St Gen Prospectus 2012-13.pdf - St Genevieves

HISTORY
History of the School
The Sisters of St Louis, following an appeal from Rev T Cunningham (Parish Priest of
St Agnes’ Parish), opened St Genevieve’s High School on 1st September 1966. The
Parish already had heavy financial commitments and was unable to bear the financial
burden of building the school.
When the school opened the Local Education Authority was County Antrim, but in
1973 the school came under the auspices of the Belfast Education and Library Board.
Having opened with 550 students and 26 teachers, there are now over 1000 students
in the school and 69 teachers.
In 1996, the school was selected to participate in the Private Finance Initiative for a
new building. Following extensive negotiations, a preferred bidder, Belfast Education
Services, was identified in May 1999. St Genevieve’s was the first Catholic Maintained
school provided with new premises under a PFI scheme. The staff and pupils moved
to the Trench House site in March 2002.
Philosophy
The Educational Philosophy of the school is based on that of the Congregation of the
Sisters of St Louis whose main apostolate is education.
The Congregation derives its educational ideals from its founder, Abbe Bautain, a
noted French philosopher and scholar of the nineteenth century. He was a man
characterised by deep faith and devotion to the will of God, great love of truth and
learning, respect for the freedom of the individual and a deep awareness of the
wholeness of the human person.
The Congregation’s approach to Education is therefore broad, idealistic and realistic.
It embraces the whole person - concerning itself with all aspects of the person’s
development - spiritual, emotional, intellectual, physical, moral and social. Therefore
it seeks to develop in its students that self-respect and respect for others which gives a
true appreciation of self, safeguards human dignity and leads to a good interpersonal
relationships.
St Louis Schools are Christian Communities where all members grow to value their
own worth as persons, their loving relationship with God, their links with their families
and the interdependence of all people.
Although the trusteeship of the school passed from the St Louis Order to the Diocese
of Down and Connor in 1995, St Genevieve’s still embraces the St Louis ideal which
seeks to proclaim Catholic values within a caring community. Within the limits of its
resources the school seeks:
1. CONTEXT
To help each pupil to develop INTELLECTUALLY, MORALLY, EMOTIONALLY and
SPIRITUALLY by giving her the experience of school as a caring supportive Catholic
Community where learning is enjoyable, provision is equitable and within which an
appreciation of her cultural heritage is fostered.
2. ACADEMIC
To enable each pupil to develop as fully as possible her abilities, interests and aptitudes
by providing for her a curriculum which is broad, balanced, coherent, relevant and
differentiated.
3. VOCATIONAL
To prepare each pupil for adult responsibilities, to help her appreciate both the
challenges of living in a modern pluralist society and her potential contribution to
that society by developing enduring interests and skills which include, and extend
beyond, the future workplace.
4. PERSONAL
To encourage each pupil to value the gift of life, to respect the world in which she
lives and to foster a sense of personal worth and fulfilment by becoming progressively
more responsible for her own personal development.
MISSION STATEMENT
“Realising Potential Together”
“Realising Potential Together” | Page 3