Dear Colleagues

I extend a very warm welcome to the 2019 school year.  I trust that you were all able experience some type of break over the summer holidays and enjoy the time away from school routine.  I hope the beginning of the new school year has gone smoothly for you and that the time ahead will be a rewarding and positive experience for you all, albeit with some interesting challenges. 

I extend a special welcome to those who are experiencing their first taste of principalship and encourage all our members to reach out to support you in your work.  We hope that the mentoring programme that has been initiated by the CPPA will assist you as you begin this exciting stage in your career.  I would like to take this opportunity to thank those principals who offered to take on a mentoring role in 2019 and that, you too, will find it an enriching experience.  Thank you to Mark Marando for taking on this challenge and providing a support mechanism for new principals.  For principals transferring to new schools, I wish you every success as you embrace the rewards and challenges of leading a new school community. 

It is with a degree of nervousness that I begin the role of President of CPPA.  Having been a Vice President for a period of time, I am fully aware of the challenges that this role can bring, along with balancing the leading of my own community.  However, I am also looking forward to leading this Association during a time of challenge for Catholic Education in Western Australia.  I have been in leadership for long enough to know that I won’t always get it right however, I look forward to your patience and understanding as the CPPA Executive work towards meeting the needs of you all.  I wish to reassure all members that your Executive are committed to ensuring the ‘voice of the Catholic Primary Principal’ is a priority in all we do.

I would like to acknowledge the outstanding work of Pina Hutcheson in her time as President.  Pina assumed the role in extremely challenging and often tricky times and her ability to manoeuvre through these encounters is a testimony to her strong commitment to put the needs of others first.  I sincerely thank her for her service to CPPA and wish her well as she begins a new chapter as Principal of St Peter’s School.

Volunteering to be on the Executive of CPPA is an undertaking of service.  I thank those who have promised to give of their time in 2019.  At the time of writing this welcome letter, the Secretariat is preparing the two planning days with the Executive in order to ‘set the scene’ for the year ahead.  We will outline the outcomes of this meeting upon its completion.

One of the most important responsibilities of the Executive is to actively listen to what is coming from the regions.  Regional meetings are extremely important as they provide a forum for matters of interest and concern to be tabled and then actioned by the Executive.  Each of the Executive members share these interests and concerns at our meetings so it is imperative that you attend them.  They are scheduled for Week 4 of each term.  Please tentatively mark that date in your diaries.  The exact times and dates will be released to you by your regional representatives.

Already, in this short space of time, we have received a number of requests for Principal representation on a variety of committees and reference groups.  I know that many of you have been extremely generous in the past by volunteering your ever diminishing time to one of these groups.  CPPA acknowledges that this membership increases your workload, but it adds incredible value to our system.  More invitations will come our way, so I ask that you consider volunteering your time.  A survey will come out following our Executive Planning Days asking if you are willing to volunteer and where you believe your skills and expertise lie.

Once again, the CPPA is working hard to organise significant events.  One will be our annual Conference, to be held at the Joondalup Resort from July 30-August 1.  Please mark these dates off in your diary as our conference is being planned to be both thought provoking and professionally challenging.  Specific details regarding speakers will be provided to all our members shortly.  Our second event will be a professional development opportunity featuring Pasi Sahlberg.  This day will be held on Friday May 31.  Again, more specific details will be provided shortly.  Both of these events give all our members an opportunity to listen to current educational thinking along with the chance to mix with colleagues.  Please try to make yourself available for both of these events.

Towards the end of last year, the CPPA Executive hosted a breakfast with current and prospective sponsors.  Sponsors are an important part of our organisation and I ask that you support them whenever possible.  They deserve the opportunity to provide a quote on any works or products that you are considering.  The CPPA website provides links to the many sponsors we have and it is a great starting point when you are considering options.  Sponsors will be present at our conference.  I would like to acknowledge the work of Art Lombardi, Sandro Coniglio and Tracy Arnold for their considerable efforts in gaining and maintaining sponsorship for our Association.

At the Principal’s luncheon held at the end of last year, Peter Cutrona revealed our new website.  He is to be congratulated on the amount of work he carried out to ensure that our website is modern and easy to manoeuvre.  He also demonstrated the SZapp App.  It contains many shortcuts to our website along with other useful information.  For those who are yet to download the app, instructions can be found in the members’ section of the CPPA website.

Our Association maintains active membership in the Australian Primary Principals’ Association (APPA) and the Australian Catholic Primary Principals’ Association (ACPPA).  I thank Toni Kalat for her work on the ACPPA committee and Peter Cutrona who will hold the position of Vice President on the ACPPA Executive along with membership of the APPA committee.  Both these Associations lobby for Principals and schools nationwide and their work cannot be underestimated.  Please look out for information from both of these bodies.

I wish you all a very rewarding and professionally satisfying 2019.  Please make the most of your regional meetings and let your Executive know what you want them to hear.

Yours sincerely

Mark Powell

CPPA President 2019