College Update

It has been another wonderful period of activity across the College, with our students and staff continuing to demonstrate the commitment, talent and spirit that make our school community so special.

A particular highlight has been the College’s involvement in the Penrith Agricultural Show. Our Agriculture students represented the College with great enthusiasm and pride, and their efforts were rewarded with a wonderful collection of ribbons and trophies. This is a superb achievement and one that reflects not only the dedication and skill of our students, but also the outstanding work of our Agriculture Team and staff.

I extend my sincere congratulations and appreciation to all involved. Opportunities such as the Penrith Agricultural Show provide our students with the chance to take their learning beyond the classroom, develop practical skills and proudly represent our College within the wider community. We are immensely proud of their achievements.

Our sporting students have also given us much to celebrate. Congratulations to our Intermediate Boys and Intermediate Girls soccer teams on reaching their respective grand finals. Both teams played extremely well and demonstrated excellent sportsmanship, determination and teamwork throughout their campaigns. While the result is important, it is the commitment, resilience and pride with which our students represented the College that deserves recognition. As grand finalists, we are incredibly proud of both teams and congratulate the students and their coaches on this outstanding achievement.

Another wonderful celebration of student talent was our Year 12 CAPA HSC Showcase. It was a privilege to see the culmination of many months of creativity, dedication and hard work from our Year 12 students. Our Music and Dance students delivered impressive performances, while our Creative Arts students proudly displayed their Major Works, showcasing their individual creativity, imagination and artistic voice.

I congratulate all our Year 12 CAPA students on the quality of their work and extend my sincere thanks to their teachers for the guidance, encouragement and expertise they have provided throughout the year. The Showcase was a wonderful reflection of the talent within our College and a fitting celebration of the students’ artistic journeys.

We had four Year 10 students (Aiden A, Natalie E, Rhea S and Wajid S) selected as finalists for their photographs for the ALCHEMY Photography Exhibition. They were selected from hundreds of entries, which is already an outstanding achievement. Natalie E not only won for her entry in the 'people' category but was chosen as the overall winner of the competition

These achievements across Agriculture, Sport and CAPA remind us of the breadth of opportunities available to our students and the many ways in which they can discover their talents, challenge themselves and contribute to our community. They also demonstrate the dedication of our staff, who continually provide opportunities for students to flourish.

To our students, staff and families, thank you for the pride, commitment and support you continue to show. It is through these shared experiences and achievements that we continue to build a vibrant and flourishing College community.

God Bless,

Mr R. Muscat

Mr Anthony Hulme - Assistant Principal - Wellbeing and Learning

Building a Safe, Supportive and Connected Community

As we reach the end of Week 6, we reflect on another busy and productive week across the College, with a particular focus on creating a safe, respectful and supportive environment for all members of our community.

Bullying No Way Week

This week, the College has recognised Bullying No Way Week, providing an important opportunity to reinforce our shared responsibility to create a community where everyone feels safe, valued and respected.

Throughout the week, students have been encouraged to reflect on the impact that their words and actions can have on others and the importance of speaking up, seeking support and looking out for one another. Preventing bullying requires a partnership between students, staff and families.

To support this partnership, resources and information have been shared with parents and carers to assist them in having conversations with their children about bullying, friendships, respectful relationships and seeking help when concerns arise. We encourage families to use these resources as an opportunity to continue these important conversations at home.

Attendance and Punctuality

A particular focus continues to be student attendance and punctuality. Being present and ready to learn is one of the most important foundations for academic progress and positive wellbeing.

We thank those families who continue to support the College by ensuring students arrive on time, attend regularly and provide appropriate explanations for absences through Compass. Consistent attendance ensures that students can fully engage in their learning, maintain positive connections with their peers and teachers, and take advantage of the many opportunities available throughout the school day.

Wellbeing Week Coming Soon

In the coming weeks, we look forward to celebrating Wellbeing Week across the College. Students will have the opportunity to participate in a range of fun, engaging and inclusive activities designed to promote positive wellbeing, connection and a sense of belonging.

Wellbeing Week is an opportunity for students to take time to connect with others, try something new and recognise the importance of maintaining a healthy balance between learning, relationships and personal wellbeing. We look forward to sharing more information with students and families as the week approaches.

Compass Chronicles and Templates

Towards the end of this term, our Compass Chronicles and templates will undergo a significant overhaul. This work is being undertaken as part of preparations for a system-wide alignment of standardised Compass reporting across all CSPD schools.

An external Compass team will be working to clean and refine existing data in preparation for this transition. We apologise in advance for any errors or inconsistencies that may occur during this process and appreciate the patience and understanding of our College community as this important work is completed.

The long-term goal is to ensure greater consistency, reliability and alignment in the way student information and behaviour data are recorded and reported across the system.

Travelling Safely to and from School

A reminder has also been issued to all students regarding expectations when travelling to and from school.

Students using public transport must ensure that they TapOn and TapOff using their OPAL cards. This is an important requirement and assists in ensuring students are travelling appropriately on public transport.

We also remind all students that College behaviour expectations apply when travelling on buses, trains and other forms of transport. Students represent not only themselves and their families, but also our College community. We expect all students to behave respectfully, follow the directions of transport staff and demonstrate consideration towards other passengers.

