Catholic secondary school in Gungahlin?

Fiona said :

more brainwashed children… yay.

Brainwashed, and sodomised?

Granny said :

Yes, interesting! They are obviously fairly fractured as a community, but why does it work at college?

I’ll speculate.

At college many of the students have had some choice about what they want to do.
Some of the students are more mature, especially the girls.
The students that don’t want to be there will often just not turn up if they bothered to enroll in the first place.

Yes, interesting! They are obviously fairly fractured as a community, but why does it work at college?

IN Canberra it seems that public primary schools and colleges are fantastic, and public high schools (yrs 7-10) are pretty awful.

I dunno if that age of kids are just feral, or if something is wrong with the school system.

I personally think high schools would be nicer places if some sort of class was maintained (eg – a group of kids that all do mainstream subjects together), splitting into different groups for arts and languages.

I found that expecting teenagers to be nice to each other in a different group of 30 kids every 90 minutes all day every day just didn’t work out at all, and instead of friendships, it was more of a dog-eat-dog environment.

Public education works.

chewy14 said :

Jim Jones said :

chewy14 said :

Then again Jim I never found the culture and environment of University to be anything like the real world either.

What does that have to do with anything?

I’m saying that preparing kids for University learning is not the only job of a high school/college.

I never said that it was.

Jim Jones said :

chewy14 said :

Then again Jim I never found the culture and environment of University to be anything like the real world either.

What does that have to do with anything?

I’m saying that preparing kids for University learning is not the only job of a high school/college.

Gosh – that sure is food for thought Jim – thanks for taking the time to post that information. We probably couldn’t get in there anyway, but it is good to hear counterviews (and as you said, things could be markedly different under the leadership of a different principle). I think we’ll trawl the open days and information evenings of a variety of schools over the next years or two and see which schools seem to fit best with our family, children and their learning/social requirements. It is very stressful trying to choose the right school and i really want to get it right the first time, as changing schools can be very upsetting for teenagers.

there is much more to a school than their UAI thingy!

This is so true. In Melbourne at some colleges it was common for students that were not going to contribute to a high score at the end of the year to be asked to leave. This resulted in some elite schools being able to maintain their bragging rights. Friends of mine completed and passed their Year 12 with reasonable scores and got the Uni places they wanted elsewhere. It was disruptive to them academically and socially for them to change schools for “cosmetic” reasons.

chewy14 said :

Then again Jim I never found the culture and environment of University to be anything like the real world either.

What does that have to do with anything?

Then again Jim I never found the culture and environment of University to be anything like the real world either.

deezagood said :

Jim Jones said :

deezagood said :

Radford is clearly the pick of the high schools

Oh, but how wrong you are.

Words cannot express my contempt for that place.

You need to tell me more Jim …. I have only ever heard excellent reports from current and past kids and their folks….

I should preface this with a disclaimer: I can only speak for my experience and the people I went through Radford with. I have heard that the place was particularly crap during the tenure of a particular principal (who I understood was paid out before the end of his tenure and shipped back to where he’d come from). It’s entirely possible that my experience is an anomaly.

That said, I attended the joint during high school and left for a public college after a having a truly hideous time there.

There was the usual bullying and student harassment as in any school, the same issues with drugs and drinking and the rest (and here the place really isn’t that different from any other school, really – and I’m amazed that people still do claim that it is).

What stuck in my craw was that the school was more interested in keeping up appearances and ensuring that everything looked hunky dory than providing an environment conducive to learning: the constant pressure from within the staff and the institutional culture to conform (the bad type of conformity, whereby everyone is expected to unthinkingly accept what you they are told without exercising independent thought or judgment).

I don’t want to prejudice anybody or do any damage by going into specific instances of this, but suffice it to say I left as soon as I had a chance. I went to a public college, had an absolute ball, rediscovered my love of learning (as opposed to being spoon fed information without the excitement of intellectual discovery) and went on to postgrad studies and teaching at University.

Most people I encountered who had stayed at Radford through years 11 and 12 and then went to University seemed to flunk out. The culture of the place (where students were constantly being told what to do and spoonfed the learning experience) saw their students remarkably unfit to deal with University: an environment in which you either use self-motivation and self-discipline rather than being spoon fed.

peterh said :

Gungahlin Al said :

On schools:
We have been very happy with Harrison School to date, and the designs for the extension into years 7-10 look great. And no private school costs…

On Catholic in Gungahlin:
I haven’t specifically heard of this, but have sent an email to Andrew Barr asking him. Will advise.

al,

what is the feeder for harrison? will franklin residents be able to take their kids there?

