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Monday 21 January 2019

Townsville Diocese welcomes new principals!

The 2019 school year will be an exciting year for many schools as they welcome their new principal.

The Collinsville community is thrilled to welcome Ms Eleanor Niland as principal of St John Bosco

Catholic School. Eleanor is not new to Townsville Catholic Education, having previously worked at St

Anthony’s Catholic College, Deeragun where she held various positions since 2011. Most recently

she completed a contract as Acting Principal- Administration.

Ms Melissa Scherwitzel is excited to be joining the St Catherine’s Catholic College community in the

Whitsundays this year. Ms Scherwitzel is a very experienced leader in Catholic schooling and has

enjoyed roles such as Acting Principal and Deputy Principal, among other senior leadership roles. Her

love of education and wide experiences sees her well placed to be principal of St Catherine’s Catholic

College, The Whitsundays.

St Joseph’s Catholic School, Cloncurry is pleased to welcome Ms Judy Bell as their new principal. Judy

is a very experienced educator and senior leader in schools having been Assistant Principal- Religious

Education at St Joseph’s Catholic School, Cloncurry and more recently at Southern Cross Catholic

College, Annadale.

The Palm Island school community is very excited to welcome Ms Tess Fong as principal of St

Michael’s Catholic School. Ms Fong has a wide range of experience in the education sector and is

excited to join the Palm Island school community.

Ms Frances Graham is looking forward to working with students, parents and staff at St Patrick’s

Catholic School, Winton as their new principal. Frances has held many acting senior leadership

positions and spent almost 20 years in the Cairns Diocese as Teacher, Assistant Principal, and

Learning Support Coordinator at a number of schools in Cairns and on the Tablelands.

Mr Angus Galletly will step into the Principal role at St Teresa’s College, Abergowrie. Mr Galletly has

been Deputy Principal at the College for many years and brings a wealth of experience, particularly

working with Indigenous students and is looking forward to this exciting new chapter in his career.

Mr Martin Cordery has stepped into the position of Acting Principal at Southern

Cross Catholic College, Annandale. Previous principal, Mrs Louise Vella-Cox has joined the

Townsville Catholic Education Office this month in her new role as Director of Catholic Identity and

Indigenous Education Services. Mr Cordery was previously Deputy Principal of Secondary and is

looking forward to his new role.

Executive Director of Townsville Catholic Education, Jacqui Francis welcomed all the principals at the

New Principals Induction, which was held in Townsville on Thursday 17 January 2019.

“Townsville Catholic Education is delighted to welcome these new leaders to our schools and

colleges and we wish them all the best in their new position,” said Jacqui Francis.

From L to R: Eleanor Niland, Melissa Scherwitzel, Martin Cordery, Tess Fong, Angus Galletly, Frances Graham, Candi Dempster (who became principal of Columba Catholic College in mid-2018) and Judy Bell.

ENDS

For further information, please contact: Karolien Kern – Marketing & Communications Officer T. 07 4773 0970 M. 0417 227 049 kkern@tsv.catholic.edu.au