Rosebank College
Encyclopedia
Rosebank College is a private
, co-educational, secondary
Catholic
day school
in the Benedictine tradition, located in Five Dock
, an inner-western suburb
of Sydney, New South Wales
, Australia
.
Founded in 1867 by the Sisters of the Good Samaritan
, Rosebank currently caters for approximately 800 students. The College
welcomed young men into Year Seven in 2009 and full co-education will be achieved by 2012. The Sisters of the Good Samaritan Congregational Offices are also situated on the College campus. Tom Galea has mantained his role as College Principal since 2005 . He works alongside Assistant Principal Elizabeth Clark who has mantained her role since 2010 .
In nearly all of the early Convents, the Sisters not only taught in primary schools but set up high schools and boarding colleges which provided a broad cultural education leading to University Matriculation, and this is in the days before secondary education became compulsory in government schools. Polding had been Prefect of Studies at the famous Downside Abbey in England and the Sisters received from the Benedictine priests who staffed Lyndhurst College at Glebe (1853 - 77) invaluable professional guidance in their teacher training.
The estate of Rosebank was originally acquired to serve as a Novitiate for the growing community of young Sisters at the Pitt Street Convent where the noise of the bustling city was becoming increasingly intrusive. In those days Rosebank was surrounded by bushland and all was peace and quiet. The estate received its name from the beautiful hedge of roses surrounding it. The Sisters acquired Rosebank in 1867. Besides the Novitiate there was a primary school on the property which the Sisters conducted for the local residents and the Rosebank chapel served many families in the neighbourhood. This primary school replaced the school at Albina Villa on Parramatta Road, Concord which the Sisters began prior to 1867. Some of the Sisters buried here in the cemetery were Novices at Rosebank and one, Sr. Aloysius Cassidy, was a past pupil.
In 1877, the Novices returned to Pitt Street where a new Convent had been built and Rosebank became a Catholic Boarding School for girls. Father John Dwyer OSB, who had taught at Lyndhurst College, Glebe, till 1877, was the chaplain and he took an extraordinary interest in the intellectual, physical and spiritual well being of the students. After his death in 1886, the Queens Road end of the present three-storey structure was built with 2,000 pounds left by Father Dwyer and money given in donations. The memorial stone to Father Dwyer dating from 1886 has been incorporated in the 1986 extension to the College.
In 1893, Rosebank assumed the name of a College and the memoirs produced from this time until 1911 testify to the great reputation it enjoyed throughout New South Wales and beyond as a place of broad education. The person who stood out during this period was Mother Berchmans McLaughlin who was principal from 1893-98. She left from there to become the first Australian Superior General of the Sisters of the Good Samaritan (1898-1916). In the words of Sister Clare Slattery, she was a woman who "in another milieu would have been in the advance guard of the feminist movement" ("Wheeling Years").
In Rosebank's early years, the students soon came to the attention of the wider community. As early as 1880 Marcella Kenny was the first girl from a Catholic College to pass the University of Oxford Junior Examination, in the very first year that this particular examination was opened to girls. In 1944, Rosebank College was closed to serve as a Juniorate for 5 years, while still retaining registration as a Secondary School. Then Rosebank entered another stage of its history as a Secondary School, when it was re-opened as a boarding and day College in 1951, offering academic subjects, as well as cultural and vocational subjects for those not wishing to follow a straight academic course.
Gradually, Rosebank developed into a Leaving Certificate School until in 1966, in the process of regionalisation in Sydney and the phasing in of the Wyndham Scheme, it reverted to a Form 4 School. The boarding school closed in 1971 but the day school has continued to expand, adapting to new demands in education and adding to its facilities. In 1986 it returned to being a full secondary school with the introduction of co-education in Years 11 and 12.
In 1981, the first lay principal of the College, Mr John Hawley, was appointed. In 1988, the sisters of the Good Samaritan established Rosebank College as an Incorporated Body and appointed a Board to be responsible for the College. Mr Frank Hayes was the first Chairperson of the Board. In 2001, the second Lay principal, Mr Alan Moran was appointed. In 2005 the third and current lay Principal, Mr Tom Galea, was appointed. Miriam Berlage served as Assistant Principal of the College for six years before being succeeded by current Assistant Principal Elizabeth Clark.
suburb of Five Dock on the corner of Paramatta Road, Harris Road and Queens Road. Rosebank College is currently undertaking a major building project.
Private school
Private schools, also known as independent schools or nonstate schools, are not administered by local, state or national governments; thus, they retain the right to select their students and are funded in whole or in part by charging their students' tuition, rather than relying on mandatory...
