News

Newman News - Vol. 3 | No. 1 Term One 2026

Tue, 14 Apr 2026 01:36:45 GMT

Vol. 3 No. 1 - Term One 2026

The latest edition of our quarterly newsletter, the Newman News , can be read online here .

Welcome to Term One

Fri, 06 Feb 2026 03:53:57 GMT

Last week, after close to 5 years of planning and preparation by our Board and founding staff, we had the absolute joy of welcoming our first students to Term One at Newman College!

Week One culminated in our first Mass and Blessing of the school, celebrated by our Chaplain Fr Conor of the Brisbane Oratory in Formation.

Students, staff, families and Board members gathered in the chapel to celebrate the school’s first Mass together, giving thanks to God for the countless blessings He has poured down upon Newman College over the long period that has led up to this opening. Fr Conor then visited each of our classes and blessed both the students and their classrooms. This special celebration highlighted how central our Catholic faith is to our school’s mission and culture, informing our identity as a classical school.

The students and staff have enjoyed settling into the rhythms of daily life at Newman College, and we are blessed to have the continued support of such a strong community behind us as we embark on our opening year.

Newman News - Vol. 2 | No. 4 December 2025

Tue, 16 Dec 2025 06:07:04 GMT

Vol. 2 No. 4 - December 2025

The latest edition of our quarterly newsletter, the Newman News , can be read online here .

Primary School Campus Building Update

Tue, 04 Nov 2025 23:29:41 GMT

Have you taken a drive past our school site in Tarragindi recently?

Since construction works began in June, our primary school site has been a hive of development. We’re excited to share some progress updates and photos of our Stage 1 works with you!

To get our primary school student-ready for January 2026, we are:

Transforming the existing Hall and Church into two new classrooms, our administration block and a refurbished chapel.
Building a brand-new double classroom block with amenities.
Creating plenty of space for unstructured outdoor play.
Ensuring a safe and functional traffic environment with new car parks.
Landscaping to create a beautiful campus that gives glory to God's creation.

We’re also building new fences, transforming the entranceway, and laying the groundwork for what will be a gradual development over a number of stages to meet our needs as our school grows.

We're well on track to complete our Stage 1 works in November 2025, ahead of welcoming our first students in January 2026. We look forward to soon moving our offices onto the school grounds and opening our doors to enrolled 2026 families.

Can you help us build our primary school?

Please consider becoming a regular giver. From $20 a month to $50 a week, a regular tax-deductible donation is an invaluable gift, ensuring Newman College can offer a faithfully Catholic and Classical education to generations of future students.

Newman News - Vol. 2 | No. 3 September 2025

Sun, 28 Sep 2025 23:15:57 GMT

Vol. 2 No. 3 - September 2025

The latest edition of our quarterly newsletter, the Newman News , can be read online here .

Education for Human Flourishing Conference

Wed, 10 Sep 2025 05:58:31 GMT

On the 5th and 6th September, the team at Newman College had the pleasure of attending 'Education for Human Flourishing', the Liberal Arts Project's first Classical Education Conference.

It was a privilege to attend inspiring workshops and talks from an impressive panel of international guests: Elisabeth Sullivan and Peter Crawford of the Institute for Catholic Liberal Education , Joelle Hodge of Classical Academic Press , as well as Dr Brian Williams of Templeton Honors College. We also heard from some of the leading Aussie voices in the Classical education space, including our own Principal Kenneth Crowther, Dr Paul Morrisey of Campion College Australia , and Sarah Flynn of Logos Australis .

The speakers covered a wide range of topics centered around the idea of human flourishing - from the challenge that we have underestimated our children's capacity when it comes to the books we give them to read, to understanding why schools have always played a central role in the Church's mission to mankind.

The Conference was an inspiring reminder of why we set out to establish Newman College, and why we're passionate about an education that cultivates wisdom and virtue, immersing students in what is True, Good and Beautiful!

Meet our 2026 Teaching Team

Wed, 27 Aug 2025 02:27:30 GMT

We have been busy interviewing and hiring our teachers for next year.

We are delighted to share with you our four year-level teachers who will be taking our Prep to Year 3 classes in 2026!

Prep - Miss Cotterell

Year 1 - Mrs da Silva

Year 2 - Mr Macahilig

Year 3 - Mr Aitken

We are excited to have this wonderful teaching team join us in 2026, united by a shared Catholic faith and a love of what is True, Good and Beautiful.

Each of our teachers shared a little about why they are excited to be teaching at Newman College - click below to find out what they had to say!

Miss Cotterell

Mrs da Silva

Mr Macahilig

Mr Aitken

St John Henry Newman - Doctor of the Church

Wed, 20 Aug 2025 03:38:59 GMT

Exciting News from the Vatican

On the 1st of August we read the wonderful news that our blessed patron, St John Henry Newman, will be named a Doctor of the Church by Pope Leo XIV!

