History:
Holy Spirit School is located in the inner-city suburb of East Thornbury. It services the eastern part of Thornbury and borders with the parish school of St Mary鈥檚, Thornbury. In September 2007, Fr Anthony Denton was appointed parish priest of Holy Spirit Parish.
Holy Spirit Parish was formed in 1953 with Fr John Brace as the first parish priest. In the same year the school opened its doors and was staffed by the Good Samaritan Sisters. Initially, many children came from the overcrowded classes of St Mary鈥檚 school. Over time Holy Spirit School developed its own identity and became an integral part of the parish community. It has a well-established reputation in the area. This is reflected in its strong enrolments and its very active and committed parent body.
Description:
Holy Spirit School consists of eight classes. Due to increasing enrolments the school added a class in 2006. It also introduced a composite structure.
Holy Spirit School has eight carpeted classrooms, with reverse-cycle heating and cooling, and sinks and wet areas. There is also an air-conditioned relocatable classroom used for the Italian, Instrumental and Arts programs. The school also has access to the parish hall. The kitchen area of the hall is used as a kiosk.
Other areas include a multi-purpose area, a library, a technology room, a withdrawal room, a Reading Recovery room, children鈥檚 and staff toilets, a kitchen and a shed. The administration block includes the reception area, three offices, a meeting room, a staff room, a specialist teacher鈥檚 office, a first aid room and a photocopying area.
Outdoor facilities include an adventure playground, shade cloths and basketball rings.
Features:
Holy Spirit School is committed to its core business of student learning. Curriculum, programs, resources and co-curricular activities focus on meeting student needs.
Holy Spirit has had a long-standing reputation of academic excellence. It has been the recipient of the three National Literacy Awards.
A special feature of our school is the development of a comprehensive student welfare program which involves extensive tracking of students and the development of specific programs for children with special needs.
A further feature is the lunchtime co-curricular activities which are offered throughout the week. Students can choose from a variety of activities such as chess, tennis, choir, robotics and drawing. This allows the students to be involved in meaningful activities during lunchtime. It also alleviates the number of children in the school yard and the potential for conflict between students.