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​Inspired by the person and teaching of Jesus Christ, St Paul’s Catholic Primary School was founded by Bishop Bernard Wallace in the town of Gracemere, 10 kilometres west of the city of Rockhampton, in 1988.

The school sits on the traditional land of the Darumbal people. Sister Josephine Redmond RSM (Religious Sister of Mercy), was appointed the first principal and the school opened with an enrolment of 39 students. From this humble beginning the school has grown consistently to now cater for over 300 students and their families. 

 

St Paul’s is a part of the Catholic Education family of the Rockhampton Diocese, committed to delivering an education that recognises the dignity of each person, attending to the development of each person’s academic, spiritual, social, emotional, and physical needs, directed at creating a synthesis between faith, culture, and life. As a Catholic school, we are an integral part of the Church’s mission to proclaim the Gospel. Through our words and actions, we strive to: 

 

•    Give witness to the message of Jesus and the mission of the Church by being open and accessible to all who seek our values. 

•    Create a community of care and safety with a clear Catholic identity. 

•    Offer a relevant and holistic curriculum of quality teaching and learning. 

 

Our school motto, ‘Living, Loving and Learning,’ reminds us of the key Christian call by Jesus: To love God, and love others as we would want to be loved. As a school, our community draws on the Charism of Saint Paul who gifts us with an example of faith in Christ through service to others. 

 

As Saint Paul had faith and lived in Christ, we too are invited to follow his example, to follow in the footstep of Jesus by using our innate virtues to live out the Catholic Social Teachings. These principles of social teaching are shared in our school through: the curriculum, special events and activities, through our ordinary actions, and the religious life of the school. 

 

The message of Christ guides us to:

 

• have an awareness of the need for faith in our lives. Saint Paul was open to faith in God and his belief in Jesus transformed his life. 

• follow Jesus’s teachings, not just obey the rules. Saint Paul wanted people to know Christ and live out Christ’s message, for good living, and following rules, should naturally follow. 

• be open to the Holy Spirit working within us for the good of others.  “To each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.”1 Corinthians.

• discover who we are as individuals, not just what we know. Through the development of the Virtues and Catholic Social Teachings in our lives,  to work to become the best version of ourselves.

• be a welcoming community that reaches out to others, not just our family and friends. Like Saint Paul, our community is called to live out Christ’s teaching of accepting all people.​

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“For we are all one in Christ Jesus.” Galatians 3:28

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• build positive relationships. Saint Paul understood the importance of personal relationships, slow to anger and quick to forgive. 

• acknowledge the traditional custodians of God’s creation and work in harmony towards a meaningful and lasting reconciliation. St Paul’s letters often sought reconciliation between different members of new Christian communities, wanting all to reconcile and live in peace as, ‘One Body in Christ.’