Nagle Catholic College

Nagle Catholic College
logo of nagle
Location
Geraldton , Western Australia Australia
Information
Type	Private
Motto	"For Others"
Religious affiliation(s)	Roman Catholic
Patron saint(s)	Venerable Nano Nagle Blessed Edmund Rice
Founded	1891 (as Stella Maris Presentation College) 1994 (as Nagle Catholic College)
Principal	Rob Crothers
Chaplain	Fr. Tai Trinh
Campuses	Geraldton Campus Carnarvon Campus
Houses	Bishop   Foley   Kelly   O'Collins   Ryan   Stella   Patrick   Thomas
Colour(s)	Green, Gold, Black
Alumni	Tasma Walton Jaeger O'Meara Josh Kennedy Mandy McElhinney Fergus Kavanagh
Website	http://web.ncc.wa.edu.au

Nagle Catholic College commonly known as Nagle, is a private Catholic secondary school, located in the coastal town of Geraldton, Western Australia. The college was founded in 1994, as a result of a merger of Stella Maris Presentation College, established in 1891 and St. Patrick's College founded in 1926.

Nagle Catholic College is named after the Presentation Sisters founder Nano Nagle, who came from Ireland with a mission to teach the less fortunate in Australia. Formerly a boarding college, Nagle is now a day school catering for Year 7's to Year 12's. The current college's campus is located on the Stella Maris Presentation College, which today has grown to a college catering to 1,200 students.

Nagle Catholic College was voted "Best School" in Geraldton as voted in The Best of Geraldton competition, held by Red FM.

History

Nagle Catholic College as seen from the western side of the campus.

Nagle Catholic College was formed from the agreement between authorities of the two parent colleges, Stella Maris Presentation College and St. Patrick's College. The authorities thought it would be beneficial to combine the schools, which would be more beneficial in catering students. The college was named after Nano Nagle, who founded the Presentation Sisters in Ireland in 1775.

Stella Maris Presentation College

The origins of Nagle Catholic College is woven into history that spans back to 1891, where Stella Maris Presentation College was opened by the Presentation Sisters. It was a boarding college exclusively for females around the Midwest region. The college campus was comprised of the Convent, where the Presentation Sisters lived, and the Main Building where the students studied. On the east side of the college was the St. Francis Xavier Cathedral.

The campus was located on former sand hills which resulted to the hilly landscape the campus is known today.

St. Patrick's College

Some thirty-five years later, in 1926, St. Patrick's College was opened by the Christian Brothers, which catered for the male population of Geraldton. It was also a boarding college, which was located on a hill at the suburb of Beresford, Western Australia, giving it a view of the Indian Ocean.

For the ensuing sixty-eight years, these two boarding schools continued to cater for the educational needs and growing faith of the Geraldton community.

Nagle today

In 1994, Nagle Catholic College was founded, combining the two boarding colleges. Therefore, it was the first time the two genders combined in one school. The authority chose the Stella Maris Presentation College campus to grow the newly combined college.

Nagle has grown into a dynamic college with new buildings erecting in the campus. For example is the Edmund Rice Library, Bishop Bianccini Gymnasium and Maslen Science Area, with all three buildings erected in less than a decade.

Campus

The Nagle Catholic College campus is built along Sanford St. and Maitland St. in Geraldton. On Nagle's eastern side is the St Francis Xavier Cathedral, Geraldton. The college is also in close proximity to the coast, thus creating Nagle as the most western catholic school in Australia.

The campus is split into 8 learning areas:

• Stella Maris Learning Area- The original campus building, and central learning area. It is located in the heart of the campus, thus holding main offices and the oldest classrooms. Notably, it holds the drama room and the Japanese rooms.
• St. Patrick Learning Area- This extension holds majority of Nagle's classrooms, which range from Sciences in the second floor to Mathematics in the third floor. It also holds the Year 12 Study and Recreation Room and the Study Hall.
• Vin Duffy Learning Area- Home to the technologies classrooms including two woodwork rooms, a metalwork room and a design technical graphics room. It holds the Staff Room at the second floor.
• Edmund Rice Learning Area- A state of the art library featuring a conference room, a computer lab, two learning areas plus a quiet outdoor learning area.
• Leacaille Learning Area- Home of the Arts department including the art rooms and music rooms. It is located at the most western part of the school.
• Maslen Science Learning Area- Home to three big classrooms, home to the Science department. It also holds majority of the Science equipments.
• Bishop Justin Bianchini Gymnasium- This the newest addition to the Nagle Campus. The new gymnasium is home to basketball courts, netball courts, volleyball courts, rock climbing walls, weights room, dance studio and change rooms. The main court features a retractable seating platform, used during assemblies. With additional seating, the court could hold over 1000 students. It is also home to 8 new classrooms.
• Paschal Centre- a former Presentation Sisters convent home to staff offices and student matters.

Stella Maris Presentation College, now the current campus of Nagle Catholic College.

