The long-awaited principal of Kildare Catholic College has arrived and says he is hoping to usher in a new era of stability for the school.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Officially having arrived on January 17, Christopher Browne sat down with The Daily Advertiser on Thursday to discuss his plans in the role.
"I'm committed to Wagga and I want to make a real go of it long-term," Mr Browne said.
"My job is very much, I guess, sustaining the excellence that has become part of what happens at Kildare, but also then taking that to the next level so that we are able to continue to be a strongly performing school."
Describing himself as someone who is "interested in looking at as much information as I can", Mr Browne said he was aware of the issues that have plagued the school since the August 2019 resignation of former principal Rod Whelan.
"You know, we are 18 months on from that, and the last six months, in particular, we've seen significant stabilising in Catholic education [in Wagga]," he said.
"The acting leaders of the school, both Christie Scobel and Rick Sidorko, I think did a wonderful job."
Related:
It is now Mr Browne's intention to bring the school's image forward and away from the notoriety of the past year.
"I think the community has moved on in many ways and wants to move on," he said.
"They want us to take the school to a better place and not look behind at the difficulties of the past."
The situation with the last permanent principal was not, at least a deterrent for the new principal to take on the role this year.
"Every school has its issues to deal with and this is a different flavour but I don't see that in any way as an impediment," he said.
"But I also know that there are good things happening here, and the school's been performing well."
In re-shaping the school's focus this year, Mr Browne said he would be ensuring "that this is a great Catholic school at all times".
"We have to be authentically a Catholic school," he said. "That is why we exist, that's why the gates are opened.
"It's a choice that parents make to have their children educated in a Catholic school. So my place in that is to make sure that I honour that choice."
Related:
Speaking of the school's steeped history with the Nano Nagle and the Presentation Sisters, Mr Browne spoke of wanting to keep the school's longstanding legacy from becoming "a museum piece".
"I want the heritage of the school to actually influence the way our young people see the world."
"I think what you then see when they [the students] go out from school into the world, you see that the work they do is as advocates for those in need in our world."
Initially, the challenges Mr Browne has confronted in his first week at the school revolve around the ongoing struggle of living in a pandemic-affected world.
Bringing the whole school together to introduce himself has proven a logistical challenge with the NSW Health advice allowing for only 15-minute assemblies.
"My intention is to be getting around the school on a frequent basis, getting to know the students. The ones I've met so far, they're terrific," he said.
"I think in larger schools, you've got to work hard to stay in touch with everybody and connect with everybody. That's a key part of my role and something that I think is really important to do."
This year has seen one of the largest intakes of year 7 students to the school, welcoming the start of 193 on Thursday. It is also one of the school's biggest HSC years with 130 students now in year 12.
"I think it's always nice to see more students come than you predict are going to come," he said.
"I think the school's reputation is very strong in the local community."
Mr Browne has relocated from Sydney to take up the position in Wagga, bringing with him his wife and more than two decades worth of experience in leadership across Catholic schools in NSW.
Having spent two years near the beginning of his career at Hennessy Catholic College in Young, arriving in Wagga represents something of a homecoming.
"I'm not local, I grew up in Sydney but I've spent time in the region," Mr Browne said.
"[This role] was attractive at this time in my life with both our sons off our hands. I'm in a fairly portable profession and I really enjoyed the country experience, the opportunity to get back into that was great."