St Joseph's College (Hong Kong)
St Joseph's College, established in 1875, is the oldest Catholic boys' secondary school and one of the leading boys' schools in Hong Kong. It is located in the Central Mid-Levels district and has around 1,003 students. Apart from Chinese related subjects and French language studies, the main language taught is English.
The sponsoring body of the College is the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools, incorporated in Hong Kong under the St Joseph's College Incorporation Ordinance, Cap. 1048 of the Laws of Hong Kong. The stated mission of the College is "to educate students in areas of intellectual, physical, social, moral and emotional development" and "to impart a human and Christian education...and to do so with faith and zeal".
The north and west blocks of the College are declared monuments of Hong Kong. The extension of the campus at 26 Kennedy Road is also a Grade I historic building.
History
Founding of the College (1875-1880)
The College was previously a Portuguese commercial school named St Saviour's College, located on Pottinger Street in 1860. Father Timoleon Raimondi, who was then the bishop of the Colony, convinced Rome to send the Lasallian Brothers to the British Colony.On 7 November 1875, six Lasallian Brothers arrived in Hong Kong: Brothers Hidulphe Marie, Hidulphe de Jesus, and Hebertus from the Boarding school of Marseilles; Brother Adrian Edmund and Aldolphus Marie from the Novitiate of London; and Brother Isfrid from Paris. They renamed the school after Saint Joseph, the patron saint of workers and of the Universal Church.
At the time of the takeover, the school had just 75 students. Later that year however, hundreds of Portuguese families had taken refuge in Hong Kong after a disastrous typhoon had swept over Macau causing the school's enrollment to double after just a few weeks. As a result, Brother Hidulphe had to suspend the intake of Chinese students. To accommodate the increased number of students, a house situated at 9 Caine Road was purchased in 1876.
Robinson Road (1881-1917)
In April 1880, Brother Cyprian was appointed Director. He had been a teacher in New York and Quebec, had held the directorship of several schools in his native land, Canada, and had taught in London and in Paris. In order to cater for the needs of the fast-growing school, a piece of land in Glenealy below Robinson Road was bought, and a two-story Victorian building became home to the College in 1881.In January 1884, Brother Ivarch Louis took over the directorship, and was succeeded in 1889 by Brother Abban. Enrollment had then increased to 409, and two Chinese staff were employed by the college; in the same year a third floor was added to the school building to accommodate boarders. The additional wings were added in 1901.
The Kennedy Road campus (1918- )
On 13 February 1918, the Robinson Road campus was severely damaged by an earthquake. The Club Germania at 7 Kennedy Road was subsequently purchased on 3 September. Because pupils living on the Kowloon side had to cross by ferry round-trip every day, a branch school was set up on Chatham Road, Kowloon, which became the La Salle College in 1932.During the Japanese Occupation of Hong Kong from 1941 to 1945, the College was used as a clinical depot by the Imperial Japanese Army. Some Brothers fled to Vietnam and became guests of the Dominicans and the Jesuits, while others were kept as prisoners of war in the local concentration camps. The campus was kept in shape by a minor staffer called Ah Yiu, who would also smuggle essentials into the camps for the Brothers.
The College soon resumed classes after the war. In 1962, Club Germania was demolished and a modern eight-storey building was erected under Principal Brother Brenden Dunne.
Campus
The College is located near the central business district of Hong Kong.The college architecture is a combination of typical colonial European and modern styles. The Charles Kao Block, constructed in 1920, houses most of the classrooms. The Chapel Block houses the Old Hall, music room, laboratories, lecture room and school chapel. These buildings were built in a Colonial style reflecting European influences. The two blocks are declared monuments of Hong Kong since August 2000.
The modern New Building, which replaced the original Club Germania on the site, houses the higher grades' classrooms. The New Hall, senior laboratories, a library and computer rooms are also located here.
In 2016, the College successfully acquired the former St. Paul's Co-educational Primary School at 26 Kennedy Road, a Grade 1 Historical Building, from the Education Bureau.
