Our History, Our Present, Our Future

The two religious orders who founded our school shared with us their charism or “Spirituality of the Heart”.  This came from Jules Chevalier’s vision, focusing on Jesus’ loving heart as the way to live the Gospel. This spirituality invites us to embrace our own hearts and connect with God in a personal and profound way. It recognizes that God’s love encompasses all creation, making our world sacred. By journeying into our hearts, we discover compassion, kindness, forgiveness, and the power to make a positive impact. It is a path of transformation, leading us to become vessels of healing and love for others, inspired by the compassionate heart of Jesus.

A rich history…

• The school also ran a boarding school known as the “orphanage”, which lasted until 1948.
• A second campus on Kirriri (Hammond Island) was established around 1936.
• In 1968 the Sisters of Mercy took over the running of the school.
• In 1973 the new school building was built on Waiben Campus, replacing all existing classrooms and administration areas.
• In 1995, the Kirriri campus was reopened on a new site with a new building.
• The school celebrated its 125^th anniversary in 2012, publishing a history book and building a new school library.
• The first Lay Principal of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart School was Miss Delia O’Donnell from Melbourne.
• The Patrician Brothers served at the school for over 11 years.
• From 2009 to the end of 2012 we welcomed the Marist Brothers to our school and parish community.

In recent years, Sacred Heart has undergone a period of revitalisation and improvement 

• Renewal of School Vision and charism
• Development of Strategic Directions and an explicit improvement agenda which is reviewed annually
• Review of positive behaviour management policy and student wellbeing programs
• Refurbishment and extension of buildings at our Kirriri Campus
• Building an additional classroom at our Waiben Campus
• Significant growth in student numbers (from 100 to over 150)

The Future – We are excited by the upcoming major building project at our Waiben campus which includes –

• New classrooms
• New student and staff amenities
• Refurbished and improved playground facilities
• New staff lounge and work preparation areas
• Additional meeting rooms, offices and refurbished administration
• Additional learning support space
• Improved entrances, parking and vehicle access
• Full sized, covered sports court.