Magdalene Catholic College


Magdalene Catholic College is an independent Roman Catholic co-educational secondary day school located in Smeaton Grange, in the Macarthur region of outer south-western Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The current principal is Matthew McMahon.

History

Magdalene Catholic High School was established in 1999 by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Wollongong in a temporary location at Mater Dei near Camden with 90 students and 7 teaching staff. The school was built to serve Parishes of the south-western Macarthur Region, specifically Camden, Narellan, Mount Annan and The Oaks.
A parcel of land was bought from the Patrician Brothers in Smeaton Grange. This land was previously used as a novitiate and retreat centre. In 2000 the School migrated to this new site, occupying the existing buildings. During 2001 the first of five construction stages had completed, and students were able to start moving into the first permanent buildings. By 2004 all five construction stages had completed, this was also when the first Year 12 cohort sat the Higher School Certificate examinations.

Overview

In 2005 Magdalene Catholic High School deployed an AutoCell-based wireless network, a new wireless network technology that had previously been deployed at the University of Canberra and set itself up as a leader in technology across the Diocese.
In 2014 the School were runners-up in the International F1 in Schools Challenge, a competition which saw the "Gamma Raycing Team" win at State, National and then place second in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
The School continues to value its commitment to social justice and there is a vast range of projects which the school has been involved in, and will continue to be, moving forward into the future. These include close links with Mater Dei, St Vincent de Paul Society, Carrington Aged Care, 24 Hour Fight Against Cancer as well as multiple projects as part of the Duke of Edinburgh Scheme.
At the end of 2017, the school was greatly saddened by the passing of Alan McManus - an incredible stalwart and supporter of the School. He shall never be forgotten. 2018 was the 20th Year of the School and a number of special events occurred including a "Return to Magdalene" Day and a 20th Year Reunion Dinner at the Cube, Campbelltown. 2018 was also a successful year as air conditioning was completed across the School plant and a new building project of 14 classrooms was approved by the Federal Government. The building of these is to commence in early 2019. In 2019 Magdalene Catholic High School officially changed its name to become Magdalene Catholic College.

Principals

The following individuals have served as College Principal:
OrdinalOfficeholdersTerm startTerm endTime in officeNotes
1Alan McManus19992009 years
2John Barrington20102010 yearsActing
3John Lo Cascio20112016 years
4Matthew McMahon2017incumbent years