, motto_translation = For the Glory of God , 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 ...

single-sex

primary Primary or primaries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Primary (band), from Australia * Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea * Primary Music, Israeli record label Works * ...

and

secondary Secondary may refer to: Science and nature * Secondary emission, of particles ** Secondary electrons, electrons generated as ionization products * The secondary winding, or the electrical or electronic circuit connected to the secondary winding i ...

day and boarding school , denomination =

Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

, religious_affiliation =

Sisters of Mercy The Sisters of Mercy is a religious institute of Catholic women founded in 1831 in Dublin, Ireland, by Catherine McAuley. As of 2019, the institute had about 6200 sisters worldwide, organized into a number of independent congregations. They a ...

, 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 ...

, coordinates = , pushpin_map = Australia Perth , pushpin_image = , pushpin_mapsize = 250 , pushpin_map_alt = , pushpin_map_caption = Location in , Western Australia , pushpin_label = , pushpin_label_position = right , slogan = , principal = Jennifer Oaten , location = Attadale,

Perth, Western Australia 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 ...

, country = Australia , enrolment = ~2000 , enrolment_as_of = 2020 , oversight = , grades = 5– 12 , staff = ~180Santa Maria College- About
(accessed:10-06-2007) , colours = Green, red and white , homepage = , free =

Aquinas College, Perth , motto_translation = Truth ConquersMassam, p. 18 , location = Salter Point, Perth, Western Australia , country = Australia , patron = Saint Thomas Aquinas , coordinates = , pushpin_map = Australia Perth , pushpin_image ...

, free_label = Brother school , affiliation = , athletics = Independent Girls Schools Sports Association Santa Maria College 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 ...

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 ...

single-sex

and

day and boarding school for girls, located in Attadale, a southern suburb of

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 ...

, Western Australia. Established by the

in 1938, the school currently caters for approximately 1,300 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 ...

Year 12 Year 12 is an educational year group in schools in many countries including England and Wales, Northern Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. It is sometimes the twelfth year of compulsory education, or alternatively a year of post-compulsory educa ...

, including 150 boarders. The college is affiliated with the Association of Heads of Independent Schools of Australia (AHISA), the Australian Boarding Schools' Association (ABSA), the

Alliance of Girls' Schools Australasia The Alliance of Girls' Schools Australasia (abbreviated as AGSA) is a non-profit organisation that promotes the education of girls in single-sex girls' schools, and promotes the image of, and support the development of, girls' schools in Australa ...

(AGSA) and the Independent Girls Schools Sports Association (IGSSA). Santa Maria's brother school is Aquinas College located in Salter Point.

History

The College's Mercy heritage and history goes back to the arrival of seven Sisters of Mercy in Perth in 1846. They were led by

Ursula Frayne Ursula Frayne (5 October 1816 – 9 June 1885), born Clara Frayne, was an Irish nun who became a Mother Superior of the Sisters of Mercy and spent her life in missionary work, initially in Canada but largely in Australia developing schools and aca ...

. The Sisters opened their first school on St George's Terrace in February 1846. As enrolments increased, school buildings, including a boarding school, were built in the grounds of the present Mercedes College. As the demand for boarding places increased from country families, the Mercy Superior at the time, Brigid McDonald, and her Council resolved to build a new ladies' college for boarding and day students in the bush land in Attadale. Santa Maria College opened its doors in 1938. The founding principal was Mary Bertrand Corbett. The post-war period brought with it a rapid expansion in residential development around the college. As a result, there was a growth in student numbers and the student population at Santa Maria College changed from primarily boarders to a majority of day students. Today Santa Maria College is a community of 1,300 students from Years 5 to 12.

Governance

Mercy Education Limited (Mercy Education) is the delegated authority, which oversees the operation of the Education ministry of the Institute of Sisters of Mercy of Australia and Papua New Guinea (ISMAPNG). Through its board of directors, Mercy Education is responsible for the governance and operation of eleven Mercy Sponsored Colleges owned by ISMAPNG, including Santa Maria College. Mercy Education is the employer of the principal and staff of twelve Mercy Colleges.

Associations

Santa Maria College is a Catholic Education Office affiliated education provider. It is also affiliated with the Association of Independent Schools of Western Australia. Santa Maria College is a member of the Independent Girls Schools Sporting Association.

Principals

The following individuals have served as Principal of Santa Maria College:

House system

Before the current

house system The house system is a traditional feature of schools in the United Kingdom. The practice has since spread to Commonwealth countries and the United States. The school is divided into subunits called "houses" and each student is allocated to o ...

came into operation the students were divided into teams - which were essentially for sporting carnivals. The houses were initially School (red), Mercian (white), Trinity (Blue), however, as the number of students increased a fourth team was added in 1963 - Xavier (gold) Santa Maria College, as with most Australian schools, utilises a House system. Students are divided into eight Houses, for the purpose of morning meetings in House groups and Homerooms, and intra-school competition. The Houses are named after notable figures in the Sisters of Mercy's heritage in Western Australia. Dillon, de la Hoyde, Frayne, Kelly, O'Donnell and O'Reilly are named after six of the Sisters who journeyed to Western Australia from

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

and set up the first Catholic High School in the state - Victoria Square School, now known as Mercedes College. In 2007, two new houses were added - Corbett, named after the school's first Principal, Bertrand Corbett, and Byrne. Each House competes to earn points towards the "McAuley Shield", through various interhouse events, including: swimming, athletics, cross-country, volleyball, soccer, debating and public speaking. In 2007, the interhouse events were expanded to include an arts festival after the lobbying of several students for more events that were not sports-orientated. The arts festival required each house to prepare a short play to showcase their acting abilities. this festival has been replaced by a

theatresports Theatresports is a form of improvisational theatre, which uses the format of a competition for dramatic effect. Opposing teams can perform scenes based on audience suggestions, with ratings by the audience or by a panel of judges. Developed by di ...

competition.

