St Joseph's International Catholic College

St Joseph's International Catholic College
Location
Boroko Papua New Guinea
Coordinates	9°28′1″S 147°12′15″E
Information
School type	International, primary and secondary
Motto	Courage to Act
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Established	1917 (1917)
Director	Fr. Paul Jennings
Principal	Mr. George Swamy - Secondary School - Primary School Mrs. Hua Igo
Grades	Kindergarten – 12
Enrolment	~700
Colour(s)	Gold, brown, and white
Nickname	Joeys
Website	stjosephsinternational.ac.pg

St Joseph's International Catholic College, also known as Joeys, is an international school in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea. It provides education from pre-school age through all grades to year 12. The school is one of the oldest in Papua New Guinea and is located next to St Joseph's Parish Church in the suburb of Boroko.

History

St Joseph's School was founded in 1917 as a school for the children of expatriates living in Port Moresby. Originally situated within the Convent of the Daughters of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart (OLSH) behind St. Mary's Cathedral, it started with only 15 pupils. Sister Mary Carthage was the first Head of School.

The school was closed between 1941 and 1946 because of the war. Enrollments rose steadily after the war and by the late 1950’s the school's facilities had become too small to cater for the children's needs. The population around Boroko had grown and there was a need for a catholic school in the area so it was decided that St Joseph’'s would move to Boroko. The relocation took several years and was done in stages, starting with one class moving from Port Moresby to the Church Hall in Boroko in 1957. The OLSH sisters taught classes in the Hall while the new school was being built.

The school became St Joseph's International Catholic College after secondary school classes started in 2004. The first cohort of year 10 students sat for the PNG School Certificate, and NSW School Certificate, in 2007. The first cohort of year 12 students sat for the PNG Higher School Certificate, and NSW Higher School Certificate, in 2009.

Academic and sporting program

The school holds an outstanding reputation in exam results. Since starting secondary school classes, the school has consistently topped the Port Moresby results for the year 8 public examinations and year 10 certificate index ratings. In previous years, when the former year 6 examinations were being conducted, high grades were also obtained.

The college participates in regular competitions for track and field athletics, swimming, basketball, and volleyball. An inter-school rugby union competition for the National Capital District was started in 2013, with St Joseph's fielding teams in the grand final matches of all three divisions – U14 and U17 male, and U17 female.

Alumni

Notable past students include:

• Duncan McMeekin – a justice of the Supreme Court of Queensland

See also

• Catholic Church in Papua New Guinea
• Education in Papua New Guinea
• List of international schools
• List of schools in Papua New Guinea

Sources

News

• "A new era for St Joseph's". Papua New Guinea Post-Courier. 20 January 2004. Archived from the original on 12 November 2004. Retrieved 18 November 2013. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)

• Avira, Gregory (30 November 2012). "Schools' rugby goes into finals". Papua New Guinea Post-Courier. Archived from the original on 18 November 2013. Retrieved 18 November 2013. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)

• Torea, Patricia (30 August 2013). "Girls kick start schools rugby". Papua New Guinea Post-Courier. Archived from the original on 18 November 2013. Retrieved 18 November 2013. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)

Web

• Malone, Peter (25 December 2010). "PNG Honour for Paul Jennings MSC". misacor.org.au. Archived from the original on 4 May 2013. Retrieved 18 November 2013. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)

• "About St Joseph's International Catholic College". stjosephsinternational.ac.pg. 18 November 2013. Retrieved 18 November 2013. {{cite web}}: |archive-date= requires |archive-url= (help); Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)

• "International School". portmoresbycity.webs.com. 2009. Archived from the original on 19 November 2013. Retrieved 19 November 2013. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)

• "Joey Community letter #17/12" (PDF). stjosephsinternational.ac.pg. 23 November 2012. Archived from the original (PDF 0.2 MB) on 18 November 2013. Retrieved 18 November 2013. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)

• "Joey Community letter #1/13" (PDF). stjosephsinternational.ac.pg. 25 February 2013. Archived from the original (PDF 0.2 MB) on 18 November 2013. Retrieved 18 November 2013. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)

• "Joey Community letter #5/13" (PDF). stjosephsinternational.ac.pg. 10 May 2013. Archived from the original (PDF 0.5 MB) on 19 November 2013. Retrieved 19 November 2013. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)

• "The Honourable Justice Duncan V C McMeekin". Supreme Court of Queensland Library. Archived from the original on 5 May 2013. Retrieved 18 November 2013. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)