He is the first man appointed to the role in the 170-year history of the Catholic girls' secondary school.

Murray, pictured above with his wife Benita and their daughter Charlotte, will start his new role at St Mary's at the beginning of 2021.

The St Mary's Board of Trustees had been seeking a new principal since the retirement last January of Catherine Ryan, principal since 2013.

It will be Murray's second time at St Mary's, which teaches girls from Year 9 to Year 13.

He was a dean and assistant director of religious studies at St Mary's from 2006 to 2011.

Murray has been deputy principal of Sacred Heart Girls' College, New Plymouth, since 2011 and is currently acting principal there.

He has also taught at St Bede's College in Christchurch, Francis Douglas Memorial College in New Plymouth and several Catholic colleges in Victoria and New South Wales.

The wellington-born new principal has a BA in English and History from Victoria University of Wellington and Masters' degrees from Australian Catholic University and the University of New South Wales.

In 2013, he was seconded to develop digital resources for New Zealand's Catholic secondary schools in a project for the National Centre for Religious Studies, now part of Te Kupenga-Catholic Leadership Institute.

He has also led projects for the NZ Qualifications Authority and the Ministry of Education around the NCEA changes.

Board of Trustees chair Juli Clausen says Murray is ambitious for St Mary's.

"He is enthusiastic and passionate about leading a school that develops outstanding students," she said.

"His vision is for St Mary's to be an excellent school with great tradition but not a traditional girl's school.

He is a man of prayer, and his Catholic faith is at the core of who he is."

Source

Supplied: David McLoughlin
Communications Adviser, NZ Catholic Bishops
Te Huinga o ngâ Pîhopa Katorika o Aotearoa

The assault was carried out by a former St Mary's student.

Parents and caregivers were officially told about the incident through an email from the school last Friday afternoon.

The email said the current student had not been "seriously harmed" but the event was "upsetting for all those involved and for students who witnessed the event."

"At present we are ensuring the victim and her family are being supported in every way possible."

"An arrest was made and a two-year trespass order against the offending person has been put in place," the email explained.

The email also said staff have been told to be "extra vigilant".

An assembly was held to let all students know about the assault while parents and caregivers were encouraged to "talk to your daughters about wise use of social media".

After the incident, a parent said he understood security guards were patrolling outside of the school.

He said he was disappointed it had taken so long for the school to contact parents, given that parents were likely to have been told about the incident on Thursday afternoon by their children.

A safety plan has been developed and staff have been told what to do if the former student tries to enter the school grounds again.

St Mary's College is an all-girls Catholic secondary school and is considered one of the oldest existing schools in the country.

Source

• Stuff
• Image: St Mary's College