St Francis Xavier's Primary School, Ashbury

St Francis Xavier's Primary School is a Catholic co-ed primary school in Ashbury, New South Wales, Australia. It caters for children from years k to 6.

History

Ashbury Parish was established in 1929 from sections of the heavily populated older suburbs of Ashfield and Canterbury. It was placed under the patronage of St Francis Xavier. Fr Edward McMahon, the new parish priest, quickly began the building of a church-school and arranged for the Ursuline Sisters to conduct the school. The first five sisters, sent from their headquarters in Armidale, were led by Mother Veronica Purcell (Superior).

St Francis Xavier School began on 4 February 1930. First day numbers are unknown, but the Catholic Directory records the 1931 enrolment as 191, so there was strong early demand.A range of classes were started and by 1933 girls were presented for the Intermediate examination (Third Year secondary).

In the early years, folding door partitions were used to create four classrooms. On weekends these were opened so that the building then functioned as the parish church. These conditions continued until 1938 when a second storey, with five classrooms, was added to the building. The consecration of a new church of StFrancis Xavier in 1955 meant that the whole of the original building could be devoted to school use.

This parish school catered for girls fromKindergarten to Third Year (secondary)and for boys from Kindergarten to Third Class (primary). Enrolments reached about 340 in 1940 and from then on remained at about 300, right up to the 1990s. The formation of a vibrant Parents and Friends Association in 1948 was an important support for the school in a period when there was no government funding. Another significant development occurred when the Ursulines erected a separate secondary school, St Ursula’s College, which opened on January 1939.

Secondary classes were provided here until 1965 when the small college closed, because archdiocesan authorities decided that larger regional schools were the best means of providing secondary education for Catholic children. However, its foundation in 1939 meant that St Francis Xavier’s parish school taught only primary classes.

Since the late 1960s parish primary schooling in Sydney has formed a system managed by the Catholic Education Office, Sydney, and St Francis Xavier’s joined that system. One result was that primary schooling for boys was eventually extended to Year 6, a pattern which has since become common to the system.

Another change was the gradual increase in the role of lay teachers in the school. By 1986 the Ursulines had ended their leadership and the Catholic Education Office appointed Mr Gerald McInerney as the first lay principal.

In 2003 the first stage of a building upgrade was completed.Two Kindergarten classrooms, a toilet block, two Year 3 classrooms, an administration area and one playground were constructed.

The second stage of the building project commenced in 2004, incorporating a refurbishment of our school hall and four classrooms and a total upgrade of our old college building , including a new library and two new classrooms.

St Francis Xavier’s remains a systemicprimary school and continues in the spirit of the tradition and values of the Ursulines.In 2005, there are 300 boys and girls from Kindergarten to Year 6 enrolled at the school.

Notable alumni

* Paul Whelan - former New South Wales State Police minister.

External links

* [http://stfx.ashbury.syd.catholic.edu.au/index.html Official site]