Saint Joseph School was established in 1906 as a branch of Holy Angels Convent in Sydney, Nova Scotia. The new building, located on the corner of George and Cottage Streets, opened on August 23, in time for the beginning of the school year. Sister Sainte-Marie-du-Temple (Marie-Anne Arsenault), Sister Saint-Grégoire (Marie-Agnes McKinnon), and a lay teacher received one hundred sixteen boys and girls divided into three classes. On March 9, 1907, the school was blessed by Father Donald M. McAdam, pastor of Sacred Heart Parish. The following year, the Sydney School Board became administrator of Saint Joseph School.
In February 1909, a major fire destroyed half the school but classes resumed uninterrupted the next day in temporary locations. The building reconstruction was completed in March and the students regained their school. In 1918, there were ten classes of boys and girls from grade 1 to grade 8. In 1922, the lack of space prompted the building of an annex. The four additional classes were used to accommodate the ever-increasing number of students. In 1938, with the addition of a grade 9 class, the school numbering seven hundred students became a senior high school. Through the years, Saint Joseph School boys’ ice hockey team won several prizes. In 1947, Sydney’s Rotary Club awarded medals to the players in recognition of their success. In 1963, a new school was built on Cabot Street. In March, five sisters and ten lay teachers received six hundred and twenty-five students in fifteen new classrooms. The former school was demolished. In 1966 lay teachers replaced the sisters.
NB: This text was written using documents found in the archival holdings in our possession and does not constitute a complete administrative history of the teaching establishment.
Sheriff Junior High School was established in 1959 to receive a large number of high school students from different schools in Sydney, Nova Scotia. The new building on Sheriff Avenue opened on January 3. Of the twelve classes which comprised the school, one was from Holy Angels Convent, three from Sacred Heart School and eight from Saint Joseph School. There were also students who were from Saint Anthony Daniel School. The school personnel was made up of a director, a lay teacher and four teaching sisters. At the beginning of the school year, Sister Sainte-Elizabeth-de-la-Trinité (Mary Elizabeth Helen Hilda Gallivan) of Holy Angels Convent, Sister Sainte-Yvonne-de-Notre-Dame (Mary Yvonne Sears) of Sacred Heart School, Sister Sainte-Anne-Louise (Coline Gertrude Campbell) and Sister Sainte-Elizabeth-Anne (Elizabeth Moroney) of Saint Joseph School arrived with their respective classes. The four hundred eighteen students also benefited from a science laboratory and a library. The teaching sisters lived in Holy Angels Convent. In 1959, students took part in ice hockey and skating championships. At the beginning of the 1960 school year, the school had an additional grade 6 class from Constantine School. That same year, a bowling league was organized by the students.
NB: This text was written using documents found in the archival holdings in our possession and does not constitute a complete administrative history of the teaching establishment.
Villanova School was established in 1920 as a branch school of Holy Redeemer Convent in the Whitney Pier District in Sydney, Nova Scotia. It was named Subway School when it was first completed, but took the name Villanova School in 1925. The founding sisters, Sister Sainte-Geneviève (Lucy Ann Doyle) and Sister Saint-Thomas-à-Kempis (Margaret Chisholm), received some two hundred grade 1 and 2 boys and girls, most of whom had just immigrated to Canada and only spoke English. The following year, two lay teachers joined the teaching staff; there were two hundred twenty-nine students. In 1933, a grade 3 class for girls and, five years later, one for boys were opened.
In 1948, the Sydney School Board built four additional classes and a third sister joined the teaching staff. At that time, Villanova School numbered three hundred fifty students from grade 1 to grade 4. Girls and boys who were promoted to grade 5 were transferred to Holy Redeemer Convent and Holy Redeemer Boys School, respectively. In 1959, because the school was overcrowded, the direction reorganized the classes; many students attended half-days of school. As a result, four classes of twenty-five students and two sisters were transferred to a new school, Elmwood School, built by the School Commission. Annually, the students took part in the Cape Breton Festival of Music, Drama and Song and won several prizes. In 1961, grade 5 classes were opened and were taught by the sisters. At the beginning of the 1964 school year, Villanova School temporarily received students from the new Jamieson School which was not yet fully completed. In February 1965, sixty-five students were transferred to their new classes. In 1966, two sisters of the Congrégation de Notre-Dame were still teachers in Villanova School.
NB: This text was written using documents found in the archival holdings in our possession and does not constitute a complete administrative history of the teaching establishment.
Saint Anthony Daniel School was established in 1953 as a branch of Holy Angels Convent in Sydney, Nova Scotia. The new building opened on November 2. Sister Saint-Joseph-de-la-Merci (Mary McNeil), Sister Sainte-Marie-des-Séraphins (Marie-Joseph Tomney) and five lay teachers received two hundred sixty-two co-ed students from kindergarten to grade 6. In 1958, because of the increasing student population, two new classes were built to accommodate grade 1 and grade 4 students. That same year, a group of students appeared on television to sing Christmas carols. At the beginning of the 1963 school year, the sisters were pleased to see that the school had three additional classes. The following year, with four new classes built, the school reached a total number of fifteen classes. At that time, there were four hundred seventeen enrolled students in Saint Anthony Daniel School. In 1966, the sisters withdrew from the school and left its administration to a lay director. Saint Anthony Daniel School was established in 1953 in order to provide education to the young Catholic boys and girls of Sydney, Nova Scotia.
NB: This text was written using documents found in the archival holdings in our possession and does not constitute a complete administrative history of the teaching establishment.
