From the Principal

Dear Parents, Carers and Students

On Monday afternoon this week we had the pleasure to work with Br Damien Price who is a Christian Brother of the Oceania Province and a past Darling Downs resident. Br Damien engaged us in a discussion around our Edmund Rice charism and Ricean Leadership. One of the most interesting aspects of the session for me was the emergence of the term “Spirituality” and how the development of a personal spirituality leads into more formalised religious beliefs. For my generation the statistics revealed that 80% of persons surveyed believe in God, but less than 60% considered themselves as being spiritual people. With this in mind I went searching for information about the term, ‘Spirituality’. After reading a number of articles I finally came across one that I found to be very useful to clarify in my mind what the term means and how we can nurture it within our children and students. I thought that I would like to share this with you today.

What is Spirituality?

It seems that “Spirituality is the ‘in thing’ these days. Books and articles dealing with spiritual topics abound. Retreats of all sorts are gaining in popularity. Sales are brisk for taped lectures and retreat conferences. Everywhere, one can find a range of personal growth and human potential programmes as well as various ‘New Age’ movements. People are interested in living fuller, deeper, more personal lives. Today there is a great hunger and thirst for more authentic spiritual life, in short, for spirituality.” 

Spirituality is a word much like the word love in that it is used loosely to describe a number of things concerning the human condition. However, most would agree that it includes an inner sense of being connected to something or someone greater than oneself and that it is the process of recognising that there is meaning and purpose to our existence. In fact, spirituality is not an “add-on” extra; it is there already, a part of being human. Spirituality is a big part of the jigsaw of life and, if we don’t see it, the picture won’t make sense. 

So, how do we help our children in the development of their spirituality? Well, Jesus leaves us in no doubt that he believes that the spirituality of a child can at least be as well grounded in Gospel truths, as that of an adult. In fact, he states rather provocatively, that children are more spiritually grounded than many adults: “I tell you the truth anyone who will not receive the Kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it”. Mark 10: 16. 

Children are quite capable of their own spiritual experiences and knowing, for they have an uncluttered simplicity, an openness to spiritual matters; they are trusting in relationships and dependent on others. Children do not always have the language to articulate their spirituality but that does not mean they do not have an active spirituality.

As adults, we need to listen to our children and value what they tell us. Jesus tells us that children are whole persons who should be valued for who they are, not just for what they will become: “…. you have hidden these things from the wise and learned and revealed them to little children”.   Luke 10:21.   Spiritual awareness cannot be taught; it is part of the biological inheritance that makes us human. So, we need to spend at least as much time helping children experience God, as we do teaching them about God. 

One of the greatest needs of children is relationship, and spirituality is their encounter and relationship with God. Like our children, we have the breath of God within us and like our children we are growing up in Christ. We can further develop our own spirituality, as we assist our children to develop theirs, for this development is not limited to talking about God, using special language or going to church; simple things like watching rain fall, sighting a rainbow, being cuddled, gazing up into the night sky, hugging a tree, seeing things grow can be spiritual events. Of course, there is no better way for a child to learn of God’s love, than to experience unconditional love from a parent.

“Love starts the learning experience makes it grow.  Language gives it meaning for people to show and know.  Values give us lenses. Relationships make us whole. All guiding us to live our lives integrating learning with our souls.”                                

Deborah Schein & Michael Guinan O.F.M.

We pray that we may continue to assist our children and students are they travel along their path toward developing their spiritual awareness.

St Joseph’s College Board Representation 2022 – 2024 - Expressions of Interest 

St Joseph’s College is calling for expressions of interest from parents and community members to join the College Board.  The St Joseph’s College Board meets eight times each year to support and provide advice to the principal and leadership team on matters such as:

• the College’s vision and mission  
• the College’s Catholic ethos and culture 
• faith formation and development 
• Toowoomba Catholic Schools and College policies
• enrolments, school improvement plans and enrolment trends 
• the annual College budget and other financial planning 
• the College Master Plan  
• capital resource planning and maintenance.

We are looking for committed and visionary people with a wide range of expertise across the educational, governance, finance, facilities and mission and charism sectors. A desire to represent and give voice to the community, uphold the high standards and values of the College, and contribute to the provision of a quality Catholic education for all students is required.

If you wish to express your interest in being a member of the St Joseph’s College Board, we would welcome your application by completing the form College Board - St Joseph's College (sjc.qld.edu.au) on our website by 17^th September 2021.

College Uniform

As was indicated in our week two College newsletter we are wishing to seek feedback from our community on the College Blazer’s place as part of our uniform. If you would like to offer feedback, please complete the survey found at this link https://forms.office.com/r/Ddwhw7UB0A

Kort Goodman, Principal