Together with St Mary’s Parish, they work closely to provide the academic, spiritual, emotional, social and physical needs of all students.

And, this week, members of the school community proved just that – travelling to the Sacred Heart Cathedral in Hamilton to be part of the 2018 Catholic Schools Office Called to Serve Mass.

In a very exciting achievement for the school, St Mary’s Scone received the Monsignor Coolahan Award for Community, demonstrating that they have an excellent partnership between the school and parish community. 

“This is a prestigious award and something we are all very proud of,” St Mary’s Primary School principal Kim Wilson said. 

“We were chosen out of 52 schools in the Maitland and Newcastle diocese.

“We attend the mass once a year where a couple of awards are presented – but this is the only community award, so it’s a pretty big achievement.

“It’s the first time the school has received an award of its kind and it’s recognition of our contribution to having a school community spirit through interactions with the parish and with the community, the school and organisations within the town.”

St Mary’s encourages their students to play a positive role in the community, through joining local groups such as the Upper Hunter Youth Council, hosting and supporting various events to raise funds across the local community and their involvement with the St Vincent’s de Paul society – conducting annual winter and Christmas appeals. 

In addition, St Mary’s students regularly visit the residents of Strathearn Village Nursing Home and in the past few years have been heavily involved with the Where there’s A Will foundation, supporting mental health education in the Upper Hunter.

The award comes at a fitting time, as 2017 marked the 130^th anniversay of catholic education within the Scone community. 

“It includes $1000 which will go towards a community event to celebrate,” Ms Wilson said. 

“It’s great recognition for the work that we do and we do it without wanting the recognition but it’s a chance to share that with Scone.”