 Hello everyone and welcome to a special edition of TV 30. Today, we will be speaking about the institution that has served our nation island for the longest, an institution that is 170 years this year. My name is Natalie Jolie-Fannes and I'll be your host for today and I'm proud to say I'm also an alumna of the St. Joseph's Convent. And with me today is the principal of St. Joseph's Convent, Sister Rufina Donat, as well as one of the members of the board of SJC, Mrs. Michelle Anthony Daisy. Welcome, welcome. Thank you. And thank you so much for sharing information with the nation on an institution that has served for so long and done so much. Let's start, Sister. I'm going to start with you. Give context for those who don't know about St. Joseph's Convent. Tell us a little bit about the history of this institution. When we speak about St. Joseph's Convent, we talk about 170 years. We cannot speak about St. Joseph's Convent without speaking about the sisters of St. Joseph of Clooney. Yes. And they're the ones who came to St. Lucia. It was established, they had written agreement by the administrator, the church administrator at the time, to run the schools. So that was established in 1854 and the location, the first location, was the Ave Maria grounds, where the Ave Maria grounds are located. In 1859, a fire destroyed the building. And so the sisters had to relocate to Monfortune in an apartment given to them there. And then the site we are on presently. That site was already being looked at for relocation. So it just hastened the process. So in 1961, through the assistance of the students themselves, that time was Pickabrick. Pickabrick, the assistant and the sisters themselves, they were able to erect the site that we use right now. Wow. Even then, in 1984, as yes, one year, in 1984, the sisters looking at education, wanting to extend again for more students to attend the St. Joseph's Convent in 1984, they built their own home, the lower down and so allowed for more students to enter the school by extending to additional form because it used to be a three-form school. So now we are four forms. So when we look at, as I say, when we look at the history, when we talk about SGC, we must talk about the sisters of St. Joseph of Clooney. Because of the sisters of St. Joseph of Clooney, we have St. Joseph's Convent. And St. Joseph's Convent is, for many people, it's not just St. Lucia. We belong, we are part of a province of the West Indies. So we have schools in Grenada, in Trinidad and St. Vincent. Are these schools all around the same age? No. Trinidad will be one of the oldest schools. Trinidad would be about a hundred and eighty. About two years ago, Potterspoon Convent celebrated 175 years. Okay. And I know you're building up to that. We are building to 175. So we're starting with 170. We wanted to, by the time we get to 175, it's going to be an overflow. And you speak of locating at Cedars Road, where you now are. Yes. You say about 1960, roughly? About 1961. Yes, 1961. You know, we don't want to show our age, but I think Michelle and I would remember that what we call the new block, maybe where the sisters lived before. Yes. Because we probably entered around that time. I remember. That is correct. Yeah, just that AV room. The 84 right. Being added at that time. She don't say that, don't repeat that year. The AV room was added in 84, naturally. You know, and look at how far ahead that you are. Look where we are with technology for you to recognize the importance of having an audiovisual room at that time, where it could be used in instruction for other activities. That is quite significant. Yes. The sisters always had a vision, because when the school was built, it was built with three labs. Wow. Three labs, biology, chemistry and physics. And you're looking at the six seasons when you're looking at education. We're talking about STEM education now. But from then they had that vision. And it was not just the academics. It was holistic development. So the arts were introduced. From the time they were at the Ave Maria location, Sister Colombo. Sister Colombo introduced theater arts to the school. Music. It was at that time, it was at a level where they were able to raise funds. In one of the history writings by Claudia Thomas, they were able to raise funds for hurricane victims in Jamaica. So it was Sister Colombo, she was an arts person, the music, everything. So the school was always known, not just for academics, but for the arts. The sports came in a little later. Okay. And as you speak of that, I really want to bring Michelle in here to speak to the significance, given, you know, that you probably understand the generations that have gone through SGC and the kind of impact. Speak to the significance to St. Lucia and the wider world of SGC. We're speaking about 170 years of educating women in St. Lucia. And these are women or girls who have gone on to become women and who have contributed not only locally, regionally, but on the international stage. I mean, now with the advent of social media, we're able to follow