Principal's Message
Welcome to the 2025 academic year, especially to new families to the College.
I always enjoy the first week of the year, looking at the new faces and welcoming back students from last year. I am reminded just how lucky we are to be called to teach the students here at St John Paul College and I never take for granted the responsibility you place in all the staff when it comes to caring for your children.
Catholic Schools first and foremost MUST be centres for evangelisation and WE must give concrete witness in our schools.
The heart of a Catholic learning community should be the desire to “…seek to recognise and proclaim the presence of Christ in all people and in all creation. Through compassion, practical actions of justice and with a sense of family atmosphere. We strive to build right relationships with all people……”
- Catholic learning communities should be marked by “right relationships”.
- These “right relationships” or positive relationships are built best in our classrooms where “compassion” is seen in our response to those who find it hard to learn and where “practical actions of justice” have an audience.
- These relationships and the learning that occurs within them are the most fundamental and visible demonstration of our pastoral care for our students, staff and parents.
If we fail to build and maintain right relationships with Christ at the centre of all we do, then our work is not complete and lacks the very core of what we are asked to do in a Catholic Learning Community.
Thank you all for making SJPC your school of choice, we really do try our very best to get it right but I also acknowledge sometimes we miss the mark. Educating children is a partnership between home and school and I genuinely look forward to working together this year with the student at the centre of our decisions and directions.
I encourage all families to follow us on our Facebook page in order to keep up with news, events and updates throughout the year.
College goals for 2025.
- Strengthen our Catholic identity and culture with a focus on the Charism of Pope SJPII
- Develop middle leaders’ skills in coaching, observation and feedback to support student and staff growth, while promoting the school’s Catholic values
- Build a safe and inclusive school environment focusing on positive wellbeing for staff and students
- Increase student engagement in their learning via the creation of effective learning environments
- Increase parent participation and connection to the College
Once again, a special welcome to all our new families to the SJPC community this year. I hope that you grow to know you have a very important place in this community. I encourage every student to play their part in ensuring that SJPC is a better place for their having been here this year. I look forward to working with you this year and I hope that all families can join in creating a vibrant and living Catholic community.
God bless.
Michael Carniato
Principal