Dear Parents and Carers,

This week, we welcomed back more than 70,000 students to our 147 schools for the start of the 2025 school year.

It is true to say that starting something new – a new role, a new year, or a new school, can bring about a range of emotions.

For some, there’s nerves and apprehension, for others there’s eagerness and anticipation. The one thing that binds us all though, is hope.

Hope, in our Catholic tradition, is not fleeting or small, nor is it simply optimism, it is a bold and resilient stance toward a future that is good, beautiful and true. And sometimes there can be uncertainty and struggle in that.

Above all, we remember that we do not hope alone, we hope together. As we enter the school year and the Jubilee Year of Hope, we look forward to the encounters that will inspire us to achieve our best – the teachers, friends, colleagues and classmates who will pick us up when we fall, and who will help us uncover our passions and purpose in an environment that is safe, kind, and committed to excellence for all – where no one is left behind and no one is held back.

We look forward to the incredible opportunities that lie ahead. Welcome back everyone!

Danielle Cronin
Executive Director,
Sydney Catholic Schools