Franklin and Harrison – it is right in the middle between the two. Not sure about Gungahlin, but assume so as it doesn’t have another school that close.

deezagood said :

peterh said :

What about trinity christian school? how do they rate for a private school?

We are looking at Trinity too Peter, but they are very, very religious (like full-on religious) which scares me off a bit. Also, I had a look at all of the school UAIs (is is UAI? maybe UAS? university admission thing score anyway) for 2008 and Trinity was not so great – although obviously there is much more to a school than their UAI thingy! Purely from an academic results perspective, from memory it went Narrabundah, Radford, Boy’s Grammar, Marist, that Catholic Girl’s school near Ainslie (name escapes me), Girl’s Grammar and I can’t remember the rest. I can’t find any results for junior high school though and this is what I am struggling to decide. I haven’t discounted Trinity (their fee structure is weird though – based on a % of your income, so the richer folks pay a lot more than the less-wealthy folks … seems egalitarian in one way but very odd and a bit unfair in other ways:-)

Deeza,
i definitely wouldn’t base your decision on the UAI scores of a school.
It is not necessarily a measure of academic achievement.

Three post nutbag – I would be keen to hear any parent or student feedback on Deakin High School too …

peterh said :

What about trinity christian school? how do they rate for a private school?

We are looking at Trinity too Peter, but they are very, very religious (like full-on religious) which scares me off a bit. Also, I had a look at all of the school UAIs (is is UAI? maybe UAS? university admission thing score anyway) for 2008 and Trinity was not so great – although obviously there is much more to a school than their UAI thingy! Purely from an academic results perspective, from memory it went Narrabundah, Radford, Boy’s Grammar, Marist, that Catholic Girl’s school near Ainslie (name escapes me), Girl’s Grammar and I can’t remember the rest. I can’t find any results for junior high school though and this is what I am struggling to decide. I haven’t discounted Trinity (their fee structure is weird though – based on a % of your income, so the richer folks pay a lot more than the less-wealthy folks … seems egalitarian in one way but very odd and a bit unfair in other ways:-)

Jim Jones said :

deezagood said :

Radford is clearly the pick of the high schools

Oh, but how wrong you are.

Words cannot express my contempt for that place.

You need to tell me more Jim …. I have only ever heard excellent reports from current and past kids and their folks….

Most Christian schools in Canberra are not run by religious orders, but are simply schools set up and sponsored by church organisations. They typically have chaplains, and have a religion based subject.

Based on the experiences of others, these places seem much, much better than the public high school I went to.

I know several of the Harrison staff to be very fine teachers and administrators from their time at my daughter’s school. The principal, in particular, is wonderful. They are doing terrific things at that school from what I can see.

What about trinity christian school? how do they rate for a private school?

Gungahlin Al said :

On schools:
We have been very happy with Harrison School to date, and the designs for the extension into years 7-10 look great. And no private school costs…

On Catholic in Gungahlin:
I haven’t specifically heard of this, but have sent an email to Andrew Barr asking him. Will advise.

al,

what is the feeder for harrison? will franklin residents be able to take their kids there?

deezagood said :

I agree; am losing sleep at night wondering where to send my kids. Radford is clearly the pick of the high schools, but you have to have your child’s name down from birth or you can forget it…

Really? I have a friend that got her two kids in without too much bother. I’m fairly certain they weren’t on a waiting list for an extended period of time (I will check, though). They live on the other side of town as well.

deezagood said :

Radford is clearly the pick of the high schools

Oh, but how wrong you are.

Words cannot express my contempt for that place.

Fiona said :

more brainwashed children… yay.

Na they couldn’t brain wash me straight E’s for religion because I could not get their teachings into my head it was just fairy tale stuff. So here here I am now doing quiet well an haven’t been been molested lol. So anyway if you want to pretend to believe in fairy tales go for it but just remember kids a total rejection of fantasy is ok.

On schools:
We have been very happy with Harrison School to date, and the designs for the extension into years 7-10 look great. And no private school costs…

On Catholic in Gungahlin:
I haven’t specifically heard of this, but have sent an email to Andrew Barr asking him. Will advise.

deezagood said :

I agree; am losing sleep at night wondering where to send my kids. Radford is clearly the pick of the high schools, but you have to have your child’s name down from birth or you can forget it (unless you are Marcus Rudd). Narrabundah is apparently fantastic too, but only from year 11 up – and hard to get in to. So – where do I send them?

