Presentation College, Windsor
Encyclopedia
Presentation College is an Irish Catholic
, secondary
, day school
for girls, located in Windsor
, an inner suburb
of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Presentation College Windsor is a Catholic
girls school founded in 1873. The College is guided by the mission of the Presentation Sisters
and inspired by the faith and courage of their founder, Nano Nagle
. PCW draws on its rich history and tradition of excellence, adventure, welcome and justice to offer the life giving-benefits of education to all in our community and to prepare young women to take their place in the world and to live with integrity, confidence and compassion.
from Ireland
in 1873. Prior to their arrival, from 1839, the Church and State Government debated the need for education to be provided by local church schools.
The government of the day wanted changes to the education legislation. It was said that the system of denominational schools was too great a burden on the economy of a young country and left many areas with no access to education. In 1872 this all changed with the election of local member James Wilberforce Stephen. It was in his acceptance speech that he made his famous declaration that the proposed Education Bill, of which he had charge, would rend Catholics asunder. The Bill was passed – providing for free, secular and compulsory education – and financial grants given to denominational schools were discontinued. This made the continuation of Catholic schools staffed by lay people financially impossible.
Father Corbett, Parish Priest at St Mary’s East St Kilda, acted quickly and sent a letter to the Presentation Convent in Ireland
… it opened in dramatic fashion. ‘Dear Reverend Mother. From the ends of the earth I write to you for help …’
Responding to the request in September 1873, Mother Mary Paul Mulquin together with six sisters from Limerick
boarded the steamer, the Great Britain, at Liverpool. They arrived at Sandridge, Port Melbourne 21 December 1873.
Presentation Convent Windsor became a reality on Christmas Day 1873. The school first opened in January 1874 with 33 enrolments. Ten years later, by 1883, the enrolment of pupils at Windsor Convent was 367, with 11 sisters and three lay teachers forming the staff.
The four Houses were formed in 1940 by the Principal at the time Mother Bertrand Rahilly, who was very interested in sport and wanted to encourage students to become more active. Within their House girls compete in the Music Festival, Athletics and Swimming as well as participating in other sports.
Mother Bertrand introduced the names of the Houses and allocated the colours:
Nagle (yellow): After Nano Nagle
, founder of the Presentation Sisters
Kostka (red): After Stanislaus Kostka
, renowned Jesuit who died young and came to symbolise youth
Xavier (blue): After St Francis Xavier, Jesuit missionary and patron Saint of Australia
Loyola (green): After St Ignatius Loyola, founder of the Jesuits
Irish Catholic
Irish Catholic is a term used to describe people who are both Roman Catholic and Irish .Note: the term is not used to describe a variant of Catholicism. More particularly, it is not a separate creed or sect in the sense that "Anglo-Catholic", "Old Catholic", "Eastern Orthodox Catholic" might be...
, secondary
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
, day school
Day school
A day school—as opposed to a boarding school—is an institution where children are given educational instruction during the day and after which children/teens return to their homes...
for girls, located in Windsor
Windsor, Victoria
Windsor is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 5 km south-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Stonnington. At the 2006 Census, Windsor had a population of 6394....
, an inner suburb
Suburb
The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...
of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Presentation College Windsor is a Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
girls school founded in 1873. The College is guided by the mission of the Presentation Sisters
Presentation Sisters
The Presentation Sisters, also known as the Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary are an order of Roman Catholic women founded in Cork, Ireland by Nano Nagle in 1775....
and inspired by the faith and courage of their founder, Nano Nagle
Nano Nagle
Honora "Nano" Nagle founded the "Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary" in Ireland . Of the many schools founded by the Presentation Sisters - a number are named after Nano Nagle.- Family background and historical context :The time of Nagle's birth was one of dark sorrow for...
. PCW draws on its rich history and tradition of excellence, adventure, welcome and justice to offer the life giving-benefits of education to all in our community and to prepare young women to take their place in the world and to live with integrity, confidence and compassion.
History
Presentation Convent Windsor was established upon the arrival of seven Presentation SistersPresentation Sisters
The Presentation Sisters, also known as the Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary are an order of Roman Catholic women founded in Cork, Ireland by Nano Nagle in 1775....
from Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
in 1873. Prior to their arrival, from 1839, the Church and State Government debated the need for education to be provided by local church schools.
The government of the day wanted changes to the education legislation. It was said that the system of denominational schools was too great a burden on the economy of a young country and left many areas with no access to education. In 1872 this all changed with the election of local member James Wilberforce Stephen. It was in his acceptance speech that he made his famous declaration that the proposed Education Bill, of which he had charge, would rend Catholics asunder. The Bill was passed – providing for free, secular and compulsory education – and financial grants given to denominational schools were discontinued. This made the continuation of Catholic schools staffed by lay people financially impossible.
Father Corbett, Parish Priest at St Mary’s East St Kilda, acted quickly and sent a letter to the Presentation Convent in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
… it opened in dramatic fashion. ‘Dear Reverend Mother. From the ends of the earth I write to you for help …’
Responding to the request in September 1873, Mother Mary Paul Mulquin together with six sisters from Limerick
Limerick
Limerick is the third largest city in the Republic of Ireland, and the principal city of County Limerick and Ireland's Mid-West Region. It is the fifth most populous city in all of Ireland. When taking the extra-municipal suburbs into account, Limerick is the third largest conurbation in the...
boarded the steamer, the Great Britain, at Liverpool. They arrived at Sandridge, Port Melbourne 21 December 1873.
Presentation Convent Windsor became a reality on Christmas Day 1873. The school first opened in January 1874 with 33 enrolments. Ten years later, by 1883, the enrolment of pupils at Windsor Convent was 367, with 11 sisters and three lay teachers forming the staff.
House system
PCW HousesThe four Houses were formed in 1940 by the Principal at the time Mother Bertrand Rahilly, who was very interested in sport and wanted to encourage students to become more active. Within their House girls compete in the Music Festival, Athletics and Swimming as well as participating in other sports.
Mother Bertrand introduced the names of the Houses and allocated the colours:
Nagle (yellow): After Nano Nagle
Nano Nagle
Honora "Nano" Nagle founded the "Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary" in Ireland . Of the many schools founded by the Presentation Sisters - a number are named after Nano Nagle.- Family background and historical context :The time of Nagle's birth was one of dark sorrow for...
, founder of the Presentation Sisters
Kostka (red): After Stanislaus Kostka
Stanislaus Kostka
Stanisław Kostka S.J. was a Polish novice of the Society of Jesus. In the Catholic Church as Saint Stanislaus Kostka....
, renowned Jesuit who died young and came to symbolise youth
Xavier (blue): After St Francis Xavier, Jesuit missionary and patron Saint of Australia
Loyola (green): After St Ignatius Loyola, founder of the Jesuits