"I have come that you may have life and have it to the full."

John 10.10

The Pastoral Care of students has always been a feature of the Catholic School System. The word ‘pastoral’ is derived from the Latin ‘pastor’ or ‘shepherd’ referring to Jesus, the Good Shepherd who cares for his flock.Pastoral Care refers to the total care of the student and is based upon a belief in the dignity of the person. In our school, it is expressed through:

• the establishment of an effective care network for every student,
• the provision of satisfying and fulfilling learning experiences within a safe, encouraging, and compassionate environment, and
• the development of quality relationships within the total school community.

At Domremy College, we are committed to assisting each girl to mature in every area - spiritually, intellectually, physically, socially and emotionally. During this time, she is faced with many personal changes and comes to a sense of self-identity within her family, peers and in the wider community. It can be a time of questioning and loneliness and the Pastoral Care system is there to support her and help her through her journey.

At Domremy, we seek to establish structures and policies which will allow young women to experience "life to the full". "Living life to the full" means the recognition and celebration of achievement and satisfaction, while also showing perseverance and the personal power to manage difficulty. To enable students to do this we:

• Promote the fostering of high quality interpersonal relationships between students, parents and staff as a responsibility shared by everyone.

• Foster students’ self discipline and responsibility, wherein students grow progressively in their capacity to exercise moral judgement, democratic values and a concern for the common good.

• Provide a Pastoral Care program as a specific and planned means of helping students to value themselves and to experience well being.

• Provide a comprehensive and high quality curriculum so that students are afforded the competence, confidence and right to participate in the cultural and productive life of society.

• Provide supportive organisation and administrative structures, which are responsive to the needs and well being of students.

• Promote the relationships of trust, cooperation and partnership between the school and family members, and the maintenance by school personnel of respect for and sensitivity to diverse cultural values and family structures and issues.

We seek to achieve these principles through:

• The RE and Retreat program

• Orientation programs

• Guest speakers

• Personal Development program

• Pastoral Care program

• Camping program

• Availability of committed staff

• Daily interaction that supports a young woman’s personal growth

Pastoral Care Structure

Every teacher is committed to the pastoral care and guidance of students in his/her care. The school acknowledges that parents are the main pastoral carers of their daughters and where concerns arise, every attempt will be made to work through these problems jointly by involving parent, student and staff. The school undertakes the following procedures where concerns arise:

• the Roll Call teacher is first involved and makes every attempt to sort out the problems with the student
• where difficulties still arise the Year Guidance Co-ordinator will follow up by interviewing the student
• if concerns continue then the School Counsellor will be involved.

Parents may be contacted at any time throughout the above procedure.

Students are free to approach the School Counsellor, Guidance Co-ordinator or Roll teacher for an interview. Some students need short term individual care while a longer period of care is required for others. Confidentiality of the student is maintained.

The Pastoral care of students is woven into their daily lives at school through formal and informal contact with staff, RE Program and Retreats, Personal Development Program, Special Education Program, Orientation Program for Year 7, Activities Program, Camping Program for Year 8 and 10, sport and lunchtime activities; dance, drama and music activities.

The image of the Shepherd reflects for us our vision of Pastoral Care:
“I am the Good Shepherd......
I have come that you may have life and have
it to the full.”
John 10:1

Restorative Justice

At Domremy we have adopted a framework for dealing with conflict called Restorative Justice. Over the past year Domremy staff members have received training within this framework and several of our Staff Development Days have been devoted to learning about and implementing restorative practices within the school.

Restorative Justice is a philosophy which aims to help students to learn from their mistakes and reconcile and resolve problems with others. It recognises that conflict occurs between people, but it encourages students to look at the effects of their behaviour and to recognise that conflict can cause harm, hurt or damage to relationships.

The Restorative framework recognises that the result of punishment usually is to make someone who is already discouraged feel more discouraged. Punishment generally doesn’t teach anything about self-control or more effective ways of solving problems.

Restorative Justice is a framework which is not about blaming, instead it focuses on the behaviour and aims to produce positive outcomes for the students and to repair any damage to relationships which may have occurred. Often it is arranged for students to meet and talk to those who are most affected by an incident or a behaviour, be it teachers or other students. This meeting takes place usually with a facilitator, such as their Guidance Coordinator, present. Depending on the incident the Assistant Principal, Principal, teachers or parents may also be involved in the meeting. This meeting focuses on bringing about some learning and acceptance of responsibility on the part of the student/s for their actions and on resolving any conflict.

Restorative Justice is an effective set of practices and philosophies which underpins our Pastoral Care Program at Domremy. Its use has allowed girls to learn from their mistakes, take responsibility for their actions and to resolve conflict and move forward without blame.

Top	121 First Avenue Five Dock NSW 2046 T: 9712 2133, F: 9712 5296 E: info@domremy.catholic.edu.au