To be a beacon of hope and witness to the truth is the focus of a new Strategic Plan for Sacred Heart School Goomalling.
Speaking with The Record, Principal Chris Burns said he hopes the new strategic plan will be launched in early 2021, with implementation to take place between 2021 to 2024.
“The strategic plan is important for our school to give us a foundation going forward with what our future focus will be,” Mr Burns said.
“Sacred Heart Goomalling is a fantastic place. It is a very proud community with a rich tradition and highly regarded in the Wheatbelt area of being a school that has strong pastoral care for its students and staff.
“It is crucial in helping us continue to build on the strengths of the school going forward,” he continued.
Founded by the Presentation Sisters – a religious congregation founded by Nano Nagle – Sacred Heart Goomalling has 65 students and 20 staff members.
The school also held a dedicated planning day for its stakeholders on 25 August and among the attendees were staff members, representatives of the P&F Committee, Chairperson of the School Board, (now former) Goomalling Parish Administator Father Patrick Toohey, as well as former students Amy Tyson and Nana Leslie Murphy – both of whom have established connections with the institution.
Before the planning day, Year 5 and 6 students voiced their hope on how the School can evolve in the coming year, and contribute to the strategic planning process.
“We do not know where the strategic plan process is going to lead, or what outcomes we will produce from our strategic planning process,” Mr Burns said.
“However, we want to hear from the people who are passionate about our school, so that we can unite ourselves as a community for the best of our children.”
Mr Burns emphasised that the strategic planning process had brought together the people in the community who are “very passionate about the school and take great pride in the tradition of the school”.
“One thing that stands out to me is the tradition, and the connection the people in the community have to the parish,” he explained.
“Some of the things that have come out in the process so far include making sure that we hold on to our tradition and that we build on not only doing some great work inside the school gates but also that we bring our work to the community.
“Our school motto is to witness the truth – which has been demonstrated well by our students and staff – and to be outward-looking, ensuring that people in Goomalling and the surrounding areas know that we are a Catholic school in town, who live by our motto of witnessing the truth,” he added.
Mr Burns believes it is necessary to ensure that the process goes back to the roots and tradition of the school by using the teachings of Nano Nagle as a guide.
“One of the important things is that we go slowly and take a comprehensive approach to see what is happening at our school at the moment, and how we are going to make sure our school continue to be a fantastic place centred in Christ to come every day,” he stated.
“My challenge as principal is to make sure that we keep coming back to our motto of witnessing the truth and that we remember the reason the school was founded,” he continued.
“In busy times, we can often lose sight of our primary role as a Catholics school, hence as a Catholic school we need to keep checking in with our vision, mission and model of witnessing the truth, as well as knowing who we are as a community, and why we are here in the first place.”
Mr Burns hopes the school can continue to be Christ-centred, and prioritise its students.
“We like to give [the students] the opportunities to celebrate their God-given gifts in a safe environment. I hope the school can be outward-looking into our community and contribute positively,” he concluded.