Tasmania
Current TRJ School: St Patrick’s College, Launceston

My name is Luke McCormack. I’m a 58yo father of three and Poppy Luke to four grandchildren. The fact that our two eldest children currently live in Brisbane and Melbourne, respectively, means that every school holidays my wife, Nicole, and I are on the move!

I’m also in the ‘grandfatherly phase’ of my teaching career. After 29 years at St. Patrick’s College, Launceston (and two stints of two years at Catholic schools in Melbourne) I resigned at the end of 2023. I was absolutely loving teaching my own classes again (including The Rite Journey) after various leadership roles, and I wanted to finish whilst I still loved it.

For a dozen of those years, I was one of the Deputy Principals at St. Patrick’s, in pastoral and administrative roles. The standout highlight of this time was the planning and beginning of our Year 9 campus, Croagh Patrick. I was the leader of Croagh Patrick for the first 5 years (2012 – 2016). From the very beginning Croagh Patrick (named after the Holy Mountain of St. Patrick in County Mayo, Ireland) has been an enriching ‘rite of passage’ for the students within our college.

The Rite Journey has been integral to Croagh Patrick since 2012. I feel blessed to still play a role in TRJ as I lead the Calling & Departure Ceremonies, and our TRJ Reflection Days, where a male and female class have a day off-campus, focussing on the theme of ‘Relationships’. I have also supported St. Brendan Shaw College, Devonport, in the same way, as they have started TRJ in 2024.