Tiempo de seguimiento de los pacientes y mortalidad

The all-pervasive nature of Special Character must surely affect the nature and quality of Catholic school culture, particularly where transmission of that Special Character is an effective and powerful characteristic of the school' s conscious and subconscious activity. After all, Special Character, fully integrated with the whole culture of the school, does not merely add another dimension to school culture. It shapes and sustains it, and its influence is perceptible in the ways in which members relate to that culture; in its basic functions and in its ongoing influence on the health of the culture and the development of its members. This research presents several distinct effects of Special Character on the culture of Champagnat College.

Bonding

There is strong evidence that people associated with Champagnat College make strong emotional bonds with it; bonds which endure even when this association has ceased for many years. Comments such as "it will be hard to leave" (CCIS# I :30) and ''they keep

coming back" (CCISF# l A: 1 7) are frequent. Participants, themselves, use the word

'bonding' to describe this phenomenon and perceive it to be a characteristic of Marist schools. The nature of bonding varies in its influence on different groups within the culture, the relationships between them and the quality of emotional ties. It occurs amongst past and present students, staff, parents and the Marist Brothers.

Bonding amongst and between students is centred on the quality of the friendships they make whilst at Champagnat. As 'brothers' who share not only the same ethnic background but also membership of, for example, sports teams, students value each other. Qualities admired by the student body are a commitment to hard work for the sake of the 'team' ; dedication to the same goals; courage in adversity; reliability, determination and above all, loyalty to each other and the college. The pride that they have in their school is a strong feature of their bonding, as the Director of Religious Studies observes:

The kids feel a great love of Champagnat. They feel it while they're here. They feel it after they've left ... I feel very l ittle disaffection towards school. The kids, they' re proud to be here when they're here. They love it. They feel at home (CCISF#3A : 1 3 ).

A Year 1 3 student supports his perception:

I'm actually here because I sort of want to be here ... this place - it does do something and it's sort of hard to leave to be honest (CCIS# 1 :30).

The bonding which takes place, often very quickly amongst new students, may last for several years as this long-serving teacher remarks:

Our kids have that they are part of one thing, part of Champagnat college and that doesn't go away. You know, they come back. They've been out of school for eight years, they come back. I ' ve had a student that I taught probably seven years ago, maybe eight years ago, dropping around to my house, saying "Look, M iss. You always wanted me to get my driver's licence and now I have" so after you leave you feel an ongoing sense of belonging to Champagnat (CCISF#8:3).

Past students keep in close touch with the college. The college chapel and hall have been venues for birthday celebrations, weddings, baptisms, haircutting ceremonies, wedding anniversaries, and funerals. According to participants, on one memorable occasion, the chapel was used for the funeral of a local State high school student who had been tragically killed in a fire. A teacher observes that:

all those things mean that this is a l ived-in place (CCISF#S: 1 6).

Ex-students regularly contribute their professional skills for the good of the college. News of their activities and successes over the years is a feature of the school' s weekly newsletter. However, much of the ongoing contact between past students and the college community is informal. Parents who work in the school tuckshop have this to say:

They come back to visit us. They pop around and say "We were j ust in the school, so we thought we'd pop in and visit. And we always tell them 'Don 't forget to come back and visit us" ... if they ever go near the school, they always pop in and say ' Hello' and stop and

have some tea or have a little chat and buy something off the tuckshop (CCIP# I : 1 1 ).

The Director of Religious Studies also relates this experience:

We' re getting a lot of say, old boys from two or three year back hanging around the place a lot, in good times and in bad, which is quite good ... They follow the college, and find out what's going on, and a few of them do it. They network among their friends and their relations, so it spreads around the community quite q uickly (CCISF#3B : I S).

Bonding amongst staff and parents is reflected in the years of service many have given to the school. Champagnat College staff stay for a very long time. For example, several staff have been employed at the college for between seven and twenty years. The love of these people for the college is strong as these remarks reflect:

The Brothers as I said before, taught me the value of commitment; that it' s not a j ob, it's a vocation and that's why I do it (CCISF#3B: 22).

I really love Champagnat and it's a whole thing; it's a whole parcel, not little bits cause there's lots of it that I don't like (CCISF# l A: 22).

The workload that they are prepared to undertake is often a matter of anxiety for their colleagues. One woman shares this concern:

He works too hard. He puts in about 1 00 hours in this place and if you come in here in the weekend, you would find him working then too (CCISF#7: 1 FN).

Qualities of commitment and dedication are respected and admired by others, as is their willingness to make personal sacrifices for the good of Champagnat students. Even when they leave, staff are remembered by the college community. Prayers are said for them in times of sickness and bereavement. A member of the Board sums up this devotion of many members of the Champagnat college staff:

There are people here who would do far more with somebody than other schools are prepared to give, you know. They're prepared to walk that extra mile, pastorally and academically, to help someone (CCIP#3 :2).

Champagnat College like other New Zealand Catholic schools has a Parent/TeacherlFriends

Association (PTF A). The work they do is not unlike that of other parent/teacher

associations, but the years of service provided by some members is clear evidence of the close bonds that have built up between these people and the college community. Some members have served the school for over twenty-five years, often as members of both the Board of Trustees and of the PTF A. Although membership is promoted by the school, the group has very few members. One participant described her involvement as a "sort of

extended family thing" (CCIP# 1 :2), almost a "kind of family hobby" (CCOP# 1 : 1 FN).

Activities, such as the college fair, are successfully undertaken primarily by:

Contacting the ' usuals' of the parent body who have always helped in the past (CCOP# I : I FN).

The bonding of these individuals with the school is, therefore, a necessary support for a college faced with the ongoing difficulty of encouraging largely non-involved parents to become more active in their relationship with the college and its activities.