College History

Established in 1989, the inspiration for the foundation of the College came from the local Catholic community who wanted a Catholic Secondary College to be available for children in the Rockingham vicinity. The Foundation Principal was Br Patrick Carey, a Christian Brother. Br Carey developed a strong vertical system of pastoral care made up of six Houses with students from all year groups belonging to a House. Each House was named after people who had demonstrated an outstanding commitment to the Church and to society: Blessed Mary MacKillop, Caroline Chisholm, Mother Teresa, St Ignatius Loyola, Edmund Rice and St Francis Xavier. The House system of pastoral care had been established to assist in the pastoral care of individual students, the promotion of school spirit, the organisation of student activities and student leadership, within the college.

Mr Egmont Melton commenced his term of Principalship in 1991, and served the College for 12 years. During this time, the College grew, not only in student enrolments, but also in the building of many of the facilities that the College now enjoys. Mr Melton had a particular passion for music, drama and dance, the reason for naming the performing arts area the Egmont Melton Performing Arts Centre. The one facility that Mr Melton was truly proud of was the construction of the College Chapel. In its design, the College Patron Saint’s life in both Poland and Japan, have been taken into consideration, as was our connection to the Australian bush. Kolbe Catholic College had now become a full five stream College with 740 students and a strong reputation in the local region.

Principal, Mrs Caroline Payne, commenced in 2004 and embarked on a new Capital Development Plan that included the construction of a Year 7 Learning Centre, and planning for the construction of new specialist rooms including Design and Technology workshops, information technology laboratories, the refurbishment of the Art and Home Economics rooms, and the building of additional classrooms. Along with the growth of the College in becoming a six stream college with two sub-schools: Middle and Senior school, the College also embarked on an ambitious plan to become one of the leading Digital Schools in Western Australia. Kolbe is now a College of 960 students from Year 7 to 12 with educational programs and extra-curricular activities that provides opportunities for students to excel in a broad range of fields.

Kolbe's Mission

The Mission of Kolbe Catholic College is to provide for its students the best possible education in a Catholic Environment.

We will be a community that has Jesus Christ at the centre of our lives. As pilgrims on life's journey, we will seek to follow Gospel values showing compassion, justice and respect to each individual.

We will recognise the special gifts and unique talents that exist in each of our students, who will then be given the opportunity and encouragement to develop to their full potential. The pursuit of excellence lies at the core of the education of our students and is linked to the development of the whole person. The glory of God is seen as a person fully alive.

We will seek to share the Catholic faith and foster in our students a personal relationship with Jesus that will be with them in their search for meaning and truth. Furthermore, this must be a lived faith, which is relevant to our lives and to our culture, and one which is integrated throughout the curriculum.

We will try to empower our students to take charge of their lives so that they may be at peace with themselves and in harmony with all creation. They must help to build and become part of their Christian community and actively play the role of peacemakers.

We will help them understand the Gospel's alternatives so that they will develop the courage to actively oppose those forces which enslave and dehumanise. As a Catholic School we must be ready to stand with the poor and the oppressed. Our leaders of tomorrow must not be those motivated by the kudos that goes with power and position, but those who genuinely want to serve others.

We are enlivened by our patron, Saint Maximilian Kolbe, who is both a worthy and inspiring model for us all to follow. His commitment, his service and his high standards exemplify our motto of "Faith, Courage and Excellence".