Hundreds of students, parents and carers, teachers and clergy from Catholic schools throughout the Diocese of Parramatta gathered for the 2024 Education Mass to celebrate our schools’ commitment to Faith in Action and their positive engagement in the community.
Held at St Patrick’s Cathedral Parramatta, the Mass was led by Bishop Vincent Long OFM Conv and celebrated the Feast of the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary. In his inspiring Homily, Bishop Vincent said the Mass was a renewal of our commitment to follow the example of Mary in our lives and be bearers of her son Jesus’ good news.
“Blessed Virgin Mary is the prototype of the normal disciple,” Bishop Vincent said.
She exemplifies closeness with the poor, solidarity with the needy, compassion for the afflicted. Like Mary, we must be totally permeated by the Holy Spirit. We must be consumed by action for God's Kingdom – Mary is the sign of hope for humanity.
In his address, Executive Director Jack de Groot reflected on his own experience of mission and service while announcing CSPD’s new Religious Education curriculum Encountering Jesus.
“When I think about why my work has always taken me to places of service, I can pinpoint two things: my education and my faith,” said Jack.
“When my parents chose to send me to a Catholic school, they knew they wanted to provide me with an excellent education grounded in Catholic tradition. They wanted me to experience opportunities to put my faith into action and to live it out within the community.”
Jack said his hope is that the new Religious Education curriculum builds on and reflects this same intention families have for their children at our schools.
“Encountering Jesus reflects our intention for all students to have a deep encounter with the person and message of Jesus Christ, to really get to know and love Jesus. To see Him in others, and to be Him to others,” he said.The curriculum has been endorsed by Bishop Vincent along with Australian and international Catholic theologians and educators.
“Encountering Jesus isn't so much about learning some external rules; it is to internalise the experience of encountering, knowing, loving and serving Christ,” Bishop Vincent said.
Following the Mass, participants were invited to explore the Mission Agency Expo. The expo highlights the work of the many expressions of faith and service that are already present in our learning communities, including Catechist teaching in local government primary schools, Eucharistic minister training, as well as advocacy and support of church agencies such as Mercy Works, St Vincent de Paul and Jesuit Refugee Services.
“Today’s celebration was a significant moment in the life of our Diocese,” said Andrew Wilson, CSPD’s Head Mission. “Encountering Jesus will provide our students with an opportunity to come to know Jesus and to grow in their understanding of the Catholic faith. I am excited to work with our teachers and leaders, and to hear how our students are putting their learning into practice in their communities.”
Learn more about the Religious Education Curriculum.
View photos from this event View full gallery
Catholic Schools Parramatta Diocese
www.parra.catholic.edu.au
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27 Oct 2026
From Facebook
💙🤍 Yesterday, many of our Year 6 students attended St Andrews College for their Year 7 Orientation day! We are so proud of our students as they prepare to graduate from primary school this term and take their exciting next steps into high school! It has been wonderful to see them grow, learn and develop throughout their primary years, and we are so excited for all the opportunities that lie ahead. As we support them through this special transition, we look forward to celebrating their achievements and preparing them for this exciting new chapter! 🌟📚24 Oct 2026
From Facebook
🏆 Australian Mathematics Competition – Congratulations, Year 5! 🏆 A huge congratulations to our Year 5 students who participated in the Australian Mathematics Competition (AMC) last term! 🎉 Our students tackled a series of challenging mathematical problems that stretched their reasoning, critical thinking and problem-solving skills. They demonstrated fantastic focus, perseverance and grit, achieving awards ranging from Proficiency through to Distinction. The competition challenged students to think beyond familiar classroom problems, and we are incredibly proud of the way they embraced the challenge and represented our school. Well done to all our Year 5 mathematicians! Your hard work, determination and willingness to challenge yourselves deserve to be celebrated. 👏🧮 #AustralianMathematicsCompetition #Year5 #StudentAchievement #MathematicalThinking #SchoolPride
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27 Oct 2026
From Facebook
💙🤍 Yesterday, many of our Year 6 students attended St Andrews College for their Year 7 Orientation day! We are so proud of our students as they prepare to graduate from primary school this term and take their exciting next steps into high school! It has been wonderful to see them grow, learn and develop throughout their primary years, and we are so excited for all the opportunities that lie ahead. As we support them through this special transition, we look forward to celebrating their achievements and preparing them for this exciting new chapter! 🌟📚
24 Oct 2026
From Facebook
🏆 Australian Mathematics Competition – Congratulations, Year 5! 🏆 A huge congratulations to our Year 5 students who participated in the Australian Mathematics Competition (AMC) last term! 🎉 Our students tackled a series of challenging mathematical problems that stretched their reasoning, critical thinking and problem-solving skills. They demonstrated fantastic focus, perseverance and grit, achieving awards ranging from Proficiency through to Distinction. The competition challenged students to think beyond familiar classroom problems, and we are incredibly proud of the way they embraced the challenge and represented our school. Well done to all our Year 5 mathematicians! Your hard work, determination and willingness to challenge yourselves deserve to be celebrated. 👏🧮 #AustralianMathematicsCompetition #Year5 #StudentAchievement #MathematicalThinking #SchoolPride
21 Oct 2026
From Facebook
What a beautiful day for school photos! ☀️📸 Looking forward to seeing everyone looking their best and capturing some wonderful memories!
