St David's Manifesto
St David’s Marist Inanda has committed itself to furthering the values and ethos associated with “being Marist” in our mission to educate boys and young men in a manner that strives to achieve the vision of St Marcellin Champagnat, the Marist Brothers and St David’s. This document articulates this vision.
In joining the St David’s Marist Inanda ‘family’, whether as a pupil, parent, staff member, old boy, volunteer or friend, we ask all stakeholders to commit to upholding and actively supporting this manifesto and by extension, our values, vision and mission.
Our Vision, which is drawn from the constitution of the Marist Brothers states, “The Marist School, as envisaged by Saint Marcellin Champagnat, offers families an approach to education that draws faith, culture and life into harmony.”
Our Mission states that “St David’s Marist Inanda is a school in which all members of the school family recognise the special Catholic character of the school and join in upholding the Christian teachings of the Gospel within a Catholic Marist tradition of Humility, Simplicity and Modesty (our Marist Values).
“Our teachers provide a challenging learning environment, which enables boys from diverse backgrounds to realise their potential and develop their talents.
“Our school is an African school preparing boys to take their place in society and to build South Africa as enquiring, well-balanced individuals aware of their social responsibilities to the wider community, and ready to respond with compassion and justice to the realities of society.”
'Building on the rocks'
St David’s Marist Inanda is a Catholic school blessed to be able to return again and again to the Marist roots on which it was founded. This manifesto is titled around and deeply rooted in the Marist text Water from the Rock, which builds on the spiritual story of St Marcellin Champagnat, the founder of the Marist Brothers. The title of this written work refers to building the Hermitage (the first Marist Brothers’ house in France) by hand with rock that he and the Brothers had hewn themselves, and to the water from the Gier River that flows through the Hermitage property.
Our Marist “Rocks” recognise education as a relational process steeped in mutual respect and diversity. They focus on providing a common purpose for all who are part of St David’s, and by implication part of the global Marist family.
Our journey is based on a vision of something better for our world – a dream to realise for our boys. It is built on the rocks that are steadfast and timeless, to ensure stability while we work with the shifting requirements of a better world.
To achieve this vision:
- Our school works to be a positive reflection of the society we live in – a community-based school in a transformed society, which reflects the Marist values that remain unchanging even as the world changes
- Our school values trust and communication as the foundation to building relationships
- Our school treasures a common purpose, from Mini Marists to matric, constantly seeking synergies within the whole school
- Our school operates and takes decisions in the best interests of our boys, both individually and collectively. This should always include finding ways in which the boys both inform and influence our thinking and decision making
- Our school strives for excellence in all we do, particularly in the way we do things and not just in the outcomes we achieve, as guided by our Marist values
- Our school aims for efficiency of purpose, ensuring that this becomes part of the boys’ journey too. In a world of “too much”, we must constantly apply a “less is more” approach
- Our school works towards sustainability (environmentally and financially), so that our boys both internalise this and live it on a conscious basis
- Our school reminds all that teaching young people is a highly valued profession, one to be promoted and one in which ongoing staff growth and development is critical. We will continuously build a staff that operates on the principle of subsidiarity and stable succession to develop new leaders and new managers, allowing all staff learning opportunities
- Our school is an exciting and innovative space where our boys and staff are stimulated
- Our school allows failure to exist alongside success, where risks are taken as part of learning.
- Our school collaborates and encourages cross-age learning, where the formal curriculum is freed from the boxes that limit learning, and where a deliberate parallel curriculum is focused on what is best for the boys at each age level
- Our school is one where intellectual endeavour, lifelong learning and academic rigour are required for both boys and teachers, one where a culture of professional learning and teaching practice is in place
- Our school offers our boys a guided formative journey, as they enjoy integrated growth through the years that builds a narrative across all fields (including the arts, character growth, service and leadership)
- Our school learning spaces are developed to reflect 21st century needs. Our campus must reflect our school needs and the needs of our environment and values, offering appropriate facilities to complement our boys’ learning journey
- Our school embraces and teaches in new directions, including technological changes relevant for our world and trends in education that will enrich our boys
- Our school teaches global citizenship, aware of our responsibility as a school in Southern Africa
- Our school finds ways to integrate academic and non-academic support areas and people, building relationships and collaborating to provide equitable support
- Our school finds ways to fund development plans (capital and human development) through donor relationships and business partnerships, developing a philanthropic and entrepreneurial outlook in our boys even before they become Marist Old Boys
- Our school remains relevant and dynamically aligned to the world we operate in, with primary focus on our Marist foundation (which values the diversity of our student body and the building of an inclusive community), our Catholic tradition, and the South African and global challenges we face.
- Our school will never tolerate discrimination in any form (including but not limited to religion, race, gender and sexuality), and always values diversity and celebrates opportunities to learn from our diverse community
- Our school uses parental and old boy input, valuing their role as stakeholders and operating on a basis of mutual respect
- Our school focuses on finding unique St David’s models in every area, learning from others, but ensuring that our St David’s brand is home-grown and focused firstly on the needs of our boys
In choosing to be a part of this school community, we align ourselves with the commitments articulated in this manifesto and undertake to support the school through our own behaviours and interactions.