Lourdes Hill College Principal Ms. Robyn Anderson

As the Principal of Lourdes Hill College, I welcome the opportunity to share with you our vision for this College community.

Lourdes Hill College caters for the education of young women in Years 8 - 12, that is from approximately twelve years through to seventeen or eighteen years of age. Our aim is to provide a caring environment which is responsive to the needs of each of our students, academically, physically, pastorally and spiritually. Each person has a unique blend of gifts and talents and our community is enriched by the contribution which each makes to the life of the College.

There are three aspects of Lourdes Hill College that are most significant – our name, the Congregation who established the college and the spirituality that enfolds us. In 1858 it is said that Mary appeared to a young peasant French girl called Bernadette and told her that the town of Lourdes contained healing waters. Bernadette was instructed to dig very dry earth and suddenly water unexpectedly gushed forth. Many who are sick today still travel to Lourdes in France to bathe in those healing waters. When the Good Samaritan Sisters were setting up this College, Archbishop Duhig said that the site reminded him of Lourdes. Consequently the words of our motto "Look to the Star and call upon Mary" are special to us.

Lourdes Hill College was established in 1916 by the Good Samaritan Sisters of the Order of St Benedict. Sometime in the early part of the 6th Century, Benedict a young Italian man formed a community of monks to praise God and to progress learning and education that had been neglected in the Dark Ages. Benedict's community formed in God's name lived according to values that we at Lourdes Hill also try to live by.

All of the values associated with Lourdes, The Good Samaritan Sisters and Benedictine Spirituality are lifelong values that help us to be people who are embracing life to the full and seeking justice for the marginalised in the spirit of the Good Samaritan. Our values are almost invisible except in the lives of those of those who live them. Indeed our values are also the recipe for a community both at school and at home.

Our Good Samaritan tradition encourages us to provide balance for our students in terms of catering for the challenges which are necessary for them across the spectrum of their mental, physical, cultural and spiritual development. Therefore, opportunities available to students are broad, both within the curriculum and through co-curricular activities, and each girl is encouraged to strive to fulfil her individual potential.

Boarding students are a valued part of our community and every effort is made to support both the students and their families in the particular challenges which confront them in being educated away from home. Our boarders gain from the school activities available to them as well as through the opportunities which are offered to them in the life of the Boarding House.

Lourdes Hill is a vibrant community. I feel privileged to serve this community. I believe our Catholic Colleges can be prophetic communities. I also believe that happy students learn.

At Lourdes Hill College, we publicly embrace values that when lived, can create a more just and peace-loving world. Such values seem to be needed more now in our world than ever before.

Ms. Robyn Anderson