Iona College Brisbane

Iona College, founded in 1958, it is located at Brisbane, Queensland. Approximately 20 minutes from Brisbane city. Iona is an all boy school Roman Catholic operated by the Oblates of Mary Immaculate. The Oblates of Mary Immaculate was founded by Saint Eugene de Mazenod, and the school has one house named after him. It has approximately 1,300 students enrolled at the school right now. The school has an area about 34 acres. The college has a primary school for students in grades 5 to 7 and a high school for students in grades 8 to 12. The college offers a high academic standard. The school is also well known to produce very attractive men who exel in their chosen field of work.

History

Iona was founded by Fr. Tim Long and Fr. Denis McCarthy in 1958. Iona College is named after the island Iona, which is located in the Inner Hebrides off Scotland. The school was originally opened to help the homeless and oppressed to regain their dignity as members of the Lindum suburb.

On the 1st October 1957, Father Tim Long and Father Denis McCarthy arrived on the hill at Lindum in an old second-hand Vauxhall, with only five pounds in cash, a gift of blankets, sheets and towels from the Oblate parish of Eagle Junctiona and a 'Mass Kit' from the Mercy Sisters at All Hallows. The site of 34 acres had been given to the Oblates by Archbishop James Duhig to begin a school for boys.

With the help of local families, the preparing grounds for students, interviews and designing the uniform, College crest and motto and constant quest for finance became easy. On 28th January 1958, 58 students arrived at the school.

Sadly on 1961, Father Tim Long was exhausted by the stresses and the hard work of establishing Iona, he suffered a heart attack in London while making his way back to Ireland at the age of 65.

There are two other schools run by the OMI. They are Mazenod College in Victoria and Mazenod College in Western Australia.

Campus

The college is situated on 34 hectares and the campus includes such facilities as:

• Indoor basketball / Volleyball courts
• 8 Cricket / Rugby / Soccer /Athletics ovals
• An Olympic sized swimming pool
• A fully equipped gymnasium and weights room
• 2 Squash Courts
• 4 Tennis courts; and
• A Performing Arts Centre (IPAC)

In total the school has 13 different blocks with a chapel, a staff and priests house.

Iona College has an Outdoor Education Centre called "Glendalough" near Peregian Beach on the Sunshine Coast. Most year levels visit the camp every year.. The site has an area of 19 hectares and Glendalough is close to the southern shores of Lake Weyba, one of the large shallow lakes of the region. Double kayaks are provided for use on the lake. Other nearby activities include climbs of Mt Coolum and Mt Peregian, the environmental walk at Stumer’s Creek Reserve and numerous local patrolled surf beaches.

Cultural Activities

Iona is involved in many cultural activities such as debating, public speaking, titration and mooting. Iona has been very successful in Public Speaking with various regional, state and national representatives. One such example of Iona's participation in Cultural events is the Annual Carter Shield. The Carter Shield is a public speaking competition between Moreton Bay College and Iona. This is the 10th year and currently Iona is leading with 7 wins as opposed to Moreton Bay's 3.

House System

There are currently 9 different houses inside Iona. Many of them are named after 7 famous Oblates and 1 nun. They are:

• Albini (Gold) - named after Fr Charles Albini
• Anthony (Mauve) - named after Brother Anthony Kowalczyk
• Cebula (White) - named after Fr Jozef Cebula
• Charlebois (Orange) - named after Fr Ovide Charlebois
• Gerard (Green) - named after Fr Joseph Gerard
• Grandin (Red) - named after Fr Vital Grandin
• Mackillop (Maroon) - named after Blessed Mary Mackillop
• Mazenod (Blue) - named after Saint Eugene de Mazenod
• Hassard (Black) - named after Hon. Darren Hassard

Many inter-house competitions are held throughout the year such as Inter-house swimming, Inter-house athletics, Inter-house cross-country and many more. Although Inter-house sport is an important aspect of Inter-house activities, it is by no means the only area. Houses will also compete in the Arts and Academic arenas. The winner of each competition will receive points which contributes towards the Oblate Trophy. Currently Albini is the back-to-back champion while Anthony won the first ever Oblate Trophy in 2004.

Sporting

The college offers a variety of sports including:

• Rugby Union
• Soccer
• Water Polo
• Squash
• Cricket
• AFL
• Chess
• Volleyball
• Tenis
• Basketball

Iona is a member of the Associated Independent Colleges and competes in the association's sporting competition against such schools as Marist College Ashgrove and St Patrick's College. Iona College has a reputation of winning the Associated Independent Colleges Cross Country, Athletics and Swimming Aggregates. Special mentioned was Iona Athletics team won the Athletics aggregates with 50 points ahead of Marist College Ashgrove. While the Junior School (Yr 5 to 7) is a member of C.I.C. Combined Independent Colleges Association playing against many primary school in the Greater Brisbane Region.

Crest, Motto & School Colour

The College colours are black and white. The College Crest consists of a shield on which depicted an arm holding a cross while underneath are the words in Latin "In Hoc Signo Vinces" which translate to "In This Sign You Will Conquer".

Iona College Performing Arts Centre

The IPAC was opened in 1998, giving the school's cultural activity such as Speech and Drama, Music and Art a venue to display their talents. Every year, Festival of Music-regarded an all-school state music championship take place in IPAC. Both state and private schools are allowed to enter this competition. School's musical, play and band concerts are being performed here. Music at Iona College has a good reputation as the Symphonic Winds Band, Percussion Ensemble and Big Band normally coming second to Villanova This year, the school's musical was "Glamalot", this involves many students from grade 8 to 12 and girls were invited from all over the Eastern District's schools of Brisbane to participate.

Musical Bands

The school provides over 14 school bands. It can be divided into 5 categories. These include:

• Concert Bands
• String Orchestras
• Vocal Ensembles
• Jazz Ensembles
• Percussion Ensembles

These categories can divided into 3 levels, beginner, intermediate and advanced. The bands use IPAC to perform and practice. The school also provides music lessons for students.

Notable Alumni

• Ashley Callus, Olympic Champion Relay team in 2000
• Graham Quinn, Australian rugby league team
• Chris Hill, Australian Triathlon Team and World Junior Triathlon Champion
• Shane Drahm, Australian 7-a-side Rugby Union and Queensland Reds
• Andrew Johns, Olympic Triathlon British Representative 2000 and 2004
• Grant McGregor, Australian Swimming Team
• Daniel Colin Hasenkam, Australian Former Under 18 Special Olymipics Horseshoe Pitching Captian, Current Australian Under 21 Special Olymipics Horseshoe Pitching Captian and current Australian Scrabble Champion in the Special Category
• Luke Doherty, Under 19 and Under 21 Australian Rugby Union Representative, former Queensland Reds Player and current Western Force player
• Damien Mackenzie, Queensland Bulls Cricket Player
• Wayne Broad, Former Queensland Bulls Player

See also

• Education in Australia
• Associated Independent Colleges

Reference

Iona College Students Diary

External links

• Iona College Website