the adventures of a lot of our girls as they move out into the wider world. And you see the impact that they're making on the world stage. You know, in terms of science, math and a number of other areas. So the impact of St. Joseph's Convent cannot be understated. It is really a legacy that has been built. And one of the aims of this year's 170th celebrations is to continue building on that legacy as we move towards 175. Because St. Joseph's Convent has become established as a forerunner in the education of women on the island. Certainly, certainly. And that speaks to, I want to bring that up, the number of generations that 170 years can cover. And I think possibly with your family. Well, in my case, it's three generations. My mother, who is a former chief education officer, attended St. Joseph's Convent as did I. And now my daughter is in fourth form at St. Joseph's Convent. And I'm sure that we have other families where we probably have more generations who've gone through the doors of the school. Yes. So, so significant in so many different ways. And sister, I hope as we come out with this, I mean, we alluded to our year. We recognize that just recently in a virtual space, how we were able to bring so many girls from across the world together. And we had the house rivalry. But I think we're looking to, yes, I heard you mentioned your historian Claudia Thomas. Dare I say that she's also from our year group. So just for this, we are dominating class of 89. So yes, we want to see what each year group can bring to this. Oh, yes. So sister, I want to engage you in terms of leading up the plans leading up to this. I know you have alumni involved. You have your board involved. You have the current crop of students. Tell us what the process has been this far. Okay. One of the things we're looking at because as this is also part of the spiritual also look at the spiritual aspect and always begin with with church, prayers, mass. So looking at this act, the activities, the school has decided and we're starting off although there's a group made up of a number of past people from different year groups. And Michelle is part of that group also. But I want to speak from SJC. We are looking at the big opening with a mass at the Cathedral on the 24th at 10 a.m. Why 10 a.m? We want to get the students, we want the students to be part of it, very much a part of it, as much as we'd like to have the past people there, their parents, the wider society. So we're looking at this time and so that it can be effective. We can have an impact on on on persons at that time of day. So we're looking at the various groups, uniform groups at the school. We want to come down. We want to match down to the Cathedral. Wow. With our flags. And we want it to be a great event. So the past people are going to be part, are going to form the choir for the day. They had rehearsals last evening on Sunday via Zoom. Well, that is another story. It can happen. But we're going to have the face to face tomorrow Tuesday, Tuesday, that's the 16th, tomorrow at 5.30 p.m. at the school. And we want to invite all singers. I don't want to call names right now, but they are there. They know they're singing there in the spotlight. And we want them to also be part of that choir. So we want the choir to be part of the different years. Not those who have been in the choir, but those who are not in the choir and can sing. Oh, I thought you were talking about those in the choir. Because we have a rich tradition of an S.G.C. choir. Yes. You had to be, for my time, it was Sister Claire. Yes. I understand that you took over the choir. Yes, as a challenger as well. I'm under being petrified during singing, class singing, and being graded by Sister Claire. Oh mind. You had to do the solo. She'll call upon you on the inside. I was part of the choir. So the intimidation was a little bit less because we interacted with her on that level. But the choir has had a significant impact at S.G.C. as well. So it's really great to see. So you're bringing in alumni to be the choir for the service. To be the choir for the opening, the opening mass. Okay, that is very, very significant. Yes. So I understand we're going to go back to the activities. But just in terms of that kind of involvement mission, maybe you can come in in terms of the kinds of contributions that you're having from alumni, from parents, from the board itself in terms of the planning. The PR committee which has been established is a committee with alumni from various year groups. The entire planning of the activities for the 170th is under the chairmanship of Pauline Wolfe, who is from class of 1979. They, that particular class of 79 have been very, very active. They have events on a regular basis. They organize cruises. So one of the things that they're doing for this year, for this year's celebration is they're organizing a cruise from Florida down to St. Lucia. And I understand it's already heavily subscribed. Wow. They do have a bit of a cruising attachment to cruising. And so Pauline has put this committee together and