After 33 years of Principal leadership, 29 of those in the Diocese of Parramatta, St Canice's Principal Mr Mark Geerligs has made the decision to retire at the end of the 2019 school year. The School would like to acknowledge the outstanding contribution Mark has made as a Catholic educator and leader.
Beginning his teaching career in 1981, Mark became a Principal in only his seventh year as a teacher when he accepted the role of Principal of St John’s Catholic Primary School Trangie in 1987. In 1991, Mark was appointed Principal of Our Lady of the Nativity Primary Lawson. In 1996, he was appointed Principal of St Finbar’s Primary, Glenbrook and Our Lady of the Rosary, St Mary’s in 2003. Mark has been the Principal of St Canice’s since 2014.
Mark is a caring, supportive and faith-filled leader. In each of his leadership roles, Mark has built strong and enduring connections with the school community. He is a passionate educator who has always sought out opportunities to enrich the students’ learning, whether that has been within the school or in the broader community.
Mark has championed the role of the creative and performing arts in enhancing students’ learning. He is widely recognised for the many exceptional projects he has led in the school and the Blue Mountains community. The creative and performing arts could have no stronger advocate.
Mark has made a significant difference to the lives of young people in the schools he has led and served. He is a relational and inclusive leader who sets high expectations of students and encourages them to be the best they can be.
The St Canice's school community is keen to acknowledge Mark’s work and achievements in months ahead. The process of recruitment for a new Principal of St Canice’s will commence shortly.
Finally, we wish to express our appreciation to Mr Geerligs for the support provided for Catholic schooling as, together, we give witness to the Gospel that enriches the lives of our children and the communities in which we live.
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22 Jul 2026
Little Learners - School Readiness Program
Little Learners is St Canice’s School’s fun, free, play-based school readiness program designed for children aged 3.5–5 years who will be starting school in the next 1–2 years.
07 Aug 2025
St Canice's Brekky Club
All students are invited to join the St Canice's Brekky Club. Brekky Club will now run on Thursdays – 7th, 21st, and 28th August.
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29 Jul 2026
From Facebook
❄️ Vinnies Winter Appeal Food Drive 💙 As part of our commitment to supporting our community and living out our Catholic faith, St Canice’s is participating in the Vinnies Winter Appeal Food Drive. Each week, we will be collecting essential items to help support families in need. Students can place their donations in the collection baskets located at the front of each classroom. Members of our Faith in Action Team (FIAT) will visit classrooms each week to remind students of the upcoming collection item. 🛒 Weekly Collection Schedule: 🥛 Week 3: Long-life full cream dairy milk 🐟 Week 4: Small tins of tuna 🥣 Week 5: Soup 🥫 Week 6: Baked beans or spaghetti 🍅 Week 7: Tinned vegetables (especially tomatoes) 🍘 Week 8: Savoury biscuits 🍪 Week 9: Sweet biscuits 🥣 Week 10: Breakfast cereal Thank you to our wonderful St Canice’s community for your generosity and support. Together, we can make a difference and help those in need this winter. 💙 #VinniesWinterAppeal #FaithInAction #StCanicesCommunity
29 Jul 2026
From Facebook
🎶✨ What an incredible day for our talented St Canice's Harmony and Choir students! ✨🎶 Last Friday, our Harmony and Choir students travelled to Nagle College in Blacktown to perform at the CAPTIVATE Arts Factor Primary Choral Learning Exhibition. Our students proudly performed Beds Are Burning and Rainbow Connection, showcasing not only their beautiful voices but also their confidence and joy of performing. We were especially touched to receive this wonderful feedback from a fellow school: "I just wanted to let you know that your school choir was amazing! Their love of what they are doing certainly shone through their pieces and had me captivated. I am certainly no music expert except to know that I really liked what I heard your young singers present. And your conductor has such passion (and skill) for her craft! It was inspiring. So, please pass on my congratulations to all for a magnificent performance." We couldn't be prouder of our students for representing St Canice's with such enthusiasm and spirit. A special thank you to our wonderful music teacher, Ms Frazer, whose passion, dedication and encouragement continue to inspire our young musicians every day. Congratulations to everyone involved on a magnificent performance! 💙🎵👏 #StCanicesPrimary #CaptivateArtsFactor #SchoolChoir #ProudMoment #CatholicSchoolsParramatta #MusicMatters
MORE NEWS
29 Jul 2026
From Facebook
