McCarthy Catholic College: name change for Emu Plains school
The western Sydney school will be named after a historic pioneering Catholic family after a startling move by the Catholic Education office.
Penrith
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A 30 year history of education at McCarthy Catholic College in Emu Plains will end this year following a decision to change the name of the school by the Catholic Education office.
On Wednesday morning, staff and students of the school were informed of the decision to rename it to Penola Catholic College, paying tribute to “education pioneer, St Mary of the Cross MacKillop”.
A Catholic Education spokeswoman revealed the name change exclusively with the Penrith Press.
“Penola is the place where St Mary of the Cross Mackillop and Father Julian Tenison-Woods started a school, beginning their work of extending the opportunities of education to thousands of Australian children and young people, she said.
“The announcement that the school will be called Penola Catholic College from 2020 follows considerable reflection among the school community.
“The history of the college and the McCarthy name will continue to be recognised and acknowledged in a variety of ways.”
College principal Tania Cairns said the school “draws strength” from values and example of St Mary MacKillop.
“Our learning community looks to the life of this strong woman and her work in education for inspiration,” Ms Cairns said.
“We’re very proud of the strong reputation the college is developing for learning and teaching in the Penrith and Lower Mountains areas.”
McCarthy Catholic College was originally named after the Irish-born pioneering family of the same name, who built a homestead in Cranebrook and secretly housed the Catholic faith during a time when the religion was considered illegal.
The McCarthy Family, who are buried in a private cemetery a short distance from the school near their original homestead, were considered to have helped “kept the faith alive” at a time when the population of Sydney had no Catholic priest from 1808 to 1818.
The school website said the McCarthy’s were “real” people of faith, “they believed in hard work, they were survivors who took risks”.
“All in all they were the personification of the school’s motto of Integrity, Justice and Peace and the reason for the college’s name.”
The school was established in 1986 as a senior secondary college and became a comprehensive Year 7 to 12 school in 1999 a trade training school was established at the college in 2010.
The move by the Catholic Education Office comes as The McCarthy Trade Training Centre becomes separated from the school, re-established as part of the Parramatta Diocese new CathWest Innovation College structure.
McCarthy is the only Catholic school in NSW to be part of the prestigious P-TECH program, students have the opportunity to benefit from strong community and business partnerships with Telstra, PricewaterhouseCoopers and Western Sydney University.
