These two women have been a part of Holy Family Primary School East Granville for a combined total of more than 50 years. Home Liaison Officer Fadia Rizk has worked at the school for 31 years, while Teacher’s Aide Sue Issa is about to clock up 24 years!
They are at the heart of a school community that is soon to celebrate its 80th anniversary. To commemorate the occasion, a day of celebrations is being held on Wednesday, August 8 beginning at 9.30am with a special Mass and blessing of its new learning studio.
Mrs Rizk said she started at the school as a Bilingual Assistant.
"This role saw me interacting with parents on a number of different levels from having a casual chat to assisting them with filling out forms or sitting in on meetings with them and their children’s teachers,’’ Mrs Rizk said.
For six years, she also ran a playgroup for families attached to the school. “I enjoy helping families and if I need to go out and visit a family who needs some extra help, I am happy to do that,” Mrs Rizk said.
Mrs Rizk has two sons - George, 35 and Andre, 32. She can relate to a the challenges the school’s parent community faces, which makes her the perfect fit for her role at Holy Family.
Teacher’s Aide Sue Issa’s main role is helping students with their learning.
“All four of my children went to this school and I used to volunteer to help in the classrooms,’’ Mrs Issa said.
“Then one day the Principal asked if I would like to become a Teacher’s Aide, because at the time we had a lot of people who didn’t speak English.”
Mrs Issa said she is driven by the enjoyment she gets from working with infants as well as students with special needs.
“To me, this school community feels like one big family and I really do feel like I am making a difference in these kids’ lives.”
Mrs Issa, former student of Holy Family, is the mother of four children: Tania, 38, Steven, 36, Natalie, 33 and Pierre, 29 and grandmother to seven children. She never thought she would still be working at the school for this long but can’t see herself doing anything else. She hopes to continue in her role at the school for as long as her health will allow it.
Both Mrs Issa and Mrs Rizk have been part of the close-knit school community for so long, some of their former students have returned to the school as parents!
Catholic Schools Parramatta Diocese
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04 Aug 2026
From Facebook
💛🌞 100 Days Brighter! 🌞💛 Our Kindergarten students celebrated 100 Days Brighter with a fun-filled day of activities, marking 100 wonderful days of learning, growing and making memories together. Over the past 100 days, our Kindergarten students have built friendships, discovered new skills, grown in confidence and embraced every learning opportunity with curiosity and enthusiasm. We are so proud of everything they have achieved and can’t wait to see what the rest of the year has in store. Here’s to 100 bright days and many more wonderful moments ahead! ✨📚 Catholic Schools Parramatta Diocese
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⚽️ What a fantastic day at the Soccer Gala Day! 💙💛 We are so proud of every student who represented our school with outstanding sportsmanship, teamwork and determination. Whether celebrating a goal, encouraging a teammate or showing respect to their opponents, our students demonstrated what it truly means to be part of the Holy Family community. Thank you to our students, staff and families for making it such a memorable day. We couldn’t be prouder of the way you represented our school both on and off the field! 👏⚽️ #Teamwork #Sportsmanship
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💛🌞 100 Days Brighter! 🌞💛 Our Kindergarten students celebrated 100 Days Brighter with a fun-filled day of activities, marking 100 wonderful days of learning, growing and making memories together. Over the past 100 days, our Kindergarten students have built friendships, discovered new skills, grown in confidence and embraced every learning opportunity with curiosity and enthusiasm. We are so proud of everything they have achieved and can’t wait to see what the rest of the year has in store. Here’s to 100 bright days and many more wonderful moments ahead! ✨📚 Catholic Schools Parramatta Diocese
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⚽️ What a fantastic day at the Soccer Gala Day! 💙💛 We are so proud of every student who represented our school with outstanding sportsmanship, teamwork and determination. Whether celebrating a goal, encouraging a teammate or showing respect to their opponents, our students demonstrated what it truly means to be part of the Holy Family community. Thank you to our students, staff and families for making it such a memorable day. We couldn’t be prouder of the way you represented our school both on and off the field! 👏⚽️ #Teamwork #Sportsmanship
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Grandparents are a treasured part of our Holy Family community. 💛 Thank you to all the grandparents and special loved ones who joined us for our Grandparents Day celebration. From our liturgy and open classrooms to sharing recess together, it was a joy to celebrate with you. Thank you for the love, wisdom and support you bring to our students each day. Happy Grandparents Day! 🌼💙
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⭐️Holy Family celebrated Grandparents Day this morning! Here are a few special moments capturing the smiles and excitement of our students as they shared this wonderful day with their grandparents. Keep an eye out for more photos from our beautiful Liturgy, open classrooms and shared morning tea later today. Happy Grandparents' Day⭐️ Catholic Schools Parramatta Diocese #GrandparentsDay #celebration
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🎶 2026 Arts Factor Band Day 🎶 What an incredible day of music, learning and collaboration! Today, a group of our talented Year 6 students, along with Jiji from Year 5, proudly represented Holy Family at the 2026 Arts Factor Band Day. Joining students from primary schools across the Diocese, they took part in an inspiring workshop where they learned and performed a brand-new piece of music together as one combined band. The day also provided each school with the opportunity to showcase their talents by performing two prepared pieces, celebrating the dedication, teamwork and musical growth of every student involved. We are so proud of our musicians for stepping outside their comfort zones, embracing new challenges and representing our school with confidence, enthusiasm and pride. A huge thank you to the Captivate Team Catholic Schools Parramatta Diocese for providing such a memorable experience.
