Hundreds of past and current students and staff gathered on May 24 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the establishment of St Michael’s Catholic Primary School in Bassendean.
Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB was the main celebrant at a special Mass to mark the occasion at the adjoining St Joseph’s Church.
During his homily, the Archbishop paid tribute to all those involved throughout the school’s history, and he encouraged a sense of appreciation for the blessings and gifts that God has bestowed on the school community.
“We must remember that in the end it is to God that we owe our gratitude and our thanks,” he said.
“The last 100 years have been an unending sign of God’s goodness to us.”
Archbishop Costelloe also referred to the day’s feast, that of Our Lady Help of Christians, Patroness of Australia.
“We can be sure that [Mary] has accompanied the growth and development of St Michael’s school and indeed of the whole parish over the past 100 years with her prayers,” he said.
“We could do no better today than to entrust the future of the school and parish communities to her, and of course to the prayers of St Joseph and St Michael as well.”
He repeated the words of Christ from the day’s Gospel to “behold your mother”, and encouraged all present to entrust themselves to Mary’s protection.
The school has more than 20 current students whose parents or grandparents were also educated at the school, and many of these families attended the anniversary event.
St Michael’s was opened in 1914 by Archbishop Patrick Clune CSsR and initially run by the Sisters of Mercy.
The first group of students was just 19 in number, but by the following year there were more than 100 students enrolled. Today, there are more than 240 students enrolled from kindergarten to Year 6.
Eight Mercy Sisters attended the centenary celebration, including Sr Joan Kelleher RSM, who was the last sister to be a principal at the school, retiring in 1982.
School principal Laurie Bechelli told The Record the centenary celebration was a great success.
“The centenary committee have put in a huge number of hours, mostly in their own time, and it demonstrates the great sense of community spirit that defines the St Michael’s community,” he said.
“We think we had close to 1,000 people attend which is incredible for a single-stream school. Former students from the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s made up the largest numbers.”