Principals quizzed on big questions facing Catholic schools
Have you ever wondered what Catholic school principals think about the major issues impacting education today? This year, The Catholic Voice is contacting principals across our Archdiocese to share their insights on important topics and gather their expert perspectives. Read their candid responses to better understand our Catholic schools’ challenges and opportunities.
When searching for the ‘right” school, what should parents prioritise?
When searching for the right school, parents should prioritise attending any enrolment events at the school, including open day tours and information evenings.
If your child is in Year 6, see if the school offers a taster day where your child can experience secondary school for a day.
At these events, you get to meet the people – the students, the teachers and the principal.
This gives you a wonderful sense of what the school values, its academic offerings and the pastoral program.
You get to see and hear the school in action.
Parents need to consider if the school meets their child’s educational needs and their family’s values.
When you consider these factors and do the research by visiting the school, talking with other parents and viewing the website, parents can make a more informed decision about which school will be the best fit for their child.
Gaye McManus | Principal
Trinity Catholic College Goulburn
How do you help students maintain their faith in the face of challenges, peer pressure, or societal distractions?
As educators, our role is not to impose but to accompany. We must meet students where they are, listening deeply, finding common ground, and gently leading them to a broader understanding of faith. Like skilled ambassadors, teachers must enter with respect, seeking to understand before offering something of value. Faith is best nurtured when we recognize the goodness already present, encourage curiosity, and reveal God’s presence in the everyday moments of their lives.
Doubt is an essential part of the faith journey. Our responsibility as educators is to offer something substantial that feeds both the intellect and the soul. Religious education must go beyond history or sociology; it should engage with the deep questions students are asking. A safe, analytical distance from faith does little to satisfy their search for meaning.
To help students sustain faith amidst challenges, peer pressure, and societal distractions, we must provide authentic experiences of faith. This happens through well-formed staff, a rich liturgical life, meaningful traditions, and prayer that is both educational and spiritually enriching. Religious education must balance intellectual rigor with a personal search for truth, while social justice initiatives should be grounded in an encounter with Christ and love for humanity.
Ultimately, a student’s spiritual journey should encourage a sense of the sacred, with gospel values embedded into school life. Faith is not simply taught; it is lived and invited for students to experience themselves.
Matthew Hutchison | Headmaster
Marist College
Why is it important to have Catholic schools in the community, and what should they strive to achieve?
Catholic schools play a vital role in providing our families with a faith-based education, empowering our students to be who God created them to be. They are places where children are nurtured and supported by dedicated staff, fostering a deeper awareness of God’s presence. In doing so, each school brings its Motto to life, guiding students on their journey of faith, learning and personal growth.
We welcome all, creating an environment where everyone is valued, supported, and encouraged to become the best version of themselves. It starts with us!
We see our students in the image and likeness of God, and it is our purpose, to provide places of wonder, hope, and joy, where faith and learning shape the hearts and minds of our children.
Johanna Wain | Principal
St Mary’s Primary Moruya
How does your school help students navigate the challenges of modern technology and media?
McAuley Catholic College Tumut has a proud history of supporting students in appropriately using ICT tools. For some time, we have been a “bring your own device” (BYOD) school.
Students are encouraged and supported to use their personal devices in all classes to support their learning. Many classes make use of relevant subscriptions and e-texts. Each class has a Google page set up to allow access and flexibility for students for content and tracking. This also allows parents to be notified of upcoming assessments.
The ethical use of computers and the internet is supported with parent education sessions via the eSafety Commissioner. An ICT Acceptable Use Agreement is completed by our students to assure teachers and parents about correct and acceptable internet use.
Our access to the Archdiocesan Program of Virtual Learning has provided subject choice and expert teachers for our Year 11 and 12 students. A large part of this program equips students with the skills to use ICT and artificial sources ethically and responsibly. We believe we should not fear the power of AI but use it to enhance and strengthen our study and assignments.
Eamonn Moore | Principal
McAuley Catholic College Tumut
Do Catholic school fees place an unnecessary financial burden on families, or are they an important investment?
We are fortunate in the ACT to have great choices in our primary and secondary educational sectors. This includes single-sex and co-education, and programmes that cater to the specialised interests and abilities of young people in each of these settings.
