Notre Dame College, Shepparton
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Notre_Dame_College,_Shepparton".

Notre Dame College is a co-educational secondary school of the Roman Catholic faith in Shepparton, Victoria, Australia. It is located on Knight Street, Shepparton. It lies in the Sandhurst diocese in Victoria.

History

The College initially opened on February 23, 1902 as Sacred Heart College for Girls and St Colman's College (which opened in July 9, 1951), which were both built on Knight Street. Sacred Heart was established by the Sisters of Mercy, whilst St Colmans was established by the Marist Brothers. The two schools merged in 1984 after a two-decade period of expansion and increased enrolments in both Colleges. The new amalgamated school was named Notre Dame College, with the literal French meaning of "Our Lady". The campus of St Colman's became known as "South Side" and is the Junior Campus where years 7 to 9 attend. This is also home to the Mercy Centennial Stadium and the original Monastery. The original Sacred Heart campus is known as "North Side" and is home to students from year 10 to year 12, as well as the administration building, a chapel, the Ursula Frayne Library and the Bishop Noel Daly centre.¹ The current principal is Mr Peter White.

The year 2001 celebrated the centenary of the establishment of the Sisters of Mercy in Shepparton. This was celebrated through the unveiling of the Mercy Centennial Stadium.

Affiliations

In 1987, Notre Dame College became the sister school of Notre Dame of Marbel University in Koronodal, in the Philippines.

Notable Alumni

• David Teague (footballer), AFL Footballer
  
• Vince Lia, Australian footbal player
  
• Adam Donovan, member of the Australian band Augie March
• Warren Sidebottom, AFL Umpire.

House System

Notre Dame College operates a house system comprising six houses, changing from the original four in 2004. The six houses are:

Buildings

Curriculum

School Curriculum

The main areas of study at Notre Dame College are:

• Religious Education;
  
• English;
  
• Mathematics;
  
• Science;
  
• Technology;
  
• The Arts;
  
• Health, Physical Education and Sport;
  
• Languages other than English;
  
• Study of Society and the Environment.
  

Italian and Japanese are the two languages taught at the school.²

In Year 7 and 8 students undertake study in a number of compulsory areas. From Year 9 to Year 10, study revolves around a number of core subjects, as well as electives chosen by the students.³

There is also a program, the Nova Program, on offer to Year 10 students aimed at those who may otherwise want to leave school. This provides a pathway for students to apprenticeships, the Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning, Vocational Education and Training and other employment opportunities.⁴

During Year 11 and 12, there are three pathways available to students:

• Victorian Certificate of Education;
  
• Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning;
  
• Vocational Education and Training.
  

VCA

VCAL

Additional Information

The School hosts a Careers Day for Year 10 students, which is attended by over 1,500 students.⁵

School Productions

Notre Dame College holds an annual production, directed by Mr Kierin Murphy. Beginning 2005, a second Production was introduced for each year, performed by Year 7-9 Students.

Mr Kierin Murphy will be missed by many.

Graduate Diploma in Education

Notre Dame College offers the year long Graduate Diploma in Education (Secondary) in conjunction with Australian Catholic University and the Catholic Education Office, Sandhurst.⁶

References