Marist Education forums are live-in professional development sessions for various groups from the National Network of Marist Schools. They are held in Wellington, scheduled five or six times a year, and run from 5.00pm Thursday to 3.00pm Friday. The Forums are presented by the JC Colin Project.

The purpose of the Forums is to bring together interest groups from the schools and provide input on Marist spirituality, on topics pertaining to the particular group, and to give individuals the opportunity to network with other educators. The Forums are held in the peaceful environment of the Home of Compassion Conference Centre in Island Bay.

Some of the Forum groups:
• Principals and Board Chairs
• Senior Management
• Pastoral Caregivers
• Directors of Religious Studies and Chaplains
• Teachers of secular subjects
• Teachers new to Marist schools
• “Tagged” teachers
• Head Prefects and Teachers in charge of Leadership
• Ancillary Staff
• Sports coaches and Coaches of other extra-curricula activities
• Religious education teachers
• Teachers in Marist schools who are not Catholic

Built into the Forum timetable is the opportunity for learning, both from the presenters and from other educators, as well as time for reflection and relaxation.

THE FAITH JOURNEY FOR PARENTS AND STUDENTS

The Faith Journey series is for students in Year 9 and their parents. It goes under slightly different names in its adaptation to each school. (Confirmed as a Bedean; Becoming a St John’s Man; Becoming a Patrician; Becoming a Silverstreamer.) The programme has four components, one for each school term, and is designed for parents and their sons and daughters to gain a deeper understanding of the Catholic and Marist nature of their school, as well as the individual history and traditions of their school.

Each component of the programme is a series of “conversations” about belonging, about being Catholic, being Marist, and being a member of their own unique college community. Parents and students have complementary booklets that allow the parents to guide the conversations, as well as learn together about their school in the context of the Catholic faith and the Marist educational tradition.

The programme is presented initially by the JC Colin Project before ownership and responsibility of the programme is taken over by each individual school.