Saint Ignatius' College, Riverview

Saint Ignatius' College, Riverview is a Roman Catholic, day and boarding school for boys, located in Riverview, a small suburb situated on the Lane Cove River on the Lower North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

Established in 1880 by Fr. Joseph Dalton, SJ, of the Society of Jesus, Saint Ignatius' is a Jesuit school in the tradition of St Ignatius of Loyola. It is part of the international network of Jesuit schools that began in Messina, Sicily in 1548. Saint Ignatius' College has a non-selective enrolment policy and currently caters for approximately 1,560 students from Years 5 to 12, including 335 boarders in Years 6 to 12.

The college is a member of the Association of Heads of Independent Schools of Australia (AHISA), the Junior School Heads Association of Australia (JSHAA), the Australian Boarding Schools' Association, and is a founding member of the Athletic Association of the Great Public Schools of New South Wales (AAGPS).

History

Earliest known school group photo, c. 1880s

Following Archbishop Roger William Bede Vaughan OSB's invitation to the Jesuits to Sydney on condition that they found a boys' boarding school and the bequest of Fr John Joseph Therry, who, on his death in 1864 left the greater part of his property to the Society of Jesus, Fr Joseph Dalton SJ concluded arrangements for the purchase of the Riverview property on 28 June 1878. Dalton became founding Rector of the college.

Its first students were brought to the school as advertised in the Catholic newspaper The Express, whereby boys aged between 8 and 12 would be received at Riverview "as soon as possible after the Christmas holidays." Classes commenced with two students on February 11 1880, in a small stone cottage on the Riverview estate.

The original cottage became very cramped with greater numbers and in order to provide better accommodation St Michael's House was built. The building was designed by W W Wardell and opened on the feast of Saint Michael, 29 September 1880. In 1882 a wooden boatshed was built for rowing and in 1883 the Infirmary took shape.

In its early years the College offered Classical and Modern Languages, History, Mathematics, the Natural Sciences and all other branches required for the Civil Service, the Junior, Senior and Matriculation Examinations', along with a modern touch - mercantile subjects.

St Ignatius' campus viewed from main building, 1930s

By December 1882, with an enrolment of only 70 boys, the College extended the curriculum to include English Composition, Writing, Music, Singing, Drawing, Painting, Irish History and Oral Latin.

Lessons were taught six days a week. Prayers began the day at 6.15 am, followed by Mass and study before breakfast at 8.30 am and concluded with night prayers at 8.30pm. On Sundays and holidays the boys were allowed to sleep in until 6.30am.

Within seven years of its founding, keen observers were taking notice. In 1887, James Francis Hogan wrote in The Irish in Australia that:

"St. John's College, affiliated to the University of Sydney; St. Ignatius' College, Riverview, conducted by the Jesuit Fathers; and St. Joseph's College, Hunter Hill (sic), under the management of the Marist Fathers, are three educational institutions that reflect the highest credit on the Catholic population of the parent colony".

The main building of the College was constructed in three stages between 1885–1930 and the foundation stone was laid by Cardinal Moran, Archbishop of Sydney on 15 December 1885. As originally designed by Gilbert, Dennehy and Tappin, of Ballarat, the building was to be a huge square, representing four identical fronts, but only the South front was completed according to plan due to financial constraints.

The organ in the chapel was built in 1910 at a cost of £460 by Charles Richardson and installed in 1911. By the 1970s the organ was becoming unreliable and the college organist at the time, Peter Meyer, contracted Arthur Jones to rebuild it in 1976.

Although the first dayboys were not officially admitted until 1923, there was a small group of pupils who were permitted to attend the college as dayboys. In fact, up until the 1960s dayboys remained relatively small in number and Riverview was mainly for boarders.

Wallace Wing, Main Building, Middle School from First Field

In the lead up to the 2003 Iraq war, the three school captains wrote a letter to the Prime Minister, John Howard, calling for a withdrawal of Australian troops from the Persian Gulf and for a non-military solution. They told Mr Howard a poll of 574 students at the College showed 75 per cent were against Australian military participation in Iraq, regardless of the United Nations’ position.

During February 2005, students sang for Pope John Paul II outside his hospital in Rome as part of the 2005 Pilgrimage of Hope. The students had previously met the Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, meditated in Assisi, and worked the streets and orphanages of Calcutta with Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity.

The year 2005 saw Riverview play host to a series of 125th Anniversary celebrations culminating in a whole school mass at St Mary's Cathedral, Sydney on the feast of Ignatius, July 31.

