It was a day for reflection, celebration and education last Friday, with students, teachers, parents, community and religious leaders gathering together to officially open and bless the new St Anne’s College.
The special July 26 event date was chosen to coincide with St Anne’s Feast Day, celebrating the mother of Mary and grandmother of Jesus.
During the official opening event, guests received a traditional welcome to country smoking ceremony from Michael Chrisholm and Troy Firebrace and the college received a blessing from Bishop Leslie Tomlinson and Father Peter Taylor.
The new $6.5 million state-of-the-art school has been operating since the start of the year, with 90 prep and Year 7 students currently enrolled. The ongoing school project is currently only at Stage One, with plans to gradually expand in the future to cater for 1,200 students from six weeks of age to 18 years.
St Anne’s College principal, Dom Poppa said, “It’s been a huge day and we are absolutely thrilled to be here. Our job isn’t to create lawyers or doctors, our job is to equip the learner with the necessary skills to tackle whatever career they wish to do.”
The 90 students currently enrolled at the college were acknowledged during the event and each received a plaque to commemorate their involvement in the opening.
