Sacred Heart College is a

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secondary school for girls, and is located in Retreat Road, Newtown, Geelong, Victoria in Australia. It is now one of the largest Catholic secondary girls schools in Victoria. The current principal is Anna Negro, with three Deputy Principals: Gerard Raven, Tanya Malley and Acting Deputy Principal, Catherine Gulli.

History

In June 1859, the Archbishop of Melbourne,

James Alipius Goold James Alipius Goold (4 November 1812–11 June 1886) was an Australian Augustinian friar and the founding Catholic Archbishop of Melbourne in Australia. Life Early years Goold was born in Cork, Ireland. Upon leaving school he entered the Or ...

, petitioned the

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 ...

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to establish a community in Geelong. Mother Mary Xavier Maguire, Mary Gabrielle Sherlock, Margaret Mullally, Joseph Manly, Rose Lynch and Novice Aloysius Ryan arrived on 3 December 1859. The sisters immediately set about providing

Catholic education Catholic education may refer to: * Catholic school, primary and secondary education organised by the Catholic Church or organisations affiliated with it * Catholic university, private university run by the Catholic Church or organisations affili ...

for all who desired it. The boarding school and day school that is now Sacred Heart College was opened for the beginning of the next school year (1860) with 12 pupils, 6 of whom were boarders. In 1861 an adjoining

orphanage An orphanage is a residential institution, total institution or group home, devoted to the care of orphans and children who, for various reasons, cannot be cared for by their biological families. The parents may be deceased, absent, or ab ...

was opened and very soon there were 50 girls being cared for. The Sisters also staffed local

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one o ...

primary schools in the area and after school hours were seen visiting the sick and aged in their homes and the hospital. Within a few years, a large

convent A convent is a community of monks, nuns, religious brothers or, sisters or priests. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The word is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglic ...

including a chapel as well as school buildings such as classrooms and dormitories had been built. By the turn of the century the college was registered as " conducting" a junior school (kindergarten and primary) as well as a senior and boarding school.

Alumni Association

In 1924, a Past Pupils' Association was formed and this became predecessor of the Old Collegians' Association established in 1932.Mercy Girls, The Story of Sacred Heart College Geelong 1860 - 2010, Sacred Heart College, Newtown., 2010. As well as the Geelong-based committee, a Melbourne Group was formed in the 1930s and in 1981 a Western District Group was set up to bring together former students from that area, many of whom had been boarders. The association is now known as the Alumni Association. Today, each student automatically becomes a member of the Alumni Association upon her graduation from the College.

Notable alumni

Lucy McEvoy Lucy McEvoy (born 13 May 2001) is an Australian rules footballer playing for the Sydney Swans in the AFL Women's (AFLW). McEvoy was drafted by Carlton with their first selection and second overall in the 2019 AFL Women's draft. She made her ...

AFLW AFL Women's (AFLW) is Australia's national semi-professional Australian rules football league for female players. The first season of the league in February and March 2017 had eight teams; the league expanded to 10 teams in the 2019 season, 1 ...

player *

Peta Credlin Peta-Louise Mary Credlin (born 23 March 1971) is an Australian former political advisor who served as Chief of Staff to the Prime Minister (Australia), Chief of Staff to Prime Minister Tony Abbott for his term from September 2013 to September ...

, political commentator *

Olivia Purcell Olivia Purcell (born 5 September 2000) is an Australian rules footballer with the Melbourne Football Club in the AFL Women's (AFLW). Early life Purcell was born in Geelong, Victoria and is the second-youngest of five sisters. The family mov ...

, AFLW player *

Lily Mithen Lily Mithen (born 2 March 1998) is an Australian rules footballer playing for the Melbourne Football Club in the AFL Women's competition. She was drafted by Melbourne with their tenth selection and seventy-third overall in the 2016 AFL Women ...

, AFLW player *

Marisa Siketa Marisa Julia Siketa (born 7 November 1990) is an Australian actress, disc jockey, animal ambassador, and traffic manager. She is best known for her roles as the first actress to play Melanie Atwood on '' The Saddle Club'' and as Summer Hoyland o ...

, actress

Curriculum

The College offers subjects in the following areas: * Humanities * English * LOTE - Italian, French and Japanese * The Arts - Including theatre studies, music and visual art * Religious Education * Mathematics and science * Technology * Health and Physical Education Some classes are also offered at nearby school St Joseph's College at VCE level, including Chinese. Sacred Heart College the Victorian Certificate of Education, and has introduced the International Baccalaureate for middle years students.Sacred Heart College Geelong
from ibo.org, retrieved 2008-04-19 Year Eleven and Twelve pupils may also choose to undertake a

Vocational Education and Training Vocational education is education that prepares people to work as a technician or to take up employment in a skilled craft or trade as a tradesperson or artisan. Vocational Education can also be seen as that type of education given to an i ...

Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning The Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning (VCAL) is a 'hands-on' option for students in Years 10, 11, and 12 and is a credential awarded to secondary school students who successfully complete year 11 and 12 in the Australian State of Victoria s ...

program.

References

{{Authority control Educational institutions established in 1860 Girls' schools in Victoria (state) International Baccalaureate schools in Australia Rock Eisteddfod Challenge participants Schools in Geelong Sisters of Mercy schools Catholic secondary schools in Victoria (state) 1860 establishments in Australia

History

Alumni Association

Notable alumni

Curriculum

See also

References