St John Bosco College is an independent systemic Roman Catholic co-educational

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, located in Engadine, a

southern Southern may refer to: Businesses * China Southern Airlines, airline based in Guangzhou, China * Southern Airways, defunct US airline * Southern Air, air cargo transportation company based in Norwalk, Connecticut, US * Southern Airways Express, M ...

suburb 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,

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 ...

. The college was founded in 1978 under the name St John Bosco High School.

History

The school was built after many years of planning and effort by the Parish Priest, John Briffa SDB, and a group of parishioners. The school's principal was once always a Salesian priest, but this changed in 2010 following the departure of Fr Bernie Graham. The methods of teaching at the school are based on John Bosco's theories of education. The school was a Years 7 to 10, co-educational school under the name St John Bosco High School until 1998 when the school accepted its first Year 11 students and was renamed St John Bosco College. The first class to graduate from St John Bosco College was in 1999. The inaugural College Captains were Ryan Della Ca and Elizabeth Favaloro.

Patron

The patron of the College is

Saint John Bosco John Melchior Bosco ( it, Giovanni Melchiorre Bosco; pms, Gioann Melchior Bòsch; 16 August 181531 January 1888), popularly known as Don Bosco , was an Italian Catholic priest, educator, writer and saint of the 19th century. While working ...

, an Italian saint from the 1800s who modelled his teaching methods on the practices of Saint Francis de Sales (therefore his pedagogy and charism are called Salesian).

Symbols

Motto

The motto of the College is ''Gaudium et Spes'' ("Joy and Hope"). The motto is an extract from the "Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World".

The joy and hope, the grief and anguish of the people of our time, especially of those who are poor or afflicted in any way, are the joy and the hope, the grief and anguish of the followers of Christ as well ... Nothing that is genuinely human fails to find an echo in their hearts.

Badge

The College badge has a plain white cross with the words "Bosco" (which the school is commonly referred to as) and "Gaudium Et Spes" (the school motto, "Joy and Hope"). The background is dark green.

House banners

As of 2008 new house banners were introduced to the school. These were chosen from a banner making competition and replaced the old house flags. Along with the new banners every student was given badges for their house with the image of their house's banner.

Construction work

In 2006 a new classroom block, the Ciantar Block, was completed and named after Fr Joseph Ciantar, who was the pioneer of the Salesian Mission in Engadine. A new basketball court was also completed, called the Reichel Court, which was named in memory of teacher Chris Reichel. The court was built using a sum of money Reichel left to the school. During 2015 and 2016 a new hall and assembly area with an attached Fitness Studio were built, as well as a Technical & Applied Studies (TAS) block on the site of the old hall. During 2017 the old TAS rooms were converted into a Learning Centre, music & drama rooms plus general classrooms.

Notable alumni

Robbie Kearns Robbie Kearns (born 12 December 1971) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s, and 2000s. An Australia international and New South Wales State of Origin representative forward, he played for the Cro ...

– professional rugby league footballer * Lindsay McDougall – musician and radio personality * Maryanne Stuart – politician * Sarah Walsh – Paralympic athlete

References

External links

St John Bosco College website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint John Bosco College Catholic secondary schools in Sydney Educational institutions established in 1978 Salesian schools Sutherland Shire 1978 establishments in Australia