Thousands of students and teachers across the Archdiocese have started the school year with enthusiasm and an eagerness to learn. We look forward to sharing our 56 schools learning journeys and achievements this year. 

Back to School Photos

On Friday, 15 February, we welcomed our 52 new Early Career Teachers to Catholic Education in the Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn at an Induction Day held at the Catholic Education Office.

Throughout the day of professional learning, we asked some of our Early Career Teachers what their hopes and aspirations are, as they embark on their teaching career in Catholic Education.

Jodie Muldoon, Merici College ACT

Goal for 2019: To develop my ability to work with students across a range of abilities and cater to additional needs

University: Australian National University (ANU) and Australian Catholic University (ACU)

Why Catholic Education?  Students get a holistic education and as a teacher, there are many great professional and faith development opportunities in Catholic Education

Speciality: Psychology

What are you most excited about? Starting with my new Year 7s, seeing them grow, settle into high school and graduate in a few years’ time.

Neel Shah, St Mary MacKillop College

Goa for 2019: To be able to engage every single student in whatever way and capacity that I can and cater to their needs

University: University of Tasmania

Why Catholic Education? The name is in the word ‘catholic’, because it is inclusive and you don’t have to be Catholic to be part of Catholic Education. It’s all about being yourself and expressing who you, and that’s what I think Catholic education in the Diocese brings to every single Catholic school.

Specialty: Maths, STEM and Indonesian

What are you most excited about? Seeing where kids can progress with their maths, and where they can see the light at the end of the tunnel with any subject that they do.

Naomi Elliott, Hennessy Catholic College

Goal for 2019: To grow as a teacher, build amazing collegial relationships and develop rapport with the students

University: Charles Sturt University, Wagga Wagga

Why Catholic Education? My children go to Sacred Heart, Cootamundra.  I love the environment: inclusive, caring, looking out for each other and values I appreciate.

Speciality: I first wanted to be a primary school teacher when I was 7, and now I’m in a high school that I love.

What are you most excited about? Being in the classroom with the kids. That for me I can’t put into words the amount of passion for classroom teaching.

Favourite subject to teach: English

St Mary’s Primary School, Young have used creative activities and celebrations to teach students from Kindergarten to Year 6 the importance and significance of the Anniversary of the Apology on Wednesday, 13 February.

Principal of St Mary’s Andrew Casey said that it was wonderful to have the whole school recognise and understand the importance of the National Apology and the significance it has to us as a Nation.

Kindergarten students heard stories from Aboriginal Education Worker Christine Hamilton about the stolen generation and what it meant for her as an Aboriginal person to hear the word, “sorry”.

Year 4 students created healing boards to explore how people and communities can heal through acknowledging the past through acts of kindness.

In Year 6, students shared their responses to Kevin Rudd’s National Apology and celebrated the 13^th Anniversary using digital technologies to create meaningful videos.

One class used a green screen to create a powerful image of united hands, which as one student commented, ‘shows that we are no longer different but we are all the same’.

Two students from the Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn have been recognised for their outstanding sporting achievements in 2018 at the prestigious NSW Combined Catholic Colleges (NSWCCC) Sports Association Blue Awards this month.

Brady Deaton (Trinity Catholic College, Goulburn) was a recipient of a Blue Award for exceptional sporting achievement in hockey and Riley O’Shanessy (Carroll College, Broulee) received a NSW Bar Award for his outstanding sporting achievements in basketball.

The Blue Awards recognise the top two NSW Catholic secondary students in all competitive and representative sports and are judged in the NSWCCC spirit of manner, attendance, performance and achievement.

Brady Deaton was an outstanding role model at Trinity Catholic College. He was awarded Senior Sportsperson of the Year in 2016 and 2017 and represented the Diocese at many NSWCCC hockey events both playing and coaching.

When Brady was younger, he would play in the older division due to his talent and skill in hockey. Brady played in both U21 for ACT at the National Indoor Championships and the National Championships.

Principal of Trinity Catholic College Mrs Gaye McManus said that the College is very proud of Brady and his sporting achievements.

“He has been a great ambassador for the College and we look forward to seeing what he achieves in the future,” she said.