See my post at #28 deezagood – and forget Marist and Dara. My kids are still little so I have time to work out High schools etc. but when you make a choice I’d suggest you really take the time to get to know the staff, particularly the Head, of whatever school you choose. I almost forgot, St Francis Xavier seems to be pretty good if you’re on that side of town.

I actually think we have some fine schools here, and some fine young adults attending them.

I sit on a committee with one student representative, and I have been nothing but impressed with his contributions, his leadership, his care and concern for fellow students, his insights into the issues being discussed, and his general deportment.

Likewise I have the privilege of knowing many fine teachers and principals. Such generalisations are not evidence-based and can be discouraging and hurtful, and should be avoided I think.

I received my education in the ACT public school system and I am grateful for it.

I agree; am losing sleep at night wondering where to send my kids. Radford is clearly the pick of the high schools, but you have to have your child’s name down from birth or you can forget it (unless you are Marcus Rudd). Narrabundah is apparently fantastic too, but only from year 11 up – and hard to get in to. So – where do I send them?

Interesting read Granny.

It is really difficult to choose a high school or any school in Canberra. We nearly considered moving back to Sydney so our child could attend Fort Street – my partner is a Fortian and my child has passed the entrance exams for NSW selective schools. However child said “No way hose I’m not living in Sydney” and I agree. I don’t want to live in bloody stinky, Sydney again. However, when my partner was a child in Canberra, his family moved to Sydney so he could attend Fort Street – 30 or so years ago and the situation hasn’t changed!

The absence of any selective High Schools in the ACT bothers me. It is either the local public drug shop high school with fights filmed and put on youtube and bullying den or a religious choice.

The “colour code” crap in place of a uniform in the ACT public high schools bothers me. I saw three boys all aged about 11-12 years old being rude to and frightening elderly and other shoppers in a Canberra mall on a Friday at about 2.00pm. No way to identify them without uniforms, but I suppose if they were truly serious little thugs they would be smart enough to ditch any uniforms so they could continue their thuggery.

I suppose all we can do is cross our fingers and hope that our children have been parented well enough to keep away from violence and obvious teenage thugs and bullies that they will be safe in an ACT public high school. Though, I’m not holding my breath.

One more thing, as a Catholic, I would generally welcome an Islamic school – even here in Gungahlin! Remember, there is an Islamic school already, just up the road in Watson – in the same street, virtually, as the Catholic primary school and Australian Catholic University.

And, like Christian schools, Islamic schools come in many guises. There is not one Islam, but many. I would want to know more about what type of Islamic school was being proposed in my area…being supported by whom, what type of curriculum etc. But I would want to know this about any proposed school, not just because it was Islamic.

A good, caring, welcoming, nurturing, open-minded school – regardless of its stripes – is always going to be a good school, and should be welcome anywhere in our community.

Guys, talk about digression!

My original post was actually about where the land reserved for a Catholic secondary school in Gungahlin might be.

So, I take it, nobody knows?

Don’t get me wrong though, I have enjoyed many of the posts…. Sexual abuse, physical abuse, emotional abuse…these happen in many, probably most, school communities…not just Catholic ones. But people expect a different and higher standard in Catholic schools, and rightly so. As a Catholic, I certainly do.

An interesting link.

Steiner was a theosophist initially, later developing his own system known as anthroposophy, which seems to have an occult, white magic kind of base from my reading on the internet.

I’ve known a couple of kids who’ve been through Orana. They seem to be highly intelligent and well-educated. Well-adjusted also. Their parents have been happy with the school – sometimes having to adjust to some of the quirks inherent in the philosophy.

BerraBoy68 said :

“Care for kids,
try to always be there for kids”..” Personally, I love it.

It’s important to care for kids.
Kids, with the stars in their eyes blah blah blah blah blah blah blah
KIDS!” (The blah’s are because I am too old to remember the lyrics ;)Found it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2tICZJX2l0s

Yeahbut, they didn’t really mean it the International Year of the Child. It was just to make them feel good. In 1979 they cared for kids. But when we grew up they didn’t really like us very much anymore: highest level of unemployment 17.5%, greed is good, the recession we had to have, HECS fees etc. And goody! Now we can work until we are 67 years old. Yay.

