Mount St. Joseph Girls' College is a Catholic Girls College located in Maidstone Street, Altona, Victoria,

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 ...

. Mount St. Joseph Girls’ College is one of few schools in Australia that is a Josephite college, founded by the Josephite Order in 1964.

History

Beginnings

In the early 1960s, the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart made plans for a school for young women in the western suburbs of Melbourne. The school was built in Altona West and opened in February 1964. The logo at Mount St Joseph Girls' College is a white lily, and the College motto is 'Virtue Courage'.Mount St Joseph Girls' College Website

Previous principals

The College has seen 10 principals since its foundation, 7 of which were Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart: * Mary John Forster RSJ (Founding Principal): 1964–1967 * Romuald Pierce RSJ: 1967–1970 * Anne O'Brien RSJ: 1971 * Nora Finucane RSJ: 1971–1973 * Giovanni Farquer RSJ: 1974–981 * Margaret Blampied RSJ: 1982–1985 * Helen T Reed RSJ: 1986–2002 * Regina Byrne: 2002–2008 * Catherine Dillon: 2008–2015 * Kate Dishon: 2016–present

Sport

There are 6 house colours for sport days and college events, which are:

PENOLA (yellow)

Named after the town in South Australia where Mary MacKillop and Julian Tenison Woods established the order of the

Sisters of St Joseph The Sisters of St. Joseph, also known as the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph, abbreviated CSJ or SSJ, is a Roman Catholic religious congregation of women founded in Le Puy-en-Velay, France, in 1650. This congregation, named for ...

and the first Josephite school.

KINCUMBER (blue)

Named after the town north of Sydney, where the Sisters of St Joseph opened an orphanage for street children in 1887.

McCORMACK (green)

Named after Irene McCormack who worked in the village of Huasihuasi, Peru and was fatally shot by members of a guerilla rebel group on 21 May 1991.

SOLOMON (red)

Named after Emmanuel Solomon, a wealthy Jewish philanthropist who generously supported the poor and disadvantaged.

CAMERON (orange)

Named after Mary MacKillop's relatives, the Cameron's, whom she was governess for when she moved to Penola at the age of 18.

PROVIDENCE (purple)

During the early years of the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart's work across Australia, the Sisters established a number of Houses of Providence. These houses served as a refuge for young women and children who did not have access to a safe home or food.

Homerooms

Students are in house colour orientated classes in year 7. Mixed in year 8 as well as year 9. In the senior year levels (10–12) students are divided into homerooms based on their house colour, then divided into three groups, such as Cameron 1, Cameron 2, and Cameron 3.

Curriculum

Mount St Joseph Girls' College has a various selection of subjects from years 7–12 which include the following: * Accounting * Art * Biology * Business Management * Chemistry * Drama * English * English Language * English Literature * English as an Additional Language * Food and Technology * French * Further Mathematics * Health & Human Development * Humanities ** Feminism ** History ** Geography ** Civics and Citizenship ** Women in Politics * Information Technology * International Studies * Italian * Japanese * * Religion and Society * Laboratory Skills * Legal Studies * Maths Methods * Media * Music * Outdoor Education * Physical Education * Physics * Psychology * Specialist Mathematics * Text & Traditions * Textiles & Design Multimedia * Visual Communications, and more.

Size and future

In 2021, Mount St. Joseph Girls' College has approximately 1135 students and over 130 staff, and maintains steady numbers through drawing from Catholic feeder schools throughout Melbourne, which stretches from Footscray and Yarraville to the east and city areas such as: Hoppers Crossing, Point Cook, Altona Meadows, Altona and Werribee in the west. There are usually waiting lists for enrolment to the school. MSJ has made a lot of changes in the past years including new outdoor seating areas, a Performing Arts Centre for drama and music, a student cafe, an athletics track, and a new Science and Technology Centre. As of 2021, there has been major developments in building facilities, prompting open and education-focused classrooms Mount St. Joseph Girls' College has a strong emphasis on community, and as such, encourages past students to keep in contact through the website and facebook pages.

Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE)

Mount St. Joseph Girls' College offers a full range of VCE subjects. The students statistically, tend to do well in the VCE when compared to other schools in Altona.

References

External links

Official site
{{Alliance of Girls' Schools Australasia schools, state=collapsed Girls' schools in Victoria (state) Catholic secondary schools in Melbourne Educational institutions established in 1964 1964 establishments in Australia Alliance of Girls' Schools Australasia Buildings and structures in the City of Hobsons Bay