Peers describe Riley O’Shanessy as a modest individual by his peers who achieved to the highest of standards in basketball. In 2017 Riley was awarded Most Valuable Player in the Interstate All Schools Final and is currently training as a junior player with the Illawarra Hawks, taking part in the National trials at U20 level.

Trinity Catholic College basketball team manager Timothy Hodges said that Riley inspires those around him to give their best both on and off the court, giving freely of his time to coach younger school teams on a regular basis and leading by example with sportsmanship and fair play.

“Riley led our college team to wins at Archdiocese level every year from year 7 - 12 and to some great results at the CCC championships in Sydney,” he said.

“He was an all-rounder at the College who was very highly thought of by his peers, younger students and the staff. Riley has been an outstanding College Vice Captain in 2018 and we wish him all the very best for a bright future.”

The 22^nd Blue Awards were held at St Mary Star College in Wollongong on Monday, 11 February. Riley was unable to attend the awards due to him currently playing in the U20’s National Basketball Championships. 

Year 5 and 6 students from St Francis Xavier School, Lake Cargelligo have designed and painted an Aboriginal mural in the local community through an ‘Arts Out West’ grant, where students attended a series of mural skills workshops at Lake Cargelligo TAFE.

With the help of local artists Lindsay Kirby, Tanya Harris and Georgina Kelly, and Aboriginal artist and Community Engagement worker Sandon Gibbs-O’Neill, the students’ ideas came to life as a symbol of Reconciliation in the streets of Lake Cargelligo.

St Francis Xavier Principal Jacinta Elwin said, "We would like to thank all those involved in the project that enabled our students to work with so many talented artists to create a mural that will be a focal point in our community forever,"

"Our students learnt so much about the process of design, painting techniques and working together as a community."

Fr Pail and Fr Emil blessed the Aboriginal mural and people involved at a blessing ceremony where project coordinator Sandon Gibbs-O'Neill congratulated the students on their co-operative nature working with Elders and students at Lake Central School.

On Thursday, 21 February Sacred Heart Central School, Cootamundra welcomed inspirational special guest speaker John Coutis, who shares a strong message of courage, motivation, goalsetting, resilience, anti-bullying, diversity, inclusion and self-determination.

John was born with a severe disability that resulted in a double amputation and a strong will to live. As a result, John has dedicated his life to travelling around the world on a skateboard inspiring people to be the best they can be.

Sacred Heart held a breakfast for parents with Joh Coutis in an adult’s only session before one on one student sessions later in the morning.

John inspired students, staff and parents to ‘never give up’ and reminded the school cohort that ’you are all capable of doing great things’.

John encouraged parents to set goals, write them down and to teach our children to be responsible by giving them some independence.

Following a smoking ceremony on Tuesday, 5 February Merici College held their 2019 Opening Ceremony that unveiled a St Angela Merici statue in celebration of the College’s 60 Year Anniversary.

This year the College will reflect on their past, present and future journey from Canberra Catholic Girls’ High School in 1959 to Merici College in 2019.  

The College theme of 2019 draws on the school motto of ‘Fidelitas’, which encourages students and school staff to be faithful in all elements of life.

Past students Helen Campbell and Wanda Lawler from the class of ‘62 presented a reflection of their time at the College before unveiling the St Angela Merici statue commissioned late last year. 

The statue depicts the College’s patron saint moving forward boldly with purpose. St Angela holds a staff to signify her pilgrimage to the Holy Land and a book symbolising a deep dedication to educating young women.

Principal Loretta Wholley expressed her appreciation to the supporters who donated to the Art Works fund that contributed to the statue that will be a permanent reminder of embracing the vision and values of Merici College.

“Today we honour and remember St Angela Merici and unveil the statue as a tribute to a courageous woman who influenced the religious society of her time and educated young women,” she said.

“I look forward to celebrating this anniversary year with you all. Remember to embrace every opportunity. Be a faithful friend, a faithful daughter, and a faithful student to our community.”

