St Peter's College, Palmerston North
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| St Peter's College | |
| - | |
| Motto | Ubi Petrus, Ibi Ecclesia
As Peter, so the Church [1] |
| Type | State Catholic Co-educational Integrated College (Year 7-13) |
| Year established | 1974, as an amalgamation of St Joseph's Convent School, Palmerston North Marist and St Patrick's Intermediate |
| Address | Holdsworth Avenue, Milson, Palmerston North, New Zealand |
| Coordinates | |
| Principal | C. England |
| School roll | 811 |
| Socio-economic decile (10 is highest) | 7[1] |
| Ministry of Education Institution no. | 204 |
| Website | http://www.stpeterspn.school.nz/ |
St Peter's College is a Catholic Integrated co-educational College Year 7-13 of approximately 800 students. It is located in the northern Palmerston North suburb of Milson. The school's campus includes the historic St Anskaar's Chapel, which was gifted to the school by the people of Dannevirke.
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[edit] School Leadership
The current Headmaster is Chris England. Further, the school is divided into a junior school (years 7-10) and a senior school (years 11-13). Currently Miss Catherine Gunn and Mrs Helen Allan head the junior and senior schools respectively. Timothy Bernard Hehir is the chairman of the Board of Trustees.
Like many Catholic schools in New Zealand, St Peter's has put a great deal of emphasis on developing leadership in its students. This is line with the school's desire to provide its students with a holistic education.
[edit] Colours
The traditional colours of St Peters College are green and gold. This can be seen in the colours of the sports teams.
[edit] Houses
Students and teachers alike are divided into four houses, named after famous New Zealand Clergy. The houses compete annually for the House Shield as well as serving an organisational purpose for the students:
- Viard (Green)- Named after Bishop Viard.
- Redwood (Red)- Named after Bishop Redwood.
- O'Shea (Blue)- Named after Bishop O'Shea.
- McKeefry (Yellow)- Named after Cardinal McKeefry.
[edit] Sporting Rivalries
St Peter's 1st XI (Football) has a traditional rivalry with St John's (Hastings). Fixtures against St. John's proved tough over the years. It wasn't until the glory days of 1999-2000 that St Peter's could gain an ascendancy in the tie. There is also an annual tie against Chanel (Masterton), which is dominated by St Peter's.
St Peter's Rugby Union 1st XV traditionally plays games against three other Catholic Schools, for which special jerseys are used and caps are awarded to players. The schools are,Francis Douglas Memorial College in Taranaki, Cullinane College (formerly St Augustines) in Wanganui and St Peter Chanel in Masterton. These games are played on an annual basis, with home and away roles alternating. In recent years St Peter's has declined to send a 1st XV to Masterton, sending instead an under 16 team, in order to keep the game competitive.
[edit] 2002 Manawatu Standard controversy
In late 2001, a number of people lodged New Zealand Press Council [2] complaints against the Manawatu Standard, a local daily broadsheet. The school alleged that the newspaper was unfairly running negative stories the school, while not reporting on any neighbouring schools. In Tony Booker against the Manawatu Standard,Tony Booker against the Manawatu Standard the Press Council upheld the complaint, finding that the Standard was guilty of unbalanced reporting and bias. The Standard was forced to print the Council's findings. Anti-Catholicism was considered a possible motive for the Standard, as this is the main distinguishing feature between St Peter's and other Palmerston North schools.
[edit] Former Students of note
- Simon Power- National Party MP, once touted as a possible Prime Minister.
- Ingrid Park- Actress, played the character MacKenzie Choat on Shortland Street.