they have been working hard behind the scenes. They've launched Instagram accounts. They've launched us on Facebook and they are pushing some of the activities and we're going to see in the coming weeks more and more of those activities in the social media forum. And obviously we have all of the other social media accounts which are affiliated to the school. So I think we're looking to see how we can bring all of these together with the same material. We want to get the SJC girls, the small pets, as they call themselves, excited, as excited as they were when we did virtual sports. And when I say we, you know, they were core group of ladies who were involved in that. And some of them are also involved in the PR aspect. So they've been working very hard and diligently behind the scenes. And we will be adding to the roster of activities that the school has planned. And some of these activities will perhaps come on later in the year. We do have a proposed gala plan for the month of July. And there will be more information given about that in due course. Okay, great. So you started with the key to get the word out that we are celebrating. So the PR committee is functioning and you're saying that it is from different year groups. And we're now trying to encourage each year group to appoint someone who be their spokesperson, who we can liaise with. So if that hasn't already been done, we're hoping that from this activity that we will be able to encourage them and get the excitement going because there's so much more that we can do. In addition to some of the other activities, some of the activities have been planned, a very heavy component of that is going to be given back. So these activities are being put together as we speak and we're hoping that I think in the next month or so that we can indicate what some of these additional activities will be. Okay, great. So we have to take a quick break, but when we come back we're going to speak about each of the activities, give it some focus, give it some hype so we get people ready for the celebration of 170 years of the St. Joseph's convent. You are watching TV 30 with SJC principal, board member and alumna. Please stay with us. We will be right back. Suicidal thoughts like other mental health challenges can affect anyone. It can be you, your colleague, family member, or neighbor. Everyone has a role to play in preventing suicide. Know the warning signs. If you or someone you know is in crisis or emotional distress, call the suicide hotline at 203. Remember, help is available. This is a message from the Employee Assistance Program, Department of the Public Service. Contact us at 468-2269 or 468-2260. Welcome back to a special edition of TV 30. We are here speaking about the St. Joseph's convent and institution that has been around for 170 years and joining me, an alumna, Natalie Julie Fannes, is Sister Rufina Dunat who's the principal and Mrs. Michelle Anthony Daisy who is a board member of the SJC. And in our first segment we ran through a little bit of the background, gave you a little history of the convent and what has led up to the planning of the activities and now we're going to hit the ground running to engage you and ensure the participation because this is not just for current students, it's for everyone who has been impacted by SJC. So we're going to start talking about our activities. Now Sister I know you gave us a sense of you have to start with prayer, we know that but once again let us talk about the opening activity for the celebration of 170 years. Okay, so we spoke about the opening mass which takes place on the 24th of January at 10 a.m. We want to begin with the students marching down to the cathedral and we're seeking, we have already written for permission for the route. We are looking at the police band, we also wrote for permission so that the band could lead the students into... We wanted a grand affair, we wanted to be big extra. So we want everybody to be there, use your lunch hour, use your lunch hour to be there. You know the same time yesterday Father said people take time off for funerals. You just got every possible spot to be there. So we want to encourage everybody to be there. Bring your white flag, bring your blue flag, wear your blue and white. It's a sea of blue on that day. So all the uniform crews will be coming down with their banners. So we want it to be grand, it's a grand opening and in the middle of the day everything is going to be grand. And that is at the mine of a silica. The mine of a silica, the massive conception at 10 a.m. on the 25th. I am wondering if there'll be space for what the population of SGC is about 500, no? Roughly estimate. That is not good, we will find space there. We will find space for hotels. Yes, and I can already feel the excitement and just with the talk of the choir, I can hear the Husanas going up in praise of 170 years. Yes. That is is the first activity. And I heard you mentioned Parba, will he be officiating? The bishop will be the one officiating. It's in ground up. Parba will be there. Yes, yes. So