their monthly meeting. Our parish
priest is helping us explore the Gospel values at our next staff meeting.
This was an exceptionally good meeting. We came away with a set of values that
connect to -with our school. Our crest contains the Latin words meaning Mercy
and Faith. Truth came through as a strong value. Learning as a strength and
direction was our fourth. We settled as one with these four and their extended
meanings. So....
Mission Statement
“Child
with Spirit”
St
Mary’s
Truth: Incorporating
integrity, honesty, discernment, reflection, responsibility
Mercy: Incorporating
compassion, love, respect self and others, tolerance, forgiveness, mind and
body, health, relationship, morality, charity, sportsmanship, leadership,
equity, equality, kindness, caring, inclusiveness, humility, self efficacy,
politeness, empathy, self esteem, diversity, courage
Faith: Incorporating
prayer, hope, joy, witness, communio, family, community, belonging, trust,
creation, common good, ownership
Wisdom: Incorporating
perseverance, resilience, excellence, cooperation, inspiration, creativity,
sustainability, transformation, learning, commitment, guardianship, sharing,
self sufficiency, effort, pride, independent, enjoyable learning, purposeful
learning, curiosity, communication, adaptability, confidence, innovativeness