St Mary’s Fund for students in need 

St Mary’s joins five other local schools that have endowment funds with Sunrise; Campion College, Gisborne Boys High School, Gisborne Intermediate School, Makaraka School and Wainui Beach School.  

Helen McGuigan, St Mary’s principal, says the school is delighted the fund has been established and would like to acknowledge the wonderful generosity of the parishioners responsible. 

“The fund gives us the flexibility of options in the future. We can accept the grant from it each year, or instead choose to reinvest and grow the fund further.”  

Helen says it’ll be exciting in the future if former students, staff, or extended family members support the fund with a donation or leave a legacy towards it. 

The spokesperson for the donor group says, “The gift is intended to help those children in greatest need, supporting children from families who are struggling financially to participate fully in the life of the school.” 

“It can be used to support children in spiritual, academic, cultural or sporting activities of school life, with the school selecting who will benefit each year.”  

St Mary’s is a state-integrated Catholic school of approximately 220 students. St. Mary’s School wants all its students to reach their full potential by becoming confident and capable learners who share the love of Jesus. 

All donations to the St Mary’s Catholic Primary School Endowment Fund will be invested, protected, and grown to keep up with inflation. The surplus investment income will be returned to St Mary’s every year forever.