Though Saint Mary is the central figure in the mural, it also includes some of the school’s iconic features such as the nine veggie garden beds, its leafy setting, the Aboriginal serpent artwork and resident magpies which school staff have been able to tame.
Unveiled on March 1 by Sydney Catholic Schools Executive Director Tony Farley, the project involved ‘art mentors’ from Mount St Joseph Milperra who advised their primary school peers during the mural development.
“It’s one of the ways we are celebrating 200 years of Catholic education by showcasing the woman who was kind enough to see an educational need and do something about it,” St Mary’s Principal Monica Palmer said.
“Mary began by teaching orphans how to read and write which is how Catholic education started in Australia and we’ve come such a long way since then; there are 150 Catholic schools in the Sydney Diocese alone.”
Saint Mary’s motto was ‘Never See A Need Without Doing Something About It’ which is also the school’s mission statement.
“We feel very lucky that as a large cohort of schools, we have such strong historical foundations to build on,” Mrs Palmer said.
“All the aspects of the mural are very significant to us and we are so thrilled with the result.
“t was also the perfect project to challenge our talented art students.”
