Celebration for the Sesquicentenary of the Presentation Sisters Wagga Wagga

 

The day after the Sisters arrived in Wagga Wagga they opened the original school to 130 children in their stable. From there the community of Heritage Schools grew. Currently, there are 20 schools who claim their Presentation Heritage in our community. The 10 schools in the Riverina celebrated in Wagga Wagga on 31 May. On 12 June we gathered at Domremy as the group of 11 “city schools”.

Presentation Schools

We welcomed each of our current Presentation Heritage Schools and their student representatives. Many of the schools were founded by other Congregations, among them Charity Sisters, Mercy Sisters, Sisters of St Joseph and Christian Brothers. When those congregations needed to move to other ministry places, Presentation Sisters were invited to take over their education ministry:

• Domremy College, Five Dock – founded in 1911. In its beginning, Domremy was also a Primary School
• St Joan of Arc Primary, Haberfield, which the Sisters took over in 1911
• All Hallows Primary, Five Dock – founded in 1919
• Holy Innocents Primary, Croydon, which the Presentation Sisters from Lismore took over in 1927
• St Mark’s Primary, Drummoyne, which the Sisters took over in 1948
• St Patrick’s Primary, Sutherland, which the Sisters took over in 1950
• St Patrick’s Primary expanded to Mary Immaculate College in 1953 and a Christian Brothers School for the boys began in 1956 
• St Patrick’s College, Sutherland formed from these 2 schools in 1992
• St Joseph’s Primary, Oyster Bay-Como, founded in 1953
• St Michael’s Primary, Blacktown South, which was taken over by the Presentation Sisters from Lismore in 1963
• Nagle College, Blacktown South, which was founded by the Lismore Sisters in 1964

Memorial Tree Planting

All the schools played a part in the celebration, including the ceremonial tree planting. Our Presentation Sisters donated a Jacaranda tree, which was planted next to the Nano Nagle Learning Centre. Students from our visiting schools brought a bucket of soil to be used to plant the memorial tree. When the 5 Irish Sisters left Kildare to come to Wagga Wagga, 5 trees were planted in the Kildare convent garden. Planting the memorial tree using the soil from the schools’ grounds, connects us all to that beginning.

Trees are a symbol of a lot of things. They don’t provide shade just for themselves but for others who seek shelter under them. They don’t eat their own fruit but provide food for the hungry. They remind us of seeds and small plants that spread their roots and grow into the future. Planting this tree together also shows our commitment to looking after our Earth. With that in mind, we do the small things we can do to spread our love and care. Planting the memorial tree was our way of thanking those first 5 Sisters and those who followed them, and our way to commit ourselves to continue the story as Presentation People. (Sr Susan Miller, pbvm, MC for the day)

Morning Tea and Thank you

The formalities ended, some 1,000 students from Domremy and visiting schools enjoyed a sausage sizzle cooked by Domremy staff, while our Presentation Sisters and some 45+ special guests enjoyed a lovely spread prepared by our Domremy canteen.

Venerable Nano Nagle, pray for us.