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Welcome, About Us & History
OUR SCHOOL
Welcome
Welcome to Star of the Sea Catholic Primary School, Rockingham.
At Star of the Sea the staff have a passion to ensure that every child has an outstanding education in a safe, caring environment. We are determined to provide a Catholic education that is Christ-centred and child-focused. The staff and I look forward to working in partnership with you. I trust this website will provide you with a wide range of information about our school, its programs, policies and procedures.
Star of the Sea Catholic Primary School is a co-educational school of approximately 800 students from the Early Learning Centre (3-Year-Old) to Year 6. The school is situated in the centre of Rockingham giving easy access to the surrounding suburbs. The school operates a 3-Year-Old Early Learning Centre (open 5 days per week from 6am – 6pm) and a 4 Year Old Kindergarten Program operates (Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday) with 2 additional days (Thursday and Friday) that are optional. Out of School Hours Care and Vacation Care are available at the school.
Star of the Sea offers a broad curriculum with specialist teachers across the learning areas of Science, ICT, PE, LOTE (Indonesian) and Music. Star of the Sea has excellent IT infrastructure and resources as well as a variety of playground equipment, basketball courts and a large oval. Clear boundaries, routines and a consistent whole school approach allows students to flourish in a supportive learning environment. Another major focus at Star of the Sea is our sustainability program, this includes our waste wise initiatives and a large, productive garden centre.
As a West Australian Catholic school, we are part of the system of schools supported by Catholic Education Western Australia (CEWA). At the local level we are integral in the life of the local parish of ‘Our Lady of Lourdes’.
We recognise parents as the first and most important educators of their children and parents are strongly encouraged to participate fully in the life of the school. There are many opportunities to do this, for example, by way of offering classroom assistance, volunteering in the canteen and being active members of the Parents and Friends’ Association or the School Advisory Council.
I invite you to contact us if you want to make enrolment enquiries and to arrange a meeting to discuss being part of this vibrant and successful school. I trust our partnership will result in your child being happy and successful at Star of the Sea Primary School.
Kind regards
Mauricio Da Silva
Principal
OUR SCHOOL
About Us
We are a large, Catholic Primary School in Rockingham, south of Perth, the Capital of Western Australia.
The school has been a part of Rockingham since 1948, and has had many improvements and expansions over this time. The current school accommodates nearly 750 students, with a dedicated team of teachers, teaching assistants and administrators. Most Star of the Sea students go on to attend Kolbe Catholic College on completion of Year Six.
OUR SCHOOL
History
In the year of 1948, the sisters of Our Lady of the Missions arrived from Busselton to Peron House in Rockingham.
Peron House consisted of 44 acres and was purchased for the sisters by his Grace the Archbishop Most Reverend Dr Prendiville. It was originally a turtle-canning factory. Turtles were penned at the factory from the North West for meat and soup at the beginning of the 1900s. The enterprise fell through and Peron House was abandoned and used as a guest house prior to the sisters moving there. From 1928-1948, the turtle factory became a visitors’ guest house.
In May of 1948, Peron House opened with the celebration of Holy Mass at the parish church by Reverend Father Holohan. The first pupils of Star of the Sea attended school in July.
The students at Peron House or the turtle factory, as it was locally known, used to swim in the water on the waterfront at Point Peron during lunch and often after school. The school was only 50 yards from the water. Railway tracks, which were used at the turtle factory, were left at Star of the Sea and Peron House as part of the decor.
In 1972, the convent at Point Peron became too small for the use of a school and the new Star of the Sea School was built in Swinstone Street. Three sisters went to live in a house in Hillman and continued teaching at Star of the Sea School. It was blessed by Archbishop Goody and the first Principal was Sr Catherine Brabender.
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History
The first teachers were:
- Year 1 : Sr Margaret Mary Doherty
- Year 2 : Mrs Jackie Thomson
- Year 3 : Mrs Emily Mull
- Year 4 : Sr Catherine Brabender
- Year 5 : Sr Mary O’Sullivan
- Year 6 : Mrs Lyn Levien
- Year 7 : Mrs Lyn Levien
Mrs Bee was the remedial teacher who taught one day per week. Mrs Wendy Dobra taught on a part time basis per week.
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History
There was a very small population of boys in the upper class. Boys from Year 4 left to go to Christian Brothers College in Fremantle. There were no male teachers. Stage One of the school was built purely with parish money and with no government help. With no church, school Masses were held in the existing Year 5 classrooms.
When Star of the Sea School was built in 1972 a bank loan was raised and all available parish funds were used to help with repayments. The school provided for a total of 210 pupils with 30 children in each grade. Class size was increased to 35 pupils to accommodate enrolments.
The staff was small and there were open learning areas for the children in single stream classes. There was no security needed and worksheets were duplicated on a Gestetner machine. Parents cleaned the windows and the floors. Confirmation was celebrated in the school library.
Bingo was held in the school each Wednesday and funding from this event greatly benefitted the school. It was the only Catholic school in the Rockingham Shire. The children at Star of the Sea were deprived of a lot of aids due to the number of students attending the school.
A new Administration block and Special Ed Unit was blessed and opened on 17th September 1989. In 1993, In 2005 the Administration Block was extended and refurbished. On 10th November 2011, the new Pre-Primary and Year 1 classrooms and refurbished Year 6 classrooms were officially opened and blessed. Star of the Sea School in Rockingham carries out the maxim of St Iranaeus, “The Glory of God is Man Fully Alive”. It is in thanksgiving for the dedication and the missionary spirit that teachers both lay and missionary have given to the education of the Catholic children of Rockingham.
