Parish school
The necessity for a Russian parish school in Geelong was felt from the very arrival of Russians there after the Second World War. In the beginning, when the parish was not yet established, children performed around a Christmas tree near the newly constructed church. But the formal establishment of the school began in 1962.
The school was placed in the shed which was constructed and used as temporary premises for church services and then as a library. The shed was partitioned off into three classrooms.
The priest, Father Nikolay (Ostianko), was the head of the school. He taught the Law of God. Vecheslav Alekseevich Strokov and Doctor Gavril Stratulat taught Russian history. Lessons in other subjects were conducted by Antonina Efimovna Kulikova and Anastasia Michaelovna Kozulina. Vera Aleksandrovna Bochkaerova and Antonina Innokent'evna Kichakov worked at the school in later years.
The shed was later demolished and a new brick school, comprising of four classrooms was constructed under the watch of father Michael (Protopopov). A memorial plaque decorated with a frame declares: "This school is built in the Glory of God for children of the parish of the Joy of All Who Sorrow of the city of Geelong and was consecrated by His Grace Feodosiy, the Archbishop of Sydney, Australia and New Zealand and Father Michael Protopopov, and was officially opened on the fourth day of Easter, 25th April 1979. The school was constructed by the members of parish and the parental committee for the education of our children in the Russian Orthodox spirit."
This school operates to this day.