Collège Saint-Joseph de Hull

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College Saint-Joseph de Hull
Address
174 Rue Notre-Dame de l'Ile Gatineau, Quebec, J8X 3T4, Canada
Information
Principal	Nicole Paquin (president)
Vice principal	Sister Lucille Cardinal vice-president)
School type	High school
Grades	Secondary 1 to 5
Language	French
Founded	1870 (The Saint-Joseph name was first used in 1909)
Enrollment	850 girls
Homepage	http://www.collegestjoseph.ca/

College Saint-Joseph de Hull is a private school for girls located in Gatineau, Quebec. It is situated in front of the Canadian Museum of Civilization and near Jacques Cartier Park located near the corner of Rue Laurier, Boulevard Saint-Laurent and the Alexandra Bridge in the downtown district of the city and the Old Hull sector.

[edit] History

Source: [1]

The current name of the school was implemented in 2001, however the history of what would become the current Saint-Joseph College goes back to the 19th century. For over a century, education in Quebec was under control by the Catholic Church. In 1864, the Notre-Dame parish, with Father Louis Reboul implemented its first school, in the primary level, consisting of two segregated groups of girls and boys. The institution was called "La Chapelle des Chantiers" and instructors were from the Sisters Charity of Ottawa under Élisabeth Bruyère. The organisation remained involved with the institution until 2001.

In 1869, due to an increasing demand, a new chapel was built across from the current location of the Canadian Museum of Civilization and the Scott Paper Plant. A new school with several classes was built and was only accessible for girls in the primary level. The classes for boys remained at what was called the Saint-Etienne school a few blocks to the north. There would also be classes in English starting in 1867 in addition to those in French.

The demand continuously grew over the years and a new building as well as an abbey were built between 1870 and 1876 to accommodate extra classes in a private school called "l'Academie Notre-Dame de Grace". It was later destroyed when a large portion of the former City of Hull was destroyed by a massive fire in 1888.

A new non-private school was rebuilt in stone in 1890 and also included an abbey. The building was not affected by the Great Fire of 1900 that destroyed a large portion of downtown Hull and the Lebreton Flats area Ottawa located just to the south and west of the school complex. In 1909, the building was renamed Ecole Normale Saint-Joseph and remained unchanged until 1968. However, due to an increasing demand, renovations were made in the 1930's, during the Great Depression to add more students.

In 1950, a massive fire at the school killed 4 people and destroyed much of the structure including the abbey. Rapidly, the school was rebuilt and classes resumed shortly after. In 1965, while the school only included students from the elementary (primary) level , a new secondary level was added due to the high demand.

In 1968, classical courses were abolished after a series of intensive reforms made by the Quebec Liberal government under Jean Lesage during the Quiet Revolution Era in the 1960's in which the province acquired the quasi-exclusive jurisdiction of education in Quebec. The Ecole Normale was converted to a high school, but was still a private institution and was still under control by a religious corporation. In 1970, it became only an institution of the secondary level and only girls were admitted to the school.

It was only in 2001, that the secondary school became a laic institution, when the Sisters of Charity of Ottawa were replaced for a more traditional institution. It was then renamed as the current name thus it still teaches at the secondary level and remains as a private school like Collège Saint-Alexandre, the other private secondary level school in Gatineau.

[edit] Facts

850 girls from across the city of Gatineau and other near regions attend courses at Saint-Joseph College every year.
There are 3 parts in a school year as opposed to 4 in most other schools. The first one starts in August, the second in November and the third in March. The last week in June is a week consisting of end-of-year exams.
The students can be exempted from those end-of year exam if they reach an average of 85% in any given subject, except for the goverment exams in Secondary four and five.
Uniforms, consisting of white shirts, red skirts and dark shoes are mandatory. Previously until 2001, student uniforms consisted of white blouses and a blue skirt.
The school's principal of student affairs used to be Soeur Suzanne Valière, who retired in 2006. She was much respected and feared by the whole student body, who miss both her kindness and her tough discipline. Without her, the school is falling apart, because the three principals are nowhere near competent enough to suitably fill her place, caring only about bureaucracy and numbers, not the individual needs of each student as a person.
The motto of the school is: Per Angusta, Ad Augusta (Par dure labeur, à noble but.)

([2]