Executive Director’s Welcome

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200 Years celebrations + Encounter Recap

Executive Director’s Welcome 2

200 year celebrations + Encounter Recap

Schools in profile: St Joseph's Catholic School, The Strand 3

4-5

Schools in profile: St Mary’s Catholic School, Bowen 6-7

History of the Townsville Diocese 8-19

The Cross: Catholic Identity within our schools 20-22

Townsville Catholic Education acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia. We pay our respects to Elders past, present and future.

All information and images are subject to copyright. No part of this publication can be reproduced, stored or transmitted without the prior permission of the Townsville Catholic Education Office. While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of information at the time of print, TCEO takes no liability for any errors, omissions or subsequent consequences on information within this publication.

Welcome to the Term 2 edition of our Term Magazine.

Term 2 is a busy time for our schools with much activity focussed on enrolments for 2022. We have been very fortunate to continue to attract strong student numbers across our diocese. Our ‘Experience Catholic Schools’ campaign which was launched in Term 1 has been received well and we feel blessed that families continue to choose the Catholic school difference for their child’s education.

Our annual Youth Arts Festival, Mulkadee will be held early in Term 3, and extra workshops to prepare for the big event commenced this term. Mulkadee offers students from Year 4 to 12 a week-long program of artistic workshops led by professional instructors in the areas of choir, dance, drama, band, guitar and strings. More than 750 students participate in these workshops culminating with a concert performance at the end of the week. This year, students will be collaborating to present the classic story, The Wizard of Oz, with a modern twist.

This term has been all about commemorating our history as we celebrate 200 years of Catholic education in Australia. This edition of our magazine will focus on the history of the Townsville Diocese and pay tribute to the significant milestones reached, while also paving the way for our future. The proud reputation Catholic schools enjoy today is based on the strong tradition built by the religious orders who founded Catholic Education in the Townsville diocese in 1872.

From humble beginnings, Catholic education has expanded to most cities and many townships throughout the state. Today Catholic schools educate around 1 in 5 Queensland students and almost 60% of students in non-government schools

Celebrating this significant milestone has given us an opportunity to reflect upon the wonderful achievements over the years and it gives us great hope for the future as we continue to deliver an excellent standard of education for generations to come.

Jacqui Francis

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Welcome to Kevin Barnes!

In Term 2, we welcomed Kevin Barnes, new principal of Gilroy Santa Maria College, Ingham to our Catholic education community.

Kevin has been a long term resident of the Ingham community, and believes passionately that education should challenge students to be the best they can be. He has an acute interest in student success and in providing multiple effective pathways where students can experience success. His leadership will complement the way Gilroy Santa Maria College embodies Catholicisim and promotes a friendly, learning community that encourages the growth of students through Catholic values.

“I am a past student of Gilroy Santa Maria College and ironically it’s 40 years this year since I was College Captain at this very same school. I am very honoured and proud to be back here as a school principal.”