Name
Dan McMahon
Current School
Shalom Catholic College Bundaberg
Previous Position
Principal – St Joseph’s College Toowoomba
First Year as a Principal
1992 – St Brendan’s College Yeppoon
The hope for my current school is:
That we provide an excellent and wholistic catholic education for young women and men.
The Joy of Principalship is:
Working with young people and seeing them grow into better young adults.
A Book I would recommend:
‘Preaching to the Converted’ by Richard Leonard sj – a great resource for every Principal to have on their book shelf to assist in material for weekly Newsletters when all else fails.
Fun Fact about me
Got ‘hijacked’ to participate in a tandem sky dive on my 40th birthday – one of my most terrifying and wonderful experiencs.
My valued Well-Being Strategy
Principals should use their Sabbatical and Long Service Leave wisely to increase their longevity in a performing well their very demanding roles. Don’t save it all up for a heart attack!
Advice for a Beginning Principal
- Don’t get trapped in the office
- Walk around the school and through classrooms every day if possible
- Get to know, by name, as many students in your school as possible
- Spend time writing good Newsletters – great opportunity to form your community and most people do them really badly by being bland and mundane.
- Inspiring Leadership Quote: “Management is doing things right; Leadership is doing the right things.”
What Title would you give to your TED Talk or Book
‘A Fish Always Rots from the Head’ – the challenge and opportunity of being a great Principal!’