1971 –  Brother Vincent  Unlocks SMI’s Inner Energies to drive its future.......   

·       In 1971, Brother Paul went to Reading University for post-graduate studies after which he was appointed  Brother Visitor  for the Brothers’  Schools in Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong. ·       Brother Vincent Corkery who had long served as Sub Director  succeeded Brother Paul as Director of SMI. ·       It was a logical and strategic choice for Brother Vincent was very much the philosopher and thinker behind many of Brother Paul’s  achievements at St Michael’s. ·       Brother Vincent introduced many bold initiatives to encourage fresh and creative thinking in the education of youth. ·       Among his first initiatives was the setting up of the Credit Union to train pupils to be thrifty and self-reliant. ·       The school moved away from streaming based on academic ability to mixed ability classes. This led to better overall academic performance and to stronger class spirit. ·       Brother Vincent observed that the traditional house system was failing to enthuse the students so he did something radical: he realigned  all classes with houses. The students in each class belonged to a particular house. This  new system  provided a more powerful internal structure for the power of each class to be a force within the school. ·       Classes functioned now as houses. Competition  in sports and the sports day marches reached its highest climax. Classes were no longer just academic machines. They were groups with a meaningful social and educational  function. Leadership and bonding  opportunities were available within each class and the class teacher was challenged to be more engaged with the students under his/her care.