Welcome to St. Joseph Consolidated School! We say with pride and resolve that, “Once you are a member of St. Joseph Consolidated School, you are family.” A little “family” history may provide a fuller picture of that defining characteristic.
In May of 1869, St. Joseph opened its doors to students for the first time, becoming the first Catholic school in the Hamilton area. The original school “house” remained in use until 1925, when the present building was dedicated. But our story is far more than bricks and mortar. In the 146 years that have come and gone, the many, many students and families who have passed through the doors of both of these buildings have created a rich tradition that we inherit today and upon which we continue to build.
In the late 1940’s, when St. Aloysius, Shandon, our neighboring parish in rural Butler county, went in search of a Catholic school to meet the needs of its parishioners, St. Joseph was in a position to welcome them into a new partnership. Today, that enduring partnership, operating for the past 35-plus years as St. Joseph Consolidated School, stands as a unique example of caring and cooperation between two regional Catholic communities. Over the years, families from other Catholic communities, who lack access to a Catholic school, have been warmly welcomed into our extended school family.
In the spirit of St. Joseph, our patron, we work hard to equip every student with the tools to confidently meet the challenges of an increasingly complex world. Toward that end, we provide a rigorous academic experience in an environment permeated with Catholic values. We believe our measurable success stems from a willingness to meet students where they are spiritually, academically, socially, and emotionally and take them as far as they can go. We never stop trying to go further; to offer a fuller, more enduring and enriching experience.
We chose the three Latin words on our school crest Fides (faith), Consicus (knowledge), Beneficium (service) to remind us all that our faith and knowledge should lead us to love and serve others. We sum this up in our message to graduates each year, “We hope that somewhere in the days you spent here at St. Joseph you learned the value of caring for others and the meaning of unselfish love. No learning you may have acquired has more value than this.” We welcome any family to our community that shares this dream for their child/children.
