College Leaders for 2026

Congratulations to our College Leaders for 2026 – Lachlan T, Maddie S and Shane M. I am confident that our 2026 College Leaders will lead Holy Spirit College with enthusiasm, pride, dignity, and respect.

In the coming weeks, our Committee Chairs and House Leaders will be announced. This year, we have been blessed with many of our Year 11 students applying to lead our College and to serve our community. I wish all applicants the best with the upcoming leadership selection process.

Celebration of the Arts Awards Evening

On Tuesday evening, 2 September, our community was treated to a celebration of the Arts at Holy Spirit College. Our HSC Arts students entertained, impressed and amazed us with their performances and artwork on display. The Creative Arts program has certainly been thriving this year. Parents, students and staff were treated to a night of entertainment from our dancers, singers, public speakers, musicians and artists. 

Congratulations and sincere thanks to all staff who have supported and encouraged excellence in the Arts throughout 2025. Congratulations also to our students for their dedication and commitment to the Creative Arts program. A special thank you to our parents for supporting their children in their artistic pursuits.

A big thank you goes to our Creative Arts Program Leader, Mrs Bernadetta Abell, and to Mrs Kerri Allen for their outstanding organisation and coordination of the Creative Arts Awards evening. We also extend our gratitude to Ms Fraser, AP Mission, for her ongoing support of the Arts in our College.

Feedback from parents and students on the night indicated that this event was a huge success for our College community.

To learn more about our award recipients and view some fantastic photos, please read Mrs Abell’s article in the ‘HSC News & Events’ section.

Year 11 Semi Formal

A big thank you to Mr Ashley Watson - Dean of Students (Year 11) - and his team for coordinating a wonderful evening for our students to socialise with their friends. Many thanks to our Publicity Chair, Olivia C, for volunteering her time to capture the evening for our Year 11 students.

A massive thanks to the following staff who volunteered their time to help supervise our Year 11 students on the night: Kelly Wells, Kellie Devine, Ian Ballantyne, Jess Davison, Lisa Maree Doyle, Wayne Huntley, Lesley Fraser, Jo Sheather, Michelle Bohne, Candice Lade, Charlotte Buchanan, Lorelle Adamson, Sandy McLellan, Camille Morris, Danielle MacGregor, Shelby Barbe, Robin Robinson, Adrianne Mifsud, and Anton Mayer Miller. Without the support of this incredible group of staff, the event would not have been possible.

Thank You

It has been an extremely busy term with regards to our College calendar. I would like to thank our staff for their commitment to organising and facilitating the following events for our students and HSC community.

• Breakfast Club
• Music Ministry at St Joseph’s Church
• Social Justice Evening – Backpacks for the homeless
• Creative Arts groups
• Sporting Team Competitions and Trainings
• Whitsunday Voices
• Year 12 Formal
• Year 11 Semi-Formal
• Year 10 Celebration’
• Year 8 Big Night Out
• Parent Teacher Interviews
• Parent Information Sessions (Years 8 to 10 in 2026)
• Matsuura Student Visit
• Mackay Eisteddfod
• Zonta Birthing Kits
• Year 11 ACTS Camp
• Year 10 ACTS Camp
• Creative Arts Awards Evening
• Year 9 Camp (next week)

Staff News

On Friday, our staff participated in the final Staff Learning and Development Day of the year. Throughout the day, staff attended a variety of professional learning sessions across different areas of our College. I would like to thank Steve Nugent – Assistant Principal (Staff) – for his work behind the scenes, organising and scheduling a day that offered a wide range of opportunities for our staff to further develop their knowledge and skills. I hope our students also utilised this day to prepare, finalise and study for any upcoming assessment. 

Student Departures

We wish our families who are leaving us at the end of this term all the very best for the future. We hope your time spent with us has been enjoyable and memorable.

Next term, we look forward to welcoming new students and their families to our College. 

To assist with our planning for 2026, I would appreciate our parents/carers contacting the College Office to advise of any departures. When predicting student numbers for the following year, I try to be as accurate as possible with my prediction as it drives staffing, budgets, and class sizes. If you are aware that your child will be leaving us at the end of the year, please notify our Enrolments Officer, Tahnee Smith, as soon as possible. I thank you for your assistance with this matter.

Holidays

I would like to take this opportunity in our final newsletter for the term, to wish our Holy Spirit College Community a restful and re-energising Spring holiday. I pray that you find the time to take a break and prepare for Term 4, which always flies by in the blink of an eye.

Prayer

Dear Lord,

We pray for all students and staff as they enter the busy end of the term (assessment and marking). May God continue to bless them with knowledge, strength, perseverance, and good health. Amen.

Blessings,     

Alison Wales - Principal