❄️ Vinnies Winter Appeal Food Drive 💙 As part of our commitment to supporting our community and living out our Catholic faith, St Canice’s is participating in the Vinnies Winter Appeal Food Drive. Each week, we will be collecting essential items to help support families in need. Students can place their donations in the collection baskets located at the front of each classroom. Members of our Faith in Action Team (FIAT) will visit classrooms each week to remind students of the upcoming collection item. 🛒 Weekly Collection Schedule: 🥛 Week 3: Long-life full cream dairy milk 🐟 Week 4: Small tins of tuna 🥣 Week 5: Soup 🥫 Week 6: Baked beans or spaghetti 🍅 Week 7: Tinned vegetables (especially tomatoes) 🍘 Week 8: Savoury biscuits 🍪 Week 9: Sweet biscuits 🥣 Week 10: Breakfast cereal Thank you to our wonderful St Canice’s community for your generosity and support. Together, we can make a difference and help those in need this winter. 💙 #VinniesWinterAppeal #FaithInAction #StCanicesCommunity
29 Jul 2026
From Facebook
🎶✨ What an incredible day for our talented St Canice's Harmony and Choir students! ✨🎶 Last Friday, our Harmony and Choir students travelled to Nagle College in Blacktown to perform at the CAPTIVATE Arts Factor Primary Choral Learning Exhibition. Our students proudly performed Beds Are Burning and Rainbow Connection, showcasing not only their beautiful voices but also their confidence and joy of performing. We were especially touched to receive this wonderful feedback from a fellow school: "I just wanted to let you know that your school choir was amazing! Their love of what they are doing certainly shone through their pieces and had me captivated. I am certainly no music expert except to know that I really liked what I heard your young singers present. And your conductor has such passion (and skill) for her craft! It was inspiring. So, please pass on my congratulations to all for a magnificent performance." We couldn't be prouder of our students for representing St Canice's with such enthusiasm and spirit. A special thank you to our wonderful music teacher, Ms Frazer, whose passion, dedication and encouragement continue to inspire our young musicians every day. Congratulations to everyone involved on a magnificent performance! 💙🎵👏 #StCanicesPrimary #CaptivateArtsFactor #SchoolChoir #ProudMoment #CatholicSchoolsParramatta #MusicMatters
28 Jul 2026
From Facebook
🌿 Community Open Day at St Canice’s Primary School Katoomba 🌿 New and existing families welcome! 💙 Come along and discover what makes our school community so special. ✨ Meet our dedicated and passionate staff 🏫 Explore our vibrant learning spaces 📚 Visit our open classrooms and see our students’ learning showcased 🌟 Discover the exciting opportunities we offer 🤝 Connect with other families in our wonderful community Bring the whole family and enjoy a relaxed sausage sizzle BBQ while getting to know our school, our staff and the St Canice’s community. 📅 Wednesday 12 August 📍 St Canice’s Primary School Katoomba We can’t wait to welcome you, share our learning, and show you what makes St Canice’s such a special place to learn and grow! 💙 Register Today https://info.parra.catholic.edu.au/open-day/stcaniceskatoomba #StCanicesKatoomba #CommunityOpenDay #BlueMountainsSchools #CatholicEducation #Kindergarten2027
27 Jul 2026
From Facebook
🎉 You're Invited! 💙💛 Our St Canice's community warmly invites all parents, carers and grandparents to join us as we celebrate the Feast of St Mary of the Cross MacKillop. 📅 Wednesday 5 August ⛪ Liturgy: 12:00 pm in the School Hall 🧺 Family Picnic: 12:45 pm on the Lower Playground Following our liturgy, we invite you to stay and enjoy a picnic lunch with your child on the lower playground. It's a wonderful opportunity to come together as a school community to celebrate the life and legacy of Australia's first saint while sharing an afternoon of faith, friendship and connection. Please bring: 🧺 A picnic lunch or something special to share with your child. 🪑 A picnic blanket or camp chairs for your comfort. We look forward to celebrating this special occasion with you and hope to see many of our St Canice's families there! 💙
23 Jul 2026
From Facebook
📚✨ A wonderful morning at Katoomba Library! ✨📖 A small group of St Canice's students enjoyed a fantastic visit to the Katoomba Library's weekly Storytime program with Ms Kate and Ms Sarah. Filled with engaging stories, fun songs and creative craft activities, Storytime is a wonderful free community program held every Wednesday during the school term from 11:00 am – 11:45 am. It's also the perfect activity to enjoy after the Little Lyrebirds Playgroup, which runs every Wednesday during school term from 9:00 am – 10:30 am at St Canice's. Families with children aged 0–5 are warmly invited to come along, connect with other local families and enjoy a fun morning before heading to Storytime at the library. Our students had a fantastic time listening, learning, creating and discovering the joy of books. 📚💙 A big thank you to the wonderful team at Katoomba Library for providing such a welcoming and engaging experience for our community! #StCanicesKatoomba #LoveOfLearning #Storytime #LittleLyrebirds #CommunityConnections #ReadingForLife
