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Brother Thomas More replaced him as principal in 1960. The cricket nets were constructed and work on establishing the oval commenced, and with the involvement of the Brothers, parents and boys was completed in 1963. Br Dunstan Cavanagh was appointed Principal in 1962. During his time, the school became a Fourth Form school under the newly introduced Wyndham Scheme. There were three streams in each secondary class. In 1965, a new classroom block containing six classrooms and toilet block was constructed. It overlooks the playground. The Science/Primary Block was built in 1967. Brother Simon Murphy became
Principal in 1968 with a staff of nine brothers and four lay teachers teaching
432 boys, primary and secondary.
Brother Neil O’Leary took up his appointment as Principal at the beginning of 1990. With the phasing out of the Primary in 1992, the primary classrooms became available to cope with the increased secondary enrolments and the reorganisation and improvement of specialty areas, especially in the Technology and Applied Studies area.
Brother John MacDonnell became principal of the school in 2000, and Brother Tony Butler also became a fulltime member of the Penshurst Community. The school is very fortunate to be able to have two brothers permanently on the staff. Marist College Penshurst has continued to produce high academic results. In the initial external School Certificate in 1998, the results in English and Mathematics were significantly above the state average. At a time when there is considerable concern about the performance of boys, especially in English, these results are very satisfying. More importantly, the school’s pastoral care programme that supports the boys in the crucial and challenging years of their adolescent development continues to produce young men of calibre. Their opportunities for leadership and the individual recognition of their personal talents certainly gives them an excellent foundation to move onto the next stage of their development and education. Finally, their spiritual development, and the high ideals that it reinforces, will continue to be of paramount importance in the life of all at Marist College Penshurst. |
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Penshurst
Marist was established in 1953 when Marist Brothers Kogarah could no longer
accommodate the boys from this area. Father Breen, later to become Monsignor
Breen, the Parish Priest of Penshurst was deeply involved in the establishment
of the school which commenced with 160 pupils in the three primary classes on
27th January. The staff of three Brothers took up residence at 33 Victoria
Avenue. Brother Leopold was the first principal. He was accompanied by Brother
Basil and Brother Sixtus. The first class was presented for the Intermediate
Examination in 1957. The Brother’s residence on site was complete at the end of
1958. The Catholic Community of this area owes a great debt to the man who put
the school on such a firm footing in all ways.
Brother
Ronald Blythe, Principal 1977 to 1980 led the school into the Silver Jubilee
celebrations in 1978. Brother Salvius replaced Brother Ronald in 1981 commencing
a very significant period as Principal during which he did so much to maintain
and develop the already strong family spirit of Penshurst Marist.. The funeral
that followed his death in August 1989 was marked by a quite amazing display of
emotion and affection, and was a fitting tribute to a Brother who had
contributed greatly to the development of so many young men at Penshurst Marist
whose lives he had touched.
With
the encouragement of the Catholic Archdiocesan Educational authorities, a new
Technology and Applied Studies building was planned in 1998 for completion in
1999. Refurbishment of the present TAS area to allow increased scope for the
flourishing Music Department will improve the general accommodation greatly.
This project will also coincide with an ongoing expansion of the Computer
Technology Department. The Parents and Friends Association, with the support of
the school community, has contributed financially to the ongoing development in
the 90s through their ten highly successful Art and Craft Exhibitions.