St Anthony’s Primary School, Millicent, recently opened a Sacred Space in their school grounds. It is a space that combines their commitment to expressing their Catholic identity and environmental sustainability. The project was conceived in late 2013 as part of a project to further strengthen the Catholic tradition of the school. With the importance of prayer experiences already established in the school’s culture and a greater awareness of environmental stewardship, the idea for a Sacred Space was a project that grew very organically.
“This space embodies what is at the core of who we are as a community at Saint Anthony’s. It celebrates who we are: the respect that we have for all of life, whether it be person, plant or animal. It has not been designed to be something that we look at, but a space that all members of our school community are encouraged to use. It is a place to pray, reflect, still the heart, mind and soul, enjoy nature and a place just to be,” said St Anthony’s Environmental Sustainability Coordinator and project manager, Julian Rebellato.
From the time the first piece of ground was broken, to its opening, the students have been involved in as much of the project as possible. The ownership of the space by the students was an essential vision. All plants, mulch and path were put in place by the students. Over the course of the construction, every student in the school had an involvement.
The space has been designed to reflect the culture and identity of the school. Almost all of the natural materials have been sourced from local areas and all plants, except two Lisbon Lemon trees (Lisbon is the birthplace of St Anthony) are indigenous to the local area, or native to Australia, further increasing the biodiversity of the school grounds. To enter the space, students walk through a ‘gate’ which has two quotes from significant school figures: St Anthony,“Let your words teach and your action speak,” and St Mary of the Cross MacKillop, “Never see a need without doing something about it”. These were selected for their message of action which is a point of reflection for all members of the community. At the entrance people are met by a crucifix pond, symbolic of the life giving properties of water and of Christ. Taking inspiration from the prayer experience of the mandala, the path is circular which leads to the centre for reflection where students meet face to face with a mirror and then view the image of God in themselves.
With the space only being open for a few weeks, the students have been eager to use it as a place of stillness during their recess and lunch breaks. It has also been used for class prayer experiences. From an environmental perspective, there has already been a noticeable increase in the insect and birdlife that has visited as well as a couple of frogs which have made the pond their home.
Four Catholic schools across South Australia have been awarded $6.34 million in grants for capital works to improve learning spaces, increase opportunities for disadvantaged students and cater for more diverse learning needs.
The State Government grants — $6.34 million for Catholic schools and $6.38 million for independent schools — are for building projects to commence over the next year.
Introduced in 2018 to ensure all students have access to a first-class education, the latest funding under the scheme has been approved for four projects at Catholic schools and 103 smaller projects at independent schools.