The current facade of Nagle Catholic College

In addition, the campus holds a massive sports oval, a swimming pool, two outdoor courtyards and four tennis/basketball courts in the front of the school.

Academics

The school fosters students in years 7 through 12, with each year or set of years having different focuses on courses.

In 2012, 100% of Nagle Catholic College's students achieved a WACE. And during the same year, Nagle was on top for the Best Performing in WA for Geography.

For 2015, Nagle was the best performing school in Geraldton, as it was the only school that made to the top 50 schools in WA for Vocational Education and Training (VET). 96% of Nagle Catholic College VET students achieved a Cert II or higher and was ranked 40th in WA. Meanwhile, ATAR students had a median of 70 as an ATAR score, with 5.87% achieving an ATAR above 75. Out of 417 Geraldton students applicable for a WACE Certificate, 154 are from Nagle Catholic College. 99.35% of students are reported to have graduated in 2015.

Nagle offers a wide range of courses that students are able to try during Year 7. As the student's schooling years progresses, they are then able to select their own selected courses.

Learning Areas	Commonly taken subjects	Head of Learning Area	Notes
English and Languages	English Japanese Literature	Kirsten Sinclair	English is compulsory throughout the entire student's schooling years.
Humanities and Social Science	History Geography Politics and Law Economics	Muneen Niemeyer	The department holds The Vietnam Trip every 2 years for Year 11 and 12 Canberra Trip is held every year for Year 10.
Mathematics	Applications Mathematics Methods Mathematics Specialist Mathematics Foundations Mathematics Essentials Mathematics	Vanessa Els
Physical Education	Health Physical Education Outdoor Education Dance	Benjamin Ebsary	The department organises the Athletics, Cross Country and Swimming carnivals. Nagle is a course leader for Health Studies out of all schools in WA.
Religious Education	Religion & Life	Kelly Commisso	Religion is compulsory throughout the entire student's schooling years.
Science	Human Biology Chemistry Physics Biological Science Psychology	Jane Royce	The department holds a New Zealand Science Trip The 2017 Biology Group will head to Indonesia for a field trip. Nagle leads in WA for Earth and Environmental Science
The Arts	Visual Art Drama Music	Matthew Grigsby	The department holds a yearly production called "Rags to Riches" A drama production is held biannually. 'Wavelength' is a yearly magazine featuring the year's striking artworks.
Technologies	Woodwork Computer Science Metalwork Food Technology Jewellery Making Textiles	Corey Smith

Arts

The Arts is one of the respected areas of the college, where the college has contributed to the culture of the town. The college includes a Jazz band, a Rock band and a choir.

Rags To Riches is Nagle's annual themed fundraiser and arts showcase, boasting a fashion show, drama productions, dances and bands. A production is held every two years, including The Wizard of Oz, Calamity Jane and The Addams Family.

Physical Education

Physical Education is one of the valued learnings areas of the college. The college holds an interhouse Athletics Carnival, Swimming Carnival and Cross Country. The department also holds a St. Patrick's Day Games promoting healthy, competitive and active games. The college also annually holds trips including Gold Coast Netball and the Ski Trip.

Houses

Nagle Catholic College introduced 6 original houses in its foundation. Dedicated to the former Bishops of Geraldton, these houses include:

• Bishop House- The orange house dedicated to Bishop Alfred Gummer. Its crest includes a sailing ship (barque) representing the Ship of Peter, which was Bishop Gummer's dominant symbol. Formerly, the house held a crest with a tree, representing the tree of life.
• Foley House- The black house dedicated to Bishop William Foley. Its crest includes a dove and a 'Mystical Rose'. The dove represents the symbol of peace, while the 'Mystical Rose' is one of the epithets used for Mary. The house was won the 'House of the Year' award in 2016 and currently holds the Swimming Carnival title.
• Kelly House- The blue house dedicated to Bishop William Bernard Kelly, the first Bishop of Geraldton. Its crest features a tower, a symbol of beauty, purity and strength.
• O'Collins House- The red house dedicated to Bishop James Patrick O'Collins. The Bishop's Mitre is the featured symbol on the house's crest. The use of the Mitre, symbolises leadership and victory.
• Ryan House- The green house dedicated to Bishop Richard Ryan. Its crest has a Griffin as one of its primary elements. The amalgamation of the lion and eagle denotes strength and leadership.
• Thomas House- The yellow house dedicated to Bishop Francis Xavier Thomas. The Thomas house crest includes the famous Cross of the Catholic Church, symbolising sacrifice and salvation.

New houses

In 2014, the establishment of new classrooms and a brand new gym prompted Nagle Catholic College to expand its student admissions and therefore introduced two new houses. These two houses are named after the two boarding schools prior Nagle Catholic College. These houses are:

• Partick House- Named after the former St. Partick's College. Its crest includes a Shamrock, which is St. Patrick's common symbol.
• Stella House- Named after the former Stella Maris College. Its crest symbolises Stella Maris, Star of the Sea, wherein it includes a star which guides seafarers in the ocean.