Motto

Riverview, as the school is frequently referred to, has adopted the motto, Quantum Potes Tantum Aude, which may be translated from Latin as "As much as you can do, so much dare to do", or formerly "Dare to do your Best". This motto is taken from a song of Saint Thomas Aquinas (1227–1274) entitled Lauda Sion Salvatorem ('Praise, O Sion, Praise Thy Saviour'). The next line after Quantum Potes Tantum Aude is Quia Maior Omni Laude, which, together, translates to "As much as you can do, so much dare to do, because He is above all praise".

Traditions

AMDG: Statue of St Ignatius below Ramsay Hall

It is a longstanding practice that students at the school write A.M.D.G. in the top left hand corner of any piece of work they do. This stands for Ad Maiorem Dei Gloriam which means "To The Greater Glory Of God": a central theme of Jesuit Philosophy. Traditionally, at the end of a piece of work they wrote L.D.S. in the centre of the page, a practice which is no longer widespread. This stands for Laus Deo Semper which means "Praise to God Always", another traditional Jesuit motto.

Jesuit education

Jesuit education aims at individual care and concern for each student. Riverview has developed an academic program and Pastoral Care system, which seeks to enable each boy to reach his full potential as a person of faith, created and loved by God.

File:Main Building, St Ignatius College.jpg

Statue of the Sacred Heart in Rose Garden; Main Building

Society of Jesus Superior General Peter Hans Kolvenbach wrote in The Characteristics of Jesuit Education that the "ideal is the well-rounded person who is intellectually competent, open to growth, religious, loving and committed to doing justice in generosity to the people of God".

Riverview's Jesuit sister schools include St Aloysius' College in Sydney, Saint Ignatius' College, Adelaide in Athelstone and Xavier College in Melbourne along with the 'Ignatian' Sydney school Loyola College, Mount Druitt.

Curriculum

Tuition Fees for 2008 range from AUD$14,680 to AUD$17,370 per annum for 2007.

Co-curriculum

St Ignatius' College offers students the opportunity to participate in a number of co-curricular activities including:

• Amnesty International Club: (1980s–2007) The Riverview Amnesty International group has been closed as a result of deliberation over the adoption of a pro-choice policy towards abortion by Amnesty International. This policy is irreconcilable with the church's teachings on the sanctity of life and so the affiliation between Amnesty International and the school has been ended.
• Debating and Public speaking: (1881–) 36 GPS 1sts Premierships since 1920, 22 Lawrence Campbell Oratory Winners since 1935
• St Ignatius' College Human Rights Group: (2007–)The St Ignatius' College Human Rights Group serves the same purpose as the Amnesty International Club. The group was started after the Amnesty International Club was closed.
• St Ignatius' College also offers a range of co-curricular activities including Music, Drama, and Digital Media and Photography.
• In 2008 Riverview celebrated the 100th year of Rugby Union at the college. This was also a very successful rugby season with Riverview becoming co-premiers in 1st XV with Kings and they were also outight 2nd XV Premiers
• 2002 was Riverview's second most successful year. GPS Premierships were won in 1st XI and 2nd XI Soccer, 1st and 2nd Tennis, 1st XI Cricket, 2nd XV Rugby, U/16 Cross Country, Junior and Senior Athletics, 2nd IV/3rd IV/4th IV Rowing, 1st/2nd Debating. Riverview also won SDN Senior Debating and CSDA Year 10 debating along with U/14 North Shore AFL.
• In 2008, St Ignatius College completed one it's most successful years. Riverview won both the Shared 1st XV and Outright 2nd XV GPS Rugby premierships, Undefeated 1st XI and 2nd XI GPS Football Premierships and also successfully defended the 1sts GPS Debating Premiership and Riverview also won the 2nds GPS Debating competition. Earlier in the year, RIverview also won the Junior GPS Athletics championship, were second in Senior GPS Athletics, won the 1st GPS Tennis competition, the 2nd V GPS Basketball competition and also won the 1st Waterpolo Premiership.

Sport

• Australian rules football: (1880–1892 and 1984–) In 2004, Riverview became the first GPS school to field an Australian Rules team in the under-18s division of the Sydney Football League. In December 2003, Sydney Swans coach Paul Roos said:

"I think it's terrific. The hardest thing for us is when most kids finish up Auskick and want to continue playing AFL, it can be difficult. There's a lot of kids who want to play AFL and who don't get the chance. The more private schools get involved, the better. It's great for students, it's about kids making the decision themselves about what sport they want to play".

In 2005, the Riverview under 18 team won that very same competition.In 2007 Riverview 1stXVIII won the premiership. Many say it was the best game played by Riverview.

