Dear Community Members, 

Good Afternoon. There is quite a lot of reading in this edition of the Gazette!

Prize Day pre-recorded video

You can view the pre-recorded Prize Day from 18:00 this evening by logging on to the SEC YouTube or Facebook channels.

It is not necessary to log in at 18:00, the video will be there for viewing for everyone from 18:00.

 

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St Edward’s College Education Committee

Below find the ‘bios’ of the newly established Education Committee. Our first meeting was held this week.

Prof. Richard Muscat

Old Edwardian (1967-1976) – captained the school football teams from under 13 to under 15 and finally under 17 and received half and then full colours.

He moved to the UK to complete undergraduate studies in Pharmacology at Liverpool and then moved to London to complete Masters, doctoral and postdoctoral studies in the field of neuroscience.

His postgraduate studies resulted in the development of a model of depression that is one of the most used in the scientific literature to date.

He moved back to Malta in 1993 to join the Physiology Department at the University and is now Head of Department and also Director of the newly inaugurated Center for Molecular Medicine.

Between 2006 and 2016 he was Pro-Rector for Research and Innovation during which time the University revamped most laboratories and this resulted in part to the increase in quality and number of research publications in high impact journals.

During this period he also sat on the San Anton School Board that culminated in his appointment as Chair for the last two years when the school started to build a new block that included new labs and also a multipurpose hall.

Finally, his tenure as Chair of the National Addiction Advisory Board within the Ministry for Social Policy has resulted in the launch of a National Drug Policy as well as in 2018 a National Alcohol Policy. In January 2021 the first centre for adolescents will open to help those with substance use problems. 

Prof. Valerie Sollars

Valerie Sollars is an academic member of staff at the Faculty of Education within the Department of Early Childhood & Primary Education. Her interest in and promotion of early childhood education and care has led to her authoring several policy documents (2006, 2013, 2014), contributing to an Early Years Framework as part of the National Curriculum Framework (2008-2012) and developing the first undergraduate programme of studies for early years practitioners (2009-2016). She also co-ordinated the development of a post-graduate degree in Early Years with colleagues from six European institutions and subsequently was a member of an international consortium delivering an Erasmus Mundus Master in Early Childhood Education (2010-2016).

In line with one of her research interests, Valerie has conducted research focusing on emergent literacy and young language learners and led a number of language-related projects at the ECML in Graz (1998-2007). Valerie has recently published articles focusing on parents satisfaction about early years settings and transitions from kindergarten to compulsory school. Forthcoming publications include a comprehensive report on the early years workforce drawn up for the SEEPRO-R project and which follows from previous work (Sollars, 2007) and an article for Oxford Bibliographies entitled Early Childhood Education in Europe. She has also authored a chapter on children's use of spaces and places to be included in a publication by the President's Foundation for the WellBeing of Society. Her current research focuses on quality issues from the perspective of parents and staff and the history of early childhood education in Malta.
Valerie was a Head of Department (2004-2011) and the Dean of the Faculty of Education (2007-2015) at the University of Malta. She has also served on various national and international boards including the Council for the Teaching Profession; the Institute for Education; the National Institute for Childhood and the European Network for Teacher Education Policy (ENTEP).

Prof. Mary Anne Lauri

Mary Anne Lauri graduated from the University of Malta after reading for a first degree in Psychology and proceeded to read an M.Sc. in Social Psychology at the London School of Economics (LSE). She obtained a Ph.D. from the University of London under the supervision of Professor George Gaskell at the LSE. She joined the University of Malta as Assistant Lecturer in 1992. She was promoted to Lecturer, Senior Lecturer and later to Associate Professor. Between 2006 and 2016 she was Pro-Rector responsible for Students and Institutional Affairs.          

Her research interest is the study of theoretical and empirical applications of social psychology to everyday societal issues such as religion, health and the media. One of the main theoretical frameworks she uses is the theory of Social Representations.            

She has been appointed to serve on several national committees and boards such as the Editorial Board of Public Broadcasting Services, The National Bioethics Committee, The National Commission for the Family, The Maltese Psychologists Profession Board, the Adoptions Board and the Board of Ethics for the President's Foundation. She was also president of the Maltese Psychological Association between 2004 and 2008. 

Dr Louise Ellul Cachia Caruana

Louise is a lawyer by profession after graduating from the University of Malta. She later pursued her Master’s Degree in Financial Services also at the University of Malta. Louise has been partner at EMD Malta since 2006 and leads the tax and advisory services arm of the firm. Her main areas of practice are corporate and commercial law, financial services and employment law.

Louise is an old Edwardian and has been a member of the Board of Governors since 2004. Her links to, and passion for, the College, however, span over several decades, her father having first been a teacher and subsequently Headmaster of the College between the years 1976 – 1989. As a member of the Board of Governors, Louise headed the team which was instrumental in the establishment of the kindergarten section of St Edward’s College.

Louise has held academic posts within the Faculty of Laws at the University of Malta for the past 25 years and currently holds the post of Senior Visiting Lecturer within the Department of Media, Communications & Technology Law. She is also examiner and moderator in various aspects of law with other institutions including the Institute of Financial Services Practitioners and The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants. Amongst the various posts held, Louise sat on the Board of Governors of the Malta Financial Services Authority between 2009 - 2014 and was a founder member, and former council member, of the Malta branch of the Society of Trusts and Estate Practitioners.

Louise is the mother of 4 children with her eldest son being an Old Edwardian and her youngest son a current Edwardian. 

New items on our website

Finance Committee and Education Committee - http://stedwards.edu.mt/school-organisations/

Grievance Policy  - http://stedwards.edu.mt/grievance-policy-procedure/

Wishing you all a very good weekend.

Sincerely,
Mr Nollaig Mac an Bhaird
Headmaster