22 Jul 2026
From Facebook
🎉 Welcome Back to School at St Canice’s! 📚✨ Our students are back and ready to jump into another exciting term of learning, growing and making memories together. It has been wonderful seeing our classrooms filled with smiles, conversations and the joy of reconnecting with friends. We’re looking forward to all the learning experiences, achievements and special moments that this term will bring. #StCanicesPrimary #BackToSchool #LearningTogether #OurSchoolCommunity
22 Jul 2026
From Facebook
📚 You're Invited to Our Final Community Open Day! 🌿 Come and experience what makes St Canice's Primary School such a special place to learn, grow and belong. Join us on Wednesday 12 August from 9:30 am – 11:00 am and discover our vibrant classrooms, meet our dedicated teachers, and see our students' learning in action. Whether you're considering Kindergarten or another year level, our team will be available to answer your questions and guide you through the enrolment process. ✨ Explore our school ✨ Meet our wonderful staff ✨ Learn about our caring community ✨ Find out how to enrol 📅 Wednesday 12 August 🕤 9:30 am – 11:00 am Register now to secure your place. We can't wait to welcome you and show you around! https://info.parra.catholic.edu.au/open-day/stcaniceskatoomba #StCanicesPrimary #CommunityOpenDay #BlueMountainsSchools #FutureStudents #CatholicEducation #Katoomba
17 Jul 2026
What's It Really Like to Send Your Kid to a Catholic School?
If you've ever assumed that attending a Catholic school means you have to be Catholic and that the fees are expensive, you're not alone. It's a common perception, but for many families, the reality looks quite different.
16 Jul 2026
From Facebook
08 Jul 2026
CSPD students recognised in Refugee Week Creative Competition
Over 125 students from 10 Catholic Schools Parramatta Diocese (CSPD) schools have been recognised for their empathy and powerful storytelling as part of the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) Australia Refugee Week Creative Competition.
05 Jul 2026
From Facebook
🌿💛❤️🖤 NAIDOC Week 2026 🖤❤️💛🌿 This week, communities across Australia come together to celebrate NAIDOC Week — a time to honour and recognise the rich history, culture, and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Here in the Blue Mountains, it is a wonderful opportunity for our community to learn, reflect, and deepen our understanding of the First Nations cultures and histories of the Dharug and Gundungurra peoples, while celebrating the oldest continuous living cultures on Earth. This year marks a very special milestone as we celebrate 50 years of NAIDOC Week with the 2026 theme: ✨ 50 Years of Deadly ✨ 📅 5th – 12th July 2026 We encourage our school community to take part in local celebrations, listen, learn, and celebrate the strength, resilience, and incredible contributions of First Nations peoples — past, present, and future. https://www.bmcc.nsw.gov.au/naidoc-week #NAIDOCWeek2026 #50YearsOfDeadly #AlwaysWasAlwaysWillBe #BlueMountainsCommunity #CelebrateCulture #LearnReflectCelebrate
03 Jul 2026
From Facebook
03 Jul 2026
From Facebook
📚🦘 Learning, sharing, and building confidence at St Canice’s! Our Stage 1 students proudly shared their learning by reading their information reports on a selected animal to our Stage 2 students. This wonderful activity gave students the opportunity to showcase their research and writing skills while building confidence in speaking and connecting with others. It was fantastic to see our students learning together and supporting one another across stages. Well done, Stage 1! 🌟🐨🐍
03 Jul 2026
From Facebook
Last week, all students at St Canice’s had the exciting opportunity to participate in a free clinic facilitated by Blue Mountains OzTag. 🏉 Throughout the sessions, students developed important skills including passing, kicking, tagging, teamwork, and communication — all while staying active and having lots of fun! A huge thank you to Blue Mountains OzTag for providing such a fantastic experience and helping our students build confidence, skills, and a love of sport. We loved every minute! ⭐
01 Jul 2026
From Facebook
It might be the final week of Term 2, but there’s no slowing down at St Canice’s Primary School, Katoomba! 🌟 From creative Art, hands-on Science, inspiring Music, and active Sport, our students are busy learning, growing, and having fun every single day. At St Canice’s, we pride ourselves on creating a nurturing environment where every child is encouraged to discover their strengths, build confidence, and thrive. 💙 If you’d like to learn more about what St Canice’s Primary School can offer your child, we’d love to hear from you. 📚 Kindergarten 2027 enrolments are now open – get in touch today! https://www.stcaniceskatoomba.catholic.edu.au/ Come and discover what makes our school community so special. #StCanicesKatoomba #FutureReady #Kindergarten2027 #LoveOfLearning