Not only are student numbers more than 50 per cent higher, but two multi-million dollar building projects have improved facilities for its community and a third construction project, creating six new classrooms for year two and three pupils, will be finished in the next few months.

On Friday Mr Bissinella farewelled the St Francis Xavier community after more than eight years as principal as he prepares to move to Bendigo as a principal consultant with Catholic Education Sandhurst.

"I'll be working with principals and supporting them in running their schools," Mr Bissinella said.

"It's an opportunity for me to use the experience that I've had from the wonderful students at St Francis Xavier, and at St Mary's in Swan Hill before that, and to share that with other principals."

When Mr Bissinella arrived at St Francis Xavier in Ballarat East the school had 340 pupils and with significant demand for places he and the school board decided to increase enrolment which now sits at 463 children which is expected to grow even further next year to between 480 and 500 which will be capacity and make it Ballarat's largest Catholic primary school.

"It has grown significantly with a lot of new children, a lot of new families and a lot of new staff to support that growth and we have also had to grow the physical environment in that time."

While the past two years have been challenging for the entire community it has been particularly challenging in schools with remote learning and often only a few hours notice for teachers to switch from face-to-face classes to online lessons.

"Our community responded beautifully to that challenge. Our staff, families and children had wonderful support through that time but we worked very hard at making sure communication was strong and keeping everyone in the loop.

"Everyone realised, at whatever capacity they were working in, that everyone was experiencing difficulties, challenges and ... working in a new space so there was a bit of give and understanding."

IN OTHER NEWS

Mr Bissinella said first term this year had been particularly tough for year one and two students, who had been in prep and grade one through the pandemic, because it was their first full term at school for two years.

"It was a long term as well and there was a lot of resilience needed, but they stepped up. It did take a little while to get back in to routine but they're flying now."

In response to the particular challenges these year levels face because of their disrupted early years at school, St Francis Xavier Primary has employed a full-time junior school leader to support grades one and two and identify any gaps.

Mr Bissinella said he would miss the sense of community, hospitality and the tranquil and peaceful setting of the school.

Deputy principal Jane Clark will be interim principal until a new principal is appointed.

If you are seeing this message you are a loyal digital subscriber to The Courier, as we made this story available only to subscribers. Thank you very much for your support and allowing us to continue telling Ballarat's story. We appreciate your support of journalism in our great city.