Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Sydney are established by the Archbishop in the context of Church communities as places which provide a highquality Catholic education for the young people in their care. Catholic schools participate in the Church's mission to evangelise and to nurture the life of Christian discipleship. Their educational focus is shaped by a concern for the holistic development of students in a faith-centred environment.

Those who accept the invitation to principalship in a Catholic school embrace a commitment to the Archdiocesan community of schools and to the wider Church community. The vocation of principalship is a call from the Church on behalf of students and their families to ensure that our schools are centres of educational excellence in which students have the opportunity to develop as mature and faith-filled Catholics. The position requires of the Principal a vibrant Christian spirituality in the Catholic tradition, sound theological and educational understandings, and life-giving leadership skills.

Catholic school Principals undertake their role of leadership amid the realities of life in the contemporary Church and society. They need courage and wisdom to manage the tensions and ambiguities of the demands of Christian leadership. They also need the integrity to make explicit their belief in the dignity of each person with individual charisms and giftedness, as created in the image and likeness of God.

Principals recognise their own humanity and acknowledge their limitations, but they also recognise that they are called through Baptism to accept their part in vigorously proclaiming God's message. They are challenged to be prophetic in their leadership role in the Church community, offering an alternative understanding of reality in which the apparent failure of the Cross is overcome by the triumph of the Resurrection.

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