St Patrick’s School in Katanning celebrates 100 years by bringing students from the past and present together

St Patrick’s School Katanning honoured its 100-year milestone at the weekend with an all-day celebration that brought students and educators past and present back to the school.

Founded in 1926, the school has educated young minds for a century and spent Saturday celebrating this achievement.

Originally called St Rita’s, the Catholic school was founded by Sisters of Our Lady of the Missions, who taught the first cohorts of students in St Patrick’s Church.

The day consisted of Mass, presentations, choir performances, historical displays, and an afternoon sundowner for visitors to enjoy.

St Patrick’s School principal Brett Wilkie said the special occasion was the perfect way to acknowledge the history of the school.

“It (the day) involved Mass with the Bishop of Bunbury which was lovely,” he said.

“We had nine of our sisters from Our Lady of the Missions who are our founding order at the school here.

“Nine returned and spent the day here at the school.”

A highlight of the celebrations was the renaming of the school library,

“We were able to rename our school library in honour of Sister Bridget Farrell who is the foundress of Catholic education in Katanning as well as the first principal here in 1926,” Mr Wilkie said.

The day was a celebration of what the school had achieved over the past century, with Mr Wilkie saying it brought together many generations of the school community.

“People very much enjoyed catching up with some old classmates and even some old teachers and principals that they may have had,” he said.

“We had people as far back as the 1940s who attended the school all the way through to our current students, so we had all generations of St Patrick’s (students) here.

“There would have been several hundred people here celebrating together.”

Mr Wilkie said most visitors enjoyed the day and loved seeing what aspects of schooling life had changed and stayed the same.

“We had people who were looking forward to this day for a long time,” he said.

“All of the reviews have been pretty positive and a lot of people were saying that they thoroughly enjoyed the day.

“They really appreciated seeing how the school has changed in many ways but also some of the things that have stayed the same over the years.

“It was a great opportunity to celebrate the past, acknowledge all of the progress that’s been made in the school but also look to the future with some confidence.

“St Patrick’s is in pretty good hands and will continue to be an important part of this community.”