Principal moves from South Coast to Canberra to lead ACT's biggest school

From the start of the 2026 school year, Ms Heffernan will be the principal at Mary MacKillop College.

Principal Michael Lee announced he would be leaving after 18 years in June.

Previously, Ms Heffernan has been the principal at Carroll College in Broulee and has worked at two other schools in the Canberra and Goulburn Catholic Archdiocese. She grew up on the South Coast and came to Canberra for university.

When starting her teaching career, she moved to North Queensland and Sydney before returning to the South Coast.

"I've seen first hand how vision, trust and a culture of excellence and collaboration can shape the community, and I think that's what I'm excited to transfer to MacKillop and this new chapter," she said.

Ms Heffernan said there would be some similarities between the two schools.

"Although this is the largest college in our system, there will be new challenges and opportunities presented to me," Ms Heffernan said.

A proud tradition and a patron saint of "courage, faith and service" were some of the drawcards of the college, she said.

"The college's reputation of being inclusive, future-focused, and really centred on the students resonates with me."

Both Ms Heffernan's current school and MacKillop have been trialling a Catholic Education artificial intelligence program.

When it comes to the future of education, Ms Heffernan said she was interested to see how MacKillop had been using the tool.

She said encouraging students to use AI in ethical ways could be beneficial rather than a distraction or deterrent.

"I believe our people are our greatest asset. I'm really excited about leading the MacKillop community, and I look forward to getting to know the staff, families and students."