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Graduate Outcomes

That young people leave the Doxa School community with greater confidence as independent learners and being more emotionally self-aware and better able to manage themselves as they undertake their future pathways.

We endeavour to educate our students to;

  • Achieve academic success to meet their individual goals.
  • Demonstrate a willingness and confidence to return and maintain their place in mainstream schooling or their chosen pathway.
  • Be able to develop and maintain healthy relationships with peers, family and within the wider community.
  • Recognise the importance of compassion, empathy, kindness and respect in relationships.
  • Display resilience, hope, humour, perseverance and determination.
  • Understand the impact their choices have on the world in which they live.

To achieve our graduate outcomes, we will;

  • Provide a safe, supportive and fair environment for our students, staff and families.
  • Provide tools and a structure to foster change in each individual.
  • Provide role modelling and experiences to help build healthy relationships drawing on Gospel values.
  • Build and nurture strong healthy partnerships with students, families, schools and the wider community.

Our Vision

Doxa School Bendigo is a Catholic specialist setting in the Sandhurst Diocese for vulnerable and disengaged students who experience difficulties in maintaining their place in mainstream education. We uphold the values of our Faith, the dignity of human life made in the image of God and the right of our young people to live safely.

Vision

To inspire a greater number of young people and families in our community to reach their full potential through quality education, leadership and practice.

Mission Statements

Doxa School Bendigo is a transition school in the Catholic tradition, which engages young people, their families and the wider community in an experience of whole person growth.

We do this by;

  • Drawing on Gospel values, deriving inspiration from the life, work and spirit of Marcellin Champagnat, founder of the Marist Brothers.
  • Offering a focused educational intervention, seeking to empower young people and their families with a spirit of hope.
  • Supporting students in developing and enhancing healthy relationships with self, peers, family and community.
  • Seeking to support students to maintain engagement in education through partnerships with schools, families and the broader community.
  • Valuing the diversity, resilience, potential and unique gifts of young people.
  • Characterising hope, humour, endurance and determination.

History

Doxa School Bendigo opened its doors to students in July 2006 with the support of a partnership between the Doxa Youth Foundation, the Diocese of Sandhurst and the Marist Brothers and under the Governance of the Administrator of St Kilian’s Parish, Fr Rom Hayes.

Doxa School is proudly a Catholic school and lives the values of compassion and service to those that are vulnerable in our community.

Our current school building was officially opened in October of 2006 by our great supporter the late Bishop Joe Grech, Mr Peter Bugden the Deputy Director of Catholic Education in the Sandhurst Diocese, Brother Paul Gilchrist, Provincial of the Marist Brothers Southern Province and Ms Julie Rolfe, CEO of the Doxa Youth Foundation.

Representatives from local and regional businesses, schools and community organisations were present to celebrate the opening of our new school which was made possible through the generosity of the Doxa Youth Foundation and the Federal Government who provided the grant to refurbish the building. Our connection with the Marist Brothers strengthened by the building formally being part of Marist Brothers College Bendigo.

The convenience of being located on the edge of the CBD makes it easy for our students to access the school. We have had students travel from as far as Echuca to the north and Gisborne to the south which reflects the broad region we have served from 2006 to the present.

Our humble beginnings which saw us begin with 13 students in 2006 and today we have impacted the lives of hundreds of young people in Central Victoria. We currently have room for up to 50 students to be enrolled in our programs on site.

The concept of Doxa School developed through research carried out in Bendigo in the 1990's around student engagement in our schools, this led to a commitment to explore the possibilities of providing an alternative to mainstream schooling for students requiring something different. After 2000 the Catholic Education Office of Sandhurst worked to seek a partnership to help and eventually were able to secure the support of the Doxa Youth Foundation who were already supporting a similar school in Melbourne. Doxa School Bendigo adopted the program of the Melbourne school and opened for business in 2006. Over time our program has evolved to better cater for the needs of students and families in our community. In January 2021 Doxa School Bendigo changed governance from the St Kilian’s Parish to the newly incorporated Catholic Education Sandhurst (CES Ltd).

Since then our programs have evolved to meet the needs of our local community and our partner schools and organisations, and to provide a place of peace and healing where spirits can be nurtured and faith restored.

 

 

School Information

Doxa School Bendigo is a Catholic Flexible Learning Setting established to meet the need for an alternative option for education for students ‘at risk’ in the wider Bendigo region. This school complements other alternate educational providers in the region and it is open to students from all sectors.

This program aims to re-engage students who are at risk of not completing their compulsory years of education because of a range of difficulties that affect their ability to engage in learning in a mainstream school setting. It provides supported and flexible education options for vulnerable students 13 years of age and older whose educational journey has been a challenging one for them.

The Doxa Youth Foundation, Catholic Education Sandhurst and the Marist Brothers came together to establish our school in 2006. Doxa School Bendigo educates in the Marist tradition of service to the marginalised and vulnerable. Our school is governed by Catholic Education Sandhurst (CES Ltd).

Our current programs provide for students in years 7 to 12 in enrolment of 12 months or more to support their re-entry into their mainstream school or other appropriate educational settings. We also transition students to vocational pathways. We have a strong focus on Literacy, Numeracy and Social and Emotional Learning to help our students build the resilience and confidence they need to take the next steps towards success on their life’s journey.

We currently have room for up to 50 students to be enrolled in our community and we are committed to building strong and supportive relationships with our students and their families, and also the various organisations and individuals that provide a range of support for young people in our region.

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