St. Joseph's Convent, Port of Spain

St. Joseph's Convent, Port of Spain is a government-assisted all-girls Roman Catholic secondary school in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. It was founded in 1836 by Sisters of St. Joseph of Cluny, and is the oldest continuous secondary school in Trinidad and Tobago. It celebrated its 180th anniversary in 2016[1]. The school is one of the best performing schools in the Caribbean in both the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examinations and Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examinations (CAPE) examinations[2].

St. Joseph's Convent, Port of Spain
Address
57-59 Pembroke St

Port of Spain

Trinidad and Tobago
Information
MottoSapientia et Scientia
(Wisdom and Knowledge)
Religious affiliation(s)Christianity
DenominationRoman Catholicism
Patron saint(s)St. Joseph
Founded1836
FounderBlessed Anne Marie Javouhey
StatusOpen
PrincipalMrs. Anna Pounder
GenderGirls-only
HousesBlessed Anne Marie     , Holy Trinity     , Our Lady     , St. Joseph     , St. Theresa      and St. Xavier     
School colour(s)Blue and White
   
   
WebsiteSJCPOS

History

In her book 'Race Relations in Colonial Trinidad 1870-1900', Bridget Brereton wrote, "When the school was opened in 1836, it was strictly denominational. Most of its students were white French creoles, with a few girls from elite coloured families... Girls from upper-class Protestant families, or girls whose parents could not afford the fees for St Joseph's, were educated at private, profit-making schools.[3]"

Timeline

The following is a list of some of the milestones in its history[4]

1836 - The school first opens on upper St. James Street (now Frederick Street), then moves to rented premises on Kent Street (now Pembroke Street), with students as boarders.

1840 - The school is relocated to property purchased at Pembroke Street.

1887 - New buildings are erected.

1904 - SJC begins use of the former residence of the Archbishop when he move to new premises at Queen's Park West.

1911 - SJC is affiliated with QRC for the purpose of external Cambridge exams and qualifies for government subsidy.

1936 - A southern wing is built to mark the school's100th year.

1944 - Four sisters perish in a fire which destroys the greater part of the school and the chapel.

1946 - New school buildings are opened.

1962 - Non-paying students are accepted as the government's first Common Entrance Examinations are held.

1966 - The boarding school is closed.

1972 - A three-storey wing is built for Forms 4 and 5.

1990 - Sr. Paul D'Ornellas retires as Principal, the last Sister of St. Joseph of Cluny to be in charge of the school.

2016 - Celebrations to mark SJC's 180th anniversary and the 70th anniversary of the completion of the rebuilding of the school in January 1946 after the fire of 1944.

References
  1. "Feature Address in Celebration of the Charitable works of the Saint Joseph Sisters of Cluny and the HaiT&T Foundation in HAITI". TTParliament. Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago. Retrieved September 16, 2019.
  2. "St Joseph's Convent, PoS: meteor shower of success". Trinidad and Tobago Newsday. Trinidad and Tobago Newsday. Retrieved November 22, 2018.
  3. Brereton, Bridget (2002). Race Relations in Colonial Trinidad 1870-1900. ISBN 978-0521523134.
  4. Nunes, Maria (2016). "180 years of St. Joseph's Convent, Port of Spain, 1836-2016: A brief history". Retrieved September 16, 2019.
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