From the Principal

Dear Parents, Carers and Students.

Earlier this term we held the very successful launch of the St Joseph’s College Towards 2024 Strategic Plan. At this event we took the time to acknowledge the outstanding historical success of the College and we looked forward to the exciting future that our plan clearly outlines for the next four years.

As with all organisations, the strategic planning process is integral to achieving the vision and mission. The development of our plan has taken place under the guidance of the Toowoomba Catholic Schools Office, critical friend and educational consultant Dr Judy Smeed, and the St Joseph’s College leadership team. Input from the above groups and the College Board, College P&F, students, parents, and staff has resulted in the establishment of the strategic intents and initiatives that will be pursued over the next four years. 

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. However, it is my intent to share the strategic intents of the plan over the upcoming newsletters so that our community is fully aware of our direction for the next four years. The strategic intents will be presented according to the domains outlined in the Toowoomba Catholic Schools Diocese School Renewal and Improvement Procedure. The domains are: Teaching and Learning; Mission and Identity; School Renewal and Improvement; and Stewardship and Strategic Resourcing. 

The St Joseph’s College: Towards 2024 Strategic Plan acknowledges the importance of individual growth for our young people, while setting aspirational targets and benchmarks.  Furthermore, it is clearly in alignment with The Alice Springs (Mparntwe) Education Declaration, as St Joseph’s College continues to promote excellence and equity in a manner that enables all students to become confident and creative individuals, successful learners, and active and informed community members. 

As a community we are excited and enthused about our plan for the next four years and we look to working with our parents and the wider community to make our plan our reality.

Domain - Teaching and Learning – Students and their learning 

Strategic Intent: As an aspirational learning community, St Joseph’s College embraces a culture of learning to empower young people to pursue their passions and meet the demands of their future pathways. 

Key Improvement Strategies:  

In relation to Teaching and Learning practices, the College will: 

  • Develop and implement a St Joseph’s College Teaching and Learning Framework that incorporates high impact teaching strategies and target teaching to ensure there is impact on every learner. 
  • Foster a culture of teaching and learning that aspires to excellence and agency for both students and staff. 
  • Continue the student academic care tracking programs across the school to monitor progress towards measurable improvements. 
  • Utilise evidence to inform targeted programs and track impact. 
  • Share responsibility and accountability between teachers and the Enhanced Learning Team to maximise student learning and differentiation through Planning for Personalised Learning. 
  • Monitor and extend high potential learners. 
  • Use digital tools that improve learning and continue to respond innovatively to the changing needs of learners through the implementation of the eLearning plan. 
  • Achieve: 
    • 100% of students graduate with a QCE and QCIA 
    • 100% of students graduate with a pathway 
    • 90% ATAR above 60. 
    • 28% ATAR above 90. 

In relation to the National Assessment Program for Literacy and Numeracy, the College will: 

    • At least 3% above the National Mean in all domains in Year 9 of NAPLAN 
    • Show continual growth in all domains from Year 7 to Year 9 NAPLAN.  

Open Day Success

As you would know we recently held our annual Open Day. The day was a great success with over 500 people attending. I would like to thank all the families who recommended the College to a family who may be interested in enrolling their child in the future. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the staff and students of St Joseph’s College who made the day such a great success. Our students were amazing ambassadors throughout the morning. It is the staff and students who make this College such a wonderful community to be a part of and our Open Day was just another example of their commitment to the College.

Kort Goodman, Principal