Communio: a report on the second gathering

Approximately 50 participants made of school leaders, HODs and SMC Chairpersons attended the second gathering of Communio last Friday afternoon. Montfort Secondary was our gracious host.

Michael de Silva, our guest speaker, facilitated the afternoon’s reflection and discussion on “Leader-educators in Catholic Schools & Catholic leader-educators: living the values and culture.”

Working with the participants, he identified four areas of concern that school leaders of Catholic schools face:

• the situation of increasing secularism in our schools
• the need to rethink the policy of affiliation between primary and secondary schools
• the question of “what do our schools exists for?"
• the involvement and quality of Catholics as teachers and leaders in our schools

In raising these concerns, Michael challenged participants to think beyond management. School leaders, he pointed out, are leaders when they are willing to grapple with tensions and problems faced and to find creative ways to respond to them. Leaders lead, not manage. He also singled out the need for Catholic school leaders to be clear about the rationale for Catholic schools. A school leader who clearly understands this will be able to lead the school better.

Throughout the afternoon, there was a healthy exchange of views, as there was a sense of a community sharing and seeking ways to better lead our schools.