History

In 1958 another 4 classrooms were added to Holy Family as a separate block to cater for increasing enrolments, Holy Family now had 380 students with class sizes ranging between 50 and 60 students. A statue of the Holy Family was ordered from Italy and made from Carrara marble. It still stands at the entrance to the school.

Additional buildings were added in 1979 which joined the two buildings to create staff and student toilets and a library space. The original toilets standing out in the middle of the yard were demolished.
In 1971 the land behind the school was levelled and a new sports oval was created.

In 1981 a bi-lingual program in Croatian was introduced at Holy Family to cater for the large number of enrolled Croatian children whose second language was English.

1982 saw the construction of Holy Family’s Art Room. The Hut which was being used as an art room was then returned to its original owners.

1983 the community language program expanded to include Italian, Polish and Croatian, giving the children a choice of learning a second language.

The Mercy Room (Multipurpose Room) was built in 2004 which allowed for a space where the whole school could gather together indoors as well as a space where the parish community could gather for social events and meetings.

Over the years, the number of classes has increased from 7 to 17 with combinations changing from single stream classes to multi age groupings: Prep, 1/2, 3/4, 5/6. Class sizes also changed to an average of 23 students. The children now sit at tables instead of sitting at desks which is more conducive to current trends for learning.

As part of the Building Education Revolution the Learning Centre was built in 2012. At this time it housed the library, an audio visual room and several learning spaces.

Refurbishment of the original school began in 2021, retaining the original outside walls but modernising the inside.

Holy Family strives to provide an environment that is safe, flexible and inclusive and which fosters collaboration and creativity. The student wellbeing program which utilises aspects of Restorative Practices and Circle Time is aimed at engendering a climate of mutual respect, trust and responsibility where students develop a sense of belonging and attachment to school. Students are provided with opportunities for engagement in many active and passive leisure activities.

In recent years the main school building has been refurbished. A learning centre comprising a library, four learning areas and a theatre room was built with funding from the BER capital grant. The front entry to the school was rebuilt and the three north eastern classrooms were extended and transformed into a flexible learning space. There has also been a beautification program involving landscaping, fencing and tree planting to the school grounds with major funding from the Parents and Friends’ Association.

The 2021 student enrolment of Holy Family School covers more than 28 nationalities. The students are grouped across four learning areas including Prep Learning Area (Foundation), Junior Learning Area (Years 1/2) , Middle Learning Area (Years 3/4) and Senior Learning Area (Years 5/6).