Boarding

The boarding community is home to 150 girls, predominantly from rural WA. The community is divided into four individual houses. Two housemothers are assigned to each house.

Uniform

The summer uniform consists of a green and white dress, white socks and black leather shoes. The winter uniform consists of a school blazer, green jumper; green, red and white tartan skirt; bottle green, red and white striped tie; and black stockings. The sport uniform consists of a white shirt and red shorts.

Notable alumnae

* Lieutenant Colonel Helen Adamson (1943)nurse; Matron-in-Chief, Royal Australian Army Nursing Corps; awarded the

Royal Red Cross The Royal Red Cross (RRC) is a military decoration awarded in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth for exceptional services in military nursing. Foundation The award was established on 27 April 1883 by Victoria of the Un ...

in 1981 * Jessica Bennettguitarist; founding member of the

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

pop punk Pop punk (or punk pop) is a rock music genre that combines elements of punk rock with power pop or pop. It is defined for its emphasis on classic pop songcraft, as well as adolescent and anti-suburbia themes, and is distinguished from other pu ...

band, Lash * Emma Boothmodel and actress *

Lucy Chaffer Lucy Katherine Chaffer (born 19 October 1983 in Perth, Australia) is an Australian skeleton (sport), skeleton racer. She competed for Australia at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, Sochi in the Skeleton at the 2014 Winter Olympics, ske ...

(2000)

skeleton racer Skeleton is a winter sliding sport in which a person rides a small sled, known as a skeleton bobsled (or -sleigh), down a frozen track while lying face down and head-first. The sport and the sled may have been named from the bony appearance of ...

; competed in the 2014 Winter Olympics * Dorothy Clarke (1938) paediatric nurse *

Geraldine Doogue Geraldine Frances Doogue (born 29 April 1952) is an Australian journalist and radio and television presenter. Career After graduating from the University of Western Australia with a Bachelor of Arts degree, Doogue intended to train as a scho ...

(1968)journalist, broadcaster and author * Annette Goerke (née Parkes, 1956)organist; recipient of a Churchill Fellowship; awarded the ''Crucem Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice'' for her services to St Mary's Cathedral *

Carmen Lawrence Carmen Mary Lawrence (born 2 March 1948) is an Australian academic and former politician who was the Premier of Western Australia from 1990 to 1993, the first woman to become the premier of an Australian state. A member of the Labor Party, sh ...

(1964)former politician and academic; the first female

Premier of Western Australia The premier of Western Australia is the head of government of the state of Western Australia. The role of premier at a state level is similar to the role of the prime minister of Australia at a federal level. The premier leads the executive bra ...

and the first woman to become the premier of an Australian state; subsequently a Minister in the Keating government *

Judith Lucy Judith Mary Lucy (born 25 March 1968) is an Australian comedian and actress, known primarily for her stand-up comedy. Lucy joined the team of the ABC's '' The Weekly with Charlie Pickering'' in 2019. Early life Lucy's adoptive parents emigr ...

stand-up comedian, radio presenter and actress, including starring in '' Crackerjack'' * Rose McAleer (1947)pathologist *

Irene McCormack Irene McCormack (21 August 1938 – 21 May 1991), an Australian nun, was a member of the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart who worked as a missionary in Peru. She was executed in Peru in 1991 by members of Sendero Luminoso ("Shining Pat ...

(1954)

religious sister A religious sister (abbreviated ''Sr.'' or Sist.) in the Catholic Church is a woman who has taken public vows in a religious institute dedicated to apostolic works, as distinguished from a nun who lives a cloistered monastic life dedicated to pr ...

; teacher; missionary; executed by the Shining Path Guerrilla group in 1991 * Marie Mahood (née Healy, 1943)journalist, teacher and author * Ashleigh Nelson (2004)hockey player; completed in the 2012 Olympics; 2010 Commonwealth Games Gold Medalist * Sue Palfreyman (née James, 1969rower; completed in the 1980 Olympics * Jaclyn Pearsonpercussionist; founding member of the alternative rock/pop punk band, Lash *

Ailsa Piper Ailsa Mary-Ellen Piper (born 1959) is an Australian writer, director and performer. Career Acting Ailsa Piper worked as an actress in theatre in Perth, Sydney and Melbourne from the early 1980s until 2000. She made her first appearance on TV i ...

(1976)actor in both stage and television productions and is best known for her appearance in ''Neighbours''; author * Robyn Mary Quinteacher and academic; Pro Vice-Chancellor (Teaching and Learning) at the Curtin University of Technology * Belinda-Lee Reidvocalist, guitarist; founding member of the alternative rock/pop punk band, Lash * Prue-Anne Reynalds (1974)cyclist; 1984 and 1992 Paralympics * Lisa Russ (née Oldenhof, 1996)kayaker; competed in the 2004 and 2008 Olympics * Micaela Slayfordvocalist; bassist; founding member of the alternative rock/pop punk band, Lash * Halina Szunejko (née Czekalowska, 1954)community activist; teacher; writer

References

External links

Santa Maria College website
{{Authority control Girls' schools in Western Australia Catholic primary schools in Perth, Western Australia Boarding schools in Western Australia Educational institutions established in 1938 Catholic secondary schools in Perth, Western Australia Catholic boarding schools in Australia Sisters of Mercy schools Alliance of Girls' Schools Australasia 1938 establishments in Australia