St Joseph's Secondary School, Fiji
St Joseph's Secondary School is an all-girls school located in Suva, Fiji. The school was founded in 1956 and has established itself as one of the top schools around the country, progressing in the fields of academics and sports. The counterpart school for boys is Marist Brothers High School
| Location | |
|---|---|
Waimanu Rd, Suva, Fiji | |
| Information | |
| Type | All girls school and others |
| Motto | "Pietas Cum Scientia" |
| Established | 1956 |
| Principal | Jacqueline Low Low (current principal) |
| Enrollment | 700+ |
| Color(s) | Blue and white and orange
Uniform: Standard ladies shirt
|
History
St Joseph's Secondary School's history began way back in September 1888 when four pioneer sisters were missioned to Fiji at the invitation of Bishop Vidal to provide education for the people of Fiji.
The sisters were Mother Martin and Sister (Sr) Tarcisius Mongin of France, Sr Mary of the Holy Name of Ireland and Sr Frances Chambers of Newfoundland, Canada
All three sisters are buried in the old Suva Cemetery.
Today it is evident that through the lives of these sisters and their companions over the many years have managed to sustain the Cluny missionary spirit through the education offered to young women who have passed through their hands – (Sr MacAlister, leader of the sisters of St Joseph's the cluny, during the schools 60th anniversary.)
In 1938 (which was the golden jubilee of the sisters' arrival in Fiji) the sisters opened a secondary department on the third floor of St Anne's Primary School – it was called St Philomena's.
There was also a small secondary branch attached to St Joseph's Primary School which was on the site where the Reserve Bank is now, next to the Sacred Heart Cathedral.
It was in 1956 that both secondary departments of St Anne's (St Philomena's) and St Joseph's Primary (St Joseph's Secondary) were transferred to the present site.
The staff was mainly sisters of the congregation. The driving force behind the growth of St Joseph's was a little Irish sister known as Sr Loius Woodnut whom she was small in stature but very large in her ability to supervise the growth of this special school for girls.
Together with the other sisters, some of whom are present today, managed to establish a school of excellence in both academic and spiritual fields.
The school celebrated its 60th jubilee in September 2016 with old pupils returning from all over the world.[1]
Extra-Curriculum Activities
Sports
The school encourages its students to participate in extra-curriculum activities. Sports such Netball, Field Hockey, Basketball, Track and Field, Swimming, Archery, Chess, Soccer, Volleyball, etc.are participated within the school environment. The school has produced top athletes who have progressed to represent Fiji. St Joseph's is also well-known for the many sporting titles they have achieved especially advancing to the finals of the majority Fiji Secondary Schools Netball and Hockey tournaments. The school also made a comeback to the Coca-Cola games after a lapse of so many years, not placing below fourth for the past four years.
School Concert
St Joseph's stages its annual school concert every year attracting many different items from all ethnicities found in the school. The school concert is usually a sold-out event.
Notable alumnae
- Sisilia Seavula – Coca-Cola games 100m blue ribbon event winner, 2015 Pacific Games gold medalist and participated at 2016 Rio Olympics
- Selai Saumi – first female pilot officer at Fiji Airways
- Seonleilei Mario – first Fijian to carry the Commonwealth mace
- Belinda Chan – Fiji Cancer Society, CEO.
- Luse Kotobalavu – former Fiji Netball international, participated at 2011 Netball World Championships and Netball Super League
- Filomena Tagivetaua – Miss Hibiscus 2008, Miss Fiji 2008
- Namita Khatri – former Fiji ambassador to India
- Cheryl Brown-Irava – Fiji ambassador to Australia
- Prerna Lal – Fijian writer and DREAM Act activist residing in the US
- Lagamu Vuiyasawa - Fijian politician
- Hannah Bennett - Professional Fijian surfer
- Valerie Nainima - Fiji women's basketball skipper, 2007 Pacific Games 2015 Pacific Games gold medalist, 2019 Pacific Games silver medalist, former professional basketball player New Basket Oberhausen and assistant basketball coach at Fordham University
- Lisa Apted - Partner, KPMG
- Jenny Seeto - Partner, PWC
- Elizabeth Reade Fong - Deputy Librarian, USP
- Shirleen Sahai - Gold Medalist, USP
- Dr. Teresia Teaiwa - Senior Lecturer and Programme Director at Victoria University
- Dr. Katrina Teaiwa - Head of the Department of Gender, Media and Cultural Studies and Pacific Studies Convener in the College of Asia and the Pacific at the Australian National University
- Dr. Maria Teaiwa-Rutherford - MD * General Obstetricians and Gynecologists * New York City's Mount Sinai West and Mount Sinai Morningside
- Dr. Claire Slatter - Senior Lecturer, School of Governance & Development Studies, University of the South Pacific
- Nunia Thomas - Director - Nature Fiji
- Lorraine Seeto - Chief Manager Risk Management & Communications, Reserve Bank of Fiji
- Liebling Marlow - First Miss Hibiscus
- Litiana Bainimarama - CEO, Fiji Sports Council
- Tahitia Kamea - Coca-Cola games 100m blue ribbon event winner
- Patricia Sachs Cornish - Chief Adviser, Director-General’s Office, Secretariat of the Pacific Community
- Sr Genevieve Loo - Former Principal of St Joseph's Secondary School
References
2.[1]