Faith in Our Stories: A Catholic Educators Symposium Rooted in Place, Charism and Story

Across Aotearoa New Zealand, Catholic schools carry stories that are far bigger than the buildings, plaques, house names and feast days we see around us. They are stories of courage, service, mission, faith, migration, manaakitanga, sacrifice and belonging. They are stories of the people who came before us, the communities who welcomed and shaped us, and the tamariki who will carry these histories into the future.

This is the heart of Faith in Our Stories: Catholic Educators & Leaders Symposium, a new Catholic education symposium hosted by the Telling Your Stories Project.

Designed for Catholic school leaders, teachers, DRSs, Boards, parish partners and community educators, this gathering will bring together educators from across Aotearoa New Zealand and Australia to explore how story can strengthen faith, deepen identity, honour charism and bring learning to life in the classroom.

In a time when schools are being called to make learning more local, more meaningful and more connected, our Catholic stories offer a powerful place to begin.

Why story matters in Catholic education

Every Catholic school has a foundation story. Some are carried in the name of a saint. Some live in the charism of a religious order. Some are held in the memories of parishioners, kaumātua, former students, sisters, brothers, priests, founding families and long-serving staff. Some are woven through the land itself: the maunga, awa, marae, churches, convents, school gates, street names and local communities that have shaped generations of learners.

When students learn these stories, they begin to see that faith is not abstract. It has been lived by real people in real places.

They learn that Catholic education in Aotearoa New Zealand has been shaped by people such as Bishop Jean-Baptiste François Pompallier, who arrived in New Zealand in 1838 and helped establish the early Catholic mission; by St Mary of the Cross MacKillop, whose Sisters of St Joseph came to serve and educate in Aotearoa; and by Suzanne Aubert Meri Hōhepa, whose life of compassion, service and deep relationship with Māori and Pākehā communities continues to inspire schools today.

These stories are not simply historical details. They are living taonga.

They help young people ask:

• Who are we?

• Whose shoulders do we stand on?

• What values have been entrusted to us?

• How do we live our faith in this place, at this time?

Connection to place, connection to faith

Catholic education has always been about formation, not just information. It helps students understand themselves as people of dignity, purpose and relationship. Storytelling supports this by connecting faith to the places students know: their school, parish, whenua, neighbourhood, families and local histories.

When a school explores its foundation story, students can begin to see how charism is lived. The Mercy tradition becomes more than a word on a wall. The Marist story becomes more than a crest. The Josephite call to serve becomes more than a feast day. The Compassion story becomes more than a biography.

Through story, charism becomes visible.

It becomes visible when a student discovers why their school was founded.

It becomes visible when a class learns about the sisters who taught in the first classrooms.

It becomes visible when tamariki connect local iwi histories with the Catholic story of their community.

It becomes visible when students create their own books, artworks, plays, prayers, oral histories and digital stories in response.

This is where deep learning happens: when faith, place, identity and curriculum meet.

Honouring the legacy of Catholic education in Aotearoa New Zealand

The legacy of Catholic education in New Zealand is rich, complex and deeply human. It includes the dedication of religious congregations, parish communities, lay teachers, families and students who built, funded, staffed and sustained schools across generations.

It also includes the responsibility to tell these stories well.

At Telling Your Stories, we believe that schools are full of histories waiting to be uncovered and shared. We have had the privilege of working with Catholic school communities including St Mary’s Papakura, St Mary MacKillop School, St Mary’s Ponsonby, St Paul’s Ponsonby, Holy Trinity Catholic School, St Francis Catholic School Point Chevalier, Marist School Mt Albert, Marist Catholic School Herne Bay and St Francis Xavier School in Tawa.

Each school holds its own distinctive story.

In some communities, the story may lead us back to Bishop Pompallier and the beginnings of the Catholic Church in Aotearoa. In others, it may open up the courage of the Sisters of Mercy, the educational mission of the Marists, the practical faith of Mary MacKillop and the Josephites, the compassion of Suzanne Aubert, or the Franciscan call to simplicity, peace and care for creation.

These stories help students see that Catholic education has always been shaped by people who responded to the needs of their time. They crossed oceans. They built schools. They learned languages. They formed relationships. They served the poor. They taught children. They created communities of faith and learning.

Today, our students are invited to become part of that same living story.

Keeping oral histories alive

Many of our most important school stories are not sitting in archives. They are held in people.

They are in the memories of grandparents who attended the school decades ago. They are in the voices of parishioners who remember the old church, the convent or the first classroom. They are in the stories of mana whenua and local iwi who know the deeper history of the place.They are in the experiences of former principals, teachers, priests, sisters and families. They are in the students themselves, who bring their own cultures, languages, faith journeys and family histories into the classroom.

When we invite students to listen, interview, record, illustrate, write and retell these stories, we do more than preserve the past. We form young people as active participants in their community’s future.

Storytelling is a powerful act of belonging.

It tells students: you are part of something.

It tells communities: your memories matter.

It tells schools: your charism is still alive.

It tells the Church: our faith continues to be carried by the next generation.

A symposium for Catholic educators, leaders and storytellers

Faith in Our Stories has been created for Catholic educators who want to make their school’s history, charism and faith tradition meaningful for today’s learners.

Across the symposium, participants will hear from keynote speakers, school leaders, researchers, writers, illustrators and educators exploring the role of storytelling in Catholic education. Sessions will consider foundation stories, iwi partnerships, bicultural perspectives, visual storytelling, student authorship, leadership, pedagogy and the practical ways schools can embed story into curriculum and classroom life.

This Catholic educators symposium is an opportunity to gather, reflect and be inspired.

• It is for schools beginning the journey of rediscovering their story.

• It is for schools wanting to make their charism more visible.

• It is for leaders seeking meaningful professional learning.

• It is for teachers looking for rich, local curriculum connections.

• It is for Catholic communities who believe that our histories can still speak powerfully to our tamariki today.

Come and be part of the story

Our Catholic schools are full of stories worth telling. Stories of faith. Stories of courage. Stories of service. Stories of place. Stories of people who believed education could transform lives.

Now is the time to bring those stories forward.

Join us for Faith in Our Stories: Catholic Educators & Leaders Symposium and discover how the histories, charisms and living stories of our Catholic school communities can inspire learning for students of all ages.

Find out more and book your place here: https://www.tellingyourstories.co.nz/faith-in-our-stories-symposium