St Michael's Collegiate School

For other schools named after St Michael, see St. Michael's School (disambiguation).
St Michael's Collegiate School

Pro Ecclasia Dei
"For the Church of God"
Beati Mundo Corde
"Blessed are the Pure in Heart"
Location
Hobart, Tasmania
Australia Australia
Coordinates 42°53′17″S 147°19′26″E / 42.88806°S 147.32389°E / -42.88806; 147.32389Coordinates: 42°53′17″S 147°19′26″E / 42.88806°S 147.32389°E / -42.88806; 147.32389
Information
Type Independent, Day & Boarding
Denomination Anglican
(Sisters of the Church)
Established 1892
Chairman Ms Beth Mathison
Principal Judith Tudball
Staff ~80[1]
Gender Girls
Enrolment ~700 (EL-12)[2]
Colour(s) Maroon, Navy & White             
Slogan "Set for Life"
Athletics conference SATIS
Website www.collegiate.tas.edu.au

St Michael's Collegiate School, colloquially known as "Collegiate", is an independent, Anglican, day and boarding school for girls, located in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia.

Established in 1892 by the Sisters of the Church, the school currently enrols approximately 900 students from Early Learning to year 12, including up to 50 boarders in years 5 to 12.[3]

Collegiate's brother school is The Hutchins School, with whom they share their Year 11 and 12 classes and many other brother/sister school activities.

The school is a member of the Alliance of Girls' Schools Australia,[4] the Junior School Heads Association of Australia (JSHAA),[5] the Association of Heads of Independent Schools of Australia (AHISA),[6] the Australian Boarding Schools' Association,[3] and the Association of Independent Schools' of Tasmania.[2] The school was recently accredited by the Council of International Schools.

History

In 1892, at the invitation of Bishop Montgomery, seven Sisters came from the mother house in Kilburn, England, to Tasmania. Of these, three Sisters remained in Tasmania and at the request of Dean Dundas, opened a school for girls and boys in October 1892. Sister Hannah was the principal of the school which had an initial enrolment of 12 children, six boy and six girls. Classes were held in the Synod Hall. The son of Bishop Montgomery was Bernard Montgomery, who attended the school whilst living in Tasmania[7] and went on to be the victorious British Army field marshal in the Second World War organising the D-Day Invasion at Normandy and taking the surrender of Nazi Germany in 1945.

Sister Phyllis became the Principal in 1895, by which time the number of enrolled students had risen to 71, including 6 boarders. To cater for this growth in numbers the school moved to 'Stephenville', a large house in Macquarie Street. 'Stephenville' was built in 1825 for the Solicitor General of Tasmania Sir Alfred Stephen.

During the following decades the School continued to expand, and in 1912 the School purchased the house 'Tremayne', located next door to 'Stephenville'. This provided extra class rooms and accommodation for the senior boarders.

Building of St Michael's Collegiate School, c. 1927.

In these early days the School was known as the Collegiate School. The students did not have a uniform as such, but were required to wear a long dark coloured skirt and a white blouse.

From around 1915 girls who became prefects were presented with a silver brooch in the form of the School emblem. These were worn for the term of office and then handed back to the School to be passed to the next year’s prefects. Sister Phyllis then presented each outgoing prefect with a gold signet ring. At some time during the 1920s some girls began to wear a brooch with the initials C.C.E.S., which stood for Collegiate Church of England School.

In 1929 Tremayne was demolished to make way for a larger, two storey, purpose built building, which housed classrooms downstairs and boarding accommodation upstairs. This new building, also named 'Tremayne' was opened in 1932. Throughout this time the School continued to be run by Sister Phyllis who remained principal until 1933.

In 1937 a summer uniform was introduced. It was very different from the traditional navy blue tunic and black stockings, and much more comfortable to wear in the warmer months. It was a beige coloured tunic. This uniform remained virtually unaltered for over fifty years.

Due in part to the onset of the Second World War, the School did not embark on any further expansion until 1953, by which time the school required separate buildings for a junior school. For this purpose two adjacent houses in Macquarie Street were purchased in 1953. In 1959 a new large Assembly Hall was completed, and not long after a number of new classrooms were added.

