Message from Br Peter Carroll, FMS
Provincial, Star of the Sea Province
Since the establishment of the Star of the Sea Province in December 2022, the Council has been considering the structures and personnel required for such an expansive and diverse Province. By the middle of this year, it became obvious that a professional position to oversee and coordinate the ministries across the Province would be advantageous. The Council alone can’t provide the support and level of attention and communication that is essential.
Consequently, we formulated a position description for an Executive Director of Province Ministries. The purpose of this new role is to facilitate cohesion, collaboration and consistency in mission across the Province. Last week we completed the advertising and selection process.
Today, I am delighted to announce that Mr Mark Pauschmann has accepted this new Province role.
Mark is currently the Principal of Parramatta Marist High School (PMH), which came under the care of the Brothers in 1875. He has led the school since January 2018 and is highly regarded by the community and leaders of the Diocese of Parramatta. PMH, like many metropolitan schools, is notably diverse and Mark has worked very effectively with students and families from multicultural backgrounds. Mark is a man of deep faith and strong commitment to the church.
For the past 20 years, Mark has been either Principal or Deputy Principal in four different Catholic secondary schools. In his career in Catholic education, he has fulfilled every conceivable responsibility from teaching, through middle management to executive leadership. Mark has shown a strong devotion to the Marist charism and has developed a deep appreciation of it through his years at Pagewood, Woolwich and Parramatta. He holds degrees in Education, Religious Education and other qualifications in TESOL (Teaching English as a second language), Information Technology and Project Based Learning. Mark has taken most seriously his own professional learning. He has also lived outside his own country when he was Head of the Opnet English Institute in Iwata, Japan, and exhibited a capacity to adapt and interact respectfully in such a context.
Mark’s lengthy experience and his broad range of skills and capacities will equip him admirably for the challenges of this new position.
I am grateful to Reach Human Resources, a specialist in HR for Christian organisations, which has managed the employment process. I am also grateful to the members of the selection panel who generously gave their time to the process of shortlisting, interviewing and nominating.
I extend my appreciation to:
Br Darren Burge (Chair): Vice Provincial and Provincial Delegate for Australia.
Mrs Elizabeth Gallagher: Head of Governance, Risk and Legal for Marist Schools Australia and Member of the Mission Commission for Star of the Sea Province.
Br John Hazelman: Provincial Delegate for Pasifika, former Leader of the District of the Pacific.
Ms Elizabeth Reade Fong: Member of the Fiji Marist Education Board, Chief Librarian University of the South Pacific.
Br Kevin Wanden: Province Secretary, Member of the New Zealand Marist Brothers Trust Board and Member of the Mission Commission for Star of the Sea Province.
Mark will commence work in January 2025, and I look forward to his contribution to the Star of the Sea Province.
Br Peter Carroll, FMS
Provincial