, co-educational, secondary
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
Catholic
Catholic school
Catholic schools are maintained parochial schools or education ministries of the Catholic Church. the Church operates the world's largest non-governmental school system...
day school
Day school
A day school—as opposed to a boarding school—is an institution where children are given educational instruction during the day and after which children/teens return to their homes...
in the Benedictine tradition, located in Five Dock
Five Dock, New South Wales
Five Dock is a suburb in the inner-west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Five Dock is located 10 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the Local Government Area of the City of Canada Bay.-Location:...
, an inner-western suburb
Inner West (Sydney)
The Inner West is a general term which is used to describe the metropolitan area directly to the west of the Sydney central business district, New South Wales, Australia...
of Sydney, New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
.
Founded in 1867 by the Sisters of the Good Samaritan
Sisters of the Good Samaritan
The Congregation of the Sisters of the Good Samaritan is a Roman Catholic Congregation of religious women commenced by , Australia’s first Catholic bishop, in Sydney in 1857. The congregation was the first religious congregation to be founded in Australia. The sisters form an apostolic institute...
, Rosebank currently caters for approximately 800 students. The College
College
A college is an educational institution or a constituent part of an educational institution. Usage varies in English-speaking nations...
welcomed young men into Year Seven in 2009 and full co-education will be achieved by 2012. The Sisters of the Good Samaritan Congregational Offices are also situated on the College campus. Tom Galea has mantained his role as College Principal since 2005 . He works alongside Assistant Principal Elizabeth Clark who has mantained her role since 2010 .
History
Rosebank College is closely associated with the early history of the Sisters of the Good Samaritan of the Order of Saint Benedict, an Australian Institute founded by Archbishop Polding in 1857 to care for destitute women in colonial Sydney. Polding himself trained the first Sisters in the Benedictine way of life which he himself had experienced at Downside Abbey in England, but adapted his rule to meet the practical needs of the colony - consoling and instructing those in distress or need. From their first convent in Pitt Street, a site now occupied by Central Railway Station, the Sisters set out to instruct children in the denominational schools, walking many miles each day.In nearly all of the early Convents, the Sisters not only taught in primary schools but set up high schools and boarding colleges which provided a broad cultural education leading to University Matriculation, and this is in the days before secondary education became compulsory in government schools. Polding had been Prefect of Studies at the famous Downside Abbey in England and the Sisters received from the Benedictine priests who staffed Lyndhurst College at Glebe (1853 - 77) invaluable professional guidance in their teacher training.
The estate of Rosebank was originally acquired to serve as a Novitiate for the growing community of young Sisters at the Pitt Street Convent where the noise of the bustling city was becoming increasingly intrusive. In those days Rosebank was surrounded by bushland and all was peace and quiet. The estate received its name from the beautiful hedge of roses surrounding it. The Sisters acquired Rosebank in 1867. Besides the Novitiate there was a primary school on the property which the Sisters conducted for the local residents and the Rosebank chapel served many families in the neighbourhood. This primary school replaced the school at Albina Villa on Parramatta Road, Concord which the Sisters began prior to 1867. Some of the Sisters buried here in the cemetery were Novices at Rosebank and one, Sr. Aloysius Cassidy, was a past pupil.
In 1877, the Novices returned to Pitt Street where a new Convent had been built and Rosebank became a Catholic Boarding School for girls. Father John Dwyer OSB, who had taught at Lyndhurst College, Glebe, till 1877, was the chaplain and he took an extraordinary interest in the intellectual, physical and spiritual well being of the students. After his death in 1886, the Queens Road end of the present three-storey structure was built with 2,000 pounds left by Father Dwyer and money given in donations. The memorial stone to Father Dwyer dating from 1886 has been incorporated in the 1986 extension to the College.
In 1893, Rosebank assumed the name of a College and the memoirs produced from this time until 1911 testify to the great reputation it enjoyed throughout New South Wales and beyond as a place of broad education. The person who stood out during this period was Mother Berchmans McLaughlin who was principal from 1893-98. She left from there to become the first Australian Superior General of the Sisters of the Good Samaritan (1898-1916). In the words of Sister Clare Slattery, she was a woman who "in another milieu would have been in the advance guard of the feminist movement" ("Wheeling Years").
