, motto_translation = Truth , established = , slogan = Shake the world , principal = Paulina Skerman , chairperson = Tony Woods , location =

Strathfield Strathfield is a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located 12 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre of the Municipality of Strathfield. A smal ...

Inner West The Inner West of Sydney is an area directly west of the Sydney central business district, New South Wales, Australia. The suburbs that make up the Inner West are predominantly located along the southern shore of Port Jackson (Parramatta River) ...

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 ...

and
, country = Australia , coordinates = , pushpin_map = Australia Sydney , pushpin_image = , pushpin_mapsize = 250 , pushpin_map_alt = , pushpin_map_caption = Location in greater metropolitan Sydney , pushpin_label = , pushpin_label_position = , module = , 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 ...

co-educational Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to t ...

and single-sex early learning,

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 school A day school — as opposed to a boarding school — is an educational institution where children and adolescents are given instructions during the day, after which the students return to their homes. A day school has full-day programs when compar ...

, educational_authority =

New South Wales Department of Education The New South Wales Department of Education, a department of the Government of New South Wales, is responsible for the delivery and co-ordination of early childhood, primary school, secondary school, vocational education, adult, migrant and hig ...

, 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 =

Dominican Order The Order of Preachers ( la, Ordo Praedicatorum) abbreviated OP, also known as the Dominicans, is a Catholic mendicant order of Pontifical Right for men founded in Toulouse, France, by the Spanish priest, saint and mystic Dominic of Cal ...

, oversight = Archdiocese of Sydney , gender = , nickname = Santa , enrolment = $8290-$24480 , enrolment_as_of = 2020 , grades = P- 12 , grades_label = Years , staff = ~127 , colours = Black, white and red , affiliations = , homepage = , campus = , campus_type =

Suburban A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...

and

regional In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

, free_label = Brother school , free =

St Patrick's College, Strathfield , motto_translation = Matthew 5:16: Let Your Light Shine , location = , Inner West Sydney , state = New South Wales , country = Australia , coordinates = , other_na ...

Santa Sabina College (abbreviated as Santa, Santa Sabina or SSC) is a multi-campus

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, early learning,

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 ...

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 ...

; and a

day school from early learning years through

Prep PowerPC Reference Platform (PReP) was a standard system architecture for PowerPC-based computer systems (as well as a reference implementation) developed at the same time as the PowerPC processor architecture. Published by IBM in 1994, it allo ...

Year 4 Year 4 is an educational year group in schools in many countries including England, Wales, Australia and New Zealand. It is usually the fourth year of compulsory education and incorporates students aged between eight and nine however some kids wh ...

. Located on eight hectares in

, an inner-western suburb of

; and on 97 hectares in , in the Southern Highlands of

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 ...

, Australia; students are educated in the Dominican tradition. Established in 1894, Santa Sabina has a non-selective enrolment policy and as of 2007 catered to approximately 1,400 students. The College is owned by the Congregation of Dominican Sisters of Eastern Australia and the Solomon Islands and located within the Archdiocese of Sydney. The College is affiliated with the Association of Heads of Independent Schools of Australia (AHISA), the

Junior School Heads Association of Australia The Independent Primary School Heads of Australia (IPSHA) formerly Junior School Heads Association of Australia (JSHAA), is an incorporated body representing the heads of independent primary schools in Australia. Officially established in Septem ...

(JSHAA) and an affiliate 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 College Principal is Paulina Skerman.

History

Eight

Dominican sisters The Order of Preachers ( la, Ordo Praedicatorum) abbreviated OP, also known as the Dominicans, is a Catholic mendicant order of Pontifical Right for men founded in Toulouse, France, by the Spanish priest, saint and mystic Dominic of Cal ...

arrived 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 ...

in 1867, to establish schools for Catholic children in New South Wales. Subsequently of land and a house in Strathfield were purchased from a wine-grower, Harold Lindeman. Santa Sabina College was established on this site in January 1894, with seven day students. The first three boarders were enrolled in April of that same year. Although the College saw its first student

matriculate Matriculation is the formal process of entering a university, or of becoming eligible to enter by fulfilling certain academic requirements such as a matriculation examination. Australia In Australia, the term "matriculation" is seldom used now. ...

in 1906, it was not officially recognised as a secondary school until 1912, with the passing of the New South Wales Bursary Act. Organised

sport Sport pertains to any form of Competition, competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and Skill, skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to specta ...

was first introduced in 1918, with

Tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

the most popular sport at the time. In 1936, Santa's most prominent building, ''Holyrood—''originally built as ''Illyria'' by industrialist Charles Hoskins in the early 1890s''—''was purchased from William Adams of the Tattersall's Hotel. The carved

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...

facade came from the City Bank building in Moore Street (now

Martin Place Martin Place is a pedestrian mall in the Sydney central business district, New South Wales, Australia. Martin Place has been described as the "civic heart" of Sydney.