Merici will be celebrating 60 Years with a variety of events throughout the year including St Angela Merici Day Festival in June, a 60^th Anniversary Variety Concert in August, and 60^th Anniversary Mass and Celebration Dinner in September.

World Youth Day (WYD), Panama 2019 was an opportunity for the Archdiocese’ 16 Pilgrims to experience the universal church with thousands of faith filled youth from 22 -27 January through a global encounter with Pope Francis.

Archbishop Christopher Prowse, Father Namora, Father Adrian, Catholic Education leaders, teachers and youth ministers from the Archdiocese embarked on their journey of faith on Friday, 18 January, making their way to Mexico.

Catholic Education Religious Education and Faith Formation officers Bernadette Scott and Lisa Mammoliti described the experience as profound, wonderful and fulfilling.

“This entire experience has clearly shown that God’s grace is ever present in our lives. Being with a group of young people who are faith filled, passionate and excited about sharing their relationship with Christ with all they meet has been an honour,” said Lisa.

“We were blessed with grace filled moments throughout the entire pilgrimage.”

St Vincent’s Aranda Religious Education Coordinator Luke Maher said that it was a highlight celebrating the vigil so close to Pope Francis and lying in a field praying the rosary with 750,000 young people from around the world.

World Youth Day provided a unique opportunity for the Pilgrims to talk with young people from around the world who are passionate in sharing a personal and powerful relationship with Jesus.

Over three action-packed days, the Bega community celebrated 150 Years of Catholic Education at St Patrick’s Primary School intertwined with St Patrick’s Day.

The reunion weekend opened with Mass on Friday, 15 March followed by a 150 Year themed Open Day with the school hall set up as a museum and art gallery where past students enjoyed finding their faces amongst the displays.

During the Open Day ‘Honour Assembly’ current students surprised guests with a joyful flash mob that ended with a student formation of ‘150’ on the oval.

On Saturday, the school proudly marched a St Patrick’s Day parade through the main streets of Bega, finishing the day with a Bush Dance and Dinner at the local Showground. A Parish Mass with Archbishop Christopher Prowse on Sunday signified the end of the historical school and community event.

Principal Jo Scott-Pegum said that she was overwhelmed with joy and reconnection experienced by all at the celebration.

“I felt honoured and privileged to be leading the school community at this significant time in our school journey and have been greatly encouraged by the strong community sentiment about the place of Catholic education throughout time and into the future,” she said.

“To have five priests concelebrating our opening event Mass including past student Fr Henry Byrne was very special.”

The sesquicentenary commemorated the opening of the Catholic Denominational School of Bega in 1869 by John Mangan, before the Sisters of Charity ran the school in 1884. In 1926 the Sisters of St Joseph took over the school that is now supported by the Archdiocese.

Highlights for students included Sr Josephine wearing her Sisters of St Joseph habit in the St Patrick’s Parade through town, meeting some of the Sisters of St Joseph, past staff and students.

Jo thanks the committee members who met over the past 18 months to plan the event, current staff, students, families and parishioners for their presence, support and welcome to all our visitors.

“We are so glad so many people travelled from near and far to celebrate their part in our school’s history,” she said.

In 2018 Early Learning Centres in the Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn commenced a two year STEM program funded by the Australian Government Department of Education and Training.

The Early Learning STEM Australia (ELSA) Pilot program focuses on science, technology, engineering and mathematics through real-world play in the preschool years and includes valuable professional learning for educators.

Our eight Early Learning Centres will participate in hands-on play-led experiences using specifically designed iPad applications. The apps encourage active learning and inspire children to explore and interact with their natural world.

It is expected that through the use of the program the children will become fluent in and promote STEM Practices, ideas, methods and values using the Experience, Represent, Apply (ERA) model. This will be achieved through a focus on logical thinking, patterns and relationships, location and arrangement, representations and investigation.

The program provides each child with a solid foundation for STEM that will evolve through their primary and secondary years.

All centres attended a two day Professional Development session on the Gold Coast earlier this month to assist with implementation with the program in their Preschools.

Congratulations to the Year 3 Ss Peter and Paul Primary School Goulburn students who created a winning masterpiece inspired by Dreamtime story ‘The Rainbow Serpent’ at the Goulburn Show on 2 - 3 March.

