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run the school, but a few weeks after opening they were joined by another two. The school

premises consisted of the old Study Hall and Library and one music room.

St. James Mission School and Star of the Sea

St. James Mission School and Star of the Sea co-existed on the same campus. In a letter to the

superintendent of education on 22 January 1908, Fr. J O’Reilly states that the Dominican Sisters

had officially taken over the running of St. James Primary.

St. James Mission School’s first Sister Principal was Sr. Alphonsus Lynch, who had Sr. Felix as

her assistant. St. Ignatius replaced her (no date); Sr. Rose was Principal from 1916 - 18, Sr.
Philomena from 1919 - 20, and Sr. Ethnea from 1920 - 24. Sr. Liguori was appointed Principal in

1925. She was replaced two years later by Sr. Fidelis who retired at the end of 1946. Although

the Dominican Sisters held the Principalship of the school from 1908 until 1982, it was never a
Dominican School as such. It belonged to the Archdiocese of Cape Town, and throughout the

years had the parish priest of St. James as its manager.

After the Sisters took over the school Fr. Duignam continued to hold night-school for the poor

Filipino fisher-boys who had to go to work after Std. 2. He taught them English and Arithmetic,

and placed special emphasis on the Christian Doctrine.

In 1918 when the great ‘flu epidemic hit the Cape, and the Kalk Bay fishing community in

particular, the Mission School served as a hospital for the very bad cases, with the Sisters acting
as nurses.

Sister Liguori Lowe gives us a brief but humorous account of the conditions in which she taught
when she became the Principal of St. James School in 1925. She says: “I found the school with

less than 80 children on the roll, with two teachers, France Hilario and myself. She taught A, B
and Std. 1 in the annex, and I, in the main room had Stds. 2, 3, and 4. Even though there was a