, motto_translation = While I Live, I Trust in the Cross , established = , type =

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

comprehensive single-sex primary and secondary day and

boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. As they have existed for many centuries, and now exten ...

, denomination =

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

, religious_affiliation =

Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary The Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary, whose members are commonly known as the Loreto Sisters, is a Roman Catholic religious congregation of women dedicated to education founded in Saint-Omer by an Englishwoman, Mary Ward, in 1609. The cong ...

or Loreto Sisters , gender =

Girls A girl is a young female human, usually a child or an adolescent. When a girl becomes an adult, she is accurately described as a ''woman''. However, the term ''girl'' is also used for other meanings, including ''young woman'',Dictionary.c ...

, slogan = Growing Individuals and Communities , principal = Marina Ugonotti , chairman = , chaplain = Kerry McCullough , location =

Normanhurst Normanhurst is a suburb in the Northern Sydney region, or Upper North Shore of Sydney in the state of New South Wales, Australia, 22 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of Hornsby Sh ...

, upper North Shore of

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, country = Australia , coordinates = , pushpin_map = Australia Sydney , pushpin_image = , pushpin_mapsize = 240 , pushpin_map_alt = , pushpin_map_caption = Location in greater metropolitan Sydney , pushpin_label = , pushpin_label_position = top , module = , enrolment = , enrolment_as_of = 2007 , grades_label = Years , grades = 5– 12Loreto Normanhurst- About
(accessed:26-05-2007) , staff = ~200Loreto Normanhurst Annual Report 2006
(accessed:15-08-2007) , colours = Navy blue and yellow , homepage = , affiliations = Loreto Normanhurst is an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, primary and secondary day and

for

girls A girl is a young female human, usually a child or an adolescent. When a girl becomes an adult, she is accurately described as a ''woman''. However, the term ''girl'' is also used for other meanings, including ''young woman'',Dictionary.c ...

, located in

, a suburb on the upper North Shore of

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. Established in 1897, Loreto has a current enrolment of approximately 1,175 students from

Year 5 Year 5 is an educational year group in schools in many countries including England, Wales, Australia and New Zealand. It is usually the fifth year of compulsory education and incorporates students aged between nine and eleven however some childre ...

to Year 12, including approx. 185 boarders, and is the largest girls' boarding school in New South Wales.Loreto Normanhurst- Information Booklet
(accessed:16-06-2007) In 2006, the school was named among the top ten innovative schools in Australia. Commencing in 2015, the school reopened their primary school for girls in years 5 and 6. Loreto Normanhurst is affiliated with the Association of Heads of Independent Schools of Australia (AHISA), the Association of Independent Schools of New South Wales (AISNSW), the Australian Boarding Schools' Association (ABSA), the Alliance of Girls' Schools Australasia (AGSA), and is a member of the

Association of Heads of Independent Girls' Schools The Association of Heads of Independent Girls' Schools (AHIGS), is an association for independent girls' schools, based in North Ryde, New South Wales, Australia. Established in 1916 as The Association of Head Mistresses of New South Wales, t ...

(AHIGS). The school is one of many around the world established by the

, or Loreto Sisters, founded some 400 years ago by

Mary Ward Mary Ward may refer to: Scientists and academics * Mary Ward (nurse) (1884–1972) English nurse to the boat people on the waterways * Mary Ward (scientist) (née King, 1827–1869) Irish amateur scientist, was killed by an experimental steam car ...

, and its Sydney

sister school A sister school is usually a pair of schools, usually single-sex school, one with female students and the other with male students. This relationship is seen to benefit both schools. For instance, when Harvard University was a male-only school, Rad ...

Loreto Kirribilli Loreto Kirribilli is an independent Roman Catholic comprehensive single-sex primary and secondary day school for girls, located in Kirribilli, a Lower North Shore suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Established at Milsons Poi ...

. There are five other Loreto schools across Australia, in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

Ballarat Ballarat ( ) is a city in the Central Highlands (Victoria), Central Highlands of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 Census, Ballarat had a population of 116,201, making it the third largest city in Victoria. Estimated resid ...