After learning about Australian Indigenous culture as a class, 3L was inspired to incorporate their recent teachings to resonate with the 2019 show theme, ‘sometimes wet, sometimes dry’.

Students created the artwork with watercolour and paper collage, working in pairs to develop a pattern for each section of the serpent placed on an Australian landscape.

Their recent win and participation in the show has left the class feeling excited and they are looking forward to starting their next creative project.

St Francis Xavier College ‘Team Velocity’ have received the Chair of Judges Recognition of Achievement Award for their incredible growth throughout the F1 in Schools STEM Challenge after competing at the Australian National Finals in March.

The team of five Year 10 engineering students took on the challenge to develop the world’s fastest miniature Formula Once car that saw them finish in first place at the ACT Regional Finals in 2018.

College Principal, Paul Carroll said that the team deserves a hearty congratulations for their effort competing against 36 Australian teams in the second largest STEM Competition in the world.

“Team work, dedication, collaboration, creativity and co-operative problem solving were the attributes that the team demonstrated in their support for each other and to the task at hand,” he said.

Velocity Team Manager, Dominic Ferraris said that it was fun learning about engineering, project management and corporate partnership and looks forward to utilising these skills in future jobs.

The team worked together to fine-tune and brand their car, create trade displays, present their work and gain sponsorship.

Design and Technologies Supporting teacher and mentor, Graham Stock said that he is proud of the team who put their hearts into the project over the past nine months and saw their hard work pay off.

“It has been incredible to see how much growth the competition has fostered in the students,” he said.

“It’s a lot of hard work, but so unbelievably rewarding for them and their teachers.”

Graham said that F1 in Schools is incredibly diverse and is a phenomenal competition for students that encapsulates the essence of STEM incredibly well.

Trinity Catholic College’s annual Harvest Dinner showcased the Vocational Education and Training (VET) students’ strengths and abilities with an impressive three course dining event from paddock to plate.

College members, parents and guests from the wider Goulburn community were invited to experience an exhibition of industry skills from VET Hospitality students in Year 12 Kitchen Operations and Year 11 Food and Beverage Classes.

The produce used in the construction of every meal was sourced primarily from the College’s Agricultural farm that is maintained by VET Primary Industry students. 

College Principal, Gaye McManus commended the students and staff for their skills and service across the evening and hard work during the preparation for the event.

“It was a wonderful evening showcasing the strong working relationship between teacher and student to create a most magnificent three course set menu for 70 guests,” she said.

Additional thanks goes to the senior music students who provided musical entertainment and student Megan Baragry who captured the event on camera throughout the evening.

On Wednesday, 27 March, 57 of the Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn’s best New South Wales swimmers travelled to Sydney Olympic Park to compete at the MacKillop Swimming Championships.

Mt Carmel Yass student Tahlia Wullaert and St Patrick’s Bega student Jontae Thompson proudly held the Archdiocese banner in the traditional march before a prayer and National Anthem officially opened the Championships.

Emily Walker set the pace for the day finishing in 5^th place in the Open girls 100m, followed by some fabulous Personal Best (PB) times by first timers in the 8 years freestyle, Emily Ryan, Veronica Bromham, Charlie Jamieson and Archer Halligan.

In the 50m backstroke event, Hugo Davidson swam the race of his life, taking out the silver medal after coming 6^th in the heat. Emily Walker also smashed a PB to receive silver in the girl’s 50m in a hotly contested race, before winning gold at the 50m breaststroke. Emily took her place on the podium once again with bronze and a PB in the 200m individual medley.

In the Small Schools Relay, Lake Cargelligo claimed gold and St Joseph’s Grenfell swam beautifully, finishing in 5^th place. The St Mary’s Young senior girls relay team took out the bronze medal with the Lumen Christi team not far behind in 5^th place.

Well done to all of our swimmers, many of whom swam their personal best. Good luck to our NSW Primary School Sports Association (NSWPSSA) Qualifiers: Emily Walker, Hugo Davidson, the Lake Cargelligo relay team and the St Mary’s, Young senior girls relay team.