St Francis de Sales College

St Francis de Sales College is a Reception to Year 12 Catholic co-educational school located in Mount Barker, South Australia.

For other uses, see Francis de Sales (disambiguation).

St Francis de Sales College
Location
8 Dutton Road, Mount Barker , South Australia
Information
Type	Catholic
Motto	Belong for Life
Established	1902
Principal	Gavin McGlaughlin
Enrolment	716
Campus	Reception - Year 12
Colour(s)	Bottle green, navy blue & wattle yellow
Website	stfrancis.catholic.edu.au

History

Founded in 1902 by the Sisters Of Mercy under the name of St. Scholastica as convent and day school. In 1959 the school expanded into a new building separate from the convent, The Dell. The sisters Of Mercy withdrew from teaching in Mount Barker in 1977, but the primary school continued to expand. The Mount Barker Parish School changed its name in 1986 to St Francis De Sales School. In 1997 a successful application was made for the primary school to expand into an R-12 College.; it opened in 1999 with 212 students. The first year 12s graduated in 2004.

The Ralston Building was built, and portable classrooms added. St Francis De Sales College educates students from all over the Adelaide Hills, including from Birdwood, Stirling, Meadows, Strathalbyn, Lobethal, Nairne, Callington, Monarto and Littlehampton; students also Murray Bridge and other towns in the Murraylands area.

Redevelopment

In August 2017, plans for a $27 Million redevelopment of the college were approved by Catholic Education South Australia.[1] These developments, while primarily funded by the college, were contributed to by the State Government and the Mount Barker District Council. The build would consist of a Community Sports Centre, a new Reception to Year 6 Primary School and an Early Learning Centre.

In 2018, the $10.2 million Community Sports Center was opened by Minister for Recreation, Sport and Racing, Corey Wingard, Mayor of Mount Barker, Ann Ferguson and Director of Catholic Education South Australia, Dr Neil McGoran.[2]

In 2020, the second stage of development commenced; the new Junior School and Early Learning Centre set to be completed in late 2020.

House system

The college's original houses were Sturt (blue), Flinders (green) and Barker (red); after the number of students increased, in 2007 four new houses were adopted. Savoy (blue), Geneva (red), Padua (green) and Lyon (yellow). These houses are named after important places in the life of the college's patron saint Francis de Sales: where he was born, studied, was a bishop and where he died.

House		Coat of Arms	Description
	Lyon	Lion	Named after the city in France where Saint Francis de Sales died on 28 December 1622 Colour: Yellow.
	Geneva	Mitre	Named after the city where Saint Francis de Sales was Bishop, Doctor of the Universal Church. Colour: Red.
	Padua	Book	Saint Francis de Sales studied Law here in 1588 Colour: Green.
	Savoy	Crown	Named after the City that Saint Francis de Sales was born in on 21 August 1567 Colour: Blue.

Alumni

• Danielle Catanzariti, actress
• Jesse Budel, composer
• Cody Szust, SANFL footballer

References

1. "Green light for development at St Francis de Sales College". www.cesa.catholic.edu.au. Retrieved 2020-06-23.
2. "St Francis de Sales community sports centre unveiled". The Southern Cross. 2018-11-18. Retrieved 2020-06-23.

35°04′00″S 138°52′02″E