St Joseph's School is a school in

Oamaru Oamaru (; mi, Te Oha-a-Maru) is the largest town in North Otago, in the South Island of New Zealand, it is the main town in the Waitaki District. It is south of Timaru and north of Dunedin on the Pacific coast; State Highway 1 and the railway ...

, the largest town in

North Otago North Otago in New Zealand covers the area of Otago between Shag Point and the Waitaki River, and extends inland to the west as far as the village of Omarama (which has experienced rapid growth as a developing centre for astronomy and for glid ...

, in the

South Island The South Island, also officially named , is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. It was established by an order of Catholic

nun A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 599. The term is o ...

s —

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 ...

— who started teaching in Oamaru in 1882. It is associated with St Patrick's Basilica, Oamaru

History

In 1884 the first classrooms were in the presbytery - up to five classes were taught there. The school was staffed by Dominican nuns. Priests visited the school taking an interest both in examinations and in cultural activities such as musical events. In 1928 the Christian Brothers took over the running of St Patrick's primary school for boys in Oamaru and two Christian Brothers commuted daily from St Kevin's College (founded in 1927). That school continued until a reorganisation in 1973 saw its closure. The younger boys went to St Joseph's while the older boys transferred to St Kevin's College. In 1984 there was a further reorganisation in which the St Joseph's became a full primary school for both boys and girls up to year 8. The red-brick building built for St Patrick's is now used for junior classes of St Joseph's while the older pupils are taught in newer buildings, closer to St Patrick's Basilica in Reed Street. The school continues to maintain its Dominican connection especially with the starting of a "Dominican choir" in 2008. The school remains closely associated with St Kevin's College, and reports that 99% of its pupils go there after they leave St Joseph's.

Current status and activity

The school lists student leadership as a major strength, reporting that pupils from years 3-8 sit on the school council. The teacher who manages the middle syndicate is Miss Melanie Sloan. She suffers from early onset

rheumatoid arthritis Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a long-term autoimmune disorder that primarily affects joints. It typically results in warm, swollen, and painful joints. Pain and stiffness often worsen following rest. Most commonly, the wrist and hands are involv ...

and has had her knee and hip joints replaced to relieve the disabling pain which had confined her to a wheelchair. In 2010, she received a ''Spirit of Attitude'' award for being "an unsung hero who lives life with positivity while facing extreme adversity." She was presented with the supreme award for her positive attitude by minister Nick Smith in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

. There is a colony of

little blue penguin The little penguin (''Eudyptula minor'') is a species of penguin from New Zealand. They are commonly known as little blue penguins or blue penguins owing to their slate-blue plumage and are also known by their Māori name . The Australian lit ...

s in Oamaru and the students studied these as a research project to develop their essential skills and fulfil level 4 learning objectives in English, Social Studies and Science. This was a ''Living Heritage'' project of the ''2020 Communications Trust'' to promote

digital literacy Digital literacy refers to an individual's ability to find, evaluate, and communicate information through typing and other media on various digital platforms. It is evaluated by an individual's grammar, composition, typing skills and ability to pro ...

and so the main goal of the project was to construct a website about the penguins. This followed a similar project of bird monitoring performed as part of the Ministry of Education's ''LEARNZ'' programme.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:St Joseph's School, Oamaru Congregation of Christian Brothers in New Zealand Catholic primary schools in New Zealand Dominican schools in New Zealand Schools in Otago Buildings and structures in Oamaru