ANGELA Moore says the smiles on students’ faces are one of the best parts of her role.
Ms Moore is closing off her first year as a principal at St Sebastian’s Primary School Yeronga.
The seasoned St Sebastian’s Primary School community member initially joined the school as the Assistant Principal of Religious Education in 2014.
She assumed the role of Acting Principal in 2022 before transitioning to Principal in January 2023.
“I have been fortunate to be part of the St Sebastian’s Primary School community for a long time, so I know the students and their families well,” she said.
“This familiarity allowed me to come into the position of Principal with a unique understanding of our school community’s strengths, challenges, and aspirations.”
Ms Moore said throughout the year she enjoyed connecting with the staff and community, and most of all – creating a love of learning.
“I love being part of a collaborative team whose purpose it is to shape the present for the students of today,” she said.
“I have spent my first year working with other passionate educators to develop life-long learning attributes and capabilities, as well as championing a love of learning, which is at the heart of my job.”
Ms Moore says her focus has been creating nurturing environments that promote and encourage students to ask questions and explore solutions to real-world problems.
“Through empowering students to explore and discover their natural curiosities, I hope to create students who have a drive to make the world a better place for others – whether that be on the playground, or within the wider community,” she said.
“We owe students the chance to know that they have the power to make a difference and that the world can be a wonderful, safe, faith-filled place.”
Ms Moore added that it was not her original plan to become a principal.
“As a child, I loved the sense of belonging and shared values gained through being part of an extended Catholic primary school family, which initially compelled me to become a teacher,” she said.
“I have been fortunate over my career to have had amazing mentors whose influence has rubbed off on me, guiding me to realise the transformative role that leadership can play in shaping not just individual student lives but the entire fabric of a school community.”
She said she looked forward to developing relationships with new families and students in the new year.
“The beginning of the school year is always exciting,” she said.
“I can’t wait to develop authentic relationships with our new families and explore their ideas for our school community in 2024.”
Ms Moore was a 2021 graduate of Brisbane Catholic Education’s Breakthrough to Principalship program.
Unique to BCE and co-facilitated by the University of Queensland, the program encourages women to take up school principalship roles and addresses the need to increase the number of women in principalship positions across its 146 schools.
