History:
Saint Ignatius College Geelong is a Catholic co-educational secondary college, which has recently celebrated a truly fulfilling first decade: 2007-2017.
It is a unique College, offering outstanding educational opportunities to 1260 young women and men within a positive and caring Christian community.
It is a proud Jesuit Partner School and a member of the Ignatian Network of 95 schools in Australasia, together with other schools and universities worldwide, that share the spiritual and educational philosophy of Saint Ignatius of Loyola. The Ignatian tradition of education is to strive for the greater good, educate the whole person in body, mind and spirit, to inspire academic excellence and develop young adults of competence, conscience and compassion who are ready to serve their community and transform their world.
The last 10 years has seen significant growth and development in student numbers, programs, opportunities, facilities and the College community.
Description:
Saint Ignatius College is proud of its unique position in the Geelong region as the only Catholic co-educational secondary college where young women and men work collaboratively as equals in a vibrant learning community.
The College is easily reached by an extensive bus service across the region.
It is a Jesuit Partner School College which:
• Provides opportunities for students, staff, parents and alumni to experience a sense of belonging to a faith-filled Christian community and to commit themselves to being of service to others. The College motto “Amare et Servire, is to Love and to Serve.
• Respects the role of parents as the primary educators of their children.
• Is enthusiastic in imparting knowledge of Catholic faith and traditions, enabling students to accept truth freely and develop a Christian moral conscience.
• Promotes growth and improvement in learning and living for the greater glory of God in the Ignatian way.
• Support students in striving for their personal best - the Magis - in all their endeavours.
A challenging and enriching broad academic curriculum, within the Ignatian tradition, inspires students and the established pastoral care program strongly enhances their outcomes.
Always in pursuit of best practice in teaching and learning, the College embraces educational initiatives, innovation and new technologies. Exceptional delivery of dynamic programs, using the latest educational technologies, including a laptop program for all students across the College, within model learning spaces continues to strengthen student learning.
The College endeavours to create a community for learning where stable, close, mutually respectful relationships with adults and peers are considered fundamental for intellectual development and personal growth.
Students strive for the Magis: To do more and be more, and the College is proud of their significant achievements. Academic challenge and rigour are fundamental to all curriculum development and student work practices. The school has high expectations of students and staff to attain one’s best through support of resolution and perseverance.
Saint Ignatius College’s curricular and co-curricular programs have been developed which enable individual potential to be reached, and for students to be able to make decisions and take action that will contribute good to our lives and the world around us.
The College offers an extensive range of VCE, VET and VCAL Studies and Indonesian and Italian languages are offered from Year 7 with overseas Language tours held every second year to both Italy and Indonesia.
There is a wealth of opportunities for students to contribute to College life and the wider community and to develop as teammates, collaborators, facilitators and leaders. Students are expected to be involved in Community Service and there are opportunities within the College, in the community, within Australia and internationally. Recent Immersion tours have taken students to Stradbroke Island, Timor Leste and the World Challenge groups have travelled to various continents around the globe.
One of the College mantras is ‘St. Ignatius - Inspiring me to be a leader.’
We believe that the Servant leadership model of leadership is fundamental to Ignatian schools and countless opportunities within the College are available for students at all levels to build their leadership capacity and contribution.
Where possible students will have a key role in the organisation and running of Social Justice events, thus encouraging leadership, organisational and motivational skills.
Social Justice events will often be linked to the College curriculum and therefore have a larger impact on student’s knowledge and understanding of issues.
Sporting participation in a wide range of traditional sports is emphasized, with increasing standards of competition available on the interschool level. Currently there are 75 Sport teams in 19 different Sports with numerous opportunities for individual Sports.
Performing Arts groups presently include Orchestra, Junior Band, Stage Band, Honours Band, Senior Ensemble, Flute ensemble, College Choir, Junior Choir and Liturgy Choir and individual music lessons are available. All Year 7 students experience playing an instrument, with the option to progress further, in the Year 7 Instrumental program. A College Musical Production is staged bi-annually.
Other co-curricular activities range from Debating, Public Speaking, Winter Sleepout, Soup Kitchen, overseas Language tours and recent community projects in Australia and overseas including Stradbroke Island, Timor Leste World Challenge experiences in Asia and South America.
Features:
• Saint Ignatius College, a Jesuit Partner School, forms our students in the time-honoured Ignatian Tradition, nurturing academic excellence and empowering students to develop Competence, Conscience and Compassion and to value service to others. Striving for one’s best-the Jesuit “Magis” energises us for action.
• A whole school weekly Jesuit prayerful mindfulness exercise takes place, “ the Examen”, a reflection of our gratitude, self–insight, review of the week, forgiveness of oneself and others and consideration and resolution of ways to become a better person.
• The College has high expectations of staff and students to advance themselves and contribute to their College as it strives to go from being “ great “ to “outstanding”.
Upon graduation, it is hoped that students of Saint Ignatius College will display a range of qualities and characteristics that distinguish them from other students.
In their time at the College and as part of their transformation into young men and women of competence, conscience and compassion, the school strives to develop graduates who are Open to Growth, Intellectually Competent, Religious, Loving and Committed to Justice.
• Saint Ignatius College Geelong is located on the Bellarine Peninsula and is able to take advantage of numerous opportunities provided by a rural and coastal environment only 15 minutes from the Geelong city CBD. Opportunities include such programs as Marine Science, golf, surfing, canoeing, environmental, horse riding and bush walking.
• A College mantra ‘St. Ignatius - Inspiring me to be a leader.’ complements the college motto, “Amare et Servire”, “To Love and to Serve” a foundational principle for training in leadership.
• Being introduced in 2018 is the Year 9 Major Camp experience: an experiential model of “learning by doing”.
By attending the Year 9 Expedition students will further experience the Ignatian-Jesuit cura personalis (care for the whole person). Each student’s talents, abilities, physical attributes, personalities, desires, hearts, faith, and minds are equally worthy of care and attention. The Year 9 expeditions mission and purpose goes beyond the intellect of the head to provide a valuable learning experience for life that strongly focuses on leadership, decision-making, values, conscientiousness, peer relations, wellbeing, confidence and resilience.