you see the significance. We have the head of our church in St. Lucia officiating as well as a priest who has been affiliated with the convent for very long time. Yes. When I went back for my daughters, I think, was it graduation or something? It was with the mines. And Parba was there and I'm like Parba is still with SJC. So that too is significant. And you see there's always a connection with SJC and St. Mary's College because Parba relates that in his time they did some, St. Mary's College did some classes at St. Joseph's convent. They had a debate in club and they also had the Legion of Mary. So they all, we're the ones who broken that connection. I'm just hoping that with the 170, they did it to 175, we can reignite that connection. And the boys are always asking you know for them to be connected. Yes. Let me try to reunion. They were like, but you're left this autumn. Correct. But you can go to the convent. So yes, so that is important. Especially as an all-girls school, the connection is always good for them to understand that you have pairs that you know are of yours. So I'm hoping to see that happen. And it's important for the students to see the past students involvement and see them giving back and seeing the pride that they feel being part of the SJC family. So we want them to experience that. That sounds good. So that is how we open. Yes. What is the next grand activity on the agenda? The battle relay. The battle relay is going to it is we want to look at it from the Ave Maria school where we're looking at generations. We're looking at the decades of past pupils. So we are looking at that battle relay coming from starting with Ave Maria, looking at different year groups carrying that battle. So we are asking the different year groups to send in their representatives to call the school and give the name of their representative who they want to carry to represent them. They can have their chair leaders. So it is a house thing. It's going to be a house activity. Oh, you love that rivalry. Oh, yes. Oh, yes. That's where the energy comes naturally. That's when you feel the energy. So we are looking at it and all the way people will have their house colors. We're going to have the flags and house colors and we are going to get up to the school where it's going to be that is going to be the big thing. Celebration. The big celebration where we're going to have our we're going to have our formal speeches, formal lunches. Launch. Yes, great. The activity. Great. What has that been dated? It is. It is the 15th of February. 15th of February. So we are hyping so that's our sports. So it is on the 15th and we have our school sports on the 23rd. So the energy will be there. Transfer. Yes. So you're giving people sufficient time to get the day off. Yes. We can plan and see the day off from our employers. So the battle relay. The battle relay is at 3.30. At 3.30. So we're not going to take too much time from work. So from the Avamiria grounds to the SJC grounds. To the SJC grounds. Yes. That's a nice little distance and covering the decades. The decades. We're looking at the decades. Well as many decades as I guess we can get. Yes, we can get. So we look at house captains too. Games captains, you know, let them come show their faces. Yes. All right. So battle relay to officially launch the activities. Right. What do we move to next? Michelle, I don't know if you want to jump in here. Let's see. I think on March 8th we planned SJC in the city. And that is supposed to be a showcase of the students, artwork, culinary arts, all of their various clubs and other activities along with cultural performances. The plan is to use the Derek Walters Square to have parents and students and obviously any member of the public or past students who want to participate and be involved. And that is an activity which would start at about 9 30. I think 10 a.m. in the morning down to the end of the school day at 2 30. So it's a whole day activity and students and teachers would walk from SJC down to the Derek Walters Square to commence the day's activities. That is also International Women's Day. Right. So the significance of that day. Every year for the past five years we have been marking International Women's Day. Students, entrepreneurs, we give them that opportunity to showcase their work and it's getting bigger every year. The students, they do their cakes decorating, they do crochet, they do jewelry. So it's always an opportunity for them to showcase what they do. In the past we invited women in in the industry, entrepreneurs, but we are realizing that our students are just they are big on it. So what the counselor did was to get them trained by bell fund by, um, they would they were trained and into how to budget, how to prepare, how to present and it went very well last year. So we said no, we're going to bring it down to town. Going to be SJC in the city. Oh wow. Would, would, um, alumni who are entrepreneurs get an opportunity to exhibit as well? Oh sure. I guess in the space as we get as we get through, um, I don't want the