St Gerard’s Parish school was founded by the Parramatta Sisters of Mercy. The school was commenced in 1964, a red brick building consisting of three classrooms. The project was undertaken by Parish and community volunteers.
Sister Mary Norbert was the first school principal and was assisted by two lay teachers. A mothers club was formed and a huge amount of time, patience and hard work was needed as this fledgling school slowly took shape. Later that year Sister Le Merci (Patricia) was appointed Principal and established a syllabus and structure to the growing school. Until Father Nolan purchased a small car for the use of the nuns, the parents had provided a roster to meet the daily transport needs of the sisters, between Parramatta and Carlingford.
The growth of the school was rapid and further building projects were done (again mainly from parent volunteers), in 1967, 1968 and in 1969 the playground was levelled and asphalt laid down in some sections. By 1975 enrolments reached 511 and were taught by three Sisters of Mercy and fourteen lay teachers.
In 2007 the parishes of Epping and Carlingford amalgamated to form the Parish of Epping and Carlingford. This was done under the pastoral guidance of Father Colin Blayney. This historical event was celebrated with a combined mass between the two parishes and a picnic followed to commemorate the occasion. Each year the two schools of the combined parishes, Our Lady Help of Christians Epping and St Gerard’s Carlingford, come together to celebrate this union.
The tradition of service and support for the school is still evident in our school culture today. We owe much to the Sisters of Mercy, our parish priests and to the parish people for their tireless work and compassionate service to St Gerard’s school. We can be proud of their contribution and only hope that we never lose that sense of ‘service to’ and ‘love of’ school, that our past generation displayed, when they built the first St Gerard’s school building all those years ago.