McCarthy Catholic College name change: fight to save school’s history
A campaign to save the name of McCarthy Catholic College has already seen more people sign the petition than students enrolled at the school.
Penrith
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Past and present students, parents and a secret team of passionate teachers at McCarthy Catholic College in Emu Plains have banned together to call on the Catholic Education Office to backflip on plans to rename the school.
Last week, the Penrith Press revealed the 33-year-old school’s name would be changed by the Catholic Education Office to Penola Catholic College in an effort to pay tribute to education pioneer, St Mary of the Cross MacKillop.
The announcement sparked fierce backlash from shocked parents and students, claiming the move was a “pointless money-wasting scheme”.
More than 900 people have signed a petition calling for the name change to be scrapped, including one of the school’s first students, Elizabeth McKervey.
“My whole family have signed the petition to stop this madness,” Ms McKervey told the Press.
“I was in one of the inaugural classes of the school — the families of the first year groups actually helped pick the name to pay tribute to the birth of the Catholic faith in Penrith.
“There was heaps of community engagement around the name — it meant something to us — so I think that is why people have become so upset by this change.
“This is a school that has been around for 30 years and has an interesting history: we spent weeks on site in tents and sat through horrendous temperatures and rain to see this school come to life. It was all part of the school’s story.”
Ms McKervey said more than 30 years of history will soon disappear.
“There are generations of families that have all attended this school and this is like a slap in the face to the community and the heritage of the McCarthy family,” she said.
“They risked punishment or death for their crimes to secretly house the Catholic faith and now their names are being disregarded.
“Why was it such a guarded decision-making process with no community consultation?”
A McCarthy Catholic College teacher, who did not want to be named, said long-serving staff at the school were outraged by the decision.
“Teachers were notified about an hour before students were told and we’re divided over the name change,” the staff member said.
“We heard rumours the executive wanted to change the name just a few weeks ago from a parent forum regarding the separation of the Trade Training Centre.
“At the time, they proposed the reimagining of McCarthy but didn’t mention the name change — there was never an actual discussion with staff.”
The teacher said the school was “authentically western Sydney and Emu Plains”.
“There are more people rallying against this name change than the total number of students in attendance at the school,” the teacher said.
“We are proud of our name and worked hard to excel in our community and that dedication will be unwaivered.
“We are being forced to throw away history.”
A Catholic Education Office spokeswoman said the school would be known as Penola Catholic College from 2020.
“The history of the college and the McCarthy name will continue to be recognised and acknowledged at Penola Catholic College as well as at the McCarthy campus of CathWest Innovation College,” she said.
“From 2021, the college will gradually transition to a new uniform over three years.
“The college is committed to ensuring that current families are not disadvantaged by the change.
“As always, families who require financial assistance with any costs associated with schooling are encouraged to contact the school for support.”
To join the campaign against the name change, search McCarthy Catholic College on change.org.