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🌟 Every child deserves a place where they are known, valued and inspired to thrive. 🌟 Come and experience the heart of our school at our Open Days! Step inside our classrooms, meet our passionate teachers, explore our vibrant learning spaces, and discover how we nurture every child’s academic, social, emotional and spiritual growth. Whether you’re starting your child’s school journey or looking for a new school community, we’d love to show you what makes our school so special. 💙 See our learning in action. 🙏 Experience our welcoming Catholic community. ✨ Imagine your child’s future with us. We can’t wait to welcome you and your family!
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🪴 From garden to harvest! 🧑🌾👩🌾 We carrot believe how much our Garden Club harvested today! 🥕😄 Our little green thumbs have been hard at work, and the veggie patch certainly delivered. As we continue to reflect on the teachings of St Francis of Assisi, we’re reminded to care for God’s creation with gratitude and love. What a wonderful way for our students to put his message into action! 💚🌍 Well done to our budding gardeners, we can't wait to see what's ready to harvest next! 🌱💚
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✨ Looking for the right school for your child? We’d love to welcome you! ✨ Join us at our Open Days and discover what makes our school such a special place to learn, grow and belong. 💙 Tour our classrooms, meet our dedicated teachers, chat with our friendly students, and experience the warm, faith filled community that makes our school feel like home. From inspiring learning opportunities to strong values and meaningful connections, there’s so much to see. Come and see the difference for yourself—we can’t wait to meet you! 🌟
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From Facebook
Our Year 3 students proudly showcased their incredible endangered animal dioramas to our Year 2 and Kindergarten classes! 🐨🐢 Through careful research, students investigated the habitats, threats, and challenges facing their chosen animals, including habitat loss, pollution, climate change, and human activities. They also explored real-world conservation efforts and suggested meaningful actions that we can all take to help protect these precious species. With confidence and enthusiasm, our young environmental advocates shared their learning, inspired others to care for wildlife, and demonstrated that even small actions can make a big difference for endangered animals. We are so proud of their creativity, knowledge, and commitment to creating a brighter future for our planet! 🌏💚
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🌧️ Rain couldn’t dampen the excitement! ⚽️🇦🇺 As part of their whole school reward, our students cheered on the Socceroos, filling the afternoon with excitement, smiles and plenty of Aussie spirit. It was a fantastic way to celebrate the positive choices they’ve made by living safely, loving respectfully and learning daily. 💚💛🙌
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🏆✨ Celebrating our End of Term Award recipients! ✨🏆 Today we recognised students who have truly shone by choosing to Live Safely 💛, Love Respectfully ❤️, and Learn Daily 📚. Their positive attitudes, kind hearts, and commitment to doing their best make our school community a wonderful place to be. We also had three Year students who were recipients of our Student of the Week awards! Congratulations to all of our award winners! 🌟 Keep being role models, making great choices, and inspiring those around you. We can’t wait to see what you’ll achieve next term! 👏🎉 #LiveSafely #LoveRespectfully #LearnDaily
25 Jun 2026
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🌟 Reward Day Fun! 🌟 Our students have been working hard to follow our school expectations, and their rewards were well deserved! 🎉 🧦 Year 1 rocked their craziest socks and enjoyed a movie afternoon 🍿 🏉 Year 4 showed off their favourite jerseys and earned some extra play time ⚽ 🧢 Year 3 topped had the chance to wear any hat of their choice! A fantastic way to celebrate positive choices, respect, responsibility and safe learning every day! 👏✨