School History
The Founding of St. Clare’s School in 1927
The Missionary Sisters of Our Lady of the Angels was founded by Sister Mary of the Sacred Heart, a young Canadian missionary. In 1926, the co-foundress, Mother Mary Gabriel, and three other sisters arrived in Hong Kong with the aim of opening a Chinese novitiate for Chinese girls. However, the Bishop requested them to open a school at that time, so they rented a flat in Nathan Road, one of the poorest parts of the community at that time and evaluated the possibility of the project.
On 7 February 1927, an English institute was set up with seven students. The institute was named after St. Clare, as suggested by Father Shak, and Veritas Vincit, which means “Truth Conquers”, was adopted as the school motto. At the end of February 1927, the Sisters moved to 5 Peace Avenue in Homantin. With an increasing number of students, the house at Peace Avenue became too small both for the students and Sisters’ quarters. At the end of October 1927, they moved to 3 Argyle Street at Homantin. Having taken the advice of Bishop Valtorta, the Sisters decided to establish themselves in a Chinese district. Eventually, Kennedy Town was chosen. The new school was opened in Sands Street in 1930 and later relocated to Prospect Place, Bonham Road in 1936.
The school was closed at the outbreak of the Sino-Japanese War, when some of the Sisters moved to Macau. During the Japanese occupation, only three Sisters remained on the premises. However, some students secretly took lessons in the school until 1945 when the war was over.
In 1945-46, the school was reorganized under a new education system. The morning session was for Form 1 to 5 under the government grant, whereas the afternoon session was for Primary 4 to Form 2 as a private school. Not until 1950, was permission given by the government to open a full primary school. Following an application by Sister Elizabeth of Portugal, the headmistress, a new site on Mount Davis Road was granted. The new campus of St Clare’s Girls’ School was completed and officially opened on 28 November 1959. And the primary school building was rebuilt in 1967.
學校歷史
聖嘉勒學校於1927年創立。
天神之后傳教女修會於1922年由一位年輕的加拿大傳教士瑪利亞耶稣聖心修女所創立。
1926 年，副會祖為中國籍的瑪利亞加俾額爾修女和其他三位修女抵達香港，目的是為華人貞女開設一所初學院。但當時的主教要求她們開辦學校，於是她們在當時社會最貧困的地區之一的彌敦道租了一個單位，並評估了該計劃的可能性。
1927年2月7日，一所英語學院成立，共有7名學生。根據Father Shak的建議，該學院以聖嘉勒命名。校訓為”Veritas Vincit”，意思是「真理必勝」。（它指出基督是學校的根基，因為祂是道路、真理和生命。）在1927年2月下旬，修女們搬到何文田太平道5號。隨著學生人數的增加，太平道的住宅對於作為校舍和修女宿舍來說都太擁擠了。到1927年10月下旬，她們遷往何文田亞皆老街3號。在聽取了恩理覺主教的建議後，修女們開始在華人區域定居。最終，堅尼地城被選為學校新址的區域。新學校於 1930 年在山市街開辦，並於1936 年遷往般咸道光景台。
抗日戰爭爆發時，學校關閉，部分修女移居澳門。在日本佔領期間，該處所只剩下三名修女。然而，一些學生偷偷地在學校上課，直到 1945 年戰爭結束。
1945-46 年，學校在新的教育體制下進行了重組。上午班是政府資助的中一至中五課程，而下午班則是小學四年級至中二課程的私立學校。直到 1950 年，政府才允許開設一所完整的小學。經過來自葡萄牙的校長修女，Sister Elizabeth提出申請後，摩星嶺道的一個新地點獲得政府批准。而聖嘉勒女書院的新校舍於 1959 年 11 月 28 日落成並正式啟用，小學校舍則於一九六七年完成重建工程。