From the Principal
Dear Parents and Friends of St Joseph’s College,
Recent events In Sydney involving knife crime have rocked our nation and caused us to wonder how such events occur. The impacts of these events have ripple effects in our communities and call for a response from faith- based groups to express a Christian response to events like this. Our faith beliefs and values are seen as one of our strengths during such distressing times.
O God, who is healer and comforter, protector, and refuge,
you, whose son promised his presence among those gathered in his name,
awaken us to Jesus’ presence among us as we gather with troubled hearts.
May we be filled with grace and mercy, justice and compassion, consolation and
peace.
It was pleasing to see parents and students meet with staff to review students’ progress last week. Such meetings provide opportunities for families to hear the success of their children and how they can work in partnership with the College to ensure continued growth. Central to learning in any partnership is the establishment and maintenance of strong relationships between teacher, parent/carer, and student. I thank everyone who attended and invested time. If any parent /carer was unable to attend and is seeking feedback on their child, please contact your relevant teacher or the College reception to organise a time to meet.
One focus area I have been discussing with our students has been the topic of attendance. High attendance is one of the corner stones for success in any schooling environment. The learning programs delivered at St Joseph’s are based around explicit teaching in a face-to-face environment. The benchmark for all students to achieve their absolute best is 95% which equates to ten days of missed schooling during the year. Every day of missed schooling has an impact on student learning, and we seek with parents and carers to minimise absences outside of the expected reasons of illness, bereavement, and family emergencies. I request that families seek to avoid where possible taking early holidays. It is important to note that the school is unable to reschedule assessment for students in Year 11 and 12 due to assessment protocols determined by the Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority.
Last weekend, I had the opportunity to travel with students and staff to Roma. Students competed for the Mercy Shield in netball and rugby league fixtures against five other Catholic schools. Such experiences provide opportunities for students to enhance their skills in preparation for Confraternity and QISSN competitions in the June /July holidays, but also foster relationships and school identity. Our students conducted themselves extremely well both on and off the field. Our footballers developed well over the five games they played, whilst the netballers where undefeated taking out the Mercy Shield. I thank Mr Wheeldon, Ms Newton, Mr Steel and Mr Moore for their time and commitment over the long weekend.
St Joseph’s College is scheduled for a School Renewal and Improvement quadrennial school review from May 28- 30
The Toowoomba Catholic Schools Office has a school renewal and improvement framework in place which has as a key element, a quadrennial school review. In this review a panel consisting of senior staff from the Toowoomba Catholic Schools (TCS) Teaching and Learning Directorate and a peer principal from another school in the Diocese visit the school for three days.
Through a process of appreciative inquiry, panel members interview staff, parents/carers, students, and community members. The questions asked are “In your opinion, what is going well at the school?” and “What could be done better?” The purpose is for the panel to report to the school community its findings and suggested improvement strategies. These inform the process of strategic plan development and the annual action plans which are also linked to the TCS Strategic Plan.
The aim is to assist schools to strategically plan to improve teaching and learning and these reviews occur in all TCS schools.
The review team would like to hear from the school community, and I encourage anyone who is interested to have their say. Your feedback is important and will help us to continue to achieve the two pillars of TCS: that all students will come to personally know Jesus and that all students will achieve academic success.
Feedback can be provided to the review panel in person or by telephone. All feedback remains confidential.
Please contact the school office if you are interested in speaking to a reviewer. You may also register your interest by emailing my assistant Emily Rigg ERigg@sjc.qld.edu.au to arrange an appointment.
Our new Parent Engagement Network (PEN) meeting scheduled for Wednesday 1st May has been moved to Tuesday 14th May (5.30-6.30pm). This is to allow parents the opportunity to listen to invited guest Adair Donaldson to speak on the legal issue surrounding the topic of consent. Adair is a well- respected local solicitor who has gained a notable reputation with national groups in relation to the above topic. Adair will be providing appropriate sessions to Year 9-12 students and staff during the day prior to parent evening session.
Finally, this term we welcome Ms Sue Franceschini (English/Humanities) and Gregg Webb (Science/Mathematics) to St Joseph’s College. They replace Taylah Waldron and Pam Pedernal respectively and bring a wealth of experience to our students. Sue has taught in Toowoomba previously and her most recent teaching was with Cairns Diocese whilst Greg has come from Griffith in New South Wales. I wish them a most enriching experience in their time with our community.
God Bless,
Jim Brennan - Principal - jbrennan@sjc.qld.edu.au