). This building was used as the College boarding house until boarding ceased in 1976. The building now houses the College music department. The ''Del Monte'' property, located across the road from the College, was

lease A lease is a contractual arrangement calling for the user (referred to as the ''lessee'') to pay the owner (referred to as the ''lessor'') for the use of an asset. Property, buildings and vehicles are common assets that are leased. Industrial ...

d in 1949, with the first primary school students taking up residence later that year. In 1950, the owner of the property, Mary Bailey, died, leaving the property to the Sisters. ''Del Monte'' was subsequently renamed ''Santa Maria del Monte''. ''Santa Maria del Monte'' was expanded in 1968, with the purchase of ''Lauriston'', which had been the home of the

Presbyterian Ladies' College, Sydney The Presbyterian Ladies' College, Sydney (PLC Sydney) is an independent school, independent Presbyterian Church of Australia, Presbyterian Single-sex school, single-sex Pre-school education, early learning, Primary school, primary and Secondary sc ...

during the

Second World War 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 ...

. This purchase provided the school with a sports ground and additional

classroom A classroom or schoolroom is a learning space in which both children and adults learn. Classrooms are found in educational institutions of all kinds, ranging from preschools to universities, and may also be found in other places where education ...

s. In 1991 the campus was used as the backdrop for the Australian TV series ''

Brides of Christ ''Brides of Christ'' is an Australian television miniseries produced by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in 1991.Albert Moran, ''Moran's Guide to Australian TV Series'', AFTRS 1993 p 94 The series takes place behind the walls of a Sydne ...

''. 1996 saw the establishment of the Out of School Hours Centre (OOSH), and in 1997, a property at Tallong was purchased for

outdoor education Outdoor education is organized learning that takes place in the outdoors. Outdoor education programs sometimes involve residential or journey wilderness-based experiences in which students participate in a variety of adventurous challenges and out ...

. In 1998, ''Mary Bailey House'' was opened as an Early Childhood Centre, and in 2002 classes for Years 6 and 7 commenced at the

middle school A middle school (also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school) is an educational stage which exists in some countries, providing education between primary school and secondary school. ...

campus, ''Martin De Porres''. Santa Sabina is recognised as an employer of choice for women by the

Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Agency The Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Agency (EOWA) is an Australian government agency. It is a statutory authority located within the portfolio of the Australian Commonwealth Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indi ...

Principals

The following individuals have served as Principal of Santa Sabina College: The current principal, Ms Skerman was previously, the principal at an independent, Catholic, girls’ secondary day and boarding school for 5 years. She is a member of the Australian Heads of Independent Schools and the Alliance of Girls’ Schools Australasia. In 2017, she was named as a Finalist in the Telstra Business Women’s Award for leading growth and inclusivity through innovation.

Campus

The College comprises five

campus A campus is traditionally the land on which a college or university and related institutional buildings are situated. Usually a college campus includes libraries, lecture halls, residence halls, student centers or dining halls, and park-like se ...

es: four situated along The Boulevarde in Strathfield, and an outdoor education campus at Tallong in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales. The four city campuses are Mary Bailey House Early Education Centre (Pre-school), Santa Maria del Monte (Primary Years) and Santa Sabina ( Middle and Senior Years). Santa Maria del Monte also takes boy students from Kindergarten to Year 4, with most boys then continuing on to St. Patrick's College to complete their schooling. The Strathfield campus includes a outdoor

swimming pool A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, paddling pool, or simply pool, is a structure designed to hold water to enable Human swimming, swimming or other leisure activities. Pools can be built into the ground (in-ground pools) or built ...

, six

tennis court A tennis court is the venue where the sport of tennis is played. It is a firm rectangular surface with a low net stretched across the centre. The same surface can be used to play both doubles and singles matches. A variety of surfaces can be u ...

s, three ovals and a

chapel A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common ty ...

. In 2002, a Middle School was established for students in Years 6 and 7. In 2005 The Aquinas Centre was opened, featuring a

library A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vir ...

, lecture theatre and student services facility.

Co-curricular activities

Debating

The College debating activities include: The Archdale Competition for Years 7 to 12, against twenty similar type independent girls' schools; the AHIGS Festival of Speech; the Catholic Schools' Debating competition; Schools' Speaking competition; the Catholic Schools' Speaking competition; the Junior Legacy Speaking competition; Senior Plain English Speaking competition; and the Rostrum Voice of Youth Competition. Middle and Secondary School students participate in social debates with schools such as

St Gregory's College, Campbelltown , motto_translation = What you sow, so shall you reap , established = , type = Independent single-sex and co-educational comprehensive and specialist primary and secondary day and boarding school , specialist = Agricultural sch ...