In Rosebank's early years, the students soon came to the attention of the wider community. As early as 1880 Marcella Kenny was the first girl from a Catholic College to pass the University of Oxford Junior Examination, in the very first year that this particular examination was opened to girls. In 1944, Rosebank College was closed to serve as a Juniorate for 5 years, while still retaining registration as a Secondary School. Then Rosebank entered another stage of its history as a Secondary School, when it was re-opened as a boarding and day College in 1951, offering academic subjects, as well as cultural and vocational subjects for those not wishing to follow a straight academic course.
Gradually, Rosebank developed into a Leaving Certificate School until in 1966, in the process of regionalisation in Sydney and the phasing in of the Wyndham Scheme, it reverted to a Form 4 School. The boarding school closed in 1971 but the day school has continued to expand, adapting to new demands in education and adding to its facilities. In 1986 it returned to being a full secondary school with the introduction of co-education in Years 11 and 12.
In 1981, the first lay principal of the College, Mr John Hawley, was appointed. In 1988, the sisters of the Good Samaritan established Rosebank College as an Incorporated Body and appointed a Board to be responsible for the College. Mr Frank Hayes was the first Chairperson of the Board. In 2001, the second Lay principal, Mr Alan Moran was appointed. In 2005 the third and current lay Principal, Mr Tom Galea, was appointed. Miriam Berlage served as Assistant Principal of the College for six years before being succeeded by current Assistant Principal Elizabeth Clark.
Campus
The Rosebank College campus is located in the SydneySydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
suburb of Five Dock on the corner of Paramatta Road, Harris Road and Queens Road. Rosebank College is currently undertaking a major building project.
Curriculum
From Years 7 to 12, students adhere to the Board of Studies curriculum standards that all NSW schools follow. Rosebank College students undertake the School Cetificate in Year 10 and the Higher School Cetificate (HSC) in Year 12.Co-Curricular
The Rosebank Co-curricular program has been designed to complement the formal curricular program to offer all students a well rounded, balanced educational program. It recognises that students have many varied interests and talents and promotes an active, engaged and creative life style. The program consists of Representative Sport, Recreational Sport and Cultural Activities. Each of these are conducted by professional trainers, coaches or managers to ensure a high level of skill development as well as an enjoyable and rewarding experience. The program uses time made available in the timetable every Thursday from 1.00pm – 3.00 pm, as well as numerous after school, evening and weekend opportunities. Students have a choice of over 30 activities to choose from and select one each term. All students must participate in the co-curricular program on Thursdays. Two of their four selections during each year must be a physical activity chosen from either the representative, recreational or cultural offerings. Rosebank College offers a wide range of activities which often change each term.Notable alumni
- Jennifer Anne Alexander - Chief Executive OfficerChief executive officerA chief executive officer , managing director , Executive Director for non-profit organizations, or chief executive is the highest-ranking corporate officer or administrator in charge of total management of an organization...
of the Australian Institute of ManagementAustralian Institute of ManagementThe Australian Institute of Management is Australia's largest professional body for managers. The sole purpose of AIM is to promote the advancement of education and learning in the field of management and leadership for commerce, industry and government. It is not for profit entity with branches...
, New South Wales and the Australian Capital TerritoryAustralian Capital TerritoryThe Australian Capital Territory, often abbreviated ACT, is the capital territory of the Commonwealth of Australia and is the smallest self-governing internal territory...
; Chairman of Gondwana Voices (also attended St Scholastica's CollegeSt Scholastica's CollegeSt Scholastica's College , is a day and boarding, Roman Catholic school for girls, located in Glebe Point, an inner-city suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia....
) - Therese Ann McLaughlin - Founding sisterNunA nun is a woman who has taken vows committing her to live a spiritual life. She may be an ascetic who voluntarily chooses to leave mainstream society and live her life in prayer and contemplation in a monastery or convent...
of the Society of Our Lady's Nurses for the Poor; First Superior and later Mother General of the Order - Melina MarchettaMelina MarchettaMelina Marchetta is an Australian writer and teacher. She is the middle child of three daughters. Melina is best known as the author of Looking For Alibrandi. She has twice been awarded the CBCA Book of the Year for Older Readers, in 1993 and 2004.- Biography :Melina Marchettaborn in Sydney on 25...
, author of several successful young adult novels including Looking for AlibrandiLooking For Alibrandi (novel)Looking for Alibrandi is the debut novel of Australian author Melina Marchetta, published in 1990. A film adaptation was made in 1999.-Plot summary:...
. - Janice MurphyJanice MurphyJanice Murphy was an Australian freestyle and medley swimmer of the 1960s. She won a silver medal in the 4x100m freestyle relay at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics....
, OlympicOlympic GamesThe Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
silver medalist.