St Mary's College is a Kindergarten to Year 12

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

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

for girls, located on the northern city fringe of

Hobart Hobart ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the island state of Tasmania, Australia. Located in Tasmania's south-east on the estuary of the River Derwent, it is the southernmost capital city in Australia. Despite containing nearly hal ...

Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...

, Australia. Although predominantly a girls’ school, St Mary's accepts both boys and girls until Grade 2, and currently caters for approximately 900 students from

kindergarten Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th cen ...

to Year 12. It is located on the grounds of St Mary's Cathedral, next to the Junior School campus of St Virgil's College. Boys who attend St Mary's for Kindergarten to Year 2 generally transfer to St Virgil's College Junior School Campus located just next door. St Mary's College is a member of the

Alliance of Girls' Schools Australia The Alliance of Girls' Schools Australasia (abbreviated as AGSA) is a non-profit organisation that promotes the education of girls in single-sex girls' schools, and promotes the image of, and support the development of, girls' schools in Australa ...

. In 2008 St Mary's College celebrated its 140th birthday as a school 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 Honora "Nano" Nagle in 1775. The sisters of the congregation use th ...

. Its slogan to celebrate this year was "St Mary's College. A proud past. A strong future".

History

The

college A college (Latin: ''collegium'') may be a tertiary educational institution (sometimes awarding degrees), part of a collegiate university, an institution offering vocational education, a further education institution, or a secondary sc ...

was founded by the

in 1868, and although students are no longer exclusively taught by

sisters A sister is a woman or a girl who shares parents or a parent 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 r ...

of the order, they still administer the college. Originally there were two schools on the present-day campus – St Columba's (a free primary school for the poorer community) and Mt St Mary's. The two were eventually merged. The original

convent A convent is an enclosed community of monks, nuns, friars or religious sisters. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The term is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican ...

and school-rooms are still on-site today. Although it is primarily an all-girls school, until the opening of St Virgil's College in 1911, the college catered for boys in senior grades as well. The college only taught Preparatory to Grade 12 until 1996, when the kindergarten was opened. Until the 1990s the college's

principal Principal may refer to: Title or rank * Principal (academia), the chief executive of a university ** Principal (education), the head of a school * Principal (civil service) or principal officer, the senior management level in the UK Civil Ser ...

was always a member of the order, but the last of the

to be Principal was Sister Barbara Amott. Sister Barbara was a teacher and has been an active member of St Mary's College for many years, and has been Principal on several occasions. The current Principal is Damien Messer.

Curriculum

St Mary's College is currently implementing the

Australian Curriculum The Australian Curriculum is a national curriculum for all primary and secondary schools in Australia under progressive development, review, and implementation. The curriculum is developed and reviewed by the Australian Curriculum, Assessment a ...

in grades Prep–10. All subjects are compulsory in grades 7 and 8. In grades 9 and 10, students choose a certain number of elective subjects, as well as having core subjects. In Grade 11/12, students choose subjects which must add up to a minimum of 700 hours per year. Many of these subjects are prerequisites for university courses.

Co-curriculum

The school offers a variety of after-school activities in both sporting and arts areas. Sports include

hockey ''Hockey'' is a family of List of stick sports, stick sports where two opposing teams use hockey sticks to propel a ball or disk into a goal. There are many types of hockey, and the individual sports vary in rules, numbers of players, apparel, ...

badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racket (sports equipment), racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net (device), net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per s ...

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

, and

rowing Rowing is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using the sweeping motions of oars to displace water and generate reactional propulsion. Rowing is functionally similar to paddling, but rowing requires oars to be mechanically a ...

. The rowing boat shed is jointly own by St Mary's College, St Virgil's College, and Guilford Young College, and is located in Newtown Bay. Other activities include the Junior and Senior School Choirs, the Senior Choral Group, the Senior Concert and Jazz bands,

St Vincent de Paul Society The Society of Saint Vincent de Paul (SVP or SVdP or SSVP) is an international voluntary organization in the Catholic Church, founded in 1833 for the service of the poor. Started by Frédéric Ozanam and Emmanuel-Joseph Bailly de Surcy and nam ...

debating Debate is a process that involves formal discourse, discussion, and oral addresses on a particular topic or collection of topics, often with a moderator and an audience. In a debate, arguments are put forward for opposing viewpoints. Historica ...

, and

public speaking Public speaking, is the practice of delivering speeches to a live audience. Throughout history, public speaking has held significant cultural, religious, and political importance, emphasizing the necessity of effective rhetorical skills. It all ...

. In the past, the college held a biannual arts festival, which went for the three days before Hobart Show Day. During this week the students were allowed to choose from a variety of activities that included making jewellery, painting murals, and learning to belly dance. The Long Lunch, a picnic lunch on the school lawns, happened every arts festival, as did "KickArts", a competition in which other local schools entered their rock bands.

Sport

St Mary's College is a member of the

Sports Association of Tasmanian Independent Schools The Sports Association of Tasmanian Independent Schools (SATIS) is a group of sixteen schools in Tasmania (Australia), Tasmania, Australia formed by AHISA Tasmania (Australia), Tasmania to conduct sporting competitions for member schools. NSATIS ...

(SATIS).

SATIS premierships

St Mary's College has won the following SATIS premierships. * Athletics (2) – 2011, 2012 * Basketball (2) – 2014, 2016 * Hockey (4) – 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 * Netball (2) – 1991, 1992 * Rowing (2) – 2010, 2011 * Softball (2) – 1999, 2009 * Swimming (3) – 1988, 1989, 1990

Religion

St Mary's College is located next to St Mary's Cathedral. The College celebrates the Catholic

liturgical year The liturgical year, also called the church year, Christian year, ecclesiastical calendar, or kalendar, consists of the cycle of liturgical days and seasons that determines when feast days, including celebrations of saints, are to be obse ...

by attending Mass.

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Mary's College Catholic secondary schools in Hobart Presentation Sisters schools Girls' schools in Tasmania Educational institutions established in 1868 Catholic primary schools in Hobart Junior School Heads Association of Australia Member Schools 1868 establishments in Australia Alliance of Girls' Schools Australasia