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

and

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

History

Mother Gonzaga Barry led the Loreto nuns to Sydney from Ballarat,

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

in 1892, establishing a school in rented premises at Randwick. Within five years, the school had grown significantly, and a separate school for the boarders was deemed necessary. Mother Gonzaga's prayers for an appropriate site were answered during a visit to Sydney in 1896, as Mother Oliver explained: LoretoNH1897

This land was purchased, and the foundation stone for the new

convent A convent is a community of monks, nuns, religious brothers or, sisters or priests. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The word is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglic ...

was laid on 28 February 1897 by Cardinal Moran. The school opened late in 1897 as "Loreto Convent, Hornsby" with 15 boarders, many of them girls who had come from Randwick. Although primarily a boarding school at this time, Loreto did accept a small number of day students from the local Hornsby area, including some young boys. Enrolments grew over the following decades; however, the

War War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

s and Depression proved difficult times. Following

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the surrounding shire developed and day girl numbers began to equal that of boarders, gradually overtaking them to the present situation where there are many more day girls than boarders.

Principals

House system

As with most Australian schools, Loreto Normanhurst utilises a house system. The school currently has eight houses, which play an important role in the pastoral program at the school. They are: The houses are an important part of the schools community. To keep the members of the houses together, they make sure the lockers are surrounded by the house mates.

Notable alumnae

* Jenny Brockie – broadcaster * Kate Eastman – human rights lawyer and academic *

Catherine Livingstone Catherine Brighid Livingstone, , (born 17 September 1955) is an Australian businesswoman who has held positions in the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, CSIRO, Macquarie Bank and Telstra. Professional After finishing her degree in 1977, Livingsto ...

– Chair of Telstra

former CEO of Cochlear *

Jessica McNamee Jessica McNamee (born 16 June 1988) is an Australian actress. She rose to fame in Australia playing roles in the Seven Network television programs '' Home and Away'' and ''Packed to the Rafters''. From 2014 to 2015, she starred as patrol officer ...

– actor ''Home and Away'', ''Packed to the Rafters'', ''Battle of the Sexes'', ''The Meg'', ''The Vow'', "Mortal Kombat" *

Clare Martin Clare Majella Martin (born 15 June 1952) is a former Australian journalist and politician. She was elected to the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly in a shock by-election win in 1995. She was appointed Opposition Leader in 1999, and won ...

– CEO of ACOSS, former Chief Minister of the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory ...

Zoe Naylor Zoe Naylor (born 4 July 1977) is an Australian actress, journalist and television presenter. Early life and education Naylor was born in Sydney, Australia to Richard Naylor, a veterinarian, and Neroli, an English and History teacher. She gradu ...

– actor, ''McLeod's Daughters'' *

Victoria Pendergast Victoria "Tori" Pendergast (born 25 January 1991) is an Australian F58 athletics shot put competitor and LW12.1 classified Para-alpine skier. When she competed at the 2014 Winter Paralympics in Sochi, she became Australia's first female ...

– Australian Winter Paralympic skier * Emma Simkin – SBS journalist and reporter * Kimberley Starr – novelist *

Monica Trapaga Monica Maria Trápaga (born 1965) is an Australian entertainment presenter, jazz singer and actress. She was a presenter on the Australian children's series, '' Play School'', from 1990 to 1998; and had provided the vocals to the theme of ''Bana ...

– singer and TV presenter * Montaigne – musician * Gordi - musician * Sophie Dwyer - Giants Netball Player

References

External links

Loreto Normanhurst website
{{Authority control Girls' schools in New South Wales Educational institutions established in 1897 Catholic secondary schools in Sydney Boarding schools in New South Wales Catholic primary schools in Sydney Hornsby Shire Catholic boarding schools in Australia Association of Heads of Independent Girls' Schools 1897 establishments in Australia

Convents in Australia Alliance of Girls' Schools Australasia