• Football: (1987–) Riverview hosts all four football codes (including AFL and Football) on its main ground. The director of co-curriculum activities at the College, and co-ordinator of both GPS and NSWCIS Football, C.J. Kitching, said in 2004: "It's not just about using your grounds effectively, it's a gesture to say we value all our boys do. There is a real emphasis here on equity and participation and opportunity. A happy boy, doing what he wants to do, creates a happy school".
• Martial arts–Tae Kwon Do: (1989–)

St Ignatius' eight-oar crew, c.1932

• Tennis: (1882–)One of the many successful sporting teams at Riverview, with both the 1st and 2nd grade teams sharing 20 premierships since 1990.
• Rowing: (1882–) The school has held the Riverview Gold Cup on the Lane Cove River since 1893.
• Rugby league: (2003–) In 2003, Riverview became the first GPS school to field an open-age rugby league team. This team played in an National Rugby League (NRL) knockout competition hosted by St Gregory's College, Campbelltown, on May 31 and June 1. The NRL offered to help the College get its rugby league program off the ground, as did former league stars Steve Roach, Steve Gearin and Paul Langmack.
• Rugby Union: (1892–) Of the premiership winning 2003 game against St. Joseph's College, Hunters Hill where Riverview triumphed 20-18, Mike Carlton wrote:

"The match was a ripper, one of the best I have seen all year, played with tremendous skill and courage and, yes, passion... (played)before perhaps 25,000 people at the Joeys ground. It may well have been the biggest football crowd in Sydney that day, packed 10 and 20 deep in places. The score: Iggies 20, Joeys 18. Rugby famously began as a schoolboy game, and long may it stay one".

• Rifle Club and Cadets: (1885–1974)
• Surf Lifesaving: (1987–) Riverview commenced active participation in lifesaving as a sport in the 1986–1987 summer season, largely due to the urgings and efforts of Chris Hammond (OR 1981–86), who was a member of the Freshwater SLSC. Boys who participate in SLS are required to obtain at least their Surf Rescue Certificate (SRC) and then their Bronze Medallion, and consequently carry out patrols on a monthly basis.

House system

Main Building, St Ignatius College

The House System was established in 1983 with the aim of improving the quality of care for students. There are twelve Houses, each consisting of approximately 80 boys from Years 9-12, with a Housemaster and five tutors in each House. Housemasters are concerned with the academic and pastoral development of boys under their care. In so doing, the House System at Riverview aims to develop the "well-rounded person", as Fr Peter Hans Kolvenbach SJ emphasised in the Characteristics of Jesuit Education:

"In a Jesuit School the atmosphere is one in which all can live and work together in understanding and love, with respect for all men and women as Children of God. Jesuit Education insists on individual care and concern for each person...Cura Personalis (concern for the individual person) remains a basic characteristic of Jesuit Education".

From an initial eight Houses in 1983, four more were added in 1997 to reflect the growth in the student population. These Houses were Chisholm, Dalton, Gonzaga and MacKillop. The twelve houses, their patron and motto are:

• Campion House – St Edmund Campion SJ, (1539–1581) – Duco Exemplo: "I Lead by example".
• Cheshire House – Group Captain Sir Leonard Cheshire, VC, OM, DSO, DFC – Dare Est Augere: "To Give is to Grow".
• Chisholm House – Caroline Chisholm (1808–1877) – Agite Iuste, Amate Tenere, Ambulate Humiliter: "Act Justly, love tenderly, walk humbly".
• Claver House – St Peter Claver SJ, (1581–1654) – Esurivi et Dedistis: "I was hungry and you gave".
• Dalton House – Fr Joseph Dalton SJ, (1817–1905) – Felix Faustumque: "Blessed and Fortunate".
• Gonzaga House – St Aloysius Gonzaga SJ, (1568–1591) – Altiora Peto: "I seek higher things".
• MacKillop House – Blessed Mary MacKillop, (1842–1909) – Contendite cum Virtue: "Challenge with Courage".
• More House – St Thomas More, (1477–1535) – Deus Dabit: "God will give".
• Owen House – St Nicholas Owen SJ, (d.1606) – Humiliter et Fideliter: "Humbly and Faithfully".
• Ricci House – Fr Matteo Ricci SJ, (1552–1610) – Audere Egregia: "Dare to be different".
• Southwell House – St Robert Southwell SJ, (1560–1595) – Fidens et Fidelis: "True to his Faith".
• Xavier House – St Francis Xavier SJ, (1506–1552) – Sursum Corda: "Lift up your hearts".

Houses meet each Tuesday for a Mini-House Meeting where weekend sport and procedural matters are discussed for fifteen minutes. They also meet once every three weeks for a 50 minute long 'House Meeting' where the student leadership of year 12 run pre-planned activities.

Each House is divided into five tutor groups made up of students from Years 9–12. Approximately three students from each of these year groups are in every tutor group, led by a senior teacher. Tutor Groups meet after recess three times per week for fifteen minutes and engage in a range of activities, culminating in a biannual tutor group outing.

