ST. JOSEPH SCHOOL /,

ABOUT THE SCHOOL St. Joseph School is located in Adama/Nazareth in central Ethiopia. It is 100 km from the capital city of . The Franciscan Missionary of our Lady founded the school in 1959 as a boarding school for girls to give children of the poor access to education. In 1971, the school opened its doors for boys starting in grade seven. St. Joseph expanded to include a secondary section in 1974, which the Consolata Fathers ran while the sisters ran the primary section. In 1983, the De La Salle Christian Brothers took over leadership of the secondary school and it has since grown into the college preparatory level. The school became fully co-educational in 1980. At the same time, the sisters ended the boarding program in order to open a kindergarten. St. Joseph still works in collaboration with the Franciscan sisters. The school will host a delayed celebration of its 50th anniversary on July 12, 2014. ABOUT THE STUDENTS The school educates 2,480 students (1,208 male and 1,272 female) in kindergarten through grade 12 during the day and 722 students (364 male and 358 female) in the night sessions. Most students come from very poor families with parents who are office workers and some who are small income commercial workers. Students typically enter kindergarten at the age of four or five and stay until age six. Students are usually 18 – 20 years old when they reach grade 12. Most students qualify to enter into public universities. Some who do not qualify go to the private colleges. Since St. Joseph is highly regarded in discipline and academics, it can get up to 700 applications on all levels for 200 spaces available. A TYPICAL DAY AT SCHOOL St. Joseph holds morning classes from 7:45 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. and afternoon classes from 2:00 – 3:45 p.m. The afternoons also include tutorial classes for students who need extra help. When the weather is warmer in April or May, the school finishes all seven periods during the morning. USE OF PREVIOUS TWINNING DONATIONS St. Joseph School typically uses twinning donations for scholarships for students. Sometimes, it uses donations for urgent needs, like computers or other equipment. “We are very lucky to have these twinning schools that are really generous to us,” wrote Principal Brother Retta Gezmu, FSC. MOST URGENT NEEDS The most urgent needs of the school include computers, a new duplicating machine, a sound system and musical instruments ($7,600) to use at club activities and support students in developing their talents, and improvements to the kindergarten toilets ($4,860).

Kindergarten toilets

CONTACT ST. JOSEPH SCHOOL Principal: Brother Retta Gezmu, FSC Email: [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Online: www.stjosephadama.com

Updated February 2014