St Joseph's Secondary School, Fiji


St Joseph's Secondary School is an all-girls school located in Suva, Fiji. The school was founded in 1956 and has established itself as one of the top schools around the country, progressing in the fields of academics and sports. The counterpart school for boys is Marist Brothers High School

History

St Joseph's Secondary School's history began way back in September 1888 when four pioneer sisters were missioned to Fiji at the invitation of Bishop Vidal to provide education for the people of Fiji.
The sisters were Mother Martin and Sister Tarcisius Mongin of France, Sr Mary of the Holy Name of Ireland and Sr Frances Chambers of Newfoundland, Canada
All three sisters are buried in the old Suva Cemetery.
''Today it is evident that through the lives of these sisters and their companions over the many years have managed to sustain the Cluny missionary spirit through the education offered to young women who have passed through their hands –
In 1938 the sisters opened a secondary department on the third floor of St Anne's Primary School – it was called St Philomena's.
There was also a small secondary branch attached to St Joseph's Primary School which was on the site where the Reserve Bank is now, next to the Sacred Heart Cathedral.
It was in 1956 that both secondary departments of St Anne's and St Joseph's Primary were transferred to the present site.
The staff was mainly sisters of the congregation. The driving force behind the growth of St Joseph's was a little Irish sister known as Sr Loius Woodnut whom she was small in stature but very large in her ability to supervise the growth of this special school for girls.
Together with the other sisters, some of whom are present today, managed to establish a school of excellence in both academic and spiritual fields.
The school celebrated its 60th jubilee in September 2016 with old pupils returning from all over the world.

Extra-Curriculum Activities

Sports
The school encourages its students to participate in extra-curriculum activities. Sports such Netball, Field Hockey, Basketball, Track and Field, Swimming, Archery, Chess, Soccer, Volleyball, etc.are participated within the school environment. The school has produced top athletes who have progressed to represent Fiji. St Joseph's is also well-known for the many sporting titles they have achieved especially advancing to the finals of the majority Fiji Secondary Schools Netball and Hockey tournaments. The school also made a comeback to the Coca-Cola games after a lapse of so many years, not placing below fourth for the past four years.
School Concert
St Joseph's stages its annual school concert every year attracting many different items from all ethnicities found in the school. The school concert is usually a sold-out event.

Notable alumnae