Our Story
A telegram, dated 22nd January 1951, was sent to The Reverend Mother General, Good Samaritan Convent with the following message:
“200 children awaiting opening school Mitchelton.
Decided accept two Sisters and seek teaching help for them.
School opens Tuesday 30th.”
Regards
Archbishop Duhig
Fr Nugent with students
In 1951 Our Lady of Dolours, Catholic Primary Parish School, Mitchelton was opened with 69 children and two Sisters of the Good Samaritan. By the end of its first year, enrolments had risen to 125. This growth continued until 1957 when the new Catholic school at Grovely opened.
Hear our story in our school song.
Today, lay people, committed to spreading the good news of the Gospel, staff the school. An active Parents’ and Friends’ Association along with various committees support the school. Our Lady of Dolours Parish and the school enjoy a close relationship, with support from the Parish Team. The children are eager to learn and are positive about their environment. Our Lady of Dolours School has a history of being a place where innovative practices, strategies and organisation are explored to meet the needs of students. The size and spirit of our school allows for personal attention and provides opportunities for each child to shine in an environment that celebrates their achievements.
School Values, Spirituality & Charism
The Catholic School is defined by a lived commitment to the life teachings of Christ and the Church. We are called as a Catholic Christian Learning Community to embed the four components of;
· Prayer and Worship
· Evangelisation and Formation
· Religious Identity and Culture,
· Social Action and Justice into school life.
Out of these radiates the integration of faith, life and learning. The spirit of the Creator has been part of this land for thousands of years, and is home to the indigenous Turrabal people. We acknowledge them as the traditional owners of the land and pay our respects to the elders both past, present and future as the first educators and builders of our community.
Since 1932 the Archdiocese of Brisbane has provided pastoral leadership to the faithful of Our Lady of Dolours Mitchelton. We stand on the shoulders of both the clergy and laity that built the community and acknowledge the contribution of those who continue with its formation.
Our charism is grounded in the formative work of the parish, the spirituality of St Benedict and the Sisters of The Good Samaritan of The Order of St Benedict who founded the school in 1951. These find expression in our house names of NUGENT, BENEDICT and SAMARITAN. The early school motto; ‘In all things may God be glorified’ gives expression to the ancient Benedictine philosophy to live by paying attention to the fullness of life. This finds resonance in the current school motto, Living Loving and Learning in Christ, which draws upon the Good Samaritan charism; of recognising the powerless and marginalised and responding with our core values of COMPASSION, JUSTICE and WISDOM.
The Congregation of the Sisters of the Good Samaritan of the Order of Saint Benedict is the first Australian ‘home grown’ congregation of Catholic religious women. Archbishop John Bede Polding, an English Benedictine monk and Australia’s first bishop, founded the congregation in Sydney in 1857.
Known affectionately as the Good Sams, the congregation and the wider Good Sam family continue to draw inspiration from two key sources:
- the rich wisdom of Benedictine spirituality
- the much-loved parable of the Good Samaritan.
A story about being neighbour… The Good Samaritan
Jesus told his Gospel story 2,000 years ago on the steep, dusty road that ran between Jerusalem and Jericho. The story was about being neighbour.
Centuries later in the bustling harbour city of Sydney, Archbishop Polding became a neighbour to the needy and outcasts of colonial society – to convicts, the unemployed, the local Indigenous people and the fledgling colony’s many destitute women. He founded the Good Samaritan Sisters to continue this work.
Benedict on mission
The Good Samaritans were to be, in Polding’s words, missionary Benedictines in the Great South Land of the Holy Spirit. Their neighbourhood soon opened out beyond Sydney to embrace other cities and rural areas of Australia.
In time the sisters answered the call to respond to the urgent social needs and the spiritual hungers of people in Japan, the Philippines and Kiribati.
Today the Good Sams and their countless partners in ministry bring compassion and justice to an expanding global neighbourhood.
Our Kid in the Crest
The story of The Kid in the Crest is about our kids, our school, our aspirations for the future and our vision for learning.
The Kid in the Crest values are the values that Christ was trying to make real in the lives of those with whom he lived and traveled. We are living these values when we think about what we are being asked to do every day so that we can have a more peaceful, thoughtful and just society. We believe in the compassion, wisdom and justice of Christ. We strive to show these values in our actions every day.
The Kid in the Crest is a lifelong learner who uses these values via his or her head, heart and hands to:
- get along with others,
- think, learn, inquire and create, and
- act to make a difference in the world.
Our Lady of Dolours Kids in the Crest are taught to be compassionate, wise and just within a holistic curriculum.