A convert from Anglicanism and one of the most influential Saints of the 19th century, Newman will now be recognised in the ranks of the greatest thinkers of our Church, from St Ambrose and St Jerome to St Thomas Aquinas and St Teresa of Avila. You can read more about our Patron Saint here .

The Catholic Leader interviewed our founding Principal Kenneth following the news breaking. Kenneth shared “When it came to naming the school, St John Henry Newman was always at the top of the list of options for his incredible influence on both education and theology... Newman has a broad scope in his work, but in particular for us at the college, it is his insistence on the harmony between faith and reason that forms the foundation of our mission as a school... We are indebted to Newman for the clear, precise and wise vision of education he has set forth, we are grateful for his intercession, and excited for him to join those other men and women who have been declared Doctors of the Church.”

You can read the full article in the Catholic Leader here .

St John Henry Newman, pray for us!

Newman News - Vol. 2 | No. 2 June 2025

Fri, 30 May 2025 05:49:55 GMT

Vol. 2 No. 2 - June 2025

The latest edition of our quarterly newsletter, the Newman News , can be read online here .

Joseph Pearce Public Lecture

Sun, 11 May 2025 05:03:28 GMT

Shakespeare & Tolkien: Literary Giants & Why The Great Books Matter

On Sunday 11th May we had the pleasure of co-hosting a public lecture with renowned Catholic author and international guest speaker Joseph Pearce. The English-born writer and academic travelled from his home in the US for his first Tour of Australia.

It was a full house with over 250 people in attendance at the Parish Hall in Annerley. Joseph spoke extensively on the rich literary history that accompanies movements of Catholic renewal. From exploring the Catholicity of Shakespeare to drawing unlikely connections between Saint John Henry Newman and The Lord of the Rings , it was a wonderfully engaging evening enjoyed by all. Did you know that our patron Saint John Henry Newman was founder of the Birmingham Oratory, where J.R.R. Tolkien grew up and received his own faith formation. So it would seem we can thank St John Henry Newman for Tolkien and The Lord of the Rings , a work Tolkien himself called "fundamentally religious and Catholic"!

A vote of thanks was given by Fr Conor Power of the Brisbane Oratory in Formation, our co-hosts of the evening. Fr Conor offered a profound reflection on the themes of Joseph’s talk, speaking of how important it is to not only read, but to read good books and to not let our fear of engaging with the great works overcome us.

Joseph wrote an article reflecting on his visit to Australia, writing "As for myself, I am buoyed up by my experience of the exciting initiatives in classical education which are welling up on the other side of the world." He further noted that Newman College's "imminent presence is causing much expectant excitement. More than 250 people attended my lecture... and the enthusiasm for classical education amongst those in attendance was palpable. I have no doubt that the soon-to-be-born school will be launched on a wave of fervent desire by local parents for its success." You can read his full article in The Imaginative Conservative here .

Our sincere thanks all who joined us on the night, to Joseph for making the trip across the world to visit us, and to Hartford College Sydney for facilitating Joseph’s first Australian Tour.

Who is Joseph Pearce?

An English-born writer, Joseph currently resides in the USA. He is one of the most acclaimed literary biographers of today, with best-selling works such as Tolkien: Man and Myth , The Quest for Shakespeare, C. S. Lewis and The Catholic Church , Literary Converts , and Solzhenitsyn: A Soul in Exile . Amazingly, Joseph is one of only a handful of Western authors to have met and personally interviewed Solzhenitsyn, whose seminal work The Gulag Archipelago is arguably one of the most compelling and comprehensive accounts of the Soviet regime.

Joseph has an incredible conversion story, which he recently discussed with Matt Fradd on the Pints With Aquinas podcast. You can hear him talk about this, and so much more, on the podcast here .

“Joseph Pearce is an amazing, insightful, and entertaining speaker. You’ll want to arrange or rearrange your schedule to hear him”

– Mark Brumley, President/CEO, Ignatius Press

“Joseph Pearce offers the most accessible introduction to the Catholic literary tradition of anyone alive today”

- George A. Harne, Ph.D. President, Christendom College

Newman News - Vol. 2 | No. 1 March 2025

Fri, 28 Mar 2025 05:25:29 GMT

Vol. 2 No. 1 - March 2025

The latest edition of our quarterly newsletter, the Newman News , can be read online here .

Parent Information Night - April

Tue, 04 Mar 2025 23:34:20 GMT

April 2025

We are excited to be hosting our first parent information night in early April. This will be an excellent opportunity to have a look at our building plans, hear about everyday life at the school, and get to know us and our mission at Newman College. Our principal Kenneth will be sharing lots of practical details about the school, and there will be plenty of time for Q & A!

