Roisin and Ann Down Under

For some time, the team has wanted to visit our fellow Edmund Rice schools in the Oceania
province, so after the restrictions of COVID were lifted we leapt at the chance to do so when
Edmund Rice Education Australia invited us to Australia this summer. Spending two weeks
between Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney, Ann and Roisin managed to spend time in 8
schools, participate in a staff formation program, meet with the EREA Liberating Education
team, meet with Brothers and friends to share expertise and learn about an Edmund Rice
education experience in Australia.

It is difficult to sum up in a few words how greatly enriched we have been by the experience
in our Australian schools. We were enthused and enthralled by the rich ways Edmund’s
Charism is nourished and celebrated – finding ourselves surrounded by each school’s
distinct Christian Brothers heritage. The ways in which Edmund’s Charism is lived today by
students and staff was evident through the care for one another and the Earth, through the
great educational and leadership opportunities and also through students’ experiences of
reaching out to those on the margins. We were in awe of the funding models that allow
such breadth of study and fantastic facilities and also how teachers’ wages are so much
better than the UK. Our government could have much to learn!

Visits to Flexi Schools have to be a highlight for both of us. The creative and safe learning
environments built by the staff in the Flexis was incredible; the attention to individual needs
and the care for students who had struggled in the mainstream system truly seemed to
embody an Edmund Rice vision for today. We are grateful to the Liberating Education Team
of EREA and especially to Brian Garrone who hosted us so warmly and created a varied
program for us. We hope that closer ties have been created between both our branches of
the Edmund Rice family and look forward to further joint projects.