Re: Steiner School Orana

I was very excited when we moved to the ACT to have Steiner school available. My joy was short-lived. Things may well have changed since 2001, so take this as just my experience. I made some phone calls about taking my toddler and baby to the Steiner playgroup. I was told that before I would be accepted to their playgroup, I had to attend a “coffee morning” with the other parents and would then be told if I could attend the Steiner playgroup with my children or not. From what I recall, I was also told that I couldn’t bring the baby with my toddler to the playgroup – that made it really difficult. Where do you put a completely breastfed baby who is not allowed to attend a playgroup with their sibling when you want a Steiner philosophy for all your children? Daycare? It didn’t quite fit.

I decided not, for myself and my children as I didn’t believe that such an elitist/judgmental approach to parents and small children was appropriate. It sounded much too “sorority” like for me. It was probably just the witch I spoke to on the phone having a bad day, however it put me off completely. JME.

MWF said :

We are the world
We are the children
We are the ones that make a brighter day
So lets start giving

LMFAO!

I remember that stupid song. There is another song that gets my goat. I was a child in 1979, the International Year of the Child and they had some stupid song about it. Was it that one ^^^? I forget what it is until I hear it and then I get all outraged and cranky.

“Care for kids,
try to always be there for kids”..” Personally, I love it.

vg said :

ant said :

One day we shall witness a miracle, where vg makes his/her point without having to abuse another contributor while making it.

All together now

We are the world
We are the children
We are the ones that make a brighter day
So lets start giving

LMFAO!

I remember that stupid song. There is another song that gets my goat. I was a child in 1979, the International Year of the Child and they had some stupid song about it. Was it that one ^^^? I forget what it is until I hear it and then I get all outraged and cranky.

deezagood said :

I’m pretty surprised by this Berraboy – I really didn’t think that you would send your kids to a Catholic school … in fact some of the previous threads (and comments by you)on here actually made me rethink my initial decision to send my own kids to Catholic school (not the only reason of course, but contributed in a small way to my ultimate decision to send my kids to the local public school). Wow.

Depends on the school and those running it, Deezagood. My kids go to a catholic primary school where there is not a religious order, or person, in sight. All staff are non-clerical and I have taken the time to get to know them. I spend a lot of time there and believe the staff to be good people. Furthermore, all staff at the school, including the Head, know my involvement in the Marist/Dara issue and their support for the victims is, to be honest, quite overwhelming. I have also told key staff at the school how insidious the issue is so, in a weird way, I think my involvement may have given my kids added protection. That said, what I would not do, nor would I advise anybody else do, is send their kids to a school where Priests or Brothers are in charge of students or the school in any way, shape of form. My reason is this: A couple of months ago, I was invited to meet with the Head of the Marist Brothers in Australia together with their Professional Standards Officer, another Brother on the Marist issue.

Their comments at this meeting, and in particular their downplaying of serious sexual abuse by Kostka, I found simply appalling. At one stage I was so angry and upset I had to call a break in the meeting to compose myself. The reason is that they described the abuse of one boy by Kostka as ‘just a hug, nothing serious, just a hug, all very minor stuff’ (I have witnesses to this). What they didn’t know is that I happen to know the boy they were talking about and what happened to him could never, ever be described as anything other than serious sexual abuse. Their writing this specific event off as ‘just a hug’ leads me to seriously advise anybody that will listen not to send their kids to a school anywhere near such an Order. Why? Despite all that has happened and is happening, they just don’t get it. And I won’t subject my kids to that crap.

fabforty said :

I assume then that there would be no objections to an Islamic school in Gungahlin.

I would certainly object to an Islamic School in my street. But then again, I would object if they re-zoned the land and allowed any school in my street, Catholic, Public, Sikh or whatever.

But as to any type of school opening in an appropriate area of my suburb, well as long as it is following the standard Territory curriculum (I assume there is one?) then go for it.

fabforty said :

I assume then that there would be no objections to an Islamic school in Gungahlin.

Doubtful – this is Canberra, there are always plenty of objections to everything.

I assume then that there would be no objections to an Islamic school in Gungahlin.

Another sanctuary for the pedophiles. Most of the guys I know that were in school with Brother Kostka, also do not follow the Catholic faith any longer. 😉

I only ever went to Catholic schools, including my secondary years at a co-ed boarding school.

I don’t follow the Catholic faith either, but that has nothing to do with the reasons you are implying.

This might come as a surprise to you, but not all Catholics are kiddy fiddlers.

In a perfect world, there’d be a Church of Satan High (based on the philosophy of Anton la Vey). The uniform would be friggin’ cool: black and red with the sigil of Baphomet prominently displayed.

Thanks guys – much appreciated. I’ll check it out.

