From the Principal

Dear Parents and Friends of St Joseph’s College,

Last Sunday’s Gospel from Mark told the story of how Jesus restored the hearing of a deaf man. He took the man away from the crowd, put his divine finger into the man’s ears, touched the man’s tongue with his own sacred saliva and the man was cured. Doing so reveals to us that Jesus’ humanity became the source of unity between God and man. Even his finger and his saliva unite us to God. Everything about the Son of God in his human form dispensed grace, healing, and mercy. He desires to continue using the members of his body to distribute his grace. By baptism, we are members of Christ’s body, the Church. We are his hands and feet, his eyes and voice, his heart and finger, and even his saliva. In the last newsletter, I spoke of the many service activities that our students are involved in. By serving God in others, we allow his voice to be heard.

Last week I had the delight of attending the Year 8 Resilience Camp at Camp Kokoda, located near Boonah. This experience engaged students and staff in a range of experiences ranging from abseiling and canoeing to group problem-solving. Each activity challenged the students individually and required them to work as a collective to push beyond what they thought were their limits. Camp Kokoda’s learning program is based on the values of courage, endurance, mateship, and sacrifice. Each evening during debriefs conducted by camp facilitators, students heard the stories of how the diggers involved in the Kokoda campaign displayed these values in the face of insurmountable odds and how they were enacting the same values in their activities. I was impressed at how our students demonstrated personal growth and look forward to witnessing this group apply their learnings whilst at the college. I also acknowledge Mr Luke Logan who coordinated the camp and the fifteen staff who attended, to support the seven student groups. Each staff member volunteered their time outside of school hours to allow students to have such a rich experience. I am grateful for their generosity.

Recently St Joseph’s College celebrated Child Protection Week which focused on the importance of having conversations about keeping children safe. St Joseph’s College has designated officers who students can approach if they feel unsafe either at school or outside. These staff are displayed on posters around the school and on the college website. Whilst students engaged in conversations about safety through the Joey’s Way curriculum, I encourage all parents to talk with their children about how to maintain their safety in a variety of environments including the digital world.

At the end of this term, we farewell Ms Angela Harris who is taking up the position of Acting Principal Curriculum at St Mary’s College for term four of this year and 2025. The college congratulates Angela on her appointment and looks forward to her return in 2026. Ms Pam Pedernal replaces Ms Harris during her secondment.

St Joseph’s College farewells Ms Grace Bunch (Grounds Team) who will conclude her service at the College on the 20th September. She is moving to Brisbane to be closer to her partner and I thank Grace for her service and contributions to the maintenance of the College and its grounds beautification. A recruitment process is currently underway to fill Grace’s position.

Thank you to Mr Jason Beasley who has covered classes for Mr Bruce Cook whilst he has been on long service leave in the latter part of this term. Jason will continue to undertake further casual work at the college.

This Thursday we farewelled our students and staff who are travelling to Japan along with students and staff from St Saviours College. Immersive experiences such as this trip are highly valuable, and I thank Ms Maree Nunn and Mr Adam Watts for making such an experience possible.

Finally, I take this opportunity to thank our staff, students, and families for your efforts during term 3. Our students have grown holistically through academic, faith, sport, cultural and service experiences and the upcoming two- week vacation is an appropriate time to recharge the batteries. For our Year 12 students this will be the last time that they will return to school after vacation, and we look forward to celebrating their achievements with you.

I look forward to seeing everyone when school commences on Monday 30th September. 

God Bless
Jim Brennan

Jim Brennan - Principal - jbrennan@sjc.qld.edu.au