Meet St Joseph Primary’s new principal

By Annabelle Carolan and Ali Smith

St Joseph’s Primary School has warmly welcomed new principal, Eli Simpson.

To ensure a smooth transition, Eli started at St Joseph’s at the end of last year, working with former principal Alistair Stewart and meeting the school community.

It was a fantastic opportunity for Eli to get to know St Joseph’s students, families, and staff before officially commencing as the school’s principal this year.

Eli also had the chance to attend and enjoy local events such as the Remembrance Day service and St Joseph’s successful end-of-year extravaganza, the combined musical: ‘Santa’s Setbacks’ and ‘The X Factory’.

“So far, Wee Waa’s great, and I’ve only been here four days,” said Eli in an interview with the Wee Waa News last year.

“I’m a runner, so I’ve already discovered a couple of really nice loops out of town.

“I’ve discovered the one hill in Wee Waa.

“And, of course, it’s been good to come to the school to ease the transition.

“It’s really been about meeting the young people and meeting the staff; I’ve worked with some of the staff before in my other position.

“I’ve come from Armidale, but a long time ago, one of my first teaching gigs was in Wellington, so I have experience of a small country town, and I love the sense of community and the way that everyone comes together when they need to.

“I also really love the family connections, which are so vital in towns like this.”

Bringing vast professional experience to the principal role, Eli has worked in education in Australia and overseas for 20 years and has a long association with Armidale Catholic Schools.

She has an impressive resume, including teaching and leadership roles at O’Connor Catholic College, roles in the Maitland Newcastle Diocese, such as Head of House at Catherine McAuley College, and a system role as a leadership coach.

In 2023, Eli returned to the Armidale Diocese as Subject Matter Expert: Strong Teams, Leadership Coaching and Student Agency and was seconded to St Mary of the Angels Guyra as AP/REC (Advanced Placement/Religious Education Coordinator).

Eli is highly qualified, with many degrees under her belt. She most recently graduated with a Masters of Leadership from Deakin University.

Before her move to St Joseph’s Wee Waa, Eli said she had the chance to gain insight into the overall school system and communities within the Diocese from the Armidale office, and for her, it was the ‘right time to step into the principal position’.

“I’m coming from a role, which was a system role. And so, I had this beautiful advantage of seeing our system, which is really strong,” Eli said.

“I’ve been everything from an assistant principal to a year coordinator to a religious education coordinator – it’s quite a gamut of roles.

“And they’ve all been at the right times in my career.

“So, to come here and to have that system perspective – it is an advantage in that the Armidale Catholic Schools has a vision that really resonates with me.

“And quite simply, we need literate and numerate students for a hope-filled future because we need these young people to go out and shape a much better world.

“And they can only do that if they’re literate and numerate.

“So much happens in primary school, that really, to lead a primary school is just an incredible opportunity to take all of my learnings over my past experiences, my challenges, the ups and downs and bring that to a community like Wee Waa and this school in particular – it’s an incredible opportunity.”

When asked about what sort of principal she wanted to be and what legacy she hoped to leave, Eli said she was focused on the present and working with the wonderful team at St Joseph’s to enhance “the entire learning experience that our young people have.”

Eli said she was passionate about assisting students to get the most out of all aspects of school life, acknowledging that sometimes it’s the extracurricular activities and social side of education that are more likely to attract a child’s attention and spark their passion for learning.

“I want them to think of their learning experience with a sense of joy and a sense of achievement,” Eli said.

Eli expressed her commitment to helping students become the best versions of themselves. Reflecting on her own school days – when she enjoyed the social aspects but wasn’t always engaged by a one-size-fits-all method of teaching – Eli said her personal experiences inspired her to pursue a career in education to support and foster the unique interests and individual needs of students.

Driven to help children reach their full potential and recognising success looks different for everyone.

“School has such a pivotal role to play in making sure that the joy of learning, joy of the world and joy of creativity, all those things don’t get lost,” said Eli.

Eli shared her observations about some young girls, who particularly around the age of seven, might stop believing they can do everything and no longer feel like they can conquer their dreams;

Eli said she was determined to make sure they have the guidance required to maintain and boost their confidence levels.

Eli concluded by reiterating that students deserve to be viewed as individual people with individual needs.

“We want every young person to be who they are, not who we think they are,” said Eli.

“I want to make sure that our young people want to walk through the gates of the school.”

While warmly welcoming Eli, the St Joseph’s Primary School community also farewelled Alistair Stewart and his family at the end of last year, thanking the former principal for his dedication and sending best wishes for the future.