Tom Sheridan, SET Executive Officer
Thar ceann SET, fáilte romhaibh go dtí ár gcomhdháil bhliantúil. Tá lúcháir orm go bhfuil an oiread seo daoine anseo linn inniu. Mar ghrúpa de cheannairí scoile le luachanna coitianta, is feidir linn úsáid a bhaint as an ocáid sea chun foghlaim óna chéile. Mo bhuíochas le gach éinne a roghnaigh a bheith rannpháirteach linn; tá súil agam go mbainfidh sibh taitneamh agus tairbhe as na laethanta seo.
On behalf of the Board of Directors and the Executive of SET, I am delighted to welcome you to Newbridge to our annual seminar, which affords us the opportunity to retreat from the daily demands of our lives and take some time to think, relax and exchange ideas. I thank everyone for making the time to join with us as I greatly appreciate how busy you all are, and the many demands made on you.
Since last year’s meeting we have said farewell to the leadership team of the Irish Spiritan Province. I wish its members well in their new roles and thank them for their leadership and support to all of us who are engaged in the Spiritan educational mission. I am very happy to welcome the new Provincial, Fr. Martin Kelly C.S.Sp., and the education delegate, Fr. Peter Conaty C.S.Sp. Their attendance here is a testament to their support for the work in which we are all engaged, and I wish them every success.
It is encouraging that we have so many chairpersons of our boards of management as well as members of SET’s Board of Directors in attendance. Their leadership and support echo the Spiritan core values, especially the call “not to be served but to serve” (Mt. 20:28) Our school leaders operate in an increasingly complex educational landscape in which the range of skills made available through the generosity of our voluntary board members helps to ensure the continued excellence of our schools.
A school is defined by the commitment and professionalism of its senior management team. We are fortunate that our schools enjoy leadership grounded in Spiritan values and sound principles of educational management. Cognisant of how difficult it is for our principals and deputy principals to leave their schools and grateful that they have again shown their support for us by their presence here, I thank them for their continued co-operation with SET and for their support of our various initiatives.
I hope that everyone will enjoy these couple of days “off campus” and that we will be able to avail ourselves of the opportunity afforded to engage with colleagues on both professional and social levels.
* This is an edited excerpt.
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