By Caroline Smith
St Vincent’s School in Parmelia has recently celebrated its 60 year anniversary with a Mass and Open Day, inviting members of the school community past and present to visit and celebrate the school’s history and strong faith community.
More than 400 people attended the day, which began with a community Mass on 17 September celebrated by Assistant Parish Priest Father Marlon Perez and concelebrated by former Assistant Priest, Fr Brennan Sia, who is now fulfilling the same role at St Mary’s Cathedral.
Assistant Principal Kirsty Byrne said there were many touching moments during the Mass celebration, particularly the presence of local community members, past staff members, students and families.
“We were honoured to have the presence of City of Kwinana Mayor, Carol Adams and local Member of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly (MLA) Roger Cook in attendance, as well as three founding sisters of the school from the Order of St Joseph of the Apparition, and the first lay teacher, Alma Clark,” Ms Byrne said.
“It was really beautiful and heart-warming to celebrate with those who have founded our school,” she said.
“We were very fortunate to have the presence of a relic of St Vincent de Paul, which was a focal point for the ceremony. The first class relic was on loan from St Vincent’s Church in Sydney.”
Another highlight of the Mass was the school choir, who impressed attendees with a variety of songs from the past six decades.
“The open day was a wonderful celebration of the school’s history and the learning journey of our school,” Mrs Byrne said.
“We had photographs on display to celebrate St Vincent’s School throughout the decades, as well as showcases of students’ work.”
“Following the Mass, the choir sang jazzy songs in the school hall and community members organised Devonshire teas and a sausage sizzle.”
The P&F donated a mural which depicted a ‘60th Anniversary Family Tree’, with the names of current staff and students displayed on each leaf to acknowledge each member of the St Vincent’s School community who has taken part in the commemorative year.
St Vincent’s School was founded in 1956 in the suburb of Medina by the Sisters of St Joseph of the Apparition. In 2004, it moved to its current site in Parmelia.
Mrs Byrne – who has been at the school for six years emphasised that despite the many changes within the school, Catholic values and a Catholic ethos were a continuing presence.
“The school has grown not only in size but in spirit – faith is at the heart of everything we do,” she said.