OUR STORY
Who is Dominican Education Australia
Dominican Education Australia (DEA) is a Ministerial Public Juridic Person which was established in 2016 by three congregations of Dominican Sisters – the Congregation of the Dominican Sisters of North Adelaide, the Holy Cross Congregation of Dominican Sisters, Adelaide and the Congregation of the Dominican Sisters of Eastern Australia and the Solomon Islands. DEA oversees the canonical governance of six Education Ministries in the Dominican tradition. The Board of Trustees of DEA has responsibility in civil and canon law for these ministries across New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia.
The Timeline of the Development of DEA can be found here.
The Vision of DEA
The vision of DEA is to continue and further enliven the works of DEA and takes its vision from the inspiration of Jesus Christ and the spirit of Dominic. It continues to build on the founding grace and traditions of each of the Congregations. It assumes the responsibility to further the Education Ministries of the Dominican Congregations as well as other works accepted by DEA in the future.
The Mission of DEA
Every person is important in a Dominican educational community of DEA. Our Education Ministries strive to be inclusive, caring and welcoming. Our mission is to nurture DEA Education Ministries as places of excellence in teaching and learning in the Catholic tradition. Dominican schools have always been characterised by a strong commitment to outreach and social justice. They encourage critical thinking and develop self-confidence. DEA Education Ministries work to provide a stimulating holistic learning environment and encourage and support each teacher and student to be their best.
DEA has inherited and is blessed with the work of many Dominican Sisters and educators whose courage and commitment have brought Catholic education, the Gospel message and the Dominican story to countless students and their families across Australia for more than 150 years.
Our Foundations
The life, death and resurrection of Jesus provided a critical touchstone for St Dominic, as it has for all Christians in all times and places. It is to the story of Jesus that today’s Dominicans must look as they seek to give new life to the story of Dominic in their own time.
Dominic was a man of prayer and deep faith. Attentive to the Word of God, he brought scripture into dialogue with religious and political systems, seeking to find for the people of his own time a pathway into greater truth and justice. He was an astute reader of the social context of his thirteenth century world. Dominic’s unique preaching of the Gospel has continued to inform and inspire his followers for 800 years.
When the three founding Dominican Congregations were established in the nineteenth century in Australia, their focus was to respond to the education needs of the growing Catholic population. While the Dominican Sisters answered this need for well over 100 years, there are now new ways of responding that invite collaboration with others who are also deeply imbued with the Dominican tradition, ethos and values. Today, through the establishment of Dominican Education Australia, many competent and professional men and women, lay and religious, work together to continue to express Christ’s Vision and Mission within the Catholic, Dominican tradition.
The Dominican Charism
The traditions, values and ethos that comprise the Dominican charism emanated from ‘the graced life of Dominic’. At its heart, the Dominican charism is characterized by the energetic, purposeful and dynamic search for truth (veritas), which emerges from thoughtful contemplation. The Dominican motto, ‘to contemplate and share with others the fruits of contemplation’ underlines the fact that the Dominican charism is a living tradition, alive and continuing to evolve.
As Dominicans, we recognise that the search for truth leads us to a personal graced encounter with the God who is our centre. Dominican educators strive to inspire students to wakefulness, a wakefulness to wonder and awe, to beauty and joy. Learners are challenged to discover the Holy One in our world, and to recognise the innate dignity and creativity of each person. Such qualities are intrinsic to the Dominican tradition and encourage an eagerness to pursue the search for truth. Dominican educators are weavers of the thread of the tapestry that creates the ongoing Dominican story.