virginia colwell

Colwell Named Permanent Principal at PVI

Special to the HERALD
(From the Issue of 4/26/07)

Paul VI Interim Principal Virginia Colwell has been named the school’s permanent principal, concluding an exhaustive search that began in 2006.
This past fall, the Diocese of Arlington initiated a comprehensive, nationwide search for a new principal for the 2007-08 school year. The Principal Search Committee was tasked with the responsibility of recommending a new principal for Paul VI Catholic High School.
The search initially identified 25 potential candidates and four were interviewed by five separate search committees, comprised of parents, students, faculty, administration and pastors.
After much deliberation, the Principal Search Committee agreed that Ginny Colwell be officially appointed principal.
Colwell became interim principal last August, replacing Philip Robey, who left the school after six years of service. Colwell currently is in her 14th year at Paul VI and previously has served the school community as an English teacher, school administrator, assistant principal and academic dean.
“For the past 15 years, Mrs. Colwell has been an extremely positive presence in the Paul VI school community,” Timothy J. McNiff, superintendent of diocesan schools, wrote in a letter to the high school community.

“However, it has been during the past eight months that I have developed a true appreciation for Mrs. Colwell as a Catholic school administrator,” he said. “During her tenure as the school’s interim principal, I have been the beneficiary of numerous compliments from her colleagues and parents. She has exerted her influence in ways that have assured me she understands the importance of how our Catholic faith should be prevalent throughout the school community. Her concern is for the souls of the students who are entrusted