Principal’s Message
Welcome to St Ursula’s College Kingsgrove.
Whether you’re already part of our school community, a potential member or just curious to find out more, you are very welcome. St Ursula’s College is a Catholic school that has been educating young women in the Ursuline tradition since 1957.
At the heart of all that we do is an authentic spirituality, based on our foundress Angela Merici. She was a Renaissance woman, who believed that educating and empowering young women could transform society.
At St Ursula’s, we have a strong commitment to building a sense of belonging. We want each member of our community to experience the joy, hope, peace and strength that comes from a living Catholic faith in the Ursuline tradition. Like St Angela, we believe education can be life-changing. Our great hope is that we graduate faith filled, confident, lifelong learners with a moral conscience, who are ready to create a more just and peaceful world.
Academic life is carefully balanced with the social, personal and religious dimensions of education. This is in keeping with our Ursuline philosophy, which looks holistically at the child. All that we do at the College is underpinned by our six core values, emphasising acceptance, respect, unity, action, empowerment and service.
Our highly qualified and experienced teachers encourage students to think about what they can achieve in the world and the difference they can make. They create opportunities to nurture each girl’s curiosity and self-belief. Students are challenged to take risks in their learning, and to think critically and creatively, through a broad curriculum that caters to the unique needs of each young person.
Our students also have access to an array of additional learning opportunities, through our Newman Selective Gifted and Talented Program, Literacy and Numeracy support, English as a Second Language (ESL) Program and Learning Needs Support Program.
St Ursula’s College is currently the only Sydney Systemic Catholic School to offer the International Baccalaureate (IB) as an alternative to the Higher School Certificate.
Learning is enhanced by a wide range of co-curricular activities, including debating, music, performing arts, Duke of Edinburgh, overseas tours and a strong outreach and community service program.
Students can also develop their leadership skills, giving them countless opportunities to put into action our College motto: SERVIAM – I will serve.
We offer an array of sporting opportunities for students of all abilities and ages – a valuable avenue for their personal development through team participation. Our students are high achievers in Catholic Girls Secondary Schools Sports Association (CGSSSA) representative sport and enjoy reaching their personal and team goals in a health-conscious environment.
Thank you for visiting our website and I invite you to experience St Ursula’s College Kingsgrove for yourself. We hold an annual open day, usually in early March, and accept enrolments from students in Year 5. Our open days give you the opportunity to meet and speak with our staff and our current students, hear about our wonderful learning programs and experience the excellent facilities and resources available to your daughter.
I look forward to welcoming you to St Ursula’s College Kingsgrove.
Warmest wishes,
Ms Vivienne Awad
College Principal
History
Our founder Angela Merici believed that through education, women could become agents of change, transforming society for the better.
Our namesake
According to a legend that began in the fourth century AD, Ursula was a woman of great courage who was martyred in Cologne, Germany, where the Church of Saint Ursula now stands.
While the evidence of Saint Ursula’s life has been lost over the hundreds of years that have passed, her followers have left rich historical traces. As early as the ninth and tenth centuries, devotion to Saint Ursula had spread from Cologne to Spain, Italy, Denmark, Poland and other European countries.
Her immense popularity as a patron and helper also finds expression in abundant artistic representations throughout Europe. Ursula is usually pictured wearing a crown and carrying an arrow and a palm branch, symbolic respectively of royalty, martyrdom and victory. She is often wearing a cloak of protection and security, under which she offers her companions protection.
Origin of the Ursuline Order
Angela Merici had been devoted to the story of Saint Ursula since her childhood in Brescia, Italy. Angela was inspired to establish the Ursuline Order in 1535 under the patronage of Saint Ursula, someone young people trusted to protect them.
Angela believed that through education, women could become agents of change, transforming society for the better. She built a “company of young women” devoted to serving God through caring for those in need in their own community contexts not necessarily in a convent setting. Her dedication to empowering women and educating girls was revolutionary at the time.
