The amazing, yet elusive group known as the ‘SCEA Pioneers’ came together on Friday 3 December 2021 at the Old Midland Courthouse to re-create the first meeting of prospective SCEA parents.
It was in August of 1981 that a group of close to 50 individuals met in the heart of Midland with the aim of opening a Christian school. On Friday, 30 of those original meeting attendees were present to celebrate forty years of SCEA schooling.
Selected students from SCEA schools were present to talk to the Pioneers about their modern-day SCEA schooling, bringing together generations of SCEA students and parents.
SCEA’s Chief Executive Officer addressed the group, saying that the ‘sacrifices that have been made by this group in order to provide Christian schooling for young people have been immense.’
The founder of the first SCEA school (Midland Christian School, now Swan Christian College: Junior Campus) Mrs Joan Grosser also spoke to the gathered crowd, echoing the pledge made back in 1981 to ‘create a school where all children knew that they were made in the image of God.’
This occasion marked the first time that some of these parents had been in the same room after so many years apart. Their stories are diverse, with many setting off to different parts of Western Australia, the eastern states or even overseas after their children had completed a SCEA education.
As part of this celebration of SCEA history, a commemorative video of the day is being created and will be shown at SCEA events in 2022 and then available online for viewing.
Photos from the occasion are shown below:
