St Joseph's School has a proud and varied history. The first St Joseph's was built as a church/school in 1884. It was located behind the presbytery. The Dominican Sisters, who began teaching in Oamaru in 1882, conducted up to five classrooms in this building. The playground was carved from the hillside by men wielding pick axes and spades and pushing wheelbarrows. By 1928, the Christian Brothers had opened St Patrick's School for boys in Usk Street (our current red brick Junior School). In 1959, the two story block was built and become a school for boys up to Yr 4 and girls to Yr 8. In 1973, St Patrick's closed and Yr 5 & 6 boys joined St Joseph's. Yr 7 & 8 boys went to St Kevin's. It was not until 1984 that St Joseph's became a full primary school for both boys and girls.
School Vision
Our School Vision - 'Reach for the Stars as Lifelong Learners in the Catholic Faith'
The boy and girl standing in front of the cross with the Holy Spirit represent our children at St Joseph's on their faith journey. This is our JJ symbol. In the Junior School we say that JJ means to be 'Just like Jesus'Â. In the Senior School we say 'Journey with Jesus'. The JJ symbol depicts children as they live out our school vision to 'Reach for the Stars as Lifelong Learners in the Catholic Faith'. To help understand what our vision means, we have divided it into three parts:
- Reach for the Stars
- Lifelong Learners
- Catholic Faith
We have examples of these three parts in detail on our vision statement. This is displayed throughout the school and a copy is available from the office.
