First and foremost, we try to have a whole school culture towards this aim, starting from the school management team, teachers and learning support educators, and all the minor staff. Students and parents should absorb this culture without much talk. Sr. Melissa D’Amico (College Principal) and The Pastoral Care Team are directly responsible for this. We are also linked with another 2 secondary schools in Italy and together we decide the theme of the year and plan possible resources. Each year, together with our partner schools in Italy, we discern a focus that guides our pastoral and educational journey and prepare resources to support it. At primary level, an Italy–Malta team also provides materials designed to help our girls grow in their faith, deepen their relationship with Jesus, and learn more about St. Jeanne Antide Thouret.
In practice:
1) All college staff have one or two seminars per year to get to know more our ethos and discuss practical ways of how to put it into practice in our everyday situations.
2) When we invite parents to school for different events, we make them ever more aware of the college ethos and their responsibility at home to enforce what students get from school.
3) At kinder and primary level, girls get one session per week of “spirituality” – we want to become best friends of Jesus.
4) At secondary level, girls also have one session per week of spirituality – we learn how to listen and respond to God’s voice through Lectio Divina. They are also offered experiences such as Taize, live-ins, prayer spaces, encounters with out of school religious realities, and the celebration of St.Jeanne Antide.
5) We also emphasise our responsibility towards the missions outside of our country by giving them information of various missionary projects and collect funds to be sent to “Fondazione Thouret”
6) When the girls finish their school years with us, we keep in touch with them by offering a meeting for 16+ once a week.
7) When they are 18+ we continue to accompany them in their human and spiritual life with regular meetings and service to the poor in Malta, but also we give them the opportunity to do short experiences abroad – always combining formation and service to the poor.
