I arrived at the Marist Next Gen Conference expecting to learn more about leadership.

I left thinking much more deeply about the kind of teacher I want to be.

Looking back, it wasn’t a keynote speaker or a particular workshop that has stayed with me most. It was the people. Graduate teachers, experienced classroom teachers, Learning Leaders and regional staff all came together with a genuine willingness to learn from one another. There was an openness that I hadn’t experienced before. People were willing to share their successes, their challenges and, perhaps most importantly, the things they were still learning.

One moment captured that perfectly. During a discussion on Catholic Social Teaching, several of us admitted that it was an area we were still trying to understand. Rather than continuing with the planned session, the facilitators stopped, listened and reshaped the conversation around our questions. It would have been easy to move on. Instead, they showed us what leadership can look like when listening comes before having all the answers.

That openness stayed with me.

Later in the conference, we were asked to reflect on the teachers who had made a difference in our own lives. Faces came to mind almost immediately. What surprised me was that I remembered very little about the content they taught. What I remembered was how they made me feel. They believed in me before I believed in myself. They challenged me, encouraged me and quietly gave me the confidence to pursue opportunities I never imagined for myself.

As I sat with those memories, one question kept returning.

What will my students remember about me?

I found myself carrying that question into every conversation and every session that followed.

Dr John Kyle-Robinson (National Director – Marist Schools Australia) spoke about the importance of balance and reminded us that we cannot continue to give our best to others if we fail to care for ourselves. It wasn’t simply a message about wellbeing. It challenged me to think about the kind of presence I want to have for my students each day. If I want them to feel supported, encouraged and valued, then I also have a responsibility to sustain the passion that brought me into teaching in the first place. As the conference continued, another phrase kept surfacing: Known and loved.

Hearing Mr Darren McGregor (Regional Director – Marist Schools Australia) return to those words repeatedly gave fresh meaning to something I had always appreciated about Marist education. Before students remember what we taught them, they remember whether they felt they belonged. Whether they felt seen. Whether someone genuinely knew them.

Those reflections also prompted me to think more deeply about my own faith. While I had always valued working in Catholic education, I realised I wanted my relationship with the Catholic Church to become something more personal. Since returning from Brisbane, that reflection has led me to begin my journey through the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA). Looking back, it feels like a natural continuation of the questions the conference first encouraged me to ask.

Some of my favourite moments happened after the sessions had finished. Sharing the conference with my colleague, Sally Price, meant the conversations continued over dinner and while walking back after each day. We would unpack what we had heard, reflect on the people we had met and imagine what these ideas might look like back at Marist-Sion College. They are conversations we are still having, and I hope we continue to have for a long time.

Months later, I still find myself returning to one question.

What will my students remember about me?

I don’t know if they will remember every lesson I taught.

I hope they will remember they were known.

I hope they will remember they were loved.

Chantelle Baxter
Teacher