Jim Jones Orana is OK (by which I mean good)The precooks are Steiner schooled and are fine. Though there’s Steiner schools and then there’s Steiner schools if you know what I mean.

Tread carefully Jim, as the non-conventional approach of the Steiner school can be confrontational for the uninitiated! Very different philosophy to standard schools, very much a child-centred, freedom-based, ‘discovery’ learning model that will benefit some kids, but it isn’t for everyone. I know kids that thrive in the Orana environment, but know of others who can’t read or write a word by grade four (but maybe these kids would have struggled anywhere?). Steiner schools are big on personal expression and individual freedoms (which can also mean that behaviour such as bullying is tackled less strictly, because those kids need to be free to express themselves too …), self-paced learning and ergo not much in the way standard assessments/grades etc… In my opinion, if you have a bright child who is thirsty for knowledge and non-conformist (doesn’t really work well with stringent rules and restrictions) then you should certainly consider a Steiner approach. I seriously thought about Orana for my youngest (my oldest just loves rules and gets upset when people deviate from them – she would have shrivelled up and died in a free-form learning environment!) as she is very imaginative and creative, and likes to teach herself things like reading/writing etc… (hates being shown how to do things – likes to figure it out by herself). Go and take a look, but be aware that this learning style won’t work for all kids.

CapitalK said :

Orana School and Canberra Montessori School are both non religious I believe or at least non denominational

Thanks. Orana looks good. I’m surprised I haven’t heard of it before. Anyone have any experiences or opinions?

BerraBoy68 said :

vg said :

Fiona said :

more brainwashed children… yay.

Schooled all through the Catholic system. Hardly call myself or any of my family brainwashed. Could call us sensible enough not to make a remark as dumb as the above, but not brainwashed.

Don’t send your kids….more room for mine

Agree with VG here. I went to catholic schools from kindy through 12. I don’t go to church and, in fact have massive issues with the catholic church as an organisation/business. So if brainwashing is actually intended to turn you off the religion it is supposed to indoctrinate you in(?) then colour me brainwashed – and so incidentally are most of my mates who also went to catholic schools but who also don’t go to church.

Do I send my kids to a catholic school? Well yes, I do but only because I believe through my own experience that private schools have other benefits besides religion.

I’m pretty surprised by this Berraboy – I really didn’t think that you would send your kids to a Catholic school … in fact some of the previous threads (and comments by you)on here actually made me rethink my initial decision to send my own kids to Catholic school (not the only reason of course, but contributed in a small way to my ultimate decision to send my kids to the local public school). Wow.

ant said :

One day we shall witness a miracle, where vg makes his/her point without having to abuse another contributor while making it.

All together now

We are the world
We are the children
We are the ones that make a brighter day
So lets start giving

I thought everyone went to Catholic schools.

Staffing the proposed Catholic school at Gungahlin should be no problem- there are probably a number of priests in Ireland that are ready and willing to migrate.

vg said :

Fiona said :

more brainwashed children… yay.

Schooled all through the Catholic system. Hardly call myself or any of my family brainwashed. Could call us sensible enough not to make a remark as dumb as the above, but not brainwashed.

Don’t send your kids….more room for mine

Agree with VG here. I went to catholic schools from kindy through 12. I don’t go to church and, in fact have massive issues with the catholic church as an organisation/business. So if brainwashing is actually intended to turn you off the religion it is supposed to indoctrinate you in(?) then colour me brainwashed – and so incidentally are most of my mates who also went to catholic schools but who also don’t go to church.

Do I send my kids to a catholic school? Well yes, I do but only because I believe through my own experience that private schools have other benefits besides religion.

Fiona said :

more brainwashed children… yay.

+1

One day we shall witness a miracle, where vg makes his/her point without having to abuse another contributor while making it.

Fiona said :

more brainwashed children… yay.

Schooled all through the Catholic system. Hardly call myself or any of my family brainwashed. Could call us sensible enough not to make a remark as dumb as the above, but not brainwashed.

Don’t send your kids….more room for mine

More children being bent over by the clergy, you meant.

More children being raised with strong direction as to right and wrong, rather than ‘everything is fine’. What a tragedy… not.

more brainwashed children… yay.

Orana School and Canberra Montessori School are both non religious I believe or at least non denominational

Radford is Anglican

Jim Jones said :

Related (but kind of a derail): are there any private schools in Canberra that aren’t religious?

Radford?

Related (but kind of a derail): are there any private schools in Canberra that aren’t religious?

Surely its not adjacent to a major road intersection. Oh wait….that kind of conspiracy only happens in Sydney suburbs!