October 5, 2017
Normal classes paused at St Mary’s Catholic College in Kingaroy on Thursday morning for the official opening of three new buildings at the school.
Bishop Brian Finnigan, the Auxiliary Bishop for Brisbane, travelled up for the ceremony which was held in the school’s Maryknoll Centre.
After a short liturgy, Bishop Finnigan blessed the plaques that will be affixed to the three buildings.
Peter Stower, from Brisbane Catholic Education, Member for Nanango Deb Frecklington and Bishop Finnigan then cut the ribbons to declare the classrooms open.
The three buildings are the Sister Mary Hedwige Music Centre (which has been in use for some time), the Good Samaritan Secondary Block, and the Biy’angga Primary Classroom Block.
The three names have historical relevance.
Sr Hedwige, a Sister of Charity nun, was the first principal of St Mary’s school; Good Samaritan nuns served at the school for many years after the Sisters of Charity departed; and “biy’angga” is a Wakka Wakka word which means “to know and to think”.
The Federal Government provided $872,611 in funding from the Capital Grants Program towards the classroom project; the State Government provided a similar amount.
Fundraising by the St Mary’s P&F and community raised the outstanding $1.1 million.
Peter Stower, from Catholic Education in Brisbane, said the new buildings included six secondary classrooms, three primary classrooms, new music rooms and other student facilities.
“It is gratifying to know that generations of students will come to know them and use them,” he said.
