Aquinas College is a Roman Catholic regional college established to provide a secondary education for boys and girls residing in the parishes of the Eastern region of Melbourne, centred particularly on the Maroondah Deanery. By tradition the Knox Deanery parishes of Wantirna, Bayswater, Boronia and Scoresby also have a close relationship with the college. Aquinas Boys' College was first administered by the Christian Brothers, and on 8 February 1961, they opened the doors to welcome 130 boys in Forms 1 and 2. [1] Aquinas Girls' College became a reality in February 1967 with different Orders of religious sisters supporting the college. During the second week of February they welcomed 84 girls into Form 1. As the numbers were diminishing in the religious orders, it became necessary for the sisters to withdraw their services at the end of 1978. At the beginning of 1979 the Boys' and Girls' Colleges amalgamated and became known as Aquinas College, and was under lay administration. It incorporated the structure of three sub-schools, Junior Girls and Boys (Years 7-10) and Senior co-educational (Years 11-12) with an overall student population of approximately 1500. The college is now fully co-educational from Years 7 to 12. It operates as an integrated teaching and learning community with distinct curriculum emphases as students move through the college. Years 7 & 8 are taken together as the entry to middle school whilst Years 10, 11 and 12 operate as senior school. Year 9 is intended to be a stand-alone transition year between middle school and senior school. The current enrolment is approximately 1550. College governance resides with the priests of the parishes of Mitcham, Ringwood, North Ringwood, Croydon and Park Orchards; in this role they are known as Canonical Administrators. Much of their responsibility is delegated to a Board of Management which comprises representatives from each of the member Parishes (both lay and priestly), Parents and Patrons Association, staff and students. The Current houses or teams are: Makillop, Rice and Domonic. The college is named after St. Thomas Aquinas, one of the greatest medieval philosophers and theologians of the Roman Catholic Church.
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