The Catholic Secondary Principals Australia (CaSPA) Leadership Excellence Award is sponsored by the CaSPA Partners to recognise and celebrate the pursuit of excellence by Principals in Secondary Schools within Catholic Education in Australia. The Leadership Excellence Award comprises a crystal trophy and a scholarship which is currently valued at $2,000.

State and Territory Associations evaluate all nominations and forward the most outstanding to the Catholic Secondary Principals Australia Board for consideration. State finalists were determined and were acknowledged at the recent CaSPA Conference in Canberra earlier this week. The national award winner also announced at the Conference.

Outstanding Leadership in any Catholic Secondary School environment necessarily involves focussed and strategic attention on building capacity in the Key Performance Areas of:

  1. Catholic Identity and Ethos;
  2. Teaching and Learning;
  3. Leadership Capacity;
  4. Pastoral Care and Well-Being;
  5. Communication, Networks and Community;
  6. Finance, Facilities and Resources including ICT; and
  7. Innovative practice by means of strategic planning, implementation of improvement focussed initiatives, protocols and processes to ensure the achievement of excellent outcomes for:

7.1. the School/College

7.2. Leadership Team

7.3. Staff, Students and Community

7.4. The broader Catholic Sector

7.5. Education in the local Region

7.6. Education in the broader/jurisdiction and National Education Communities.

Due to COVID, the CaSPA Conference, a biannual event, did not occur in 2020. As a result, the Board decided to award two Principals as national finalists.

It gives me great pleasure, and much pride, to announce that our Principal, Rita Grima, was both the Victorian State finalist and one of the two national finalists. We are thrilled that her energy, hard work and great vision have been recognised. Ever humble, Rita spoke about her award recognising the work of her Leadership Team and the staff of St. Columba’s College. She went on to highlight our St. Columba’s College students as being the source of her inspiration and drive to create a better school and learning environment.

Congratulations, Rita!