Students and staff from Assumption Catholic Primary School celebrated the 35th anniversary of the school’s founding with a mass and assembly on Tuesday.
Former teachers, students and staff joined with parishioners and those currently attending the school to acknowledge the work that went into building the school, which opened in 1982.
Principal Kerrie Merritt said the success of Assumption was down to the strength of the community which had backed it from the beginning.
“The school was built on community, but I see now that the community has grown,” she said.
“Our community has been very strong right from the start and it’s still very much part of who we are.
“Even today with our parents and friends, they’re helping us organise today, but it’s not just parents and friends, it’s their involvement in the classroom and out of the classroom, and that relationship with community.”
Ms Merritt said the future for the school would be about making sure the children were equipped for whatever they would face when they made their way out into the world.
“We really try to individualise their learning and also work on helping these children be prepared for the world that’s out there because its different to the world in the 80s,” she said.
“Their learning is very much inquiry based learning, problem solving, and yes we still have explicit literacy and numeracy but it’s getting their mind-sets to be able to cope with what’s out there.
“We don’t know what careers will be out there or what paths these children are going to take so we have to give them the skills to do it.”
Assumption’s success was also reflected in the dedication of staff and how long they stayed at school, Ms Merritt said.
At the assembly, almost 30 certificates were awarded to staff who had each dedicated more than 10 years at the school.
“It’s part of the Assumption community,” Ms Merritt said.
“I love the fact that I’ve been here before, and the story continued when I came back after 14 years and many of the faces were still here, or otherwise they’re here now as grandparents and still members of our community.”