Churchill Avenue News

Dear Parents and Carers,

Thank you for the ongoing support of the College and the education of your child. Term 2 concludes, and it gives me great pleasure to reflect on all the key events that we have experienced as a community. The future looks bright with the anticipated start to construction of the VET/STEM Building scheduled to start at the end of Term 3 and the repairs to the Quin Auditorium to begin soon after.

Please note that the College Office will be closed on the second week of the holidays, so please ensure to attend to any matters in the first week, should you need to contact the school.

During the awards assembly, I provided the students with the following speech. I share this with you because I believe that there is relevance in what we all aim to achieve with the students, in partnership with you.

Enjoy the holidays and may God bless you, always.                                                                  _ _ _ _ _ 

Good morning fellow staff and students,

I hope that you are all looking forward to your well-deserved break. How good are you all? Those receiving awards today, those being recognised for other talents, those serving without making too much noise, those working behind the scenes as always, and those turning up and giving things a go despite the challenges that you may face. You are all highly inspiring people. In addition, how good are your teachers and the rest of the staff? We are all so lucky to be part of this wonderful community.

What a great term we have shared, whether it be as a Year 12 student leading the college by example as you get ready for your last term of school or as a Year 7 student still learning to adjust to the demands of high school, you have all made Caroline Chisholm Catholic College a great place to study, to learn, to teach, and to be a part of.

Today, I want to take you on a reflective journey, one through the evolution of education over the last hundred years. The key reason for this is to outline a very simple, yet important message, that despite the advances we make in our civilisation, we continue to be empowered by our innate qualities, potential and nature.

I have lived through an education that has extended from chalkboards to chatbots, from textbooks to tablets, from paper print to 3D imagary, and despite this, the way we learn continues to be underpinned by our human spirit and its natural need for curiosity and connection. In the last 100 years, education has been transformed dramatically.

As a young man, I was always impressed with the work of Lev Vygotsky, a Russian psychologist who taught us that learning is a social process. He introduced the Zone of Proximal Development, the concept that has developed into what is known to be collaborative project-based learning. Many of you, I am sure, have come across this type of learning in earlier years. The ZPD is the space that exists between what a learner can do alone and what they can achieve with guidance. Vygotsky’s work reminded us that education isn’t just about facts; it’s about relationships, mentorship, and the scaffolding of growth through authentic and relevant learning journeys.

In the next few decades, Jean Piaget, a Swiss psychologist, explored how children think. He did this by observing his own children and identifying correlations between age, development, capacity and readiness to learn. He believed that learning unfolds in stages, and that students actively construct knowledge through their experiences. Piaget’s theory of cognitive development helps us teachers understand that teaching must be tailored to a child’s developmental level, not just their age or grade.

These two psychologists challenged the notion of intelligence being measured by the Intelligence Quotient, or IQ. Their thinking revolutionised not just education, but industries, as the notion of how humans cannot entirely be measured by ranking, since living and functioning in society requires cultural and critical literacies, led to further thought about the purpose of schools and human development.

Then, Howard Gardner, an American Psychologist, challenged the idea that intelligence is more than a ranking, and that context is most relevant when assessing capacity and ability. He proposed the theory of Multiple Intelligences, suggesting that from the linguistic and logical to the musical, spatial, and interpersonal areas of intelligence, we are all blessed to be able to think at our maximum, within the contexts that motivate us. Gardner’s work opened the door to recognising that every student learns differently, and that schools should nurture a wide range of talents.

This is why schools offer so many activities that are embraced by those interested in pursuing their talents through their interests. Think about the sporting stars that represent our school in the SACCSS competitions, those that performed in the assemblies held so far this year, at the recent Winter Musical Concert, or the upcoming Musical?

Think about the courage of the students who respectfully acknowledges our traditional custodians of the land where we live or read the prayer in front of all of us? This not just takes courage but linguistic intelligence. The students amongst you who help mum and dad with chores around the house or look after your young siblings or the elderly display interpersonal intelligence focused on giving.

Many of you speak more than one language, in fact, when I arrived in Australia, I was taught ESL, which is English as a Second Language, because I spoke Spanish as my first language. Since then, we have had the arrival of many people who speak multiple languages, making the subject now known to be EAL, or English as Additional Language. This is to account for people who are linguistically talented. This shows how intelligence is varied, complex and unmeasurable, because the measures used are often limiting when looking at diversity and culture.

I will fast forward to today, and we’re living in a world where Artificial Intelligence is reshaping how we access knowledge. AI can now generate essays, solve equations, translate languages, and even simulate conversations. It’s fast, efficient, and constantly changing by learning and extending itself. But here is the question I want you to consider: in a world where machines can think and do what we are meant to do, what makes us different? What makes us, human?

The answer lies in our Emotional Intelligence, in our ability to understand, manage, and express emotions, and in how we connect with others empathetically. While AI can process data, it can’t feel joy, navigate grief, or build trust. That’s our superpower, that is what humans have that in my opinion, machines will never be able to experience. I base my theory on the presence of a spirit, of a soul, which is something that only we can live.

