From the Principal

Last Friday, Secondary School students enthusiastically participated in the House Swimming Carnival, and I extend my thanks to all involved in what was an excellent example of House spirit culminating in Loyola winning the Sr Mary Murray Cup and St Louis the Spirit award. The following Saturday, Primary School students and parents enjoyed our Primary School Picnic, which was also lots of fun. I extend my thanks to both the Secondary School Head of Sport, Jess Pillera, and her team for what was an excellent swimming carnival, and to Antoinette De Pinto and her team of enthusiastic staff for making the Primary School Picnic so enjoyable.

This year, our Opening College Mass took place a little later than in previous years. The change in timing was in response to the College’s selection as The Archbishop’s 2025 Spirit Award recipient, in recognition of the College’s support for the Archbishop’s 2025 LifeLink Day initiative. We were honoured to have Bishop Sproxton celebrate our Mass this week, which was followed by a special award presentation acknowledging the significant contribution our College community makes to supporting the homeless through our generous support of Shopfront. For those new to our College, our Primary School students support Shopfront through their involvement in Muffin Mondays and our Secondary School students provide their support by making 1000 meals for the homeless over the course of the year. I extend my thanks to everyone who so generously volunteered their time and ‘rolled up their sleeves’ to contribute to such an important cause, and look forward to witnessing the same again this year.

I also extend my thanks to all parents able to attend our series of parent information evenings during the last fortnight and to the staff who devoted so much time and energy into ensuring the various nights were supportive, informative and ran so smoothly. For the benefit of new members of our College community, the College’s Strategic Plan can be accessed via our website.

For those who were unable to attend our information evenings, please find below our College strategic intent for 2026, which was unpacked as part of each parent information night.

What stays the same?

Our Vision

To be a leading Catholic, Independent, Co-educational College where academic and personal excellence, along with the commitment to serve others and seek justice, are the aspirations of every student.

Our Strategic Goals

As detailed in our Strategic Plan, the College’s strategic goals to 2027 are:

Enriching our Catholic Community of Faith
Inspiring Educational Excellence
Cura Personalis (Care for the Whole Person)
Nurturing an Inclusive Community
Sustainability

Our K-12 Learning Goal

To respond to the needs of students through effective student identification, tracking of student data and differentiated learning strategies to ensure learning growth.

What are our strategic priorities for 2026?

Enriching our Catholic Community of Faith

In 2026 we will:

Explore the implementation of identified recommendations from the Jesuit Ethos and Identity Review.
Conduct the Contemporary Religious Education Curriculum Year 7 Pilot Program.
Investigate an international pilgrimage opportunity.

Inspiring Educational Excellence

In 2026 we will:

Develop a Secondary School Learning Area review cycle for implementation from 2027.
Investigate potential future Secondary timetable structures.
Research Word Study Literacy programs for implementation in Years 3 – 6.
Strengthen foundational literacy pedagogy in the early years (Kindy – Year 2).
Investigate the establishment of a College Institute of Learning and Research.
Strengthen professional learning for Secondary inclusive education practices.
Finalise the development of Coaching Playbook for designated teacher coaches.
Investigate establishing learning opportunities with global partners.
Further refine intervention response points according to established tolerance variables for monitoring Years 7-10 student performance.
Complete the Educational component of the 2026 CEWA School Compliance Review.
Implement the use of the Elastik dashboard from Pre-Primary to Year 6.

Cura Personalis (Care for the whole person)

In 2026 we will:

Investigate the development of a non-teaching staff Professional Growth Model.
Develop and trial a Years 11 and 12 Fitness and Conditioning program.
Implement the RULER approach with Secondary students.

Nurturing an Inclusive Community

In 2026 we will:

Launch a new College website.
Finalise plans for the College’s 50-Year Anniversary Celebrations in 2027.
Submit our Reconciliation Action Plan to Reconciliation Australia.

Sustainability

In 2026 we will:

Commence the Pre-kindy building project.
Commence the design of the new Teaching and Learning Innovation Centre.
Implement the newly developed canteen offering.
Install a new HR software package.
Fully implement the new Student Information System (SIS).

We look forward to working together to realise these priorities and celebrate their implementation as the year progresses.

Daniel Mahon

Principal