Boarding

Kevin Fagan House behind First Field's Away Grandstand

With a boarding student population of 335, Riverview is one of the largest boarding schools in New South Wales. Officially a boarding only school until the 1920s, the Day Boys remained a small minority until the late 1960s. The College now has a majority of day-boys.

A number of Boarding Houses and refectories ('refs') are located on the College grounds. There is a junior refectory for Years 6–11 and a senior refectory for Year 12 (rhetoric) and staff members. Jesuit schools have always grouped their Boarders horizontally according to age groups, called Divisions. This means that each group of boys to be cared for as a homogenous age group. As a boy progresses from one of the six Divisions to the next, there is a freshness of environment. In Junior and Year 8 Divisions, boys have their own cubicle within a dormitory of eight. In Years 9 and 10 Divisions boys may sleep in a room of four or a single room. In Year 11 Division boys share a room while in Year 12 Division have single rooms, with both years being housed within the newly built Kevin Fagan House. Junior and Year 8 Divisions have a separate study area within the division while from Years 9-12 boys study at their own desk in their room.

Boarding fees for 2008 range from AUD$12,560 per annum in Year 6 to AUD$13,380 in Year 12, in addition to Tuition fees.

Preferred futures

College from First Field

In 2005, the 125th year of the College, a project of community discussion developed a plan published as Riverview 2025: the preferred futures. A a series of talks by esteemed members of the community canvassed the future of the Church and Riverview's place in preparing its students for a changing world. The first forum began with journalist Geraldine Doogue interviewing social commentator Hugh Mackay on the direction Australian society is heading. The second address of the night focussed on the youth of Australia and was given by 1998 Young Australian of the Year Tan Le.

The second forum's keynote address was by the Auxiliary Bishop of Sydney, Anthony Fisher OP, Dux of the school in 1977. After an address by member of the Human Rights Council of Australia Harris Van Beek on the relevance, authenticity and organisational issues of the Church, Bishop Fisher spoke to Values and the Future of Church and Religion as we know it. In this talk he stated that:

"First, Catholic schools must in the future give the teaching of Catholic faith and morals pride of place. Secondly, the Catholic religion (must) be increasingly visible in our school environment the more invisible it becomes elsewhere in our culture. Thirdly, Catholic schools will need to integrate...social activism, community service, leadership skilling and teamwork, arts and sciences, with other aspects of Catholic faith and practice and name them precisely as aspects of that Catholic faith and practice rather than compartments of life distinct from it".

Main Building, St Ignatius College

In the final forum both Geraldine Doogue and headmaster of St Ignatius' College, Adelaide Fr. Greg O’Kelly S.J. highlighted the spiritual quest of many people today. Each presented that the education of the future would need to nurture an enquiring mind in an educational environment that includes reflection.

Discussions on the issues brought up by the talks gathered together over 3000 members of the Riverview community, including students, old boys, Jesuits, and past and present teachers.

The proposals envision students as either male or female; "primary, secondary, tertiary, adult or senior", and call for an on-campus centre for scholarship in teaching and learning. Such a centre would teach the precepts of Jesuit Education and Ignatian Pedagogy, re-energising the laity amidst declining religious vocations. Further, the College would engage in giving its students a series of overseas immersion experiences that reveal the world and the need to act to bring about the Greater Glory of God within it, perhaps moving to a more vocational leaving certificate such as the International Baccalaureate.

College Observatory

The centre would teach Jesuit bachelor degrees in education and hold residencies for overseas teachers and the staff of other Australian Jesuit schools. As the number of Jesuit staff members at the College declined from over 20 in the 1970s to 4 in 2005, Headmaster Shane Hogan told the Sydney Morning Herald, "we need to go into teaching education ... if there's no one here to influence (the students) when they get here, then they might as well be teachers from anywhere".

For Bishop Fisher, the College will need to succeed "in communicating a fully human, Ignatian, Catholic vision", so that it, amidst widespread atheism, can "demonstrate that it has (something) to say that the world does not already know".

Old Ignatians Union

Established in 1897, the alumni association of Saint Ignatius' College is named the Old Ignatians' Union or OIU, and has a mission to "sustain and strengthen the connection between Old Ignatians' and to further the interests of the College." Reunions and fundraisers are held to help the Development Office fundraise bursaries. Old Boys also partake in sporting competitions through such institutions as the Old Ignatians Rugby Club.

Notable alumni

Alumnus of Saint Ignatius' College are known as Old Ignatians. For a list of notable Old Ignatians, see List of Riverview Old Ignatians.

See also

• List of non-government schools in New South Wales
• List of boarding schools
• Lawrence Campbell Oratory Competition

External links

• Saint Ignatius' College, Riverview website
• Australian Jesuits