A new building has been unveiled at St Bede's Catholic College, Chisholm which features modern science, hospitality, STEM and art rooms.
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The Dominic Building's opening marks the completion of stage two of St Bede's four-stage expansion.
St Bede's Catholic College principal John Murphy said the building's design and finishings will provide students and staff with contemporary learning environments that support all students.
The building features a science centre with four modern science labs, a large cluster open learning centre and small breakout spaces.
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It also features a food centre with state-of-the-art food technology and hospitality rooms as well as a cafeteria, and an art centre with interconnected art rooms and a large STEM room.
The third stage of St Bede's Catholic College is currently under construction, and the fourth and final stage is expected to be complete in 2024.
When complete, it will enable St Bede's to enrol up to 1200 students across years seven to 12.
Guests and members of the school community gathered on Tuesday morning as the Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle's administrator Fr Greg Barker celebrated the blessing of the new building.
Guests to the college included Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle chief executive officer Sean Scanlon, the Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle director of schools Gerard Mowbray, state member for Maitland Jenny Aitchison, Commonwealth Building Grants Authority director of capital resources and planning Kevin Morrison, deputy mayor of Maitland City Council, Mitchell Griffin and parish priest Fr George Anthicadu.
Following the blessing ceremony which featured an Acknowledgement of Country and performances by students, guests took a tour of the building.
Director of catholic schools in the Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle Gerard Mowbray acknowledged the support the Diocese received for the development.
We are grateful to the NSW government who provided $7 million towards the project, distributed via the Catholic Block Grant Authority," he said
We are also very appreciative of the contributions made by families across the Diocese, who through their generous support enable us to create contemporary learning environments that enrich students' learning experience and wellbeing."
Chief executive officer of the Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle Sean Scanlon said the Diocese first had the vision to build what has now become St Bedes Catholic College and co-located St Aloysius Primary School and St Nicholas Early Education 10 years ago, when the site was just a paddock with roaming cows.
We intentionally sought to support the education and pastoral needs of the growing Chisholm community by co-locating an early education centre, primary school and secondary school together on a greenfields site," he said.
It was thought that this planning approach would enable children and young people to become physically familiar with the next stage in their educational journey, promote relationship building between education communities, and ultimately support students' learning and social framework.
I am immensely proud of our college and very thankful for the support we continue to receive from the Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle, our students, staff, families and the wider community.
