At A Glance. St Patrick s Primary School, Stawell. St Patrick s Primary School..

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1 St Patrick s Primary School, Stawell At A Glance St Patrick s Primary School.. Established 1858 Congregational Heritage Sisters of St Joseph ( ) Current Enrolment 80 Teachers (inc the Principal) 6 School Officers/Aides 4 Administration Officers 1 Number of Classes Class Structure Computers/ICT Library 4 class groups 1 x Prep & 1 1 x Years 2 & 3 1 x Years 4 & 5 1 x Years 5 & 6 Classroom based laptops and PC s Interactive whiteboards in learning areas Comprehensive school library and teacher resource centre School Advisory Council Parents and Friends Parish-based Sacramental Program Parish Church Parish Priest Yes. Six elected parent representatives Yes. Very active. The School and Parish work in partnership with families to prepare children to celebrate the Sacraments of Reconciliation, Confirmation and Eucharist St Patrick s Catholic Church, Stawell Fr Eric Bryant Accommodation Parish owned house in close proximity to the school (4 bedrooms and a study) available. Very reasonable rent. Website

2 St Patrick s Primary School 55 Patrick Street, Stawell Ph: (03)

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4 St Patrick s Primary School, Stawell Religious Education At St Patrick s Primary School, Religious Education lies at the heart of our curriculum. St Patrick s is in the process of implementing Awakenings, a Religious Education curriculum jointly developed by the Victorian country dioceses and the Archdiocese of Tasmania. It is the Religious Education Curriculum mandated by the Bishop for the schools and colleges of the Ballarat Diocese. The following overview has been provided by the Ballarat Diocesan Religious Education Centre. The title Awakenings speaks of both the content and the purposes of religious education. At its best, religious education sets out to inform, form and transform learners and teachers by engaging them with the intellectual, ethical and spiritual richness of the Catholic tradition. Religious education invites and enables a life-long journey of awakening to the deep meaning of human life and community, of the world we inhabit and sustain, and of our cultural and religious heritage, against the horizon of the Reign of God enfleshed in the mission and person of Jesus Christ, and communicated in the Church. Religious education intends to awaken us intellectually by encouraging critical thinking and inquiry by firing our imaginative capacity by enlightening our experiences with reason by broadening our perspectives through Scripture and Tradition Religious education intends to awaken us ethically by forming moral character by arousing our desire for wisdom by attuning us to the attitudes of Jesus by promoting responsibility and integrity in living Religious education intends to awaken us spiritually by relating our life to the mystery of God by valuing our interior life and capacities by developing prayerful and liturgical habits by connecting compassion with justice Because it articulates intentionally the connectedness of the human person with the whole of reality, human and divine, religious education awakens all disciplines of learning to their deep potential. It lies at the heart of the curriculum of Catholic Schools, synthesizing, enriching and complementing the learning experiences of students. To be awake intellectually, ethically and spiritually, is to be fully alive and fully human. This is the invitation and challenge of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Awakenings is, therefore, the explicit purpose of religious education, and the graced task of religious educators.

5 St Patrick s Primary School, Stawell Contextual Statement St. Patrick's School began as a calico building, situated in Commercial Street on the gold reefs as early as 1858, and served as both school and church to the Stawell Catholic Parish. Father T Barret transported the school to the area on the back of a dray. The first person to teach at the school was Ellen Donovan, instructing a total of 23 students who each paid the sum of sixpence to two shillings weekly. In 1860 the school was moved to where the present day courthouse now stands, and a wooden schoolhouse was built. This building was destroyed by fire on March 4,1874, and the school was re-opened in the new Catholic Church, established in In 1895, a new school building was erected adjacent to the church, where the presbytery now stands. The building consisted of one main room, divided into two by a blackboard, with a smaller room in which secretarial and business studies were conducted. The building of the present school commenced in 1931 on a block of land on the corner of Holt and Patrick Streets, and consisted of three classrooms and two cloakrooms. Most of the funds for this building came from the Church, and wealthier parishioners. Those who could not contribute financially volunteered their services towards building the school, and therefore much of the work on the school was carried out locally, as a church project. Reverend D. Foley, the Bishop of Ballarat, officially opened the building on July 10, The Sisters of St. Joseph began teaching at the school after arriving in Stawell in the early months of Lay-teachers were only added to the teaching staff in At the end of 1993 the Sisters were farewelled from the school. Mr Brendan Maher was appointed as the first lay Principal for the 1994 academic year.

6 In 1961 major additions to the building were made, in the form of a new staff room, offices, another classroom, a kitchen area, and a large hall complete with stage. These additions underwent further changes in the 1970's when the hall was converted into a library. In 1990, the adjacent block of land to the school was purchased, increasing the size of the school property. On March 14, 1993, the new additions to the school were officially opened, consisting of a new office and staffroom, and a new library, and the total refurbishment of the existing building. These additions were made possible largely through a Federal Government Grant. With the current installation of a computer network linking all classrooms within the school, the school is set to embark on the challenges of the twenty-first century. Major refurbishment valued in excess of $480,000 was carried out in This was made possible by a Federal Government Grant of $460,000 and a Parish contribution of $20,000 which again underlines the significance of the local contribution to Catholic education in Stawell. Currently the school provides a comprehensive curriculum for 80 students organised into four classes. Educational programs are designed to meet individual needs in the classroom setting. Core Christian values such as justice, equality, compassion, love, forgiveness and respect underpin all programs and regular and effective communication with parents provides the foundation of a productive relationship between home and school. St. Patrick's has continued to develop into a welcoming Christian community. Here the school encourages parents, guardians, families and parishioners to participate in a wide variety of school and pastoral activities. St. Patrick's actively participates in the Stawell community and looks forward to continued growth and involvement in the future.

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