19 Oct 2026
From Facebook
19 Oct 2026
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06 Oct 2026
From Facebook
28 Sep 2026
Celebrating 40 years of Voice of Youth and the power of student voice
Six Year 6 students from 58 Catholic Schools Parramatta Diocese (CSPD) Primary schools came together at St John XXIII Catholic College Stanhope Gardens on 22 September for the Voice of Youth Grand Final, showcasing their public speaking skills through a series of thoughtful and engaging speeches.
25 Sep 2026
From Facebook
24 Sep 2026
From Facebook
Our social media is one small window into some of the wonderful things that happen across our schools every day. You’ve probably noticed that we’re changing some of the ways we share these stories as we put recent recommendations from the eSafety Commissioner into practice. You will start to see fewer identifiable student images, and more of what happens around them - the work, the creativity, the achievement, the teamwork and the people who make it all happen. It’s a different way of telling the story. But there are still plenty of stories to tell! The safety and wellbeing of our students are always our highest priorities. This approach allows us to continue celebrating the learning, achievements and everyday moments that make our school communities so special, while being thoughtful about how student images are shared online. Our social media may look a little different, but that doesn’t mean you won’t still see some faces from time to time as we work with schools and families to share identifiable images when they help to tell an important part of the story and where permissions have been provided. Our purpose remains the same: sharing the inspiring stories of our 80 school communities across Western Sydney and the Blue Mountains.
21 Sep 2026
From Facebook
Stay Late – Faith in Action On Friday evening, 123 students from Years 4, 5 and 6 participated in ‘Stay Late’, a Faith in Action experience focused on homelessness. A speaker from the St Vincent de Paul Society spoke with students about the statistics, circumstances and realities of life for those experiencing homelessness. Students then participated in ‘The Snowball of Life’ game before being challenged to use a minimal budget to feed a family. Working in teams named after a Saint, students were then tasked with building a homeless shelter using cardboard boxes, string, tape and small pieces of foam and plastic. The evening concluded with students and teachers tying a purple ribbon to our prayer focus homeless shelter as a commitment to pray for, help where possible and respect the dignity of all who find themselves homeless. A huge thank you to Mrs Hyson for organising such a meaningful and reflective experience for our students, and to our staff who gave up their Friday evening for this opportunity.
18 Sep 2026
From Facebook
Year 2 had an action-packed day at Plough and Harrow Parklands, exploring the science of pushes and pulls with Ranger Jamie! Students investigated forces through exciting hands-on activities, including racing billy carts, making slime, launching paper rockets and experimenting with soda water bags. It was a wonderful day filled with curiosity, teamwork, scientific thinking and plenty of fun! 🚀🛒🧪 A big thank you to Ranger Jamie for bringing our learning to life!
18 Sep 2026
From Facebook
😂 When one school pet just isn’t enough… Our Year 2 students were doing their very best to persuade Mrs Bond that having just one school pet would simply not be enough. 🐰🐔🐹🐢 Apparently, what we really need is a whole school farm! 🐾😂 Mrs Bond is now wondering how a conversation about one pet somehow turned into plans for an entire animal kingdom! 🤦♀️🤣💙💛🐾