There was a true sense of joy in the air when Holy Family Primary, East Granville celebrated its 80th anniversary on the same day as St Mary of the Cross MacKillop was remembered for establishing the first Catholic school in Australia.
The celebrations began with an inspiring Mass and included a special blessing of a new learning space at the school.
Diocese of Parramatta Bishop Vincent Long Van Nguyen OFM Conv DD reflected on some of the famous sayings of St Mary MacKillop including “never see a need without doing something about it”, “we are but travellers here” and “find happiness in making others happy.”
He said St Mary MacKillop saw a need to serve the poor and from that she founded the first Catholic school in rural Penola in South Australia and so Catholic education was born.
Australia’s Catholic education story includes the establishment in 1938 of Holy Family Primary East Granville Trongate Hall, newly purchased by Fr Halpin.
Holy Family’s Principal Yvette Baird said Fr Halpin asked the Sisters of St Joseph to look after the new school, and they did so for 50 years before the first lay principal Carmel Cannon took over the reigns.
Other past principals include Bernard Holland, Kevin Etherington and Sue Guilfoyle.
“However a school would be just bricks and mortar without one essential and valuable asset: the children who walk through the gates each morning with a smile on their face ready to live, love and learn,” Mrs Baird said.
“This has been our school motto - to live with hope, to love in hope and to learn for the hope of our world.”
In the spirit of the occasion Mrs Baird, along with her wonderful team of teachers, took to the church podium to add a splash of colour, music and song.
Following the Mass, Bishop Vincent blessed the school’s new learning space with the assistance of Holy Family Parish Priest Fr Andrew Bass.
Mrs Baird said she is very grateful of the new learning space which has already provided new possibilities and opportunities to cater for the learning needs of all the students.
Catholic Schools Parramatta Diocese
www.parra.catholic.edu.au
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11 Sep 2026
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From Facebook
๐ Global Environments | Year 6 ๐๐ฟ On Tuesday, Year 6 embarked on a hands-on โGlobal Environmentsโ excursion to Clifton Gardens, exploring how climate, vegetation and human impact shape our world. ๐ฑ๐ Throughout the day, students discovered the cultural and ecological importance of World Heritage sites and learned how deeply humans depend on natural environments for essential food and resources. ๐๐ Students put their learning into practice through a range of hands-on experiences, including building beach shelters ๐๏ธ, trying hand-reel fishing ๐ฃ, experimenting with waterworks ๐ง, and catching bugs ๐ to investigate local biodiversity. It was a fantastic day of learning, exploration and discovery! ๐๐ฟ๐
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Year 2 has been exploring time in Maths! โฐ We looked at clocks ๐ฐ๏ธ learning how to read o'clock, half past, quarter-to, and quarter-past times. ๐ Halfway through, we switched gears! โ๏ธ Now we are looking at the duration of different events โฑ๏ธ and will be exploring a calendar ๐ to countdown to different events... we might start with working out how many school days until the holidays!! ๐โก๏ธ๐๏ธ ๐ญ Year 3 Drama Literacy ๐ญ During Drama Literacy, Year 3 explored the idea of accidents through the familiar story of Humpty Dumpty ๐ฅโจ. Students used their bodies to embody different types of accidents, thinking creatively about how each situation might look and feel. They then explored the emotions of shock, determination, terror and pride ๐ฒ๐ช๐ฑ๐, using facial expressions, body movements and poses to communicate each feeling โ all without saying a word! ๐ญ๐
06 Sep 2026
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Heavenly Father, You entrusted Your Son Jesus to the care of Joseph, an earthly father. Bless all fathers and father figures as they care for their families. Give them strength and wisdom, tenderness and patience. Support them in their daily work, and let Your face shine upon them with grace and peace. Through Christ our Lord. Amen. ๐๐ป Wishing all the special men in the Holy Family community a happy Fatherโs Dayโญ๏ธ๐โญ๏ธ
04 Sep 2026
From Facebook
๐ A special morning celebrating all the incredible people who take on the role of a father in our childrenโs lives! ๐ We started our morning with a delicious Fatherโs Day Breakfast, bringing our school community together for smiles, laughter and precious moments shared with the special dads, grandfathers, stepdads and father figures who mean so much to our students. ๐ณโ๏ธ๐จโ๐งโ๐ฆ We then gathered for a beautiful Fatherโs Day Mass, giving thanks for the love, guidance, support and encouragement our dads and father figures provide each day. ๐โจ Thank you to everyone who joined us and helped make our morning so special. ๐ Happy Fatherโs Day to all our amazing dads and father figures! ๐๐ Catholic Schools Parramatta Diocese
