Golden Year At Glendale
Newcastle Herald
Tuesday August 19, 2008
HOLY Cross Primary School Glendale is busy preparing for celebrations in October to mark the school's 50th anniversary.
The Sisters of Mercy started the school in a small cottage on Lake Road, Glendale, and moved into the church hall in 1958. The school was moved to its present site and was blessed in 1961. It began not only as a primary school but also as a girls' high school. The high school closed in 1967 and the wooden buildings were used for some time as primary classrooms. Holy Cross recently acquired a portable building which is used by Miss Clare Lockley and her Year 3 students. A brick building known as 'The Unit' was constructed in 1975.Mr Marcus Spinks, a parishioner whose three daughters attended Holy Cross in the 1960s and 1970s (one of whom is a current part-time staff member), remembers the building of the unit well. "I remember digging the foundations out with Father John Lavery and a few of the dads so the construction of the building could get under way," Mr Spinks said. As part of the 50-year celebrations, guests will be invited to attend a celebration mass at the church followed by lunch and various displays ranging from photographs from the archives to PowerPoint presentations. Students from Holy Cross will have the chance to demonstrate their dance, drama and visual art skills through many displays and performances. Former principals, teachers, parents and students will be on the guest list. As part of the preparations, Year 6 students are conducting interviews with former students and teachers about their memories of Holy Cross. That information will be put together as a souvenir booklet to be made available on the day. School secretary Mrs Cathy Crockett, a former student of Holy Cross who attended in the 1970s, is eagerly awaiting the celebrations. "I am looking forward to the 50th celebrations and meeting up with past students and teachers," she said. The celebrations will be held at the school, Lake Road, Glendale, on Sunday, October 26.
© 2008 Newcastle Herald