Dear St John Paul II Community,

The College welcomed our Year 7 2026 cohort on Wednesday 29 October to their Orientation Day at the Schofields campus. It was wonderful to see so many smiling faces and to feel the buzz of all the excitement. The young people completed testing to ascertain their levels in mathematics and literacy to assist us in providing the necessary support and enrichment. Furthermore, the students participated in sporting activities and other peer support initiatives.

World Teachers Day was celebrated last Friday to acknowledge the significant work of school educators and their impact on the lives of young people. St John Paull II reminded us that teachers in Catholic Schools hold a greater responsibility as they are witnesses of the faith and do holy work in guiding young people during their spiritual growth.

Year 10 have commenced their exam period, and we wish them all the best. Success in exams are based on two elements – knowledge and mindset. Students need to study and memorise important concepts, skills and knowledge but they also must have a confident mindset to prevent anxiety.

Ms Evans and I attended the Bishop’s Mass and Awards ceremony to recognise students who had participated in the Dioceses Catechist programme. We had twenty-five students ranging from Year 9-11 who made regular visits to Quakers Hill East Primary School to instruct Upper Primary students on the Catholic faith. We congratulate them on their commitment and passion in spreading the good news.

Finally, the Church commemorates All Saints on the 1st of November, and I offer a quote from St John Paul II when he was Pope in 2000.

“The saints took these words of Jesus seriously. They believed that they would find “happiness” by putting them into practice in their lives. And they realized their truth in everyday experience: despite their trials, moments of darkness and failures, they already tasted here below the deep joy of communion with Christ. In him they discovered the initial seed, already present in time, of the future glory of God’s kingdom.”

God Bless

Mr R. Muscat

Yesterday we sent offers to eligible Year 8 students to join our second accelerated Advanced Mathematics class. Students engaged in a rigorous extension program during Terms 2 and 3, which included regular tests to check their understanding, skill and readiness to undertake the rigour of acceleration. Students whose results met the benchmark were emailed an offer of a position in the class. Mrs Fernandez shared with me her joy at hearing and seeing the excitement of the successful students. I thank Mrs Ferenandez for her leadership and Mr Yen for his delivery of the 2025 program and support of the students who undertook it.

On Tuesday we will celebrate the broad range of successes of our Year 11 students at the Preliminary Awards Ceremony. They have now completed their Preliminary HSC and have moved into the rigour of the HSC content and the final year of their Secondary Schooling! I am always filled with pride in the students and gratitude for the reward of being a teacher when extracting the recipients from the data and composing the event script. I know you will also be proud of your child, regardless of whether or not they are the recipient to an award.

This will be my last update for 2025. I have been seconded to CSPD Office as the Acting Head of Secondary Learning. This is an exciting opportunity for me, but I know I will miss the daily interactions with the amazing staff and students of St John Paul II. Mrs Isaac will be joining the leadership team in my absence. I know you will make her feel welcome. See you in 2026!

School Fees

To all families that still have outstanding accounts, if you haven’t already reached out to the College’s School Fee Officer, then please do so as a matter of urgency.  This can avoid accounts being escalated resulting in legal action.  Our goal is to work with each family developing achievable arrangements and providing continuous student education.

Operations

To ensure our students get the best opportunities to learn and excel whilst at school, it is important that they arrive on time each day.  There is a significant number of students who arrive late to school several mornings a week.  This results in a partial absence reflected on their reports and can when added up result in them not meeting the required hours for course completion.  Please partner with us in ensuring your child arrives at school each for the beginning of the school day.