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Celebrating Our School Community, Safely ๐ You may begin to notice some changes in the way we share photos of our students on our public social media pages. We love giving our families a glimpse into school life and celebrating the learning, achievements, friendships, faith experiences and special moments that make our community so wonderful. However, as technology continues to evolve, particularly with the rapid growth of artificial intelligence and the ways images can be accessed, altered and shared online, we are becoming increasingly mindful of how we share identifiable images of our students publicly. Our studentsโ privacy and online safety must always come first. Donโt worry, our socials arenโt disappearing! We will continue to celebrate all the wonderful things happening across our school, from learning and sporting achievements to liturgies, excursions, performances and special events. You may simply notice fewer full-face or individually identifiable photographs of students appearing on our public social media pages. ๐ฑ Families wonโt miss out! More photos and special moments will be shared directly with our families through Compass, providing a more appropriate space for us to celebrate and share our studentsโ experiences. The way we share may be changing, but there will certainly be no shortage of wonderful things to celebrate. ๐ Thank you for supporting us as we continue to navigate an ever-changing digital world while keeping the safety, privacy and wellbeing of our students at the centre of our decisions. Catholic Schools Parramatta Diocese
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๐ถ๐ A SYMPHONY OF STORIES! ๐๐ถ Today, our school was filled with characters, creativity and a whole lot of BOOK WEEK MAGIC! โจ๐๐ญ In celebration of Childrenโs Book Week 2026 and this yearโs theme, โSymphony of Storiesโ, our students brought the pages of their favourite books to life! ๐ Just like a symphony brings together different instruments to create something wonderful, stories bring together different characters, voices, adventures and ideas to create a world of imagination. ๐ถ๐๐ซ From magical creatures and courageous heroes to much-loved storybook characters, our school was certainly making some beautiful literary music today! ๐งโโ๏ธ๐ฆธโโ๏ธ๐ป๐ A huge thank you to our wonderful families and staff for helping make today such a special celebration of the joy of reading. ๐ ๐ถ Every story has a voice. Every book has an adventure. Together, they create our Symphony of Stories! ๐โจ Catholic Schools Parramatta Diocese
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๐โจ BOOK WEEK IS HERE! โจ๐ Get ready to celebrate Childrenโs Book Week 2026 โ Symphony of Stories! ๐ถ๐ We have a fantastic week ahead filled with books, imagination and plenty of fun, including our Book Performance, Book Fair, Author Visit, family picnic and our much-loved Character Parade! ๐ ๐ Thursday 27 August is our BIG celebration! ๐งบ 1:40pm โ Families are invited to bring a picnic blanket or cushions, find a spot on the grass and share a book with your child. ๐ญ 2:30pm โ Stay and enjoy our Character Parade on P2! Students are invited to come dressed as a favourite book character and donโt forget to bring your completed Character Profile with you! We canโt wait to see our school come alive with a Symphony of Stories! ๐๐ถโจ
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โ Vinnies Winter Sleepout โ Faith in Action โ Our students took part in a meaningful evening of prayer, meditation, learning and service as part of our Vinnies Winter Sleepout. Using Davidโs story and reflected on how quickly and unexpectedly people in our community can be one crisis away from homelessness. Students shared a simple meal of soup, a bread roll, fruit and water, before gathering in our Holy Family Prayer Garden for a Liturgy of the Word, where they led us beautifully in prayer and song. We finished the evening with a team-building challenge, constructing our own shelters. While this was a fun experience for us, it carried an important message, for many people, finding a safe place to sleep is not a game or a choice. It helped our students finish the night with a deeper sense of gratitude, compassion and responsibility to care for others. Through our Faith in Action initiatives, our Holy Family community has raised $1,277 so far to support the vision and mission of the St Vincent de Paul Society NSW and the important work they do supporting people experiencing hardship and homelessness. Thank you to our students, families and staff for continuing to put our faith into action.๐ Catholic Schools Parramatta Diocese Vinnies Australia
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