Faith in Our Stories: Reflections from Our First Catholic Educators and Leaders Symposium
Updated: 2 hours ago
On the 20th of August 2026, Catholic educators, school leaders and storytellers came together at Te Mahurehure Cultural Marae in Auckland for Faith in Our Stories, our first ever Catholic Educators and Leaders Symposium. Hosted by Coactive Education and the Telling Your Stories Project team, the symposium explored the power of story to strengthen faith, honour culture, deepen learning and build connections within Catholic school communities.
Following a mihi whakatau and very warm welcome from our hosts at Te Māhurehure Cultural Marae, a day of storytelling perspective commenced. From imagination and illustration to Catholic identity, wellbeing, local history and curriculum, a wide range of knowledge was shared.
Here are some of the ideas that stayed with us.
Why our stories matter
The day began with our Telling Your Stories founder Del Costello sharing the inspiration and philosophy behind the project itself.Part of its origins came from a personal realisation. Del recognised how little she knew about her own ancestry and, in turn, how little she knew about the history and stories of her own Catholic education.This prompted her to consider how we could possibly understand where we belong if we don't know the stories that brought us here. She realised that we cannot, and something must be done. Since then, Telling Your Stories has worked to uncover and preserve 18 Catholic school stories, turning the history of their people, places, faith and communities into living resources.
The message behind this work is simple: “If we don't use them, we will lose them.”
Professor Peter O’Connor: Warming the imagination
The panel began with our keynote speaker, Professor Peter O’Connor, who presented a compelling exploration of the role stories and imagination play in our lives.Stories help us make sense of the world. They connect the head and the heart and allow us to step outside ourselves and imagine things differently. As Peter reminded us, if we can't imagine, nothing changes.He explained that education should not simply prepare young people for the future. It should give them the capacity to imagine new futures.
Peter also challenged the way schools sometimes reduce storytelling to the act of listening. He stressed that stories are inherently sensory, creative and participatory experiences. They lend themselves to the building of relationships, empathy, and give young people opportunities to discover who they are. One powerful example came from Peter's work following the Christchurch earthquake. Through imagination work, children used ideation to “repair a torn dream cloth”, which helped them focus on important values and feel less hopeless in the aftermath.It was a powerful reminder that imagination is not a mere tool of escapism. It can be utilised to understand and reshape the real world.
Audrey Kippen: Knowing our roots
Audrey Kippen, Principal of St Mary's Catholic School, turned our attention to the relationship between history, whenua and Catholic identity.
She addressed an important question troubling many Catholic educators: Why focus on the past? Isn't that a distraction from our Catholic mission?
Her answer was that understanding the past is part of that mission. Drawing on Psalm 1, Audrey spoke about Christian witness and the responsibility to honour all God's children who have stood on the land before us. For her school, this included addressing unconscious bias and recognising that the story of the whenua held great value.This message was beautifully captured in a recorded speech by Year 5 student Ava, who reflected that a tree cannot continue growing without its roots before making the profound point that “people are a bit like trees.
”Knowing our roots helps us understand where we stand, where we belong and how we might grow."
Kate Costello: Writing a picture
Stories, of course, aren't only told through words. Artist and Telling Your Stories illustrator Kate Costello explored how illustration communicates meaning and contributes to storytelling.
Using a bilingual child's chalk drawing as an example, Kate demonstrated how an image can communicate a consistent message that defies language. She compared illustration to handwriting, art to calligraphy and AI-generated imagery to keyboarding, highlighting that each medium serves a unique purpose. While art is up for personal interpretation, illustration is more directed.
Attendees then had the opportunity to experience this themselves. Kate invited everyone to “write a picture” of the moment they knew they wanted to become an educator. Her own example came from a maths test she had doodled on as a student. Rather than reprimanding her, her teacher added doodles of their own. It was a small interaction that stayed with her and a fitting demonstration of how illustration contributes to story telling.
Andrew Murray: Faith, flourishing and wellbeing
Author and former principal Andrew Murray brought a deeply personal dimension to the day.Drawing on his own experiences and doctoral research, Andrew spoke openly about living with long COVID, relearning cognitive function and eventually stepping away from his role as a principal. His story brought together struggle, faith and wellbeing, with Jesus at the centre.
A key message was the importance of knowing, belonging and connection. Andrew also turned the focus back onto the educators in the room, encouraging attendees to consider what they do to prioritise their own wellbeing. Soon everyone was on their feet, swapping partners and brainstorming ideas together. The energy in the room demonstrated the message in itself: connection, shared faith, and prioritising wellbeing is undeniable in its power.
Holy Trinity Catholic Primary School: Story as a living resource
Principal Peta Lindstrom and members of the Holy Trinity Catholic Primary School team showed what can happen when a school takes its story beyond the page. Drawing on their experience with Coactive Education and the Telling Your Stories Project, they explained how their school story had become a thread connecting learning across the school.
Story became a starting point for inquiry, rather than the answer.
Students weren't expected to memorise their school's story but rather, they were encouraged to understand that they were part of it too.The school developed prompt cards, artworks and other ways of integrating the story into learning, including a crowd favourite: a living museum. Students dressed as characters from their school story and used their own research to bring those people to life in an interactive exhibition.It showed how history can become something students actively question, investigate and contribute to.
Steve Saville: Creating a story where everyone belongs
To conclude the speaker sessions, former principal, author and Telling Your Stories writer Steve Saville took attendees behind the scenes of the storytelling process.
Steve explained that creating a school story involves more than putting historical events into chronological order. The aim is to shape a narrative in which every young person can see themselves and understand how they belong to their school and place. These stories bring together many interwoven strands: historical figures, buildings, school culture, tangata whenua, iwi, the wider community and the things that make each school unique. They look to the past while also providing a springboard for future learning.
Our stories are still being written
Though the symposium was filled with different speakers, stories and experiences, the themes of faith, imagination, identity, belonging and connection, remained consistent.
The stories of our Catholic schools are not confined to the past. They find life in our classrooms, communities and faith, and in the people who walk through our school gates each day.The conclusive lesson to take away from Faith in Our Stories is not how to preserve the stories we have inherited, but how to use them. When we know, share, and build upon our stories, they help us understand where we come from, where we belong, and how we can shape the future.
Thank you to all who attended Faith in Our Stories; Catholic Educators Symposium
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