# St Mary's Star of the Sea Catholic School

St Mary's Star of the Sea Catholic School is an Independent co-educational primary and secondary day school, located in Carnarvon, a coastal town located in the Gascoyne region of Western Australia, approximately 900 kilometres (560 mi) north of Perth.
St Mary's has a current enrolment of approximately 300 students from Year K to Year 12. The school's students come from Carnarvon itself or the surrounding areas and the school involves itself in many of the sporting and community activities in Carnarvon. There are approximately forty staff members at the school. Subsidised accommodation and other financial incentives are offered through the Catholic Education Office's Remote Area Package for Teachers.

## History

St Mary's Catholic School was founded in 1906 by Mother Joseph O'Connell of the Presentation Sisters. The last remaining Presentation Sisters to live at the school were Sister Delores and Sister Evangelist; they left the school on its centenary on 17 March 2006.

## Primary school

St Mary Star of the Sea Primary School is co-educational and caters for approximately 300 students from Kindergarten through to Year 6. The school has strong links to the Parish and wider communities and their involvement and support are essential.
The Curriculum reflects the values of both the Catholic Church and those outlined in the Curriculum Framework. The school believes it develops the "whole child" (spiritually, intellectually, socially, emotionally and physically) in an environment rich in the Catholic tradition.

### Early childhood education

Kindy, Pre-Primary and Year 1 are educated in the Junior Learning Centre, located across the oval from the main school buildings. Inside, there are three separate classrooms, with two large ‘wet' areas and a modern kitchen facility. Kindy students attend four sessions a week. Pre-Primary builds upon the knowledge and skills introduced in the previous year. Students attend full time. Each student is individually monitored and assessed and a report is written twice a year.

### Year 2–6

The curriculum is more formal and the focus on literacy and numeracy strengthens. The school offers educational programs for individual differences, interests, needs and levels of ability. The school offers its students access to a range of specialist learning areas such as Science, Art, Music, Computing and Physical Education. Students have access to a computer laboratory whilst having computers in each classroom.

### RAISe (Literacy Initiative)

In 2006, St Mary's Primary School continued with its implementation of the RAISe literacy initiative. RAISe stands for Raising Achievement in Schools and this is the school's second year of operation. "We here at St Mary's continue to endeavour to provide a better and more rounded education for our students."

## Middle school

The Middle School of St Mary's Carnarvon was established in 2001.

## House system

| Name | Namesake |
| Grey | Named after George Edward Grey who explored the northern coastline and Gascoyne River area and Kalbarri |
| Forrest | Named after John Forrest, the first Premier of Western Australia |
| Stirling | Named after Captain James Stirling, the founding father and first Governor of Western Australia |

## Principals

The following individuals has served as principal of St Mary's Star of the Sea School:
| Ordinal | Officeholder | Term start | Term end | Notes |
| 1 | Sister Aquinas | 1977 | − | |
| 2 | Sister Lelia | 1982 | − | |
| 3 | Sister Goretti | 1983 | 1996 | |
| 4 | Anne Cullender | 1996 | 2000 | |
| 5 | Chris Cully | 2001 | 2004 | |
| 6 | John Twomey | 2005 | 2005 | Acting |
| (5) | Chris Cully | 2006 | 2006 | Acting |
| 7 | Carmel Costin | 2006 | 2009 | |
| 8 | Darren McDonald | 2010 | 2014 | |
| 9 | Steve O’Halloran | 2014 | 2023 | |
| 10 | Deborah White | 2024 | incumbent | |