Principal's Message

St Mary’s is the local Catholic Parish school for the Williamstown precinct.

Our school has a great legacy in the provision of Catholic Education for the children of our local families since 1842 making us the oldest continuously operating school in Victoria.

We are indebted to the many generations of people of St Mary’s Parish who have contributed to create such a rich history. As the current custodians of St Mary’s, our community aspires to ensure a strong foundation for our students in faith, academically and socially. Saint Mary Mackillop had a direct history with the school living in the local area with the Sisters of St Joseph were in charge of the school for close to 100 years.

We value being a key part of the wider Parish community. Our school is very much a part of this vibrant parish. We share social justice projects with the parish St Vincent de Paul Society and Way of the West group along with organisations such as the MacKillop Foundation, Joseph’s Corner and the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre.

Our students are spread across classrooms from Prep to Grade 6. There are specialist teachers covering Physical Education, Dance/Drama, Visual Arts and Italian from Prep to Grade 6. 

Personally, I commenced at the school in 2019, having previously been in schools in diverse places such as Darwin, Alice Springs, Istanbul and London, however the majority of my teaching has been in Melbourne. My philosophy supports the Science of Learning with a systematic structured approach to teaching, particularly for reading and spelling. I am strong advocate for student voice in learning with our grade three to year six students write directly into their school reports with their own comments and self evaluations.

I hope you take the time to visit our school to see our students who we are very proud of.

Anthony Hockey

Principal

2025 Member of the Principal Council for Catholic Primary Schools Victoria.

2024 Flourishing Learners Principal and Teachers Reference Group. Melbourne Archdiocesan Catholic Schools (MACS)

2024 Executive Chairperson  Western Zone Catholic Primary Principal Network (WZCPPN)

2021 - 2024 Executive Group Western Zone Catholic Primary Principal Network (WZCPPN)

2021 Short-listed Menzie's Foundation Educational Leadership Fellowship 

2018 Vice President Australian Catholic Primary Principal Association (ACPPA)

2018 Board Member Australian Primary Principal Association (APPA)

2016-2018 Australian Catholic Principal Representative Australian Curriculum and Reporting Authority (Acara) Parents and Principals Peak National Body  

2014- 2018 National Advisory Council Australian Primary Principals Association