History:
The Parish of St. Francis Xavier’s Mansfield was defined in 1864. The intention of the first Parish Priest Rev. Kavanagh, was to establish a school within the Parish – St. Xavier’s School was opened in 1869, however, it closed with a short time due to a shortage of funds and the lack of suitable trained teachers. The school reopened as St. Mary’s in 1876.
In 1891, the Sisters of Mercy came to Mansfield. On their arrival they took over the administration of St. Mary’s School. In that year, Sacred Heart College was opened catering for both day and boarding students. This closed in 1972 leaving St. Mary’s again as the only Catholic educational institution within the Parish.
Description:
St. Mary’s School is situated in the rural Victorian town of Mansfield which is two hundred kilometres north east of Melbourne. The local economy is based on tourism and primary production.
Our school community is a mono cultural one. It is the norm for students to come from families where English is the first language. Most families have cultural roots in Angelo Celtic traditions.
The learning environment is organised in composite class groupings. At present, (1997) there are:
Prep/One, x 2
One/Two, x 1
Two/Three x 1
Three/Four, x 1
Five/Six, x 2
Currently the enrolment is one hundred and eighty five. It is predicted that enrolments will grow in the next few years as services in relation to the hospitality and tourism industry are growing in the area. For example the La Trobe University Campus on Mt. Buller.
Classrooms are in two areas. There are five classrooms which are part of the main school building. On the opposite side of a quadrangle there are two re-locatables. The administration area contains:
Secretary’s Office, Principal’s Office, Staff room, Teacher Resource Room, Interview room. The remainder of the building consist of the library and the multi-purpose room.
Features:
The community of St. Mary’s enjoys an impressive playground. The size is generous and there is ample play equipment. The play equipment has been enhanced in the last couple of years in two ways. Firstly by more of it being added and secondly, which is a great safety feature, is the laying of rubberised surface underneath the equipment. The oval accommodates many sports activities.
Specialist staff are employed in the areas of – Library, - Music, - Reading Recovery, - Physical Education, - Integration/teacher aide.
Children have access to computers in each of the classrooms. Other multi-media include satellite link ups and the Internet. These resources do reduce the isolation. A special feature of St. Mary’s is access to cultural and other features of different areas of our state. The shear cost of transportation reduces the children’s ability to attend. This has not deterred the school from developing and implementing a Camping Excursion Policy.