Saint Ignatius' College, Riverview Saint Ignatius' College Riverview is an Australian independent single-sex primary and secondary day and boarding school for boys, conducted in the Jesuit tradition, located in Riverview, a small suburb located on the Lane Cove River on the ...

, and St Vincent's College, whilst the Primary and Middle School debate

MLC School , motto_translation = Walk as daughters of the light , established = , type = Independent single-sex early learning, primary, and secondary day school , gender = Girls , denomination = Uniting Church , oversight = , educati ...

and PLC Sydney. Debating and

Public Speaking Public speaking, also called oratory or oration, has traditionally meant the act of speaking face to face to a live audience. Today it includes any form of speaking (formally and informally) to an audience, including pre-recorded speech deliver ...

is also offered through inter-house competitions.

Arts

Santa Sabina is seen as the ''sister'' school to St Patrick's College. As such the two schools combine drama classes to stage shows, and musicals. College Musicals

Sport

The sporting program at Santa Sabina includes: School sporting clubs, Saturday and midweek competitions, gala days, and representative opportunities up to national level. Each year the College takes about 2500 sports registrations for approximately 85 sports competitions and activities across 22 sports.

Notable alumnae

Monica Attard Monica Ann Attard OAM (born 12 December 1958) is an Australian journalist and academic. Early life Attard was born to Maltese parents in Sydney, where she was educated at Bethlehem College, Ashfield and Santa Sabina College.''Who's Who in A ...

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

senior broadca *

Robyn Butler Robyn Butler is an Australian writer, actress and producer who is best known for her starring role in the television comedy series '' The Librarians''. Butler hosted a radio program called ''Tough Love'' on the Triple M network. She is married to ...

, writer, actress and producer * Margaret Cunneen , Deputy Senior Crown Prosecutor * Carmen Duncan, actress * Paula Duncan, actress *

Cathy Foley Catherine Patricia Foley (born 10 November 1957) is an Australian physicist. She is the Chief Scientist of Australia (since January 2021), before which she had been the chief scientist for the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Or ...

, chief of the

CSIRO The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) is an Australian Government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the national government of Australia, a federal parliamentar ...

materials and engineering division * Cynthia Mitchell, Paralympian (Skiing) *

Julia Morris Julia Carolyn Margaret Morris (born 20 April 1968) is an Australian comedian, television presenter and actress who has worked extensively in Australian television and radio, touring the country with her solo comedy shows. She relocated to the Un ...

, actress/comedian *

Rahni Sadler Rahni Sadler ( Sydney, June 24, 1972), is an Australian television reporter. Career Sadler first worked in media as a teen model for Chadwick Model Management. Her career focus though, was journalism. After doing work experience in radio, TV ...

, Seven Network news reporter and United States foreign correspondent *

Justine Schofield Justine Schofield (born 29 October 1985) is an Australian cook, author and television presenter. Early life Schofield was born on 29 October 1985 in Sydney to an Australian father and a French mother. She has an elder brother. When Françoise ...

, former '' Masterchef Australia'' contestant, television personality * Alice Spigelman , Chair

Sculpture by the Sea The Sculpture by the Sea exhibition in Sydney and Perth is Australia's largest annual outdoor sculpture exhibition. This exhibition was initiated in 1997, at Bondi Beach and it featured sculptures by both Australian and overseas artists. In ...

Yvonne Strahovski Yvonne Jaqueline Strzechowski (born 30 July 1982), known professionally as Yvonne Strahovski (), is an Australian actress. Primarily noted for her roles in dramatic television, she has received numerous awards and nominations, including two Pri ...

, actress * Simone Thurtell, Australian Broadcasting Corporation's Grandstand announcer

Gallery

Strathfield Santa Maria Del Monte Lauriston.JPG, ''Lauriston'' Santa Sabina College 3.JPG, A sculpture in the College grounds, pictured in 2007 Santa Sabina College 4.JPG, A College building, pictured in 2007 Santa Sabina College 2 Holyrood.JPG, ''Holyrood'' Strathfield Santa Maria Del Monte Brunyarra.JPG, ''Brunyarra''

References

External links

* {{Authority control Catholic primary schools in Sydney Educational institutions established in 1894 Catholic secondary schools in Sydney Girls' schools in New South Wales Association of Heads of Independent Girls' Schools Junior School Heads Association of Australia Member Schools Dominican schools in Australia Strathfield, New South Wales 1894 establishments in Australia Alliance of Girls' Schools Australasia