History:
Our Parish of St Margaret Mary’s was originally part of the parish of St Ambrose in Brunswick. It was first known as St Matthew’s and was established in 1913. The original St Matthew’s church, built the previous year, served as a church, school and hall for the predominantly Irish community.
The Sisters of Mercy were appointed in 1913 to administer the school and did so until the appointment of the first lay principal in 1994. The present school building was built, opened and blessed by Archbishop Mannix in 1923. The new school was dedicated to St Margaret Mary.
With post World War II migration, a large number of Italian children were enrolled at the school in the 1950s and 1960s. Since then St Margaret Mary’s has welcomed children from European, Middle Eastern, African and Asian countries.
By 1988 the Prep area, which was housed across the road from the school, was declared unfit for educational purposes and was demolished. This area was originally the kindergarten. All learning areas were moved to the one campus as federal government funding enabled the building of four new classrooms, which were officially opened and blessed by Bishop Joseph O’Connell in 1990.
In 1993 a new administration area and refurbishments to the staffroom and library were undertaken. In 2005 Stage 1 of our Master Plan to rebuild new student amenities and to refurbish the hall began. Stage 2 of the Master Plan is completed. All playground surfaces and underground drainage systems have been replaced. This stage was partially funded by a Capital Grant.
Since 1983 the Salesians of Don Bosco have administered the parish of St Margaret Mary’s. We continue this partnership with visits to Don Bosco Centre in Sydney Road and Don Bosco Camp at Dromana.
Description:
St Margaret Mary’s School is situated in North Brunswick, which lies in the northern part of the city of Melbourne. St Margaret Mary’s Catholic Primary School was founded in 1913 and after more than a century continues to offer the local community a comprehensive curriculum that supports and empowers its students to become independent, socially aware, lifelong learners.
At St Margaret Mary’s the wellbeing of our students is paramount. For students to be able to learn they need to be happy. We aim to develop individuals who are resilient, reflective, self-managed, curious, collaborative and creative within a warm environment where everyone feels that they belong.
To that end, the development of relationships between students and their teachers, and students with each other is fundamental to our work. We want to develop self-worth and confidence, both requirements for actively engaged learners.
We provide our students with opportunities to be immersed in new content across the curriculum and stimulate a lively curiosity about the world around them. We challenge our students through the Catholic social teachings that look to question the status of the global community and give our students opportunities to support others who are locally and globally less fortunate.
We prepare our students for the challenges of everyday living by developing their skills in numeracy and literacy, supporting them to problem solve and to think critically and creatively.
Our specialist programs support holistic education through the Arts – Performing Arts and Visual Arts, Physical Education, Italian language and development of skills in digital technology. Engagement is high in our school garden and sustainability club, the choir and chess club.
All this is underpinned by a family community of faith as we strive to support students in their spiritual understanding through prayer, Catholic traditions and stories.
We are ‘a small school with a big heart’.
Features:
• Dedicated and enthusiastic staff
• Parish Education Board
• Strong links with the parish via Masses, liturgies, the sacramental program, and committees
• Weekly whole school assemblies
• Bi-annual art exhibition, whole school concert and Parish-School Fete
• Junior and Senior choirs
• Active Student Representative Council (SRC ) Prep–6
• Onsite After-school Care (OSHC) and Breakfast Club
• Helpers in the classroom
• Active Parents and Friends Group
• Extensive range of specialist subjects
• School banking program
• Private piano, keyboard and guitar lessons in partnership with Mad on Music
• Discovery-based inquiry approach in Prep–2
• Student led Inquiry in Years 3–6
• Air conditioned, bright spacious learning areas
• School-parish hall
• 2 playgrounds, shady outdoor areas and spacious yard
• Learning shared regularly via the Seesaw Learning Journal App
• Swimming and camp programs
• Up-to-date ICT equipment throughout the school
• Intervention programs for literacy and numeracy
• And many more.