Station 5 - Iona Presentation Community
Location: Sports Centre/Year 7 Precinct
Audio: Read by Sister Marion Beard PBVM, Presentation Sister and Past Pupil (Class of 1962).
Presentation people are people of a welcoming heart who celebrate Iona's Presentation heritage as a foundation for embracing and building the future. Iona encourages all students to demonstrate personal conviction and compassion as a valued member of the Iona Presentation Community. Pro Deo et Patria, for God and Country, our motto e'er will be.
Nano's vision was to meet the needs of all people in all places and in her own way. She formed a community of people united in heart and spirit. Iona Presentation College draws from a wide geographic base across the Perth metropolitan area and has a diverse demographic composition. This diversity is reflected in the socio-economic background of the students who comprise the College community. While Iona is physically situated in one of the more affluent parts of the city, fidelity to the Nano Nagle tradition has meant taking students from all walks of life and the provision of education opportunities where they are most needed.
A large part of 'Being Presentation' includes possessing zeal, demonstrating a passion for those made poor and for working to change the structures of society that made and kept people poor. We, as Presentation people, are called to educate and act for justice, exemplify courage and integrity in all of our interactions and place our faith and trust in God. Iona students are renowned for their strong sense of justice and personal conviction and have an outstanding reputation in the local community for the contribution to service, both past and present.
It is our hope that graduates of Iona Presentation College continue to be 'can-do' Presentation people, who endeavour to share the light of Christ with others and who follow in Jesus and Nano's footsteps in their lives beyond school.
On graduating from Iona, students automatically become members of the Iona Past Pupils Association (IPPA), which has a network of more than 7,000 members. These members maintain a strong affection and connection to Iona. They are encouraged to continue to contribute to the College life in a multitude of ways; participating in networking events and very often, return as intergenerational families enrolling their daughters or sons. The IPPA network is a rich web of progressive, brave, intelligent, and bold individuals, who are leading the way, their own way, truly 'making a difference, together.'
In a succinct summing up of the essence of the College, Sister Raphael Consedine PBVM, a Presentation Sister, hoped that graduates would cherish their role as a member of a Presentation community. She echoed the hopes of many Sisters who desired that students and staff would follow in Nano's footsteps and be Presentation people, "daring, yet cautious; forthright, yet sensitive and wonderfully gentle; visionary, yet practical; and intensely alive to the demands of the here and now!"
Acknowledgements:
Nagle Education Alliance Australia. (2016). Induction Module 1: Nano's Story. Retrieved September 2020 from www.neaa.edu.au
Sister Raphael Consedine PBVM
