A Nathalia college has celebrated the opening of the latest addition to its educational facilities.
Students, staff and parents gathered at St Mary of the Angels Secondary College on Monday, August 26, for the opening ceremony of a new building.
The state-of-the-art building, christened ‘Daborra’, includes 10 new classrooms, meeting rooms, and staff offices.
A new library, outdoor performance areas and music and drama precinct are also part of the facility.
A total of five portable classrooms were removed to make way for the extensive refurbishment and construction works.
The project, which was jointly funded by the Federal Government under the Capital Grants Program, came with a price tag of about $4.3 million.
Notable dignitaries attended the event, with the Most Reverend Shane Mackinlay, Bishop of the Diocese of Sandhurst, and Senator Raff Ciccone officiating the ceremony.
St Mary of the Angels Secondary College principal Matt Carver said the project was the college’s largest to date.
“It was wonderful to be able to celebrate the completion of our new middle school building project, Daborra, with all of the contributors who have made it possible,” Mr Carver said.
“We are on track to realising our long-term plan for permanent state-of-the-art year level buildings.”
The name Daborra is fitting for the project, which Mr Carver said invites students to deepen their knowledge of Australia’s First Peoples.
“The name ‘Daborra’ comes from the Yorta Yorta word for pathway or journey and is not only a direct link with our Year 9 Aboriginal Immersion Program, but is indicative of the formative middle years which are so crucial in our young people’s development.”
St Mary of the Angels Secondary College business manager Liam Bourke said while the project was many years in the making, the construction itself took just one year to reach completion.