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Just as our geography is diverse in the beauty of creation - the Great Barrier Reef, the Outback, and the Wet Tropical Rainforests - our students are diverse in their cultures, needs and abilities.
The Catholic school system is an integral part of the Church in this diocese. Our 26 schools and colleges are filled with energy and innovation, focused on caring for and delivering quality tuition and faith education to our students, according to their individual needs.
Catholic schools are faith communities based on belief in God and a Christian way of life. Gospel values permeate all areas of education. Students are educated for excellence according to the talents and capabilities of the individual, by properly qualified and dedicated Christian teachers.
Integrating the Catholic faith into the daily lives of our students 'grounds' them with faith, values and knowledge to guide and support them throughout their lives. Catholic Education nurtures the spiritual, social and academic development of young people The commitment and professionalism of our staff in guiding each student to achieve their personal potential is unwavering; as we journey together to prepare young people for a world of opportunity.
Location
Our schools are set in the geographical context of the Great Barrier Reef, the Outback, and the Wet Tropical Rainforests. Cairns Diocese consists of all of Queensland north of a line drawn from Cardwell on the east coast, west to the Northern Territory border. This includes the whole of the Gulf country, Cape York Peninsula and Torres Strait Islands. With one exception, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart School, Thursday Island/Hammond Island, all of our schools and colleges are within two hours driving time from Cairns.
Our schools are united not only by location within the Diocese, but by our purpose in providing education, and by the Catholic faith and identity that underpins them.
Our Schools
Catholic Education in the Cairns diocese encompasses nineteen primary schools, six secondary colleges and one P-12 college with over 9,400 students - almost 6,000 primary and almost 3,500 secondary - and more than 1200 teachers and school officers. Catholic Education has one of the largest workforces in the region in the non-government sector.
Our primary schools are Parish schools and each forms an important element of the life and work of its parish. St Andrew's Catholic College is a growing P-12 Diocesan College which will achieve Year 12 intake in 2009 and an enrolment of about 1500. Our largest secondary college is St Mary’s Catholic College at Woree, with almost 1000 students. Two of the secondary colleges, St Augustine's College at Cairns and Mount St Bernard at Herberton, are also boarding schools. Some St Monica's students also board at St Augustine's. Our newest college, St Stephen’s Catholic College in Mareeba, opened in 2006 with Year 8 and will achieve Year 12 intake in 2010. Our smallest schools are St Rita’s at Babinda, St John’s at Silkwood, and St Anthony’s at Dimbulah – all with between 50 and 60 students.
Logo & Moto
The importance of our unity, identity and shared purpose has been acknowledged with the development of a motto and logo that seeks to embrace our own diversity as the staff and students of Catholic Education, yet also provide a means of communicating our unity.
Central to the logo is the open, welcoming cross - it is reflective of a defining feature of our schools as "open to all who seek to share their life". The embracing arms of the cross convey this inclusiveness that is Catholic Schools at their best.
Click on the link for a full  Rationale of Logo and Motto.
Geographically central to our diocese and representative of the immensity of God's Creation is St Monica's Cathedral and its magnificent Creation Windows. Cathedrals and churches are built for the glory of God and to provide a place for sacred worship. The Creation Windows at St Monica's Cathedral represent the glory and diversity of God's creation in this diocese, providing a fitting backdrop for worship and prayer in a sacred place.
The design itself is continuous. It is also the intention of the design to incorporate faith, science, and art into one undivided expression of the mystery, the wonder and the beauty of Creation. The design's unity and intention is congruous with that of Catholic Education and central to our diocese and Christianity. Hence an element of the Creation Windows design is incorporated into Catholic Education's stationery and communications. The 'chosen' window features the cassowary - found predominantly in the geography encompassed by the Cairns diocese. Also in the window - the eagle – a symbol of evangelisation and its sharp eyesight representative of our motto: "Learning with Faith and Vision". The heights to which it can soar are matched only by the potential of young people adequately prepared for a world of opportunity.
Vision & Mission
The vision of Catholic Education is to offer life-long and quality Catholic education so that each person may know and come to identify more fully with the living Spirit of Christ. Within the Diocese this vision is elaborated as entailing:
Through their involvement in the Catholic faith community, students are able to reach their fullpotential through the enhancement of their educational, personal and spiritual dimensions. They and the communities in which they live and study are sustained and enriched by the life-giving relationships that they develop.
PASTORAL FRAMEWORK
Christ as our Centre
The tradition and mission of Catholic Education is found in the life and ministry of Jesus. It is
His vision that is taught, modelled and used as a basis for all that occurs. It is a vision centred on the reign of God; the Good News that God is at work in our world, liberating and transforming all aspects of human existence and creation.
Church Mission
As Christians today, we recognise that we are people of God and carry on the Church’s mission of:
• Service (especially to the marginalised of our society)
• Community formation
• Teaching and witness
• Worship and celebration
As Catholic educators our core identity is embedded in the mission of Church. The essence of our educational philosophy is the Christian view of the human person made in the image of
God (Gen 1:27), and the Christian vocation to be and to build the Kingdom of God as disciples of Christ.
Core Beliefs
There are core beliefs and values that underpin the culture of a Catholic school:
- Made in the image of God, every human being is very important and should be treated with respect and dignity. Each is unique, possessing gifts which should be developed.
- We are all part of a community where we have both rights and responsibilities.
- The poor have a special place in God’s love and God’s plan.
- We live in a wonderful world and we have a duty to care for it. In this world, we see signs of God’s abundant and abiding presence everywhere.
- Things do not have to be the way they are. We can make a difference in the world: develop ourselves, help others, care for the environment and, when things seem to fall apart, we can be reconciled with ourselves, with others – and with God.
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