Staff
The College is governed by the School Management Committee. Members of the committee include the supervisor, the principal, two vice-principals, a teachers' representative, a Parent-Teacher Association representative, an Old Boys' Association representative and three Lasallian Brothers.The faculty includes 67 classroom teachers, a careers mistress, a discipline mistress, a counseling mistress, a sports master, a librarian, one Native English Speaking teacher, and a French teacher. Laboratory technicians, IT technicians and a library assistant are also employed. A part-time social worker is accessible to the students. The current school supervisor is Brother Chan Jeffrey.
Extra-curricular activities
Sports
In 1877, just two years after its establishment, the College held the first local inter-school sports competition with St. Paul's College, and in 1880 it established one of the first modern football teams in China.The first local inter-school athletic meet with Queen's College and Diocesan Boys' School was held in 1899, and in 1903 the first local inter-school football league was formed with the two schools.
Scouting, Red Cross and St. John Ambulance
The College established a Scout troop in 1913, which was the first within the Catholic Church community in Hong Kong. As other Boy Scouts in Hong Kong were connected with the Protestant Boys' Brigade and British Boy Scouts, the St Joseph's College troop registered with The Boy Scouts Association of the United Kingdom as its first Hong Kong Boy Scout Troop, two years before The Boy Scouts Association established a branch in Hong Kong.On 1 November 1967, an ambulance cadet division of the St. John Ambulance Brigade was established at the College and was the first ambulance cadet division after the first re-organization in the 1950s.
Music
Since 1974, the College has taken part in the champion title in Male Voice Quartet, Folk music, Solos and Duets, the Dorothy Smith Trophy, the Music Society Shield, the Dr. Karl Hohner Shield and the Moutrie Challenge Trophy in the Hong Kong Schools Music Festival.The school has set up different music groups so as to enhance students' interest in music through various performances and joint-school events. The School Orchestra was established in 2000 and has performed in different public events and concerts. In March 2013, the School Orchestra performed with Tonbridge School Orchestra from the UK during its overseas Tour to Hong Kong.
Established in 2007, the Chinese Orchestra goal is to give Josephians an opportunity to perform Chinese music through different performances. The school has also established other music groups such as the Josephians' Chamber Orchestra, Junior Choir, Senior Choir, Melodica Band and Chinese Drum Band. Each year, the school organizes a concert called the "Green and White Concert" in early July. The 10th G&W Concert was organized at City Hall, Hong Kong in 2012 with various special features.
Information Technology
St Joseph's College developed an Apache web server as early as the 1990s and launched Green & White Online, one of the first secondary school websites in Hong Kong.Motto, badge, and rally
The school motto Labore et Virtute ; "勤勞與美德" ; Labour and Virtue — is meant to summarize the life of Saint Joseph.The badge of the College displays a shield divided into three divisions. The top division shows the Signum Fidei - a five-pointed, radiant star, which is taken from the insignia of the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools. It reminds people of the spirit of faith in the Institute. The right lower division shows three chevrons symbolizing broken bones, reminding students of the bravery and zeal the Saint promoted.
The left lower division shows the book of knowledge on top and a lamp below; together they symbolize the importance of education, something which Jean-Baptiste de la Salle emphasised. The shield stands with a compartment with supporters each of the French lily, as the Lasallian family originates in Rheims, France. The top features a ribbon with the name of the College, and a crest with a cross and a crown. Below the shield are three shells symbolising baptism. The motto of the college is also found at the bottom of the badge.
The combination of green and white has become the College's official colors over the years. Green represents Ireland's shamrock, while white represents France's fleur-de-lis. The Lasallian Brothers of the College mostly come from Ireland and France. The school rally is based on a traditional Irish song O'Donnell Abú. Brother Marcian James Cullen, an Irish brother and director of St. Joseph's College in 1921, adapted the song and wrote the lyrics for the rally. Brother Marcian James also posted to other Lasallian Schools in Malaya and Singapore and the same song was used in a few other schools there as well.