- Mt Maria College
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Mt Maria College is a Catholic, Secondary Coeducational College located in northside Brisbane on two campuses. It offers both an OP course and a VET course for students. It is part of Brisbane Catholic Education.
Mt Maria College Location Mitchelton & Enoggera, Queensland, Australia Information Type Private School, Roman Catholic, Coeducational, Secondary. Established 2006 Principal Mr Mark Stower Grades 8–12 Campus Suburban Split Campus Colour(s) Burgundy & Navy Affiliations Brisbane Catholic Education Website http://www.mtmaria.com.au Contents
Location
Mt Maria College is located on two separate campuses. The Mitchelton Campus (For Years 10, 11 and 12) is located at 67-69 Osborne Road, Mitchelton and the Enoggera Campus (For Years 8 and 9) is located at 340 South Pine Road, Enoggera.
History of the College
Mt Maria Junior Secondary College and Mt Maria Senior College existed for many years as two separate schools. In 2006 the amalgamation of the two Colleges took place to form Mt Maria College.
The property now occupied by the Mt Maria College Mitchelton campus was originally set up in 1930 by the Sisters of the Good Shepherd as the Good Shepherd Home, catering for those with special needs or those deemed to be ‘uncontrollable’ in their own homes.[1] It was later renamed the Mt Maria Training School for delinquent girls. The home was closed in late 1974 due to changes in community and government expectations, as well as financial difficulties and a shortage of staff.[1][2]
In 1970, the site now occupied by the Mt Maria College Enoggera campus was established by the Marist Brothers as a boys school, initially for years 5-7. The school was known as Marcellin College (and as Marist Brothers Enoggera).[1] The first year 12 class graduated in 1976.
In 1978 Brisbane Catholic Education purchased the Mt Maria Senior College Mitchelton campus, with the intention of providing co-educational schooling for senior students (years 11 and 12) from Marcellin College and from St Benedict's Catholic Girls School at Wilston. Marcellin and St Benedict's closed their year 11 and 12 classes in 1977 and in 1978 Mt Maria Senior Secondary College began operating at Mitchelton, under Brother Terrence Heinrich[3], who had previously been principal at Marcellin. He was succeeded by Brother Robert O'Connor in 1981, who in turn was succeeded by Brother Anthony in 1985.
By the late 1980s, Catholic primary schools were teaching boys through to grade 7, and consequently Marcellin no longer needed to provide primary school education. When St Benedicts finally closed its doors in 1991[3] the girls school moved over to the Marcellin campus at Enoggera and became Mt Maria Junior Secondary College.
The two schools operated like this until the amalgamation in January 2006, when the two colleges were jointly renamed Mt Maria College, a new uniform phased in and the adoption of a new logo took place.
Mt Maria has plans to progressively relocate all schooling to the Mitchelton campus between 2011 and 2013[4]. The initial phase is to construct new facilities on the Mitchelton campus, which will allow year 10 from Enoggera to be combined with years 11 and 12 to form the new Senior school at Mitchelton. During the following year, the original buildings will be refurbished, followed by construction of the remaining buildings to accommodate years 8 and 9. It is possible that year 7 may be incorporated into the school by this stage, depending on the outcome of the educational reviews being carried out in Queensland[5].
Events
Mt Maria holds many events in the school year. There are three sporting carnivals held per year: Swimming, Cross Country and Athletics. Two performances are also held each year, Hi! I'm and CU. These typically showcase music, dance and drama, as well as film as of 2008. Another key event was the Live Simply Day held on the 8th August, 2008. This was an initiative of the Student Representative Council where the student body was asked to wear black and white to school and to live simply in all aspects of their daily school life, such as turning off lights, computers and using minimal resources. A photograph was taken of the whole school, the first taken since the amalgamation in 2006.
Leadership Executive
Mt Maria College has an administration team consisting of a Principal, Deputy Principal, Assistant Principal - Administration and Assistant Principal - Religious Education. Prior to 2009, there were two Deputy Principals: one for each campus. It was announced in May 2009 that as of Semester Two 2009, Mr Mark Stower will begin leading the school as principal.
The Leadership Executive as of 2010 are:
- Mr Mark Stower - Principal
- Mr Brian Eastaughffe - Deputy Principal
- Mr Anthony Elmore - Assistant Principal Administration
- Mr Derek Worden - Assistant Principal Religious Education
- Mrs Mary-Louise Hannam - Business Manager
There are also five Year Co-ordinators:
- Year 8: Damien Waters
- Year 9: Steve Lidell
- Year 10: Geoff Fletcher
- Year 11: Mischa Hibberd
- Year 12: Racheal Fletcher
Key Learning Areas
Mt Maria College is split into ten Key Learning Areas for students. These are:[6]
- The Performing Arts
Head of KLA: James Brownlie
- Business & Computing Studies
Head of KLA: Luisa Marinelli
Head of KLA: Peter Myska
- HPE
Head of KLA: Lauren Moore
Head of KLA: Randall Jettoo
Head of KLA: Geoff Fletcher
- Social Sciences
Head of KLA: Hilde Claus
Head of KLA: Kerry Maher
Head of KLA: Max Luxton
Head of KLA: Stephen Connors (Boy)
Student Representative Council
In Year 11, students undertake a Leadership Selection Process to establish the eleven student leaders for the college. This includes two School Captains, two Vice Captains, two Secretaries and five House Captains. These students meet on a weekly basis to attend to any student-related issues that may have arisen.
Major Prizes
At the Year 12 Graduation Evening, eight major prizes are awarded to students who have contributed in certain areas of the College. Their names are engraved on a trophy and recorded on the honour boards.
The award prizes are as follows:
- The Myer Brookside Award for Sporting Excellence
- The Mary Ryan Prize for Oratory
- The Mary King Prize for Character
- The Noel Stallard Prize for Commitment to Studies
- The Tom Fitzsimon Prize for Service
- The Champagnat Prize
- The Excellence in Work Education Award
- The College Award
Parents and Friends Association
Mt Maria College has a Parents and Friends Association that meets on the first Wednesday of each month. As of August 2008; the President of the Committee is Mark Cranny, the Vice President is Trudy Drummond, Secretary is Sue Fyfe and the Treasurer is Sue Parkes. This Association meets to further advance the college community.
Houses and Committees
Mt Maria College has five houses, each named after a particular person. For each house, there is a designated House Captain. The College House Captains, members of the Student Representative Council are elected at the end of each year. The houses are:
- Benedict (Blue)
- Champagnat (Green)
- Lavalla (Purple)
- Mackillop (Red)
- Pelletier (Gold)
There are also five student committees that all students may join that are led by the House Captains:
- Arts Committee
- Environment Committee
- Liturgy Committee
- Mission Committee
- Service Committee
External links
References
- ^ a b c Mt Maria - History & Tradition, retrieved 28 July 2010.
- ^ Good Shepherd Home and Laundry (former), Brisbane City Council Heritage Citation, Brisbane City Council Heritage Unit.
- ^ a b Mt Maria College Education Brief (Draft), retrieved 28 July 2010.
- ^ Fulton Trotter Architects: Mt Maria College Mitchelton Master Plan, retrieved 28 July 2010.
- ^ A Flying Start for Queensland Children: Education Green Paper for public consultation, retrieved 28 July 2010
- ^ "Key Staff". Mt Maria College. http://www.mtmaria.com.au/content/?id=40. Retrieved 2 March 2010.
Coordinates: 27°24′41.33″S 152°58′47.6″E / 27.4114806°S 152.979889°E
Categories:- Private schools in Queensland
- Roman Catholic schools in Australia
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