St Anthony's Picton
A Catholic Parish Primary School
Picton is a small picturesque town in the Macarthur Region of New South Wales, in the Wollondilly Shire. It is located 80 km south-west of Sydney. Rich in fine heritage architecture, Picton also has many cafes, arts and craft shops.
Mary MacKillop had a great sense of mission. She had an inner drive which convinced her the best thing a human being could do, was to seek and follow God's will for their lives. Mary had a motto, "Never see an evil without trying to remedy it." The most obvious need was the lack of education for the rural poor. Thus, the establishment of free schools, especially for children of the outback became the primary means by which early Josephites endeavoured to create an environment in which God's news of love could be heard and responded to.
The Sisters of St Joseph arrived in the parish of Picton in May, 1880, and on 16 May Sisters Veronica Champion and Stephanie opened the Primary School of St Anthony's. Sr.Veronica wrote to Mary MacKillop saying. "I like this place … it is very beautiful. I expect to have a good school before long. The people are extremely kind."
Our school honours and proudly celebrates our Josephite tradition.
Read more about What We Offer at St Anthony's and Take a Virtual Tour of our school.
Catholic schools have a long and proud history in the Australian educational landscape. Originally established by orders of brothers, nuns and priests in the nineteenth century, they are now almost entirely staffed and led by lay people.
Catholic systemic schools in the Diocese of Wollongong are either parish primary schools like St Anthony's, or diocesan secondary or K-12 schools. They are all co-educational schools. (The diocese also has another seven independent congregational secondary schools, some of which offer single-sex education.)
Catholic schools have a unique character because as well as being places where learning is highly valued, they are places where priority is given to a values-based education in the Catholic faith. This involves all staff and students proclaiming the Good News of Jesus Christ to the world. Staff identify strongly with their school and take pride in their work and the school’s achievements.
Visit the Catholic Education Diocese of Wollongong (CEDoW) website here