Mount St. Joseph Girls' College

Mount St. Joseph Girls' College
Mount St. Joseph Girls' College
Address
	133 Maidstone Street; Altona, Victoria, 3018; Australia
Coordinates	37°51′51″S 144°48′42″E / 37.86417°S 144.81167°E
Information
Type	Secondary, Single sex identifier school, day school
Denomination	Roman Catholic, Josephites
Established	1964
Principal	Kate Dishon
Employees	approximately $5,000 per year
Enrolment	approximately 1153 students
Colour(s)	Navy blue and white
School fees	$5,200 to 5,900 per year
Website	www.msj.vic.edu.au

Mount St. Joseph Girls' College is a Catholic Girls College located in Maidstone Street, Altona, Victoria, Australia. Mount St. Joseph Girls’ College is one of few schools in Australia that is a Josephite college, founded by the Josephite Order in 1964.^[2]

History

Beginnings

In the early 1960s, the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart made plans for a school for young women in the western suburbs of Melbourne. The school was built in Altona West and opened in February 1964.

Their logo is a white lily, and the college motto is 'Virtue Courage'.^[3]

Previous principals

The college has seen 10 principals since its foundation, 7 of which were Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart:

Mary John Forster RSJ (Founding Principal): 1964–1967
Romuald Pierce RSJ: 1967–1970
Anne O'Brien RSJ: 1971
Nora Finucane RSJ: 1971–1973
Giovanni Farquer RSJ: 1974–981
Margaret Blampied RSJ: 1982–1985
Helen T Reed RSJ: 1986–2002
Regina Byrne: 2002–2008
Catherine Dillon: 2008–2015
Kate Dishon: 2016–present

Sport

There are 6 house colours for sport days and college events, which are:

PENOLA (yellow)

Named after the town in South Australia where Mary MacKillop and Julian Tenison Woods established the order of the Sisters of St Joseph and the first Josephite school.

KINCUMBER (blue)

Named after the town north of Sydney, where the Sisters of St Joseph opened an orphanage for street children in 1887.

McCORMACK (green)

Named after Irene McCormack who worked in the village of Huasihuasi, Peru and was fatally shot by members of a guerilla rebel group on 21 May 1991.

SOLOMON (red)

Named after Emmanuel Solomon, a wealthy Jewish philanthropist who generously supported the poor and disadvantaged.

CAMERON (orange)

Named after Mary MacKillop's relatives, the Cameron's, whom she was governess for when she moved to Penola at the age of 18.

PROVIDENCE (purple)

During the early years of the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart's work across Australia, the Sisters established a number of Houses of Providence. These houses served as a refuge for young women and children who did not have access to a safe home or food.