By Floyd French
Observer Reporter
The St. Theresa’s Convent School and the St. Joseph’s Academy will merge into one institution to be called the Immaculate Conception School, a move that will increase enrolment capacity at the institution.
Mrs. L Pistana, principal of the St. Theresa’s Convent School, said the new school will accommodate 500 students, roughly 100 more students than the current capacities of both schools. The school will have two classes for each primary level grades (K-Grade 6) but only one class for the secondary grades (grades 7-11).
The high school will also get a vocational studies wing, which will add to the current curriculum. The high school at present offers the sciences, business studies, technical drawing and information technology along with the traditional core subjects. The new wing will give students the choice to pursue woodwork, home economics and other vocational subjects.
The expansion will meet its overall objectives of providing quality education and accommodating more students who want to attend the private institution, Mrs. Pistana said.
“We have been experiencing a steady rise in our enrolment over the last three years. Therefore, each year we had to turn away persons,” she said.
The merger and expansion is funded by the Mezzalingua family of Syracuse, New York, who own and operate the local company Kajola Kristada Ltd. Mrs. Pistana was unable to say how much the project will cost, but said that “at the end, it will certainly be a state-of-the-art institution.”
The principal of St. Joseph’s Academy, Mrs. Vernice Rogers, said the merger is a progressive move for both schools.
At the primary level, both schools are pursuing the same national curriculum and it is more productive to operate as one institution sharing resources, she said.
“Financially, it is better to be one. We duplicate a lot of stuff. We follow the same government curriculum,” Rogers added.
The history of both schools comes from the Catholic faith and efforts by priests and nuns to go beyond spiritual edification. Mrs. Rogers pointed out that many people in the community know St. Joseph’s Academy by other names throughout its history, Parochial School back in the early 1900’s and the Roman School today.
St. Joseph’s Academy has always been considered the “poor sister,” she said. The school operated as a cheaper institution for many who could not pay the tuition of its sister school, St. Theresa’s Convent. Mrs. Rogers pointed out there is still that misconception in the community.
The process of integrating the two schools has already begun.
There are now more joint assemblies and parent-teacher meetings in than in the past, Mrs. Rogers said. She also highlighted a recent concert organised by staff of both schools as proof perceptions are changing. Both principals, Mrs. Rogers and Mrs. Pistana, view the merger as a step in the right direction, considering the challenges faced by private schools.
