Leadership in focus

In November last year, Jessica Morrish was appointed to the newly established role of Head of Co-curricular for Saint Ignatius’ College.

As Head of Co-curricular, Jessica will be responsible for the strategic oversight of co-curricular at the College across both the Junior School and Senior School. Her current focus will be on enhancing student formation through developing the Participation to Performance Stream, implementing coach formation opportunities, and improving the ways in which we celebrate achievement and community through co-curricular.

Jessica graduated from Saint Ignatius’ College in 2006 and went on to complete a Bachelor of Human Movement and Masters of Teaching at the University of South Australia. She began her teaching career at Loreto College in 2011 as a health and physical education teacher. In 2012 she returned to Saint Ignatius’ College as Youth Minister before moving to Brisbane from 2014 to 2016. At Redeemer Lutheran College in Brisbane, Jessica’s roles included Junior School Sports Coordinator, Health and Physical Education Curriculum Leader, and Lay Chaplain. In 2017 Jessica returned to Saint Ignatius’ College once more, initially undertaking the role of Senior School Sport Coordinator before moving on to Faculty Leader of Religious Education and Personal Development. Further to this, Jessica was Lead Practitioner for Physical Education with the SACE Board, and in 2021 she created The Learner Dynamic, an online learning support platform for physical education teachers and students.

Jessica has a long-held interest in and aptitude for sports. In her youth, she was an elite diver, having represented South Australia at ten nationals events, including being awarded national champion when competing in the 12/13 age category. As an old scholar of the College, Jessica has fond memories of her involvement in the College’s cocurricular program. Her contributions to co-curricular included cross-country, netball, swimming, table tennis, touch football, and water polo. Jessica also played the saxophone in her senior year.

Jessica’s personal life is deeply enriched by her husband, Evan, and her daughter, Chloe. Her life is underpinned by her faith, out of which she seeks to love others well, live with gratitude, and model grace and strength through her actions and words.

In her new role as Head of Co-curricular, Jessica is passionate about empowering young people with the knowledge, skills, and virtues that enable them to be, and continue growing into, the best version of themselves. She seeks to lead and shape positive learning cultures that inspire passion and excellence, promote agency, and facilitate growth of individuals and communities.