Executive Director’s Update to Principals #38 - 26 July 2022
Michael McKenzie - Announcement of Resignation
Recently, after a period of leave and deep reflection, Michael McKenzie has informed me that he is resigning from the principalship of St Patrick’s Primary School, Camperdown.
Michael has been a faithful servant to Catholic Education for many years. He has served as Principal of St Patrick’s since 2008 and in that time, Michael has ably led the community in all facets of Catholic education. He has worked closely with staff through the implementation of a number of key learning initiatives including Response to Intervention, Professional Learning Communities and the Resilience Project. He has overseen building projects that have resulted in significant improvement to the facilities at St Patrick’s and he has been passionate about the best opportunities for the students of the school.
Michael has been an active member of the local Parish community and has devoted many years to being the Chair of the Parish Council. In his time as Principal, Michael has worked with various Parish Priests and school Religious Education Leaders to ensure St Patrick’s maintained close ties with the broader Parish community. He has also worked collaboratively with successive Principals of Mercy Regional College in the interests of local Catholic education.
Michael has made many contributions to the broader Catholic education community through his participation in local and Diocesan Principal Networks, including the Hampden Catholic Schools Network, Southern Zone Principals Network and Ballarat Diocesan Principals Network. Additionally, Michael served as the Principal representative on the Ballarat Diocesan Schools Advisory Council for a number of years.
Catholic leadership places many demands on family life and we acknowledge the support of Michael's loving family throughout his time in principalship.
Michael’s resignation took effect as of Friday 22 July 2022.
The search for Michael’s replacement will get underway shortly. This process will involve consultation with Fr Neville, school staff and School Advisory Council members.
As you are aware, Tim Bourke is currently the Acting Principal at St Patrick’s Camperdown while Stacey Atkins is replacing Tim at St Colman’s Primary School, Mortlake. As a result of Michael’s resignation, I have asked both Tim and Stacey to stay on in their current positions until the end of 2022. Both have generously agreed to my request. This will allow stability and certainty for the 3 school communities involved: St Patrick’s, St Colman’s and St Pius X.
Michael is a passionate educator, a strong advocate for Catholic education and is a devoted parishioner and Camperdown community member. We thank him for all that he has done for St Patrick’s Primary school and wish him well into the future.