St Rita's 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

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 ...

for girls, located in

Clayfield Clayfield is a suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , Clayfield had a population of 10,555 people. Geography Clayfield is by road from the Brisbane GPO. Clayfield is bordered to the north by Nundah, to the east by A ...

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

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 school was founded in 1926 and follows in the tradition of the

Presentation Sisters The Presentation Sisters, officially the Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, are a religious institute of Roman Catholic women founded in Cork, Ireland, by the Venerable Honora "Nano" Nagle in 1775. The Sisters of the congre ...

, founded by

Nano Nagle Venerable Honora Nagle ( – 26 April 1784), known informally as Nano Nagle, was a pioneer of Roman Catholic education in Ireland despite legal prohibitions. She founded the Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary (PBVM), com ...

, and currently educates approximately 1000 girls from grades 5–12. St Rita's is a member of the Catholic Secondary Schoolgirls' Sports Association. The school's motto is Latin, ''Virtute Non Verbis'', which translates to English as ''Actions Not Words''.

History

St Rita's College was founded by two

Sister A sister is a woman or a girl who shares one or more parents with another individual; a female sibling. The male counterpart is a brother. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to refer to ...

Alice Kennedy and Sister Mary Madden, and was established as a kindergarten through to senior school on 27 September 1926. The initial enrolment consisted of 16 students with kindergarten - grade 3 being co-educational and grade 4 - senior girls only. Boarders were accepted from all grades. By 1960 the primary school grades of St Rita's had been transferred to St Agatha's Primary School on the adjacent site. By 1970 St Rita's College no longer offered a boarding facility to its students.

School buildings

* Nano Nagle Centre: Completed in 2011, the Nagle Centre houses the College's Information Technology network and support centre, main reception, eight modern teaching rooms, a large function room with panoramic views across the bay and northern suburbs, as well as the two-level Resource Centre. The Resource Centre has been designed to cater for whole class, small group and individual working modes and connects to three other buildings, allowing easy access. * Acqua Rosa Centre: In 2003, the Acqua Rosa Centre was completed – a 25 m x 25 m x 2 m heated pool. Not only is this building state of the art, but it is also aesthetically pleasing. The foyer houses the stained glass windows depicting St Rita's life as well as the structured glass windows that depict the logo and emblem of each House. The pool itself is inlaid with a stained glass rose. In the beautiful landscaped gardens rests one of the blocks from the old pool. * Eirene Centre: Construction of the Eirene Centre with its multi-purpose hall, Art classrooms, additional multi-purpose classrooms, Gym and function room was completed in 2000. This building also housed a 120,000 litre tank to store storm water from the extensive roof. This water is being used to irrigate the grounds. * Kennedy Centre: Built in 1938, the Kennedy centre is named after one of the founding sisters of the school and the school's first principal, Sr Alice Kennedy, the centre formerly contained multi-purpose classrooms but more recently was renovated to hold staff offices as well as the new school Pantry. * Sr Elvera Sesta Science Centre: Constructed during the 1970s, the science centre was originally named after

, and housed 4 science laboratories. In 2011, coinciding with the construction of the new Nano Nagle Centre, the science building had an additional 2 laboratories added to the top floor and was renamed after former Principal, Sr Elvera Sesta PBVM, herself a science graduate of the University of Queensland. * Presentation Centre: Built in 1995, the Presentation Centre houses the school's Digital Innovations, Business and Design classrooms as well as the Hospitality Rooms. The Centre was formerly home to the College Pantry. * Sacred Heart Centre: Built in 1964, the Sacred Heart centre contains the school's student reception as well as 10 multi-purpose classrooms and a state of the art Physics laboratory. * Stanley Hall: Built in the late 1880s, and originally the only building on the school's grounds, it was once used to accommodate the 14

sisters A sister is a woman or a girl who shares one or more parents with another individual; a female sibling. The male counterpart is a brother. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to refer to ...

that lived at the school in the Presentation Convent. During 2009 the school's sisters chose to move to a more convenient residence, handing stewardship of the heritage listed building to the College management. In 2013 the building was extensively renovated as the senior administration and teaching staff hub. * Trinity Centre: Originally constructed in the early 1980’s but more recently rebuilt in 2020. The now 5 storey building houses the college’s auditorium, music level, drama rooms, Film and TV Green Room as well as 12 additional multi-purpose classrooms. The building gets its name from the Father, Son and Holy Spirit - The Holy Trinity.

Notable alumnae

Julieanne Alroe Julieanne Alroe is a leader in the Australian aviation industry. She has over 40 years of experience in the aviation and one of the few women to have run a privatised airport. She planned the $1.3 billion development of Brisbane's parallel runw ...

, CEO of

Brisbane Airport Brisbane Airport is the primary international airport serving Brisbane and South East Queensland. The airport services 31 airlines flying to 50 domestic and 29 international destinations, in total amounting to more than 22.7 million passeng ...

, Chair of

Infrastructure Australia Infrastructure Australia is an independent statutory body providing independent research and advice to all levels of government and industry on projects and reforms relating to investment in Australian infrastructure. It advocates for reforms on ...

Eloise Amberger Eloise Michelle Amberger (born 28 January 1987 in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia) is an Australian synchronized swimmer. Amberger made her international debut for Australia's National Junior Team in 2002 at the World Junior Synchronised Swimmin ...

- Olympian,

Synchronised Swimming Synchronized swimming (in British English, synchronised swimming) or artistic swimming is a sport where swimmers perform a synchronized choreographed routine, accompanied by music. The sport is governed internationally by FINA (the ''Fédérati ...

Abbie Chatfield Abbie Chatfield (born 20 June 1995) is an Australian radio presenter and television personality best known for her appearances in reality television, her radio show on the Hit Network called ''Hot Nights With Abbie Chatfield'' and for serving as ...

- 2020 Bachelor Australia runner-up, social media celebrity *

Sophie Conway Sophie Conway (born 6 April 1999) is an Australian rules footballer playing for the Brisbane Lions in the AFL Women's competition (AFLW). Conway was raised in Bracken Ridge, Queensland and attended St Rita's College. She was a talented hockey ...

- Australian Rules Footballer with

Brisbane Lions The Brisbane Lions is a professional Australian rules football club based in Brisbane, Queensland, that plays in the Australian Football League (AFL). The club was formed in late 1996 via a merger of the Melbourne-based 1883 foundation VFL c ...

Kate McCarthy Kate McCarthy (born 24 October 1992) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Brisbane Lions#AFL Women's team, Brisbane Lions, St Kilda Football Club (AFL Women's), St Kilda Football Club, and Hawthorn Football Club (AFL Wome ...

- sportsperson with

Queensland Cricket Queensland Cricket, formerly known as the Queensland Cricket Association, is the governing body of Cricket in Queensland, Australia. Formed in 1876, it is directly responsible for the Queensland Bulls, Queensland Fire, Allan Border Field and Que ...

and

Georgia Prestwidge Georgia Kate Prestwidge (born 17 December 1997) is an Australian cricketer who plays as a right-arm medium bowler and right-handed batter for Queensland Fire in the Women's National Cricket League (WNCL) and Melbourne Renegades in the Women's B ...

Brisbane Heat The Brisbane Heat are an Australian men's professional Twenty20 franchise cricket team that competes in the Big Bash League. The Heat wears a teal uniform and are based in Brisbane in the Australian state Queensland. Their home ground is the Br ...

Cricket Team

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Rita's College, Clayfield Catholic secondary schools in Brisbane Presentation Sisters schools Girls' schools in Queensland Educational institutions established in 1926 1926 establishments in Australia Clayfield, Queensland Alliance of Girls' Schools Australasia