In 1973, eighty years after the foundation of the Collegiate Church of England School, the Sisters of the Church handed the responsibility of the running of the School over to a board, and in 1974 the school saw its first lay principal.

House system

As with most Australian schools, St Michael's Collegiate School utilises a house system. The current house system consists of eight houses (Dundas, Kilburn, McPhee, Mitchell, Montgomery (nicknamed Monty), Reibey, Rivers and Stevens). Each year, these houses compete against each other in physical and mental contests for the 'House Cup', donated by the graduating class of 1958. These events include inter-house swimming, debating, house performance/fashion parade and athletics.

Curriculum

Collegiate offers a wide range of subjects. Students up to Year 4 study a core of subjects, including Japanese, specifically designed to prepare them for middle school (Years 5–8). Years 5 to 8 have common teachers whenever possible. In years 5 and 6, in each semester students start learning 1 language to help them choose in year 7 and 8. In Years 7 and 8 students can study two languages other than English, from French, German, Chinese and Latin.

The Senior school (9–12) is designed to prepare students for life after school. Year 9s choose three elective subjects and study a core of Science, English, SoSE, Maths, Faith and Life and Health/Physical Education (HPE). Year 10 students choose three electives each semester, and study the same core subjects as year 9s. Pre-tertiary students (Years 11 and 12) may choose up to five pre-tertiary subjects.

Co-curriculum

Sport

Collegiate offers a wide range of sports (around 30 in 2006). Captains are usually chosen in Years 11 and 12, but in some cases a Year 10 girl is chosen as Captain. Collegiate girls have represented Australia in softball, hockey, soccer, rowing and underwater hockey, and many students represent Tasmania in many sports.

Music

At present Collegiate has an orchestra, stage band, jazz band, various ensembles and choral groups and a School of Performing Arts (SPA) which is a 'school inside a school'.

Notable alumnae

See also

References

  1. "Teacher of Music" (PDF). St Michael's Collegiate School. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2007-09-01.
  2. 1 2 "St Michael's Collegiate School". Association of Independent Schools' of Tasmania. Retrieved 2007-09-01.
  3. 1 2 "St Michael's Collegiate School". Australian Boarding Schools' Association. Archived from the original on 2007-08-29. Retrieved 2007-09-01.
  4. "Member Schools". The Alliance of Girls' Schools Australia. Retrieved 2007-09-01.
  5. "JSHAA Tasmania Directory of Members". Junior School Heads' Association of Australia. 2007. Retrieved 2007-09-01.
  6. "AHISA Schools: Tasmania". Association of Heads of Independent Schools of Australia. April 2007. Archived from the original on 2007-08-29. Retrieved 2007-09-01.
  7. 1 2 "Montgomery". Tasmanian Electoral Commission. Retrieved 2012-04-16.
  8. Suzannah Pearce, ed. (2006-11-17). "Bladel (Fran) Frances, Hon.". Who's Who in Australia Live!. North Melbourne, Vic: Crown Content Pty Ltd. Check date values in: |year= / |date= mismatch (help);
  9. Suzannah Pearce, ed. (2006-11-17). "Fanning Pauline". Who's Who in Australia Live!. North Melbourne, Vic: Crown Content Pty Ltd. Check date values in: |year= / |date= mismatch (help);
  10. Suzannah Pearce, ed. (2006-11-17). "WARN Julie Anne". Who's Who in Australia Live!. North Melbourne, Vic: Crown Content Pty Ltd. Check date values in: |year= / |date= mismatch (help);
  11. Suzannah Pearce, ed. (2006-11-17). "WARNER (Kate) Catherine Ann". Who's Who in Australia Live!. North Melbourne, Vic: Crown Content Pty Ltd. Check date values in: |year= / |date= mismatch (help);
  12. Suzannah Pearce, ed. (2006-11-17). "Watkins Alison Mary". Who's Who in Australia Live!. North Melbourne, Vic: Crown Content Pty Ltd. Check date values in: |year= / |date= mismatch (help);
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 10/18/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.