St Anne’s School Harvey celebrate official opening and blessing of Stage Nine development

It was a celebration at St Anne’s School Harvey last week as the red ribbon was cut on its new facilities. Students, staff, parents and special guests gathered at the Mercy Hall on November 21 to officially open and bless the school’s Stage Nine developments. Catholic Education WA executive director Debra Sayce said the service was about appreciating what has been made possible through the generosity of not only governments, but the Harvey community who contributed $142,000 towards the development. “Through this investment, the school has created very much a contemporary space for our young people, to enable them to be who they ought to be . . . through this wonderful learning environment,” she said. The new facilities have been four years in the making, with the school releasing its master plan for the development in 2019. Principal Darrin Croft noted the difficulty and complexity of building during the COVID-19 pandemic. “There were challenges and setbacks . . . (but) with the generosity of our stakeholders and in particular the support of our system of education in Western Australia, we were able to complete most of what we initially set out to achieve.” Some of the new facilities include upgrades to four classrooms for upper primary school students, a new toilet block and a new playground area. The Federal Government contributed more than $330,000 in Capital Grants program funding, while the State Government provided a low-interest loan to the school for the project. Federal Education Minister Jason Claire was represented at the opening by WA Senator Louise Pratt, while State Education Minister Tony Buti was represented by Murray-Wellington MLA Robyn Clarke.