When the parish priest of Melton’s St Dominic’s Catholic Primary School, Father Michael Moody, commissioned a sculpture for the school grounds about four years ago, the end result bore great significance.
Carved from a gum tree, the sculpture of an eagle represents principles to which the primary school adheres.
Principal Brett Collison explains: “An eagle has to be taught how to fly. It has to be shown by its mother how to fulfil its potential. And if the fledgling falters in its first flight, it’s borne up by the mother until it lays hold of its innate gift.
“That’s how our school works. We enable students to ‘fly’, helping them discover their unique potential, then seeing them soar into the future with confidence and courage.”
Named after a saint whose courage, truth and compassion defined him, the Christ-centred school has reflected similar values since opening in 1976.
Recently, pupils celebrated Kohomonohi, a Japanese children’s day in May, with traditional drumming (pictured). This inaugural event supported the introduction of a Japanese language program earlier this year.
Mr Collison says he’s particularly chuffed with the school’s cafe, which opened last year.
“This was a student-driven initiative that attracted funding. In the past, our grade 5 kids ran a weekly ‘cafe’ where they developed cooking, organisational and money-handling skills.
“We didn’t have a proper facility for them. But their enthusiasm was rewarded and now their ‘Cafe Eyrie’ is up and running, with parents able to visit to see how the kids handle a proper working kitchen as a learning environment.”