time to pass upon us. So that's three activities down thus far and very, very significant and really bringing out the, the talents and just the very, um, engine of the, of the, the institution. So I think that's important. What, what else do we have that we need? It's an entire year of activities. Yes, looking at the service pattern and Michelle mentioned it that we want to give service. So under 18, there's a day before the feast. We want to have our school mass as we normally do. That would be at the school itself. But afterwards we want, um, with the assistance of parents to go out and feed and feed the homeless on the streets of Castering's Constitution Park, the markets. We're looking at schools also that need that assistance and this is what we want to do to give back in that way. Yeah. So that has always been one of one of the the school has a very rich tradition of giving back. We have the Christmas good tune and during the year there are a number of other activities which are always, always geared at giving back because that is something that is really, I think, you know, brought home and that we encourage with the students. Okay, excellent, excellent. So activity number four? Activity number four is the crazy one. It's called a motorcade, island wide motorcade we're looking at the entire school. We have not received permission so it is excellent for the plan. Yes, it's part of the plan would like so the children don't get that opportunity. Normally there is a holiday for us on the 19th to mark the feast but we won because of the 17th anniversary we want to take the children out. So we want parents, we want past students to all be part of that motorcade. Natalie this is going to, if it's happening that's going to, that's going to be great. You know what I like about this? That is the students who, people who attend SJC come from all around the island. Right, excellent. And I think that motorcade will be an ideal opportunity to reach out to all of these communities and allow them to represent as SJC goes through. So what we're looking at where you have an SJC child or past student you put a flag in your window. And you will get, as we go along, we're going to chair you on as we go along. Oh I love that. Yes, you put a flag in your window. I think you need to work to get permission for this system. Yes, they need to see the importance of it too. Right, because SJC although it is situated physically located in the capital its impact is island wide. And I think it would be a great thing to be able to take SJC out to all communities. Excellent. Our time is going quickly. Any other significant activity we want you to discuss? May 4th, 7 a.m. There's a proposed family for walking sports. Walking from, I think, Quartz Marisol to Pigeon Island. And once again I think sister would be encouraging the house spirit there wearing your house colors. Bringing family, bringing friends. So that's one of the other things that have been planned. Parents, staff, students, past students. And in July we also have proposed proposal for the school gala which I mentioned earlier. And more details will follow on that because that is still obviously in the works. Okay, so great. So one of the things I want to ensure that we do as we leave is if an SJC student is watching this broadcast and they want to know how to reach out, how can they contribute to, how do they contact either the planning committee or the school? Call the school. And we have the 4-5-2-2-7-7-8 is always available. Call the school. We have the Instagram page. We have the Facebook page. Reach out through your year group. You know, we really want the year groups to come on board because I think there's so much more that we can do with those kind of numbers. Do you know the Instagram handle of hand? Oh boy. Or if they search. If they search. What is SJC 170? SJC 170. And it's also on at the school's Instagram page. Okay. But we want to remind them of rehearsal on Tuesday. Check the pages. All past few minutes. If you have a voice, come on and sing. It's SJC 170. All right. SJC 170 legacy. Like and follow. Correct. All alumnus of SJC. So great. So this is how they reach out. We have just about one minute left. And I know we said about reaching out. Is there any opportunity or are there any opportunities for new ideas to come in from possibly different year groups? Absolutely. We know that there are a number of year groups who may be celebrating anniversaries in 2024. So we're also asking them to notify us of what their activities are and whether you know these activities could form part of the agenda for this year. The great celebration. Inclusion of all year groups. You have been watching TV 30 as we begin the celebrations for 170 years of St. Joseph's Convent. I thank the principal, Sister Rufina Donat and member of the board, Michelle Desi Anthony Desi for joining us here with all of that information. And like we said, get on the social media pages like and follow and keep in touch. We at the service January 24th which is a short time from now 10 a.m. See you then.