Cairns’ newest school is offering a fast and easy enrolment process where parents can chat with the principal, grab some information and complete an application in one simple step.
The Newman Catholic College office, opposite K-Mart in Smithfield Shopping Centre, has been equipped with iPads so that families can complete application forms in real time, with hands-on assistance from Foundation Principal Lauretta Graham or office support staff.
Hard copies of the form are also available at the office, or by emailing office.newman@cns.catholic.edu.au. Online applications can be lodged at newman.qld.edu.au/apply-online and can be done gradually when time permits – the form can be saved and returned to as often as needed for up to 30 days.
Dr Lauretta Graham
Dr Graham said she understood that some families might have questions about the College while they completed their application.
“I enjoy meeting prospective students and their families and am delighted to help them with their enrolment application in any way I can,” she said.
“I am so thrilled and excited to meet our first students and their families. Parents enrolling their children at Newman will have a voice and be part of the partnership that makes up education for their child.”
Enrolment interviews have already begun ahead of the College’s opening at the start of 2022. Prospective families are encouraged to apply now to ensure they secure a spot, with first-round offers to be made in May. However, applications are welcome at any time and where vacancies exist, successful applicants will be offered a place.
There is no fee to apply to enrol your child at Newman Catholic College and there are no geographical enrolment catchments. The College, located on the grounds of James Cook University, will open with a Year 7 cohort in 2022 initially and add a year level each year to be a full Year 7-12 secondary college by 2027. It is the first Catholic school in Australia to be co-located with a university.
The College welcomes students and families of all faiths, abilities, and socio-economic backgrounds, who wish to support the ethos of Newman Catholic College and what it has to offer.
Dr Graham was previously Foundation Principal at St Andrew’s Catholic College in Redlynch, guiding the school from 2001 to 2011. For the last nine years, she was Foundation Principal at MacKillop Catholic College in the Northern Territory.
“I see Newman Catholic College as a place where students can step out of their busy lives, appreciate the gifts and the magnificent beauty around them, and with strong clear minds devote their time to learning and discovering their strengths; giving them courage, strength, hope and a future,” she said.
“It will be a place where who you become is more important than what you become; a place where together we strengthen mind, body and heart.”
