| Loreto Normanhurst | |
|---|---|
 | |
Loreto_College_Normanhurst-2a.jpg) The college today | |
| Location | |
 | |
Australia | |
| Coordinates | 33°43′38″S151°5′51″E / 33.72722°S 151.09750°E /-33.72722; 151.09750 |
| Information | |
| Type | Independentcomprehensivesingle-sexprimary andsecondaryday andboarding school |
| Motto | Latin:Cruci Dum Spiro Fido (While I Live, I Trust in the Cross) |
| Religious affiliation | Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary orLoreto Sisters |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic |
| Established | 1897; 128 years ago (1897)[1] |
| Principal | Marina Ugonotti |
| Staff | ~250[3] |
| Years | 5–12[2] |
| Gender | Girls |
| Enrolment | c. 1,200[2] (2024) |
| Colours | Navy blue and yellow |
| Slogan | Growing Individuals and Communities |
| Affiliations |
|
| Website | www |
Loreto Normanhurst is anindependentCatholic,primary andsecondaryday andboarding school forgirls, located inNormanhurst, a suburb on theupper North Shore ofSydney,New South Wales,Australia.
Established in 1897, Loreto has a current enrolment of approximately 1,200 students fromYear 5 toYear 12, including over 200 boarders, and is the largest girls' boarding school in New South Wales.[4] In 2006, the school was named among the top ten innovative schools in Australia.[4] Commencing in 2015, the school reopened their primary school for girls in years 5 and 6.
Loreto Normanhurst is affiliated with the Association of Heads of Independent Schools of Australia (AHISA),[5] the Association of Independent Schools of New South Wales (AISNSW),[6] the Australian Boarding Schools' Association (ABSA),[1] the Alliance of Girls' Schools Australasia (AGSA),[7] and is a member of theAssociation of Heads of Independent Girls' Schools (AHIGS).[8]
The school is one of many around the world established by theInstitute of the Blessed Virgin Mary, orLoreto Sisters, founded some 400 years ago byMary Ward, and its Sydneysister school isLoreto Kirribilli. There are five other Loreto schools across Australia, inMelbourne,Ballarat,Adelaide,Brisbane andPerth.
Mother Gonzaga Barry led the Loreto nuns to Sydney from Ballarat,Victoria in 1892, establishing a school in rented premises atRandwick. Within five years, the school had grown significantly, and a separate school for the boarders was deemed necessary.[9] Mother Gonzaga's prayers for an appropriate site were answered during a visit to Sydney in 1896, as Mother Oliver explained:
Mr Frank Coffee of Wahroonga sent her an urgent message to come and see a property that was for sale a short distance from his home. It had been raining, but as the nuns arrived at the site, the sun burst through the clouds and formed a beautiful rainbow over the estate.[9]
This land was purchased, and the foundation stone for the newconvent was laid on 28 February 1897[9] byCardinal Moran.[10] The school opened late in 1897 as "Loreto Convent, Hornsby" with 15 boarders, many of them girls who had come from Randwick.[9]
Although primarily a boarding school at this time, Loreto did accept a small number of day students from the localHornsby area, including some young boys. Enrolments grew over the following decades; however, theWars andDepression proved difficult times. FollowingWorld War II, the surrounding shire developed and day girl numbers began to equal that of boarders, gradually overtaking them to the present situation where there are many more day girls than boarders.[9]
| Ordinal | Officeholder | Term start | Term end | Time in office | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | M. Eulalia Hyland | 1935 | 1938 | 2–3 years | [8] |
| 2 | M. Joseph Michael Ritchie | 1939 | 1939 | 0 years | |
| 3 | M. Judith Sullivan | 1940 | 1942 | 1–2 years | |
| 4 | M. Thomas Farley | 1942 | 1943 | 0–1 years | |
| 5 | M. Antoinette Hayden | 1943 | 1945 | 1–2 years | |
| 6 | M. Rosario North | 1946 | 1956 | 9–10 years | |
| 7 | M. Miriam Nowotny | 1957 | 1964 | 6–7 years | |
| 8 | M. Josephine Little | 1965 | 1967 | 1–2 years | |
| 9 | Jeanne Cover | 1968 | 1970 | 1–2 years | |
| 10 | Deirdre Rofe | 1971 | 1975 | 3–4 years | |
| 11 | Maureen Saunders | 1976 | 1981 | 4–5 years | |
| 12 | Dian Stuart | 1982 | 1988 | 5–6 years | |
| 13 | Denise Demarchelier | 1989 | 1993 | 3–4 years | |
| 14 | Dr Leoni Degenhardt | 1994 | 2008 | 13–14 years | |
| 15 | Barbara Watkins | 2008 | 2018 | 9–10 years | [11] |
| 16 | Marina Ugonotti | 2019 | incumbent | 5–6 years |
As with most Australian schools, Loreto Normanhurst utilises ahouse system. The school currently has eight houses, which play an important role in the pastoral program at the school. They are:
| House | Colour | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Aston | Purple | Named after Aston Lodge which became the first Loreto school in Sydney in 1892. Built in 1865 by John Watkins, and designed by Edmund Blacket, it is now part of theEmanuel School in Stanley Street, Randwick.[12] |
| Barry | Gold | Named after Mother Gonzaga Barry who led the first group of Loreto sisters to Australia fromIreland in 1875. She began the first Loreto school in Ballarat, Victoria, and soon after followed that with schools in other states.[12] |
| Kendall | Aqua | Named after Mother Evangeline Kendall IBVM, a teacher andart critic, who contributed profoundly to Loreto Normanhurst from 1948 until her death in 1996. Mother Evangeline is buried in the school's bush cemetery.[12] |
| Kuring-gai | Orange | Named after theKuring-gai people, the traditional owners of the land on which the school is located.[12] |
| Maye | Maroon/Pink | Named after Sister Kevin Maye, who came from Ireland to Ballarat in 1920, and shortly after to Normanhurst. She is buried in the school's cemetery.[12] |
| Mornane | Green | Named after Mother Stanislaus Mornane who began atLoreto Ballarat in 1876. Here she met Mother Gonzaga Barry and other pioneering Loreto nuns who had come from Ireland the year before, and subsequently, in 1879, she joined them as the first Australian to become a member of the order. In 1916 became Superior at Loreto Normanhurst, moving in 1924 to Loreto Kirribilli as Superior. Her last years were spent in the Normanhurst community, and upon her death in 1943 she was buried in the Loreto Normanhurst cemetery.[12] |
| Mulhall | Red | Named after Mother Stanislaus Mulhall, one of the women who laid the foundations of the Loreto tradition in Australia. Mulhall worked as the Mistress of Novices for 30 years, and was largely hidden from most people.[12] |
| Ward | Blue | Named afterMary Ward, foundress of the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary (IBVM). Born inEngland in 1585, she travelled across Europe, founding schools in many countries.[12] |
The houses are an important part of the schools community. To keep the members of the houses together, they make sure the lockers are surrounded by the house mates.
