Principal's Message

Dear Parent/Carer

It has been a tremendous few weeks for the College with students and staff working extremely well as they engage with assessment items and related marking to inform end of semester reports. It is hoped that students continue to apply themselves not only at school but also at home, sharing with family what they have been learning in the classroom and what assessment items need to be completed. A student's ability to demonstrate what they have learnt about and can do very much depends on the strong partnership that exists between the College and home. 

Our College community would now be aware that we value regular school attendance. To this end we have presented to our students the expectation that with regular school attendance comes the opportunity to represent the College in extra-curricular experiences. It would be inappropriate for the College to permit a student to take further time out of learning when their attendance is already not high. Please note that it is understood that absences from school may be for a variety of reasons and if a student falls below a threshold required to attend a school representative activity, this can be discussed with the Pastoral team for further consideration. This again highlights the importance of a strong College/family partnership, with open channels of communication. 

I thank our College community for allowing our staff to attend our PROCLAIM experience in Port Macquarie last week. We had over 640 staff from all Catholic schools in the region attend. Our theme ‘Hope for the Future’ provided us with the opportunity to hear from Dr Maeve Heaney from the Australian Catholic University and Roby Curtis, the Director of Emmanuel City Mission, Brisbane. They were engaging presenters and provided all those who attended the chance to consider the concept of Mission as it plays out in our relationships/lived experiences and in what we do as employees of a Catholic school. 

Last week we recognised National Reconciliation Week which is seen as a time for all Australians to learn about our shared histories, cultures, and achievements, and to explore how each of us can contribute to achieving reconciliation in Australia. I thank Mr Conrad Tamblyn for leading our staff in a prayerful reflection to recognise this important week. We most recently recognised National Sorry Day in the regional context of Kinchela Aboriginal Boys Training Home which was run by the NSW Government for almost 50 years from 1924-1970 to house Aboriginal boys removed from their families. May we continue to pray for all those who were impacted and continue to be impacted by this decision. 

This week we welcome back Fr James from a well earned break and acknowledge Fr Jim who looked after us across this period. I attended a most successful Principal’s gathering in Port Macquarie this week and note that we should continue to be proud of all we are doing within our College. The engagement of the ‘Tell Them from Me Survey’ was extremely high and we are very keen on unpacking what our community wants us to know about their experiences of St Paul’s and how we can do things better. 

I trust our families enjoy the long weekend and get the opportunity to ‘catch a collective breath’ that will get us all through the last few weeks of Term. Wishing you all special moments with family and friends.

Kind regards


Mr David JOHNS   B.Ed., Cert. Gifted Ed., Grad. Cert. Adol. Health and Welfare, M.Ed. (Ed Lead), M.Ed. (Theol)