Thank you to our students, parents, carers and staff for your continued support. By working together, we can continue to build a College community where students feel safe, supported and ready to learn.

Wishing all members of our College community a safe and enjoyable weekend.

Ms Christina Luzi - Assistant Principal - Teaching and Learning

Understanding AGAT Testing

As part of our commitment to understanding our students as learners, we have introduced AGAT (Ability General Assessment Test) to provide insight into the different ways students think, reason and solve problems. This week, students in Years 7- 9 completed their AGAT test.

Unlike assessments that measure what a student has learned in a particular subject, AGAT is designed to assess general reasoning abilities. It presents students with unfamiliar questions and problems, allowing us to gain a broader understanding of how they process information and make connections.

AGAT provides information across a range of areas, including:

Verbal reasoning – how students understand, interpret and reason with language and ideas.
Quantitative reasoning – how students identify numerical relationships, patterns and apply logical thinking.
Non-verbal reasoning – how students recognise patterns, relationships and sequences using visual information.
Abstract reasoning – how students identify relationships and solve problems when the information presented is unfamiliar.

Why is this information valuable?

Every student has a unique profile of strengths. A student may demonstrate particular strength in verbal reasoning, for example, while another may demonstrate greater strength in quantitative or non-verbal reasoning. AGAT helps us to identify these patterns.

The data provides teachers with another lens through which to understand our students. When considered alongside classroom assessment, teacher observations, student achievement and other learning information, it can help us develop a more complete picture of how students learn and where they may benefit from further challenge or support.

Importantly, an AGAT result is not a measure of a student's worth, intelligence or future success. It is one piece of information that helps us better understand a student's current reasoning profile. It should always be considered alongside the many other factors that contribute to learning and achievement.

Looking ahead to 2027

This year, we will use our AGAT data, together with our broader understanding of student learning, to help inform our approach to Stretch Classes in 2027. Our aim is to use the information thoughtfully to ensure that students are provided with appropriate opportunities to extend their thinking, engage with greater complexity and continue to grow as learners.

Ultimately, AGAT gives us better information about our learners, allowing us to make more informed decisions about how we can support, challenge and extend every student.

Student Achievements

ALCHEMY Photography Exhibition

We are thrilled to celebrate the outstanding creative achievements of our Year 10 Visual Arts students at the recent ALCHEMY Photography Exhibition. Four of our talented Year 10 students, Aiden A, Natalie E, Rhea S and Wajid S, were selected as finalists from hundreds of competitive entries across the region. Having four finalists representing St John Paul II Catholic College is a remarkable accomplishment in itself!

The excitement continued at the awards ceremony, where category winners and the overall competition champion were announced. Natalie took home top honours, being named the winner of the 'People' category and going on to win Overall Winner of the entire ALCHEMY Photography Exhibition!

Please join us in warmly congratulating Natalie, Aiden, Rhea and Wajid on their dedication, artistic vision and stellar achievements!

Aiden A

Natalie E

Rhea S

Wajid S

Rotary VET Excellence awards

We are proud to acknowledge three outstanding St John Paul II students who were recognised at the VET Rotary Excellence Awards for their exceptional dedication and practical skills in Vocational Education and Training. Congratulations to Ansh G (Construction), Mia C (Information & Digital Technology), and Ty O (Primary Industries) on this fantastic achievement!

PDSSSC Soccer Grand Final

It was a sensational day last Tursday on the pitch as both our Boys and Girls Intermediate Soccer teams crowned their impressive seasons with Grand Final victories!

Demonstrating outstanding skill, teamwork and sportsmanship, both teams fought hard to bring home the championship titles. The boys secured a thrilling 3–2 victory in a closely contested match, while the girls delivered a dominant performance to seal a decisive 4–0 win.

A huge congratulations to all the talented student-athletes for their hard work and dedication!

PDSSSC Chess Gala Day

Our College Chess Team made an impressive mark at the PDSSSC CHESS Gala Day, bringing home the Gold Medal after a dominant, undefeated performance throughout the tournament.

Our talented team demonstrated incredible tactical strategy, patience and skill across every single round to secure the overall title. A special mention goes to Shlok P who delivered one of the standout performances of the day by claiming a remarkable victory against one of St Columba’s top-ranked players in just one minute. Well done team!

Important Updates

College Media Processes

Catholic Schools Parramatta Diocese (CSPD) has advised all schools within the diocese to limit social media content (images and video) that displays students' full facial features. This aligns with the new online safety guidelines released by the eSafety Commissioner on July 31, 2026.

In response, the College is currently reviewing its media and communications processes. Subsequently, you will notice a significant change in style of photos published on all platforms. This review will ensure we not only remain fully compliant with CSPD policies, but also uphold the highest standard of online safety and digital privacy for our students.

The School Locker

From 1 September, all in-store purchases for uniforms, stationery, and equipment must be made using a debit card, credit card or digital wallet (Apple Pay, Google Pay, etc.). Cash will no longer be accepted on-site. You can continue to order uniforms, stationery, and essentials online anytime via The School Locker Website for added convenience.