St. Michael's College National School

St. Michael's College National School (SMC; Tamil: புனித மிக்கேல் கல்லூரி தேசியப் பாடசாலை; known as St. Michael's College) is a national school in Batticaloa, Sri Lanka. It was founded in 1873 as a private school and nationalized in mid-70s. The school's founder and architect was French Jesuit[1] missionary, Ferdinand Bonnel.

St. Michael's College National School
புனித மிக்கேல் கல்லூரி தேசியப் பாடசாலை
Address
Father Webber Street

Batticaloa, Batticaloa District
,
Eastern Province
,
30000

Sri Lanka
Coordinates7°42′41.30″N 81°41′45.70″E
Information
School typePublic national 1AB
MottoQuis ut Deus
(Who is like God)
Religious affiliation(s)Christianity
DenominationRoman Catholicism
Founded1873
FounderFerdinand Bonnel, Jesuit
StatusNationalized in 1961
School districtBatticaloa Education Zone
AuthorityMinistry of Education
PrincipalPius Anantharajah
Grades1-13
GenderBoys
Age range5-19
Enrollment3,000+
LanguageEnglish, Tamil
HousesBonnel, Marian, Miller, Crowther
SloganA College second to none
SongSons of Bless'd St.Michael
SportsBasketball, Cricket, Tennis
YearbookPaadumeen
Websitesmc.edu.lk

History

French Jesuit missionaries founded the school in 1873. Later, it was taken over by American Jesuits. In 1960, most of the private schools in Ceylon were taken over by the government but SMC chose to remain private. Jesuits had to pay the wages of teachers and had to manage other expenses. Therefore, in the mid 70s, they decided to hand over the school to the government. The school buildings were the finest building in the city.[2] [3][4]

Sports

The St. Michael's College is famous for basketball and has won several all island basketball championships.[5] Their victories made the school popular and were dubbed as The Invincibles.[6] Jesuit missionaries introduced basketball to Batticaloa, and installed the first basketball court within the school premises.[7] There were several Jesuit priests who played basketball and were good at it. Fr. Hamilton, Fr. Ralph Riemen, Fr. Eugene John Hebert, and Fr. Harold J. Weber were among the best contributors.[7]

See also

References
Wikimedia Commons has media related to St. Michael's College, Batticaloa.
  1. "List of national schools" (PDF). Retrieved 2022-09-12.
  2. Canagaratnam, S. O. (1921). Monograph of the Batticaloa District of the Eastern Province, Ceylon. H. R. Cottle. p. 41.
  3. "History of St. Michael's College". Retrieved 12 September 2022.
  4. "History of St.Michael's College, Batticaloa". Retrieved 12 September 2022.
  5. "Rev Fr. Eugene Herbert's loss should result in breaking down societal imbalances". Retrieved 12 September 2022.
  6. LTD, Lankacom PVT. "The Island" (PDF). www.island.lk.
  7. Canagaretnam, Ignatius T. (19 April 2012). "The Golden Era of Basketball in Batticaloa". Daily Mirror. Wijeya Newspapers. Retrieved 13 September 2022 – via PressReader.
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