St Rita's College, Clayfield

St Rita's College is a Catholic, all-girls secondary school located in Clayfield, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.

The school was founded in 1926 and follows in the tradition of the Presentation Sisters, founded by Nano Nagle, and currently educates approximately 800 girls from grades 8–12.^[1] St Rita's is a member of the Catholic Secondary Schoolgirls' Sports Association.^[2]

The school's motto is Latin, Virtute Non Verbis, which translates to English as Actions Not Words.

History

St Rita's College was founded by two Presentation Sisters, Sister Alice Kennedy and Sister Mary Madden, and was established as a kindergarten through to senior school on 27 September 1926. The initial enrolment consisted of 16 students with kindergarten - grade 3 being co-educational and grade 4 - senior girls only. Boarders were accepted from all grades.

By 1960 the primary school grades of St Rita's had been transferred to St Agatha's Primary School on the adjacent site. By 1970 St Rita's College no longer offered a boarding facility to its students.^[3]

School buildings

• Nano Nagle Centre: Completed in 2011, the Nagle Centre houses the College's Information Technology network and support centre, main reception, eight modern teaching rooms, a large function room with panoramic views across the bay and northern suburbs, as well as the two-level Resource Centre. The Resource Centre has been designed to cater for whole class, small group and individual working modes and connects to three other buildings, allowing easy access.
• Acqua Rosa Centre: In 2003, the Acqua Rosa Centre was completed – a 25 m x 25 m x 2 m heated pool. Not only is this building state of the art, but it is also aesthetically pleasing. The foyer houses the stained glass windows depicting St Rita’s life as well as the structured glass windows that depict the logo and emblem of each House. The pool itself is inlaid with a stain glass rose. In the beautiful landscaped gardens rests one of the blocks from the old pool.
• Eirene Centre: Construction of the Eirene Centre with its multi-purpose hall, Art classrooms, Film and TV classrooms and function room was completed in 2000. This building also housed a 120,000 litre tank to store storm water from the extensive roof. This water is being used to irrigate the grounds.
• Kennedy Centre: Built in 1938, the Kennedy centre is named after one of the founding sisters of the school and the school's first principal, Sr Alice Kennedy, the centre contains multi-purpose classrooms.
• Sr Elvera Sesta Science Centre: Constructed during the 1970s, the science centre was originally named after Nano Nagle, and housed 4 science laboratories. In 2011, coinciding with the construction of the new Nano Nagle Centre, the science building had an additional 2 laboratories added to the top floor and was renamed after former Principal, Sr Elvera Sesta PBVM, herself a science graduate of the University of Queensland.
• Presentation Centre: Built in 1995, the Presentation Centre houses the school's Pantry, Computer Laboratories, and Hospitality Rooms.
• Sacred Heart Centre: Built in 1964, the Sacred Heart centre contains the school's student reception as well as 10 multi-purpose classrooms and a state of the art Physics laboratory.
• Stanley Hall: Built in the late 1880s, and originally the only building on the school's grounds, it was once used to accommodate the 14 nuns that lived at the school in the Presentation Convent. During 2009 the school's nuns chose to move to a more convenient residence, handing stewardship of the heritage listed building to the College management. In 2013 the building was extensively renovated as the senior administration and teaching staff hub.
• Trinity Centre: Constructed in the early 1980s the Trinity centre houses the college's auditoriums, concert hall, music room, band room and drama rooms. The centre takes its name from the Father, Son and Holy Spirit - the Trinity.

Notable alumnae

Sr Elvera Sesta - Principal of St Rita's College 1988-2008
Eloise Amberger - Olympian, Synchronised Swimming
Kate Cantrell - Writer and Oxford Scholar
Ash Cottrell - Actress
Zara McKenna - Fashion Designer
Judi McCrossin - Screen Writer (The Secret Life of Us)
Mary Stickley - Winner Dolly (magazine) Model Search 2014

References