Mary’s ideals live on in small town SA
Schools
Taylor has been principal at the Reception to Year 9 St Joseph’s School for the past couple of years and it is apparent she is the ideal person from whom to find out just how Josephite education works 160 years on from its origins.
Peterborough is “quite far from everywhere” says Taylor Meyer who lives in the historic railway town about 250 kilometres north of Adelaide
Taylor has been principal at the Reception to Year 9 St Joseph’s School for the past couple of years and it is apparent she is the ideal person from whom to find out just how Josephite education works 160 years on from its origins.
For context, St Joseph’s has 72 children spread across four classes from what is essentially a low socio-economic backdrop.
“We do have a lot of children from families who are doing it tough,” said Taylor. Many staff volunteer in the canteen each morning to help prepare cheese toasties for about half of the school’s intake.
The principal is one of the most upbeat and focused people you could hope to meet.
The school began as St Anacletus School in 1884 in an old wooden and iron building situated between the Broken Hill and Terowie train lines before the Sisters of St Joseph, and under the guidance of Mary MacKillop, started classes three years later.
Today it instils values that matter most including Catholic identity, learning, student identity, and community engagement.
St Joseph’s School has 20 staff and is an important employer locally.
The local demographic is transient – as in the late 19th century, the Josephites followed the railways as that’s where the workers were – and the Catholic intake across the 72 pupils is low.
“We do serve a really marginalised community in different ways. It’s about bringing the Gospel to people’s lives and about serving these people,” said Taylor.
“The golden thread is helping people.”
The community ethos was strong when Taylor arrived in Peterborough. Intriguingly, Mary Hemmings, a Josephite Companion and former teacher who has helped organise the 160th anniversary celebrations in Kensington on 7 August, worked for a year in the town earlier in her career and was equally struck by the genuine nature of the people and surrounds.
“Addressing adversity with compassion, dignity and excellence in teaching and learning takes up a fair amount of school time. We talk about that a lot of the time. It’s our true north.”
There are 120 minutes of religious education classes each week. “We are really urging our children to form opportunities to learn about prayer and liturgy. (To ask) how do we speak and act towards people?”
So, how aware are the children of the story of Mary MacKillop?
“They get confused with all the Marys…It’s something that develops over time. There’s wonder and awe. Mary MacKillop and the Sisters of St Joseph are the salt of the earth. It was not that long ago when Mary was in Australia and was walking the streets of Peterborough. It gives us a real window into the Gospel.”
On the long October weekend this year, Peterborough will celebrate its 150th anniversary as a town and St Joseph’s will be at the fore of the festivities, in preparation in part for the school’s 130th anniversary, which falls next year.
“There are groups of people that make a community stronger,” said Taylor. “It’s very wholesome. It’s very real.”