Increasingly, parents no longer want a ‘one size fits all’ Catholic school. They look far and wide to find the educational setting which suits their child’s individual interests and abilities, enabling them to flourish. All parents want a safe environment where their children’s passions will be nurtured by supportive teachers and where they will be prepared for life beyond school.
The majority of parents view education and school fees as an important investment in their children’s future. Many parents also share that they make sacrifices to meet this commitment.
Parents want agency in the school their children attend and wish to be assured that school fees are utilised effectively for resources and infrastructure.
Over the last 2 years, families have been struggling with the cost of living, including those in our Catholic schools. This has sometimes impacted families’ ability to maintain fee commitments and led to requests for remissions. Our schools are generous in assisting families to meet commitments and will continue to do so to ensure children flourish in their Catholic school of choice.
Sandra Darley | Principal
St Francis Xavier College, Florey
What is the balance of responsibility between parents and teachers in educating a child?
Teachers and schools are part of only one or two chapters in the story of a person’s life. Yet, they are formative years. We all remember specific teachers who brought out the best in us.
Parents choose Catholic education for a variety of reasons. The most effective partnerships occur when the balance of responsibility is deeply rooted in shared values of faith, moral development and academic growth.
Parents always have the primary responsibility for instilling gospel values, nourishing their child in the daily living of faith, and fostering a life-giving view of self, others and creation. As first educators in their child’s life, they offer love, guidance, and example. Regular participation in sacraments, prayer, and family traditions, help a child understand and live Jesus’ teaching.
In Catholic schools, teachers build upon this, holistically nurturing students’ academic and spiritual development. In safe, structured environments skilled teachers empower students with literacy, numeracy and knowledge. In the school community,y they experience how to live out their faith in everyday action. Teachers integrate gospel values into their practices, teaching students to love and serve others, practice kindness, and respect the dignity of all people.
Like all partnerships, regular communication, shared values, and mutual respect enable parents and teachers to work together in guiding every child toward academic success and spiritual maturity.
Matthew Garton | Principal
St John the Apostle Primary Florey
How can Catholic schools maintain their religious identity while being inclusive of the increasing number of non-Catholic students?
This is how I believe we do that as a faith community at St Thomas the Apostle School.
At St Thomas the Apostle, we embrace our Catholic identity while warmly welcoming students from many faiths and cultures.
Our school culture reflects the richness of our multicultural community, where every child is valued and respected.
At the heart of our Catholic identity is Jesus—his teachings, his actions, and his message of love, kindness, and service.
We want all our students, regardless of their background, to see Jesus as a role model for how to live a good life. His example of compassion, respect, and inclusion guides the way we treat one another and the world around us.
Maintaining our Catholic identity means keeping our traditions, prayers, and values alive while ensuring every student feels a sense of belonging. We invite all to participate in our faith life in meaningful ways, fostering an environment where understanding and respect thrive.
Being good people—showing kindness, honesty, and care for others—is at the core of who we are as humans and witnessing that as Catholics in the name of Jesus Christ. By living these values, we demonstrate what it means to be a Catholic school that remains true to its mission while embracing the diversity that strengthens our community.
Ursula Jamieson | Principal
St Thomas the Apostle Kambah
What can I do at home to help my child succeed academically and socially at school?
An important opportunity to support your child’s success at school is to foster a sense of responsibility and self-reliance in your child. From an early age, and right throughout your child’s schooling, it is vital to set and maintain high expectations of taking responsibility for their belongings, their decisions, and their efforts at school.
Schools will inevitably have expectations around behaviour and effort, but this should first and foremost come from home, and the child themselves. Children who can enter school confidently, carrying their own bag or signing themselves in late when in high school, demonstrate they understand they are able to take control of how their school day begins.
Children who know their parents or carers expect they will learn and thrive at school, will feel supported to try their best and to accept when things don’t go as they planned. If they struggle with an aspect of their learning, or a friendship falters, having the strength to be self-reliant allows them to see their role in improving the situation.
Speak openly with your child about what success looks like and how they can be responsible for their part in achieving it. Share that success for your child will look different to others, and this is ok.
Cameron Tarrant | Principal
St Joseph’s Primary O’Connor