St John's College, Woodlawn

Infobox Secondary school
name =St John's College, Woodlawn
native_name =
logo =
motto = "Tenete Traditiones"
'Hold fast to the traditions'
established =1931
city = Lismore
province = New South Wales
state = Northern Rivers

country =Australia
campus = Rural; 20 acres
type =Catholic Marist Systemic Secondary
affiliation =
affiliations = Marists, Lismore Diocese
president =
principal = Glenn Roff
headmaster =
rector =
dean =
founder = Marist Fathers
chaplain = Fr. Paul Pidcock
chairman =
students = 750
faculty = >100
enrollment =
enrolment =
grades = Year 7 - 12
address = St Johns College; Woodlawn Road
district =Lismore Diocese
oversight =
accreditation = Land Donated by Margaret Buckley
mascot = Eagle
free_label_2 = Patron
free_2 = St John the Evangelist
colors =
colours =Red, Green and Gold
newspaper =Woodlawn Newsletter
yearbook =The Eagle
free_label_1 = Aboriginal Land
free_1 = Bundjalung Region
free_label_3 =
free_3 =
website = [http://www.woodlawn.nsw.edu.au/ www.woodlawn.nsw.edu.au]
footnotes = 'We' the college are here to develop your full potential.
picture =

St John's College, Woodlawn is a Catholic systemic secondary school, located in the rural area of "Woodlawn" on the outskirts of Lismore, New South Wales, Australia.

In the city of Lismore the four largest industries by employment are; retail sector, health care, education and agriculture. St John's College, originally an agricultural secondary school, has a major part in two of these sectors and of course participates indirectly in the others as well.

The school's name is often shortened to "Woodlawn" rather than being named fully. After 75 years the name is a source of pride and honour throughout the local and educational communities. The School was founded by the Marists who continue to play a role in the running of the school. The first lay Rector (Principal) is Glenn Roff who holds the role currently.

History

St John's College, Woodlawn, was founded from St Patrick's College, Wellington, New Zealand in 1931. The Marists who began the school themselves originated in France in the early 19th century.
St John's College was formally opened in 1931 as a Boarding and Day school on land which was donated by Miss Margaret Buckley. The first Rector of the school was Fr Thomas Segrief S.M, Followed by Frs James Bell, John Kennedy, John Webber, Steven Maloney, Sid Mitchell, John Webber, Garry Reynolds, Lou Molloy, John Worthington, William Ryder, Ray Chapman - all priests of the Society of Mary and the current Principal is Mr Glenn Roff.

The College was described in the Northern Star on May 25th 1931;
"St John's Educational and Agricultural College at Woodlawn, on the outskirts of Lismore, and architectural jewel adorning the pastoral diadem of the North Coast, is destined to make history throughout all States of the Commonwealth. Its inspiration is eloquent tribute to the zeal, enthusiasm and practical outlook of that order of the Roman Catholic Church, the Marist Fathers."

For many years, St John was primarily a boarding school for boys. Whilst most students came from country NSW, during the 1960's and 1970's, a substantial number of students came from Sabah, Malaysia.

The 75th Anniversary

St John's College Woodlawn celebrated its 75th Anniversary in 2006. The College held many events throughout the year to celebrate, ranging from the first "Woodlawn Race Day", to "St John's Youth Day" and formal ceremonies. The opening of the renovated Chapel was a central part of the ceremonies, with hundreds of Alumni returning to be apart of the celebrations. After the Woodlawn Race Day (also known as the Woodlawn Cup), the College executive in association with the Parents and Friends executive decided to hold the day annually.

The Ethos and Spirit of the College

Mission Statement

"St John's College, Woodlawn builds on its traditions as a welcoming family, based on the Catholic faith, and aims for its members to be touched by a Christian spirituality. Through inspired leadership, we endeavour to assist all our community to achieve their full potential. We aim to provide an education which is relevant to the 21st century, based on a harmony of the physical, academic, cultural and spiritual."

The College's Motto

"Tenete Traditiones", is taken from Saint Paul's second letter to the Thessalonians: "God called you to this through the Good News we preached to you; He called you to possess your share of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. So then, our brothers, stand firm and hold fast to the traditions which we taught you, both in our preaching and our writing". (2 Thessalonians 2:14-15)

The College's Crest

St John's College Woodlawn's crest shows the three colours of Woodlawn (Red, Green and Gold), and also St John's Eagle in the upper right corner, with the Society of Mary's symbol shown in the lower left corner. With "Tenete Traditiones" below this completes the image of the holistic parts of the college.

The College Patron

St John's College "Woodlawn is named after St John the Evangelist". St John was one of the twelve apostles and tradition tells us that he was a close friend of Jesus. We celebrate his feast day at the beginning of the academic year. As John's gospel is said to provide a view of the life of Jesus from high above St John's symbol is the Eagle and therefore the eagle is held as an important symbol for the college. 'The Eagle' is also the title of the College annual magazine.

Houses & their Origins

*Carroll - "Green" Bishop of Lismore Diocese at the time of Woodlawn's Establishment
*Segrief - "Red" The first Rector of the College
*Bell - "Yellow" The Second Rector
*Kennedy - "Blue" The Third Rector

Sporting Heritage

St John's has a rich sporting heritage, evolving over the years from cricket and rugby on the famous green fields through to swimming with the installation of the 33 Yard Swimming pool, further expansion to now include every range of sports indoor and outdoor with the use of the college "Colin Centre" which is the indoor sports centre.

Significant Days at Woodlawn

Opening Mass

The Opening Mass is the spiritual event marking the start of the new year. In recent years the Opening Mass has been held at the Lismore Cathedral to allow the entire school to attend and to include the Diocese in the events of the College. The Opening Mass also celebrates the new leaders in the College, the Prefects receive their badges of office; and the newly appointed Students' Representative Council is inducted for the year.

College Swimming Carnival

Is respected as being the most exciting, engaged and fun night of the college, it its known as the best swimming carnival in the Northern Rivers and is the first event for the new year 12 to engage its new responsibilities. Some of the Colleges most significant moments have occurred in or at the pool, and is quickly becoming the event not to miss.

College Cross Country

The course varies between 3 and 3.5 Kilometres depending on year level and gender and also the time to beat varies, ranging from 30 to 40 minutes to earn extra points. The Cross Country is run over the rolling hills nearby and is notoriously easy to walk yet very challenging to run.

Yr 12 Youth Day / St John's Day

St John's day has recently been combined with the college youth day to become "St John's Youth Day" and is the event where Yr 12 takes control and has some fun with half the day dedicated to fun activities designed by Year 12's for the rest of the college to enjoy. The profits made from the events go back through the school in the fashion of the Year 12 gift at the end of their years.

Notable Alumni

*Duncan Armstrong - Olympic Swimmer
*Aden Ridgeway - Australian Politician
*Amos Roberts - NRL Sydney Roosters
*Matt King - NRL Melbourne Storm
*John Cassegrain - Winemaker
*Claude Cassegrain - Tea tree farmer
*Darren Jackson Carver - Actor
*Ian Donnelly - NRL Melbourne Storm
*James Aubusson - NRL Melbourne Storm

See also

* List of Non-Government schools in New South Wales
* Schools in New South Wales
* Lismore, New South Wales

External links

* [http://www.woodlawn.nsw.edu.au/ St John's College Woodlawn Website]
* [http://au.groups.yahoo.com/group/Woodlawn Woodlawns Yahoo Group; All Welcome]
* [http://www.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/ Board of Studies Website]
* [http://www.lism.catholic.edu.au Lismore Catholic Education Office]