The Senior Learning Centre at St Francis of the Fields Primary School in Strathfieldsaye was officially blessed by Bishop Shane Mackinlay on Friday 28 April. 

Addressing students, Bishop Shane emphasised that the most important thing built up in a school is not the buildings, but the students themselves, each one of them a gift from God. 

“The building that we open today and that we thank God for … is one is in service of the building up of each of you,” he said.  

“What is built up most of all (in a school) is not the physical buildings made of wood and metal, stone and so on … what is most important is each one of you. That’s what our schools are here for.”

Bishop Shane said that the church and the wider community contribute so much of their resources and efforts to schools so that each and every student can be built up.  

“The starting point for us in a Catholic School, like at St Francis of the Fields is to celebrate each one of you as a gift from God … God has already started to build each one of us from the day of our birth. In our schools, and in our families, we try to help in that process of building each of you to be the people that God created you to be… in your capacity academically, in your physical growth, in your sporting growth, growing as people with rich and mature relationships with one another, and growing as people in relationship with God as well as followers of Jesus.” 

So, the building that we open today and that we thank God for, as we thank God for all of his gifts, is one is in service of the building up of each of you.  

The Senior Learning Centre was built to cater for the growing school population at St Francis of the Fields Primary School, which is situated in the growth area of Strathfieldsaye in outer Bendigo. It includes eight classrooms, two intervention learning areas, a learning persity space for children who require extra support, and four office spaces.  It was built with funding from the Victorian State Government. 

The building was blessed by Bishop Shane Mackinlay and opened by Member for Bendigo East, Jacinta Allan.  Ms Allan said that new buildings are tangible evidence of the state governments commitment to learning and development of Victorian children, but that it’s what happens inside those buildings that really matters.