Principal: Beverly Coffey
St Catherine of Siena Primary School at Prestons is located in a newly developing suburban area of southwestern Sydney. This is one of the fastest growing areas in Australia. The school was established in 1999 and the building program is still proceeding to accommodate an expected student enrolment of 630 students by 2005. In 2003, there are 415 students in 16 class groups, and the end of the year will see the graduation of the first Year 6 class.
There is a total of 30 staff, with 20 of them full-time. We have a highly energetic and very young staff, mostly less than 30 years of age. They are keen and motivated. There are also senior people who act as mentors for the younger ones, so they’re not on their own.
It’s also an easy area to get to, being literally two minutes off the M5. People from the east have no hassles getting here, and when you go home you’re going against the traffic as well.
The community is very diverse – socio-economically and culturally. People come from many backgrounds – British, North American, New Zealand, Samoan, South American, Filipino, and Eastern European.
Community involvement in the school is strong. Parents want to help every day. It’s like a marketplace in the morning.
The school has a strong Information Technology program, with the library media centre as the focus of the school. All the rooms are networked.
Everything is new out here.
Teachers who join the staff here will work in a school that is vibrant, going places, making a difference. They will also be people who want to come here because they enjoy teaching.
