About St Paul's Catholic College Manly
St Paul’s is a boys’ high school administered by the Diocese of Broken Bay and staffed fully by lay people. The College specifically serves the Catholic Parishes of Manly, Freshwater, North Harbour, Narraweena and Dee Why but welcomes boys outside the area and of all religious persuasions subject to the availability of places and Diocesan policy. All boys in all year groups are required to study Religious Education, and to attend the Religious observances and retreats which are regularly organised and form part of the curriculum.
As a Catholic school in the Diocese of Broken Bay, St Paul’s Catholic College exists to educate and form young men in Catholic Discipleship: offering them experiences of following Jesus as members of the Catholic community.
Our priority is to establish a Catholic environment of staff, clergy, parents, students, old boys and friends of the college and the community at large. We wish to be recognised by the way we live our Christian lives and where such Gospel values of tolerance, love, forgiveness, honesty, integrity, acceptance and prayerfulness permeate every school activity.
There are currently 581 students at the College.
The College Crest and Colours
St Paul’s owes its crest to the Christian Brothers who opened their Manly College in 1929. The Celtic Cross symbolises the origin of the Brothers. Their founder, Blessed Edmund Ignatius Rice, sought to bring to God, educate and thereby improve the quality of life of the boys then roaming the streets of Waterford, Ireland, at the beginning of the 19th century.
The Star is a symbol of the Catholic faith and especially the Virgin Mary, known as the Star of the Sea, to whom the Brothers are deeply devoted. As the original College was a stone’s throw from Manly Beach, the symbol is most apt.
The College colours of red and black are traditional colours from the words found on St Paul’s own shield, “The Sword of the Spirit”, and signify zeal, effort and determination. The motto of St Paul's is "PRIMA PRIMUM" - First Things First - and is a challenge to all members of the community of St Paul's to properly arrange life's priorities - typical of the common sense, hard working attitude to life of the Christian Brothers.
Purpose and Character of the College
It is the task of the Catholic School to create a total environment in which it is possible for students to experience what it means to participate in Catholic discipleship. St Paul’s Catholic College, in all its daily activities, should generate the principles articulated in the Gospels: principles by which disciples of Jesus are readily recognised by one another; principles by which the secularism of society is challenged.
St Paul’s exists as a place of education in its own right, fulfilling all the expectations, academic and pastoral, required of it by the funding bodies. It is our character and identity that sets us apart from other schools. We participate in the mission of evangelisation and derive our energy, vision and direction from the Catholic community.
We have the particular task of offering quality education to members of the Catholic community and of presenting that quality education as an expression of the Catholic worldview. We seek to transform the individual by informing the student of the Catholic vision and story, and offering opportunities to apply that worldview to all aspects of school life, and life outside of school.
Such a worldview should be:
(a) present and identifiable in relationships within the school
(b) present in the symbols, the visible metaphors of Catholic faith and culture, in and around the school
(c) present in the rituals and routines of daily school life
(d) present in the way pastoral care is exercised and the way pastoral care programs are developed
(e) present in the celebrations and the values those celebrations reflect
(f) emanate from an understanding and appreciation of the Sacred Scriptures and the life and tradition of the Church.
As a Catholic College we consciously demonstrate the belief that every human being is unique and loved by God, that education is emancipating; that it frees people from the slavery of ignorance; that it can free them from the slavery of class and economic oppression; and that this emancipation is part of the realisation of God’s Kingdom.
To achieve this the College follows the diocesan Religious Education Curriculum in Years 7 through to 12. Students in Years 11 and 12 may choose to take the one or two unit Board Course in Studies of Religion. There is a Retreat Program for Year 7 through to Year 12 which commences with a series of reflection days in the younger yeas and culminates in a three day retreat for seniors.
The College employs the services of a Youth Minister who works with the students on a wide variety of projects involving faith development, social justice and liturgy.
College Community
At St Paul's it is recognised that parents are the primary educators of their children and that the school was built by the Catholic community of the Manly area. Those presently responsible for its function are also trustees for that community. As far as possible school policies must reflect the expectations and aspirations of the community and all groups forming part of that community will be invited to contribute to the school. It is recognised that the school community consists of at least the following groups:
(a) the Catholic hierarchy
(b) the local clergy
(c) the parents
(d) the staff
(e) the students
(f) ex-students
(g) members of the local parish communities
