St Leo's Catholic College

St Leo's Catholic College is a Catholic co-educational secondary day school located in the Upper North Shore suburb of Wahroonga in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

St Leo's Catholic School
Location

Australia
Coordinates33°42′56″S 151°06′19″E
Information
TypeIndependent co-educational secondary day school
MottoLex Dei In Corde
(God's Law In The Heart)
DenominationRoman Catholicism
Established1956 (1956)
FounderCongregation of Christian Brothers
Educational authorityNew South Wales Department of Education
OversightDiocese of Broken Bay
PrincipalMr Anthony Gleeson
Years7-12
Enrolment800 (2019)
Campus typeSuburban
Colour(s)Purple and gold   
Websitewww.stleos.nsw.edu.au

Situated in the Diocese of Broken Bay, the high school currently has approximately 800 students from Year 7 to Year 12.

The college was named after St Leo the Great, who was one of the early Popes of the Catholic Church.

History[1]

The college was originally founded on 24 April 1955 for the education of boys of the Upper North Shore. The first classes commenced in 1956, with 118 students in Years 3 to 6. By 1983, the Brothers were no longer able to staff the college and so its administration was passed to the Catholic Education Office, Sydney. Upon the departure of the Christian Brothers, the first lay Headmaster was appointed.

Co-education

The College became co-educational, with the first girls enrolling in Year 11 in 1983 and Year 7 in 1984. By 1987, the college had fully completed the integration of co-education. When the newly created Diocese of Broken Bay was formed, the College came under the jurisdiction of the Catholic Schools Office, Broken Bay.

Building Works

In the 1980s, the College undertook an extensive building program including a multi-purpose hall and art and hospitality facilities. In 2002, a new Technology Centre was constructed. The multi-purpose Light of Christ Centre was opened in 2012.

By the start of 2020, the College completed an extensive $25 million building works program including the new Mary MacKillop Centre for Creative and Performing Arts, Technology and Hospitality which includes a dance and drama theatre, commercial kitchens, TAS workshops, art gallery, visual art studios, specialty music, orchestra, and band rooms as well as other flexible learning spaces. Other recently completed upgrades include renovation of the College Chapel, Aquinas Resource Centre including library and cafe, a new College entrance and additional outdoor recreation spaces.

Uniform[2]

In 2020, the College introduced new academic and sports uniforms for both junior and senior students. The college has set a three-year transition period for the new uniform.

Principals[3]

The following individuals served as Principals of St Leo's Catholic College:

Campus and Facilities[4]

St Leo's is located on six hectares in the Upper North Shore suburb of Wahroonga and has just completed an extensive $25m building upgrade.

Facilities include:

  • the new Mary MacKillop Centre for Creative and Performing Arts, Design, Technology and Hospitality, including: – a drama and dance theatre with retractable seating – art gallery and visual art studios – specialty music, rehearsal rooms and individual instrumental tuition rooms – two fully-equipped commercial-grade kitchens – two TAS workshops for woodwork – several large meeting gallery spaces
  • The Light of Christ Centre – a multipurpose complex for over 1000 people used for indoor sports, assemblies and a range of College functions and events
  • a newly refurbished Chapel
  • two full-sized sports ovals and three outdoor basketball courts
  • two large shaded outdoor recreational areas
  • our Aquinas Resource Centre including fully-equipped library with extensive digital and online resources, study hubs, open learning areas, student cafe and alfresco meeting area
  • canteen.

St Leo's House System[5]

Each student is allocated to one of the eight College houses. These houses have been named in honour of Saints and venerable women and men who have transformed the world through faith-filled action:

  • Aquinas (Green)
  • Bakhita (Purple)
  • Chanel (Blue)
  • Loyola (Gold)
  • McAuley (Aqua)
  • MacKillop (Bronze)
  • Theresa (White), and
  • Xavier (Red).

See also

St Leos won its first and only MCC rugby league title in 2009 at Leichardt Oval beating the minor premiers Marist Brothers North Shore. Current teacher, Mr Luke Trotz, was thrilled at the gutsy 30–22 win from his team of students. A real highlight in the schools sporting career.

References

  1. "Our College – History". St Leo's Catholic College. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
  2. "Future Students – Uniform Information". St Leo's Catholic College. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
  3. "Our College – College Leadership & Staff". St Leo's Catholic College. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
  4. "Our College – Facilities". St Leo's Catholic College. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
  5. "Discover St Leo's – House System". St Leo's Catholic College. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
Ordinal Officeholder Term start Term end Time in office
1 L Sebastian Crohan CFC 1956 1958 2 years
2 Terrance Wigmore CFC 1959 1964 5 years
3 Quentin Brady CFC 1965 1967 2 years
4 Walter Garraty CFC 1968 1973 5 years
5 Brian Berg CFC 1974 1979 5 years
6 Myron Byrne 1980 1982 2 years
7 Alan Brady 1983 1984 2 years
8 Mark Turkington 1984 1989 5 years
9 Terry Blanchard 1990 2001 11 years
10 Debbie Buscall 2002 2009 7 years
11 Tony Gleeson 2010 2020 11 years
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.