Centuries of educational tradition
For hundreds of years now, Ursulines around the world have followed Angela’s brave, faithful and compassionate example of service. Over time, the Ursuline Order became synonymous with providing high quality education. In particular, Angela’s ideas are still making a unique contribution to educational philosophy. They stress the significance and uniqueness of the individual and the importance of the teacher-pupil relationship. Her teachings challenge us to work together to proclaim the Gospel.
Today, St Ursula’s College Kingsgrove strives to nurture young women of action, who demonstrate wisdom and independence, courage and resilience and a commitment to the service of others – just like Angela and her patron Saint Ursula.
More information
Learn more about the work of the Australian Ursulines and the international community they are members of the Ursulines of the Roman Union
College Motto
Our College Motto SERVIAM is Latin for I will serve.
College Crest
The college crest is proudly displayed on our college badge. This badge is the same one worn by every student attending an Ursuline school throughout the world and unites us with our global sisters.
The key features of the crest are the:
Stars
At the top of the crest is a field of seven stars, symbolising the heights to which we must aspire. The stars represent the Little Bear constellation, known as Ursa Minor. This constellation is found in the northern hemisphere and points to the Polar Star, which would guide ancient travellers. ‘Ursa’ recalls St Ursula, our patroness, who challenges us to reach our own pole star, Christ.
Cross
Under the stars, sits the Holy Cross, reminding us of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. This symbol is a reminder to our students they can feel joyful and confident because Jesus is risen.
Motto
Jesus’ life was one of courageous service; even to the point of death. Our college motto at the base of the crest, SERVIAM, is a call to serve God and others.
Adapted from Extract of the address of Pope Pius IX to French Ursuline Pupils explaining the meaning of their school badge in 1933.
Our Ursuline Mission
As partners in Catholic education, we commit ourselves to our students by:
- Celebrating being Catholic in Australia
- Ensuring quality teaching and learning
- Making a difference.
Our Ursuline Values
The Ursuline tradition continues to set forth the Gospel in unique and exciting ways for young women. Our Ursuline values give students an understanding of and knowledge about their obligation to live the college motto:
SERVIAM – I will serve
Our Ursuline Vision
Our vision is to ‘Ignite the Spirit’ in all students, inspiring them to develop a love of learning and enabling them to reach their full potential.
St Ursula’s enjoys a strong relationship with our closest primary feeder school – Our Lady of Fatima Primary School Kingsgrove and our Our Lady of Fatima Church.
Led by the Family Educator, based at Our Lady of Fatima Primary School, staff from both schools meet regularly to look at ways we can work together to enhance the faith journey of our young people and build strong, lasting school parish links.
Recent initiatives have included a collaborative parent mission walk, guest speaker events and parish feast days.
Find out more about our parishes.
Our Strategic Plan provides a road map for how St Ursula’s will prepare our students for the world of tomorrow.
Our studets are learning and living in a rapidly changing environment. In the coming years, they will face opportunities and challenges that are today only dreams in the minds of innovative thinkers.
Our College Mission, Values, Vision and Motto are embedded in each of our strategic priorities and in how we will measure our success in achieving them.
How was our Strategic Plan developed?
Our new Strategic Plan was developed through an extensive Inquiry and Review process, conducted in partnership with a team from Sydney Catholic Schools (SCS) in 2019. Our College Leadership Team, in collaboration with our staff ,students, parents and parish clergy, were invited to reflect on the successes of, and learnings from our existing Strategic Plan, and to ‘dream forward’.
These stakeholders had the opportunity to respond to a survey and participate in interviews with the Inquiry and Review team to contribute their ideas about the future of our college.
The SCS team then made recommendations to our college leadership team which supported and affirmed our ‘dreaming forward’. From this process, recommendations were made by the leadership team, which in consultation with the whole community formed the basis of our 2020-2024 Strategic Plan.
Our Strategic Plan is necessarily agile, to ensure we can take advantage of new opportunities that arise which can help us progress towards our goals.