Congratulations to Tom Silverwood for being awarded a prestigious Laureate award for a distinguished contribution to Catholic education at the recent 2024 Catholic Education Convention. This award recognises his outstanding contribution to Catholic education at a school, regional, diocesan and national level.
Tom lives in Napier and currently teaches at Sacred Heart College. Tom and his wife Angela are committed members of the Catholic parish of Napier.
Tom actively gives witness to his faith through his words and actions. Tom’s gift is the way that he builds relationships and brings people together. He gently journeys alongside those he accompanies. His unassuming manner, sense of humour, wisdom and compassion allows people of all ages to feel comfortable in his presence. A humble man, the scope of his influence is well beyond what he would imagine.
Over the course of his career, he has held faith leadership positions at all three Catholic colleges in the Hawke’s Bay area: St John’s College Hastings, St Joseph’s Māori Girls’ College Greenmeadows, and Sacred Heart College Napier.
On a diocesan level, Tom worked for the Palmerston North Diocese as the Secondary Advisor/tertiary lecturer in the Catholic Education Office for 4 years.
More recently, Tom’s wisdom and experience have been shared with the Ministry of Education’s review of Religious Studies Achievement Standards as part of their Subject Expert Group.
Tom is one of those rare teachers who lives out a deep personal faith, supported by significant theological knowledge, grounded in a real and meaningful aroha for the young people in his care. We congratulate Tom and celebrate his deserving recognition.