From the Principal

Welcome back to term three. This week I would like to take the opportunity to thank and congratulate members of our community on their efforts over the last semester, the holidays and during the first two weeks of Term 3.

• Congratulations to Mrs Emily Whiting (Excellence in Leadership - Middle Leadership), Mrs Kirstie Andrews (Excellence in Leadership - Emerging Leader), Mr Ben Gehrman (Excellence in Teaching & Learning – Secondary Expert Teacher), Miss Kate Flemming (Excellence in Educational Support – Administration, Finance & Facilities), Mrs Tanya Leahy (Excellence in Educational Support – Administration, Finance & Facilities), Mrs Maree Harman (Excellence in Teaching & Learning – Secondary Expert Teacher) and the St Joseph’s College Senior Leadership Team (Excellence in Leadership – School Leadership) on their nomination for an award as part of the Toowoomba Catholic School Excellence Awards. The nominees for these awards are people who have been recognized by members of our community and the Toowoomba Catholic Schools Office. A special congratulations to Mrs Emily Whiting, Mrs Kirstie Andrews, Mrs Maree Harman and the St Joseph’s College Senior Leadership Team on progressing to the finals of the awards. The announcement and presentation of the awards will take place next Thursday and we look forward to hearing the results.

• Congratulations to our students who will be presented with Catholic Education Week Awards and Academic Excellence Awards over the upcoming weeks. These awards recognise students who are consistently demonstrating excellence across the twelve imperatives of our Joey’s Way. These students are to be commended for their outstanding commitment and dedication to their learning and the way in which they live out our St Joseph’s College motto of ‘Serve Him in others.’ Congratulations students in advance of receiving your certificates.

• Well done to the students, staff and community members who participated, coached and supported the students in the QISS Netball and QISS Confraternity Rugby League Carnivals that were cut short during our recent holidays. The three teams involved all represented our community with pride and determination and I have had many people comment on each team’s efforts. The QISSN netball team’s excellent teamwork and success, the amazing energy and effort of the girl’s rugby league team and the way in which the boy’s rugby league team were growing in confidence and belief. The sudden cancellation of the carnival was a very trying time for our students and staff I would like to congratulate them all for being such wonderful ambassadors of our College.

• Thank you to our Parents and Carers for your support in ensuring that the great majority of the students have returned to the College with the required materials for their subjects and meeting the uniform expectations. In order for the students to have the opportunity to be successful in their learning, they first must be punctual and prepared and this is a continual focus for our College community. If I could please encourage those families who did not have the opportunity to check if their child has all the required resources and uniform to start the new semester to please do so.

Thank you, well done and congratulations to all.

Term 3 Week 3 - Catholic Education Week

Next week is Catholic Education Week and a reminder, as highlighted in the College calendar, that next Friday is the Bishop’s Inservice Day which is a Professional Learning and Reflection Day for staff and students are not required to attend the College on this day.  During this week each year we take the oppurtunity to join with all Catholic schools across the country to celbrate and promote our distinctive misson and ethos. Catholic education strives to make a difference in the lives of those in our schools and in the wider community by challenging young people to live out the message of Jesus and to reach their full potential as compassionate, contributing, life-giving members of society.

Catholic education:

• Is a faith-based education which places the values of Jesus at its centre.
• Is a high quality, holistic education for 1 in 5 young Queenslanders, educating them to be well-informed, highly skilled and constructive members of the community.
• Values diversity and treats each student with dignity enabling them in turn to promote and respect the dignity of all.
• Nurtures in students a commitment to social justice and a critical social consciousness.
• Prepares students for global responsibilities through stewardship of the earth’s resources.
• Is an integral part of the local and universal Church.
• Occurs in welcoming, inclusive, and connected communities.

We congratulate and show our appreciation of the efforts of all members of our Catholic school communities and we look forward to continuing on the great tradition of Catholic Education in the Toowoomba Diocese.

St Joseph’s College Towards 2024 Strategic Plan

Continuing on from our previous two newsletters this week I share with you our Mission and Identity strategic intents and improvement strategies from our St Joseph’s College Towards 2024 Strategic Plan.

Domain - Mission and Identity – Religion Curriculum 

Strategic Intent: St Joseph’s College embed research-based religious pedagogy and curriculum aligned praxis to ensure our learners are actively engaged, and critical thinking religious citizens. 

Key Improvement Strategies: 

To promote the role Religious Education plays within the St Joseph’s College community the College will: 

• Engage with best practice pedagogy in Religious Education through the Illuminate Project.
• Support staff to acquire the relevant knowledge to engage with scripture and the pedagogy of encounter.
• Support staff to use high impact teaching strategies in Religious Education.
• Use student voice to inform the development of curriculum and classroom teaching.
• Support staff to increase involvement in mission activities.
• Implement praxis experiences and connect service learning to the curriculum and key content descriptors.

Domain - Mission and Identity – Religious Life of the School 

Strategic Intent: As part of the life and mission of the Catholic Church, St Joseph’s College deeply commits to the formation of staff and students in the Jesus story and Edmund Rice charism. The St Joseph’s College community is empowered to critically inquire and explore faith in action for a lifelong engagement. 

Key Improvement Strategies: 

To develop and implement a clear, relevant, and meaningful staff formation plan aligned to our strategic goals and staff voice, St Joseph’s College will: 

• Educate staff and students in the Edmund Rice Charism.
• Join the EREA association to make connections and take advantage of opportunities from the wider network.
• Respond to staff needs in empowering them with the skills to engage with the Pedagogy of Encounter and Dialogue. 

To nurture a distinctive and contemporary Catholic Identity, the College will: 

• Be a leading example of recontextualising our faith through the Joey’s Way.
• Clearly focus on the Edmund Rice Charism through prayer and celebration, assembly, classroom prayer and reflection, and Joey’s Way lessons.

To provide for the formation of students in the Joey’s Way, our way of living out faith and the Edmund Rice charism, the College will: 

• Introduce explicit formation lessons within the Joey’s Way curriculum.
• Embed scripture and the story of Edmund Rice in the Joey’s Way elaborations.
• Educate staff and students on the process of restorative practices and its alignment with our Catholic Identity and Edmund Rice charism.

Strategic Intent: As part of the life and mission of the Catholic Church, St Joseph’s College deeply commits to the formation of staff and students in the Jesus story and Edmund Rice charism. The St Joseph’s College community is empowered to critically inquire and explore faith in action for a lifelong engagement. 

Key Improvement Strategies: 

To provide further opportunities for students and staff to be involved in service, justice and peace, and advocacy projects, the College will: 

• Continue to strengthen links between Religious Education and the Religious Life of the School.
• Further engage students and staff in leading and participating in prayer and liturgy.
• Review the College retreat program to ensure its relevance and validity in the context of RE, welfare, social justice, and faith development.
• Provide further opportunities for students and staff to be involved in social justice activities in the community.
• Further investigate immersion programs.
• Develop staged links and relationships with local Parishes.

A copy of the strategic plan is available to all families at the front office of the College, or on our St Joseph’s College website.

College Uniform

We have had a few questions and enquiries being made about the College uniform and its ability to keep the students warm and dry during our current weather. A reminder please that there have been some changes and flexibility that have been made to uniform requirements to address this situation in the short term. These changes and flexibility include the addition of pants for the girls, the use of the sports jacket on inclement days and the students are highly encouraged to layer using under garments. In the near future we are intending to gather information from our community about this topic and I highly encourage you to provide feedback when the opportunity arises.

Kort Goodman, Principal