In his groundbreaking book in the early 90’s, Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ, Daniel Goleman argued that success in life is shaped not just by cognitive intelligence (IQ), but by our ability to understand and manage emotions; our own feelings and our considerations of others.

Goleman identified five key components of EI, our Self-Awareness or ability to recognise our own emotions and their impact, our Self-Regulation or constructive management of emotions to maintain control in difficult and challenging situations, our Motivation in using emotional energy to pursue goals with persistence. In addition, our Empathy or the understanding the emotions of others by acting compassionately when interacting with them, and finally, our Social Skills in building relationships, resolving conflict, and inspiring others.

To achieve success in these areas, it is crucial to enhance our personal capacity in self-awareness, self-regulation, and motivation, as well as to cultivate social competence by developing empathy and social skills.

I mentioned in a newsletter earlier this term, that EI is essential in navigating the challenges of AI and digital life. I stated that “success is shaped by our character, happiness, life-long learning and capacity to relate and be resilient”, all of which are core to EI and your capacity to achieve. I based that view on the message that I am delivering today.

Goleman’s research shows that IQ accounts for only about 20% of life success. The remaining 80% is shaped by factors like emotional intelligence, social context, and resilience. Think about this for a minute. The extensive research shows that your capacity to interact, to self-reflect, to dream and live out those dreams and to be able to deal with setbacks will have a greater impact than your capacity to process, to acquire and respond to new information in a systematic method. Therefore, in a world increasingly driven by technology and automation, EI helps us to build meaningful relationships, to lead with empathy and integrity and to adapt to change and bounce back from setbacks.

At our College, this understanding and appreciation is reflected in our wellbeing programs, in your leadership development, and pastoral care. This is why you are encouraged not just to excel academically, but to grow emotionally and spiritually, because it is believed that success is about character, not just capability. Caroline Chisholm, our patron, believed every person, especially women and immigrants, deserved respect, safety, and opportunity. She advocated for humane treatment of new arrivals and worked to restore dignity to those facing poverty and exploitation. “I promise to know neither country nor creed, but to serve all justly and impartially”, was her commitment.

She focused her efforts on the most vulnerable, the single women, families, and those without support. Her work led to the provision of shelter, employment, and pastoral care, and was a living example of putting the poor first, above all. Caroline Chisholm collaborated with government officials, church leaders, and everyday citizens to build networks of support, seeing community as essential to justice and working across divides to unite people in service. She empowered migrants to participate in society, not just to survive. By helping them find work and settle into communities, she promoted active citizenship and inclusion. This is a true example of working in solidarity with the poor. Her vision extended beyond individual aid. She advocated for systemic change, including better immigration policies and social services, always with the goal of building a more just and compassionate society. You can’t argue that her EI was above all, the most powerful skillset she possessed, despite her education and degree of general intelligence, which although possibly better than most at the time, would be considered confined and restricted by comparison to what we know today.

Caroline Chisholm fought for the rights of migrants but encouraged each person to assume responsibility, helping people to contribute to their new communities with dignity and purpose. These examples make Caroline Chisholm the leader that you and I can be. Irrespective of time and place, leaders don’t use intellectual superiority or class status, real leaders engage with others and make things happen through action, empowerment and education, with a thirst for justice as the motivation.

As students, you’re growing up in a hybrid world; one where it is predicted that you’ll collaborate with both humans and machines. So yes, learn to code, explore AI, and embrace technology. But also, learn to listen, to lead with kindness, and to understand your own emotions. Because the future of education isn’t just digital, it’s deeply human and only you can determine how you will make society better. Furthermore, you will find that in making a difference to society, you will reach higher impact than that which could be done alone, irrespective of academic degrees, of intelligence quotients or standing in society. Fame, skills or social standings can be a platform, but true impact comes not in how popular you are on social media, the number of followers you have or the material value of the clothes that you wear. Your real impact, when all said and done, will be what you did with what you said, and how this was embraced by the people you interacted with, the people you impacted, and the people you led as a result.

Throughout my teaching career, I have learnt to appreciate the legacy and impact of thinkers like Vygotsky, Piaget, and Gardner, and I have tried to remain optimistic of the future ahead of me. However, it concerns me that despite our capacity to use our intelligence to make the world better, we still face wars, poverty, inequity, suffering and in doing so, we lack empathy, love and respect when dealing with others. We must embrace the tools of tomorrow and never forget that the most powerful learning happens when hearts and minds grow together. This is why, our college exclaims that we are many minds, with one heart. This is what Caroline Chisholm did not just profess but, showed to those she was able to help.

Artificial Intelligence is here, and we must not fear it. Nor should we devote ourselves to it as the platform to learn, but rather use it as one important resource that can enhance our capacity to do well. Read, discuss, challenge, understand, engage and respect others. You will learn to navigate the challenges that AI won’t be able to address in your journey if you remain human by being driven by goodness. Trust me, I wish I had known this when I was your age.

Thank you, well done on the term and enjoy your break.

Our College community is very proud of you.

Dr Napoleon Rodezno

College Principal