In the year 2000 Australia was gearing up to host the Olympic games, the Y2K bug hadn’t materialised in the way we all imagined and in the outer northern suburbs you could purchase a house and land package from $59,000. It was also the year St Stephen’s School broke ground for the Carramar campus, with ambitious plans to welcome students from Pre-Primary to Year 8 in 2001.
For those already living in the area a letterbox drop alerted families to the new school development. Current Carramar librarian Tracey Burbidge was one such resident and she remembers walking over to the construction site and wondering aloud to her husband if the school would be ready for the 2001 school year. At the time the closest school to Carramar was in Wanneroo and the thought of being able to walk their kids to school was too tempting and Tracey’s kids were quickly enrolled.
Despite being in the suburb of Tapping, the School was named St Stephen’s School, Carramar because then Principal Rev. Gavin Collinson preferred the sound of Carramar over Tapping and it fell within the boundaries of the Carramar Golf Course Estate. The architects’ preliminary designs were used in promotional adverts for the estate, they feature a fountain that was never built and a simple sand pit where our beautiful Kindergarten now lives.
In just under 12 months the Primary and Technology buildings (which incorporated the canteen) were finished and 600 eager students from Pre-Primary to Year 8 were welcomed for their first day. In an article from the Community Newspaper dated February 13, 2001, Deputy Principal of Primary Mr Phil Ridden explained that one of the first ways the School planned on fostering community was to host a sleepover for the entire primary school with kids from Pre-Primary through to Year 7 all staying the night.
Our current Deputy Head of Primary (Care) Madame Pilote has vivid memories of watching the campus grow, one building at a time, “There was a real sense of excitement and anticipation as each new space slowly came to life. I especially remember when the Library was built, it felt incredible. Before that, our Library was in what is now the Drama room in the Tech Hub, so moving into such a large, purpose-built space was very special. Then, as each of the Houses came up, you could feel the excitement and House spirit building across the school.”
For Madame Pilote the construction of the Gym in 2007 felt like the cherry on top of a sundae however one image that always warms her heart is the pathway between Charis and the Primary building, “I remember when the trees were just thin little sticks, and now they’ve grown into this beautiful archway. It’s such a lovely reflection of how far we’ve come.” She goes on to say “While our facilities have grown and evolved significantly over the years, what has remained constant is the spirit and values at the heart of our School. That’s what has always made this place so special, and a big reason why I’m still here today.”
This year our Carramar campus celebrates 25 years, the tiny saplings have grown into beautiful trees providing a calm and inspirational place of learning for our students, now and for the future.