If you are interested in attending, please contact Sophia at sophia.shogren@newmancollege.qld.edu.au for further details.

Community BBQ & Family Day

Wed, 12 Feb 2025 01:17:16 GMT

Sunday 9th February 2025

On Sunday 9th Feb we hosted our first Community BBQ & Family Day at our primary school campus in Tarragindi.

What a day! It was a joy to have so many families and supporters come together to enjoy an afternoon of community and games, from an impromptu cricket match to 3 and a half hours of jumping castle fun. With around 250 people in attendance, the sausages were sizzling furiously and the face painting in constant high demand!

Lead by our Principal Kenneth, the day was punctuated by praying the Angelus together at midday, a beautiful prayer commemorating the incarnation of Christ which we will adopt in the day to day life of our school.

This year will transform the site into an operational school, in preparation for welcoming our first students next January. As Kenneth mentioned on the day, our enrolments are quickly filling up. If you are interested in enrolling a child at St John Henry Newman College, please get in touch with us today to ensure you don’t miss out! You can request an Expression of Interest in Enrolment form by emailing Sophia at sophia.shogren@newmancollege.qld.edu.au .

Thank you to everyone who joined us for the afternoon, especially our volunteers and generous donors who helped make Sunday possible. By God’s grace, Newman College has become a thriving community of families and supporters, and we look forward to hosting many more of these events in the future.

Newman News - Vol. 1 | No. 4 November 2024

Thu, 21 Nov 2024 05:53:15 GMT

Vol. 1 No. 4 - November 2024

The latest edition of our quarterly newsletter, the Newman News , can be read online here .

A Conversation with Dale Ahlquist

Thu, 10 Oct 2024 01:32:31 GMT

EVENT ANNOUNCEMENT: A Conversation with Dale Ahlquist

St John Henry Newman College are delighted to invite you to an inspiring evening with Dale Ahlquist on Monday 5th November in the Mary Immaculate Catholic Church Parish Hall.

Dale Ahlquist, the President of the Chesterton Schools Network and the American Chesterton Society, is a pioneer in the world of classical Catholic education. Dale co-founded the Chesterton Schools Network, a group of more than 70 classical Catholic schools which have been established in just over a decade across the USA and beyond. Dale is a leading authority on G.K. Chesterton, and recently appeared on Matt Fradd's show Pints With Aquinas .

We are very excited to be hosting Dale in Brisbane, in conversation with our Founding Principal Kenneth Crowther. Please join us for what will be a fascinating and enlightening conversation, and learn why this next generation of students in Australia deserve a classical education! Details are as follows:

Date: Monday 4th November

Time: 6pm, doors open 5.30pm.

Venue: Mary Immaculate Catholic Church Parish Hall, 616 Ipswich Road, Annerley Queensland 4103

Registration: FREE, please register here

Parking is available in the Parish car parks off Ipswich Road and Ferndale Street.

Newman News - Vol. 1 | No. 3 September 2024

Fri, 20 Sep 2024 22:46:01 GMT

Vol. 1 No. 3 - September 2024

The latest edition of our quarterly newsletter, the Newman News , can be read online here .

Newman News - Vol. 1 | No. 2 June 2024

Fri, 14 Jun 2024 07:03:10 GMT

Vol. 1 No. 2 - June 2024

The latest edition of our quarterly newsletter, the Newman News , can be read online here .

The Official Launch of SJHNC

Tue, 28 May 2024 00:11:32 GMT

ANNOUNCEMENT: The Official Launch of St John Henry Newman College

You are warmly invited to join us for the Official Launch of St John Henry Newman College on Thursday 11th July at 6pm in the Mary Immaculate Catholic Church Parish Hall.

We are delighted to celebrate this milestone and bring together the families and community who support Newman College's mission as an independent, classical Catholic school in Brisbane.

We are honoured to have as our guest speakers on the night Danny and Leila Abdallah , who will be sharing with us their family's inspiring story of forgiveness and God's grace after they tragically lost three children to a drunk driver in 2020. You can find out more about the Abdallah's story here . We will also be hearing from Kenneth Crowther, the founding Principal of Newman College, who will be offering a detailed insight into our school's mission and educational vision.

The evening will also be the official opening of our expressions of interest for enrolment, so be sure to mark the date in your calendars and share this event with your family and friends! This is a free event, but please register your attendance here .

Newman News - Vol. 1 | No. 1 March 2024

Thu, 28 Mar 2024 01:51:55 GMT

Vol. 1 No. 1 - March 2024

The latest edition of our quarterly newsletter, the Newman News , can be read online here .