HISTORY OF ST MONICA'S COLLEGE
The history of St. Monica's College, Epping, can be traced
back to 1964 when the decision was taken to establish a regional girls'
secondary College to serve the needs of the Catholic parishes of Bundoora, East
Preston, West Preston, East Reservoir, Epping, Kingsbury, Lalor, North Reservoir
and Reservoir. The Sisters of the Good Samaritan accepted the invitation of the
Archbishop of Melbourne to conduct the school, and the foundation Principal,
Sister Patricia Thame (Louis), led a school which was housed in a number of
neighbouring Catholic primary schools.
Click here to link to the Sisters of the Good Samaritan's web
site.
It was not until February 5, 1967, that the College buildings
on Davisson Street were blessed and opened by Bishop Moran and at this time
there was an enrolment of 240 girls in Forms I-IV who were taught by five Good
Samaritan Sisters and two lay teachers.
By 1969 a need arose to extend the College so the second
stage of building at Davisson Street commenced. With the development of the
neighbouring areas, the school grew in size and reputation. A challenge emerged
for St. Monica's College - the need to meet the demand for Catholic secondary
education for boys. After a considerable amount of planning and preparatory
work, the decision was taken to become a co-educational school, and in 1978,
seventy boys were accepted, boosting the College enrolment to 1,000 students. It
was with pride that the junior campus on Dalton Road was blessed by Archbishop
Frank Little, and opened by Senator Fred Chaney, in November, 1978.
The College expanded further in September, 1986, when Bishop
Joseph O'Connell blessed and opened the St. Monica's Wedge Street Annexe,
thereby providing Home Economics, Languages and Physical Education facilities,
as well as a prayer room.
Planning for a major refurbishment program at the Davisson
Street Campus commenced in 1992, building commenced in 1993 and work was
completed in June, 1994. The newly refurbished buildings were blessed and opened
by Father Tom Doyle in August of that year. 1994 also saw the construction of
three new computer laboratories, a new technology centre, and planning for a
Sports & Assembly Hall on the Dalton Road Campus.
The contribution of the Sisters since the foundation of the
College has been significant and valued by the College community. The Sisters
vacated the Convent in early 1993 when it was taken over by the College.
Today, St. Monica's College provides an excellent standard of
Catholic education for girls and boys of the parishes of St. Peter's, Epping;
St. Luke's, Lalor; St. Clare's, Thomastown West; St. Stephen's, East Reservoir;
Holy Name, East Preston; and St. Francis of Assisi, Mill Park.
The College’s Strategic Plan, ‘Towards The Future 1995-1999,
provided direction for the further development of the school.
St. Monica's College celebrates its fine past and traditions;
the College is proud of its present achievements; the College looks to the
future with confidence and is devoted to spreading the Word of God amongst young
people and their families.
The College celebrated the opening of its new Sports &
Assembly Hall on the Feast of St. Monica, 27th August, 1996. This building,
which is comprised of two large courts, a weights room and other facilities, was
built with College funds and was opened and blessed by Archbishop George Pell.
In 1997 the College commenced the construction of additional
buildings to accommodate Year 9 classes. These buildings which also included
Library extensions, were opened by His Excellency, Sir James Gobbo AC, on
Tuesday, 4th August, 1998.
The College extended its building and refurbishment program
throughout 1999 when a capital grant and College monies allowed for the
construction of The Beehive (shared information technology room), three
refurbished Science laboratories, and redesigned visual and performing arts
classrooms on the Davisson Street Campus. These were opened by Senator Tsbin
Tchen on April 7, 2000.
The College’s first strategic plan ‘Towards The Future
1995-1999’ was completed in 1999 and throughout that year the College developed
the next plan for the new century.
On Wednesday, 24th November, 1999, the College formally took
possession of Ostia at Strath Creek. This eight hectare property and residence
was purchased for usage by the College community for educational and social
purposes, and was blessed and opened by Rev. R Wood P.P. and Mr John Haberman on
Sunday, March 19, 2000.
St Francis of Assisi Parish, Mill Park, officially became a
regional parish in 2000. This year also saw the Principal, Mr Brian Hanley,
completing ten years of leadership service to the College.
"Towards The Future 2000-2004" was launched in 2000 and in
that year work commenced on the construction of classrooms and specialist areas
for the Performing and Visual Arts, Technology and the Concert Band at the
Dalton Road Campus. Work also began on Our Lady's Chapel. These buildings were
proudly opened on May 30th 2001 by Senator Kay Paterson.
In December 2000 the College purchased a property adjacent to
the Dalton Road Campus which was refurbished to accommodate the Student Services
faculty of our College. It was named Augustine House and opened by Sister
Dorothea Tallon SGS on 30th May 2001.
In mid 2002 a modern Food Technology Centre was constructed
on Dalton Road Campus.
Throughout 2003, much activity took place which eventuated in
the construction of extensive sporting fields on Dalton Road Campus and the
commencement of a Year 10 wing at Davisson Street.
On March 17, 2004 the new Year 10 wing and Science laboratory
were opened by Madeline Campbell, first College Captain. On that same day Sister
Julian McKenna sgs opened the Our Lady of the Cherry Blossom Peace Garden. In
May of the same year the Wedge Street Annexe ceased to exist and was
incorporated fully into Davisson Street Campus on the purchase of a section of
Wedge Street from the Victorian Government. In June an annexe to Dalton Road
Campus was established and named Monica's Cottage.
In 2005 the College’s third Strategic Plan was launched,
‘Towards the Future 2005 – 2009’. This was to be the platform for major
developments to come including an evaluation of the College’s curriculum and an
extensive building program.
In September 2007 the new Year 9 Building was completed and
students moved out of the portables. This new building provided Year 9 students
with a dedicated space which included an open learning space. The fourteen
portables were then moved to a section beside this building and named the
Learning and Activities Complex: this area has been set up to allow for
dedicated spaces for our established Literacy and Numeracy programs, along with
the new Horizons program commenced in 2008. Space has also been set aside for an
enhanced Media Studies facility. The complex also contained a Science
laboratory.
In July 2008 the Science and Technology Building was
completed and available for use. This new and innovative facility also contained
a separate tutorial centre as well as a small computer facility. The surrounding
landscaped area also included facilities for al fresco dining adjacent to the
Food Technology Centre as well as a small amphitheatre for outdoor classes along
with vegetable patches to be maintained by the Envirofriends staff and students
classes.