Principal’s Message
History
In 1933, St Jerome’s was established by Father Eris O’Brien, parish priest of Bankstown, who arranged for the Sisters of St Joseph to staff St Jerome’s Catholic Primary School Punchbowl. Sr Grace Murphy, the first principal, enrolled 129 primary school boys and girls.
By 1949, the facilities could not accommodate the 440 students so a new school and hall were built on the same parish block. The new wing was later called O’Brien house after Father Eris O’Brien, who by then had been promoted to be Archbishop of Canberra and Goulburn.
In 1959, a second storey of five classrooms was installed and the St Jerome’s pupils were taught by eight Sisters and two lay teachers, meaning that there must have been an average of 70 per class. Leadership remained with the Josephite Sisters until December 2003 when Mrs Christine McRae was appointed as the first lay principal.
Today St Jerome’s is a modern centre of learning which continues to operate within the Archdiocese of Sydney administered by Sydney Catholic Schools.
We value and continue our ongoing connection to the Josephite Sisters and aspire, in the words of St Mary of the Cross Mackillop to, ‘never see a need without doing something about it.’ We also seek to live by the words of Australia’s patron saint ‘we must teach more by example than by word’.
Love and service are part of the ethos of St Jerome’s Catholic Primary School Punchbowl. We have a high expectation that all staff, students and parents work cooperatively to make a positive contribution to the life of the school and to give their best.
The school motto is ‘Proclaim the Word’, through word and action.
Our Mission
“Together in faith, engaging hearts, inspiring excellence”
We exist to educate children in the Catholic faith by modeling the Gospel in thought, word and action.
We use a holistic approach to education (focusing on spiritual, academic, emotional, social and physical development) so that children achieve their full potential.
We encourage the active involvement of parents in the life of the school and in the educational wellbeing of their children.
Through the example of St Mary MacKillop, we strive to serve each other and to participate fully as members of our multicultural community.
Our Vision
St Jerome’s Catholic Primary School Punchbowl is a Catholic primary school inspiring excellence in all students from Kindergarten to Year 6.
Our Values
Teaching and learning about the Catholic faith is central to what we do at St Jerome’s. We celebrate Jesus in our lives and use the values that flow from these teachings to build our relationship with God.
The role of the parents, parish priest and parish community is vital to the faith development of the child. It is within this wide community of believers that our students grow spiritually.
St Jerome’s Catholic Primary School Punchbowl and parish community are committed to maintaining a genuine partnership where all families are welcomed and supported in strengthening their faith lives.
We are very much a multicultural parish, gifted with a wide variety of backgrounds, traditions, languages and cultures where we truly see diversity and harmony coexisting.
The school is also directly involved in supporting those in need in our local community and our families demonstrate a strong desire to give back to the community and work in partnership with various charities.
The Sacramental program is lead by the Parish Sacramental team and is supported by our school staff.
Our shared parish and school motto is ‘Proclaim the Word”’which we, as a parish community, strive to live through both word and action as we bring Christ to others.
Parish Priest
Fr Joseph Gedeon
Mass Times
- Tuesday to Saturday: 9.00am
- Wednesday: 9.00am, 7.00pm
- Saturday: 6.00pm (Vigil)
- Sunday: 8.00am, 10.00am (including Children’s Liturgy), 11:00am (Italian)
Confession Times
- Saturday: 9.30am, 5.15pm
- Wednesday: 7.30pm (followed by Holy Hour)
Address: 2 Turner St, Punchbowl NSW 2196
Phone: (02) 9709 3223
Email: pp@stjerome.org.au
Website: www.stjerome.org.au