History:
St Therese's School is a Catholic primary school situated in Essendon, a north-western suburb of Melbourne.
The first building development of the parish was a church/school. The foundation stone was blessed on 5 November 1922, Archbishop Mannix officially opened the Church on 11 March 1923 and the school opened for 30 pupils on 9 April 1923, staffed by the Sisters of Charity. Additions were made to the school in 1928 and 1931. St Teresa’s Church was built in 1934. The school currently comprises 21 classrooms, an administration area, a library, a staffroom, a first aid room, a special education room, a computer lab, a music room, storerooms and a tuckshop.
The parish was first named St Teresa’s after St Teresa of Avila, until St Therese, the Little Flower, was beatified on 17 March 1925. After this, the parish came under the patronage of St Therese.
Enrolments in the 1930s and 1940s were between 300 and 400 students. In the 1950s the number of students grew rapidly, reaching a peak of 726 students in 1960. From the 1970s through to the end of the century, student enrolments have remained between 300 and approximately 430. Currently (2016) the school has an enrolment in the order of 530 students.
Description:
The major part of the playground is asphalted. There are a number of sheltered areas and trees in the playground. An amphitheatre and sandpit are located in the small yard. There are two adventure playgrounds, one near the Performing Arts Centre (PAC), and a junior one in the junior yard adjacent to the amphitheatre.
At present there are there are approximately 50 staff including classroom teachers, specialists, aides, administration staff and our school psychologist. The staff work and plan cooperatively and place considerable importance on being involved in curriculum development. The school is three-stream, with 3 classes at each level from Foundation to Year 6.
Features:
Parent involvement in the school is encouraged. Parents participate in the school in many ways, both formally, through representation on the Board and Committees, and informally, through assistance both inside and outside the classroom. The school operates a School Board, Parents and Friends Committee, Family Support Group, Parent Class Representatives and a Tuckshop Committee. We also have a partnership with Camp Australia who run an Out-of-School Hours Program for our families.
St Therese's Parish is a feeder parish for St Bernard’s College, Essendon (a secondary college for boys), St Columba’s College, Essendon, and Ave Maria College, Aberfeldie (both secondary colleges for girls). The majority of the students apply to these schools.
The school endeavours to build a sense of community, respecting and accepting all people who are connected with the school.