Identity Statement

Each year the school concentrates on one of the four focus areas which are listed at the bottom of the School Identity Statement (pictured above).

In 2023 our school-wide focus is on supporting the students to develop their ability to grow and increase their capacity for ‘resilience’. Resilience is the ability to harness one’s inner strength to help them rebound from setbacks or challenges. It gives one the ability to see past these challenges, to find enjoyment in life and better handle stress. These skills can be developed and learned with practice and commitment. While we can still experience strong emotion during challenging times, with resilience we keep functioning — both physically and psychologically. It’s also important to acknowledge that being able to reach out to others for support is a key part of being resilient. 

Mary MacKillop is a wonderful role model of how reaching out to support others can help to achieve great things. She experienced great adversity and hardship but never stopped working for others and achieving her best with great determination, perseverance and resilience. Caring about others and behaving towards them with affection, generosity and concern can lead to one having genuine feelings for another person’s struggle and being compelled to take action with the desire to help. 

Genuine expressions of compassion are fundamental to authentically living out our own faith, nurturing the faith life of our Catholic school community to be inclusive of all. In order to promote lifelong learning, we value each of these essential skills at St Anne’s, and work in partnership with families and the community to help foster these in the students. As always the strong tradition of the Josephite sisters in the Temora community and in particular of St Mary of the Cross MacKillop, influence our theme. We hope to instil these same skills of determination, perseverance and resilience in the students and whole community of St Anne’s. 

It is our aim to not only encourage a sense of commitment, but also to promote initiative to seek out a relationship with God, to use their voices to speak up when they are in need and to act with genuine concern for one another whilst growing in their own capacity for resilience. 

Our scriptural quote for 2023 is:

“Whatever troubles may be before you, accept them bravely, remembering whom you are trying to follow.” (Mary MacKillop,1909)