From the Principal

Dear Parents, Carers and Students

Firstly, I want to acknowledge my bias in that I’m unashamedly a Pope Francis groupie and because of my bias I have a particularly strong opinion on the validity of his comments and thoughts. As is evident across the media not all people share my views as Pope Francis cops plenty of criticism, both within the Church and outside because he often talks about topics that some people think are outside his and the Church’s expertise. Despite this, Francis keeps talking about things like Climate Change, Immigration, the War in Ukraine, the growing disparity between rich and poor and the extraordinary amount of money spent on weapons – amongst many other things.

Critics exhort Francis to just keep his attention on ‘religion’ and leave social issues to those who know better. If Jesus had accepted advice like that, he probably wouldn’t have got crucified. In the recent Gospel story where Jesus told the story of the Mustard Seed, Jesus likens the Kingdom of God to a Mustard Tree which would shelter all. Never having seen a Mustard Tree, I thought for a long time that it must be a tree big, tall, and strong like one of our native eucalypts. A Mustard Tree, however, is more like a bush than a tree and anything or anyone using a Mustard Tree for shelter won’t get much protection from predators as it is very much a part of the world at ground level. In using the Mustard Tree as a symbol for the Kingdom, Jesus may have been reminding those wanting to be a part of the Kingdom that we have to be alert and aware and engaged with the world around us. This is what Francis is also doing. Francis is calling the Church and its people to be authentic witnesses and to get into the rough and tumble of life as Jesus did and engage with the world and community on all sorts of issues.

With this in mind I wonder what political party in Australia Francis or Jesus would vote for? I wonder if they would vote ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ on the Voice Referendum. I wonder what stance they would take on how tax is being gathered and spent? These issues right now are very important in how our community is creating the Kingdom of God. Francis gets involved in these issues and is very much prepared to wear the criticism that comes with doing so. One of our goals as educators at St Joseph's College is to partner with our parents and cares so that together we are empowering our students to also engage in the rough and tumble of life. By developing their critical thinking skills and social conscience we can all contribute to making our small part of the world a better place for all.  

This week I share a prayer for Pope Francis.

Lord, we ask that you watch over

Pope Francis and grant him the

courage, strength, and healing he needs.

Continue to grant wisdom, compassion, and

empathy to those who care for him.

In Jesus’ holy name we pray.

AMEN

Freaky Friday Musical

Congratulations to the students and staff on an amazing opening night performance last night. Your dedication and commitment to the preparation for your performances have ensured that you were so well prepared, and this was clearly evident last night. Good luck for your remaining performances. We are so very proud of you all, and the manner in which you have demonstrated and lived the ‘Joey’s Way’ over the last eight months. We are looking forward to the next two performances, and I encourage our families who have not yet purchased tickets to come along and support these wonderfully talented young members of our community.

SSI Red Lion Open Soccer Final

Congratulations to the Open boys’ soccer team who yesterday participated in the final of the DD SSI Red Lion Soccer Competition against Centenary SHS.

The competition was incredibly close, resulting in the match going into extra time and then shoot-outs. Unfortunately, Centenary SHS just managed to find the back of the net more than SJC, finishing the shoot-outs 3-1 to Centenary.

Well done to our boys who showed excellent teamwork and sportsmanship throughout this competition.   

SJC Towards 2024 Strategic Plan

As I indicated in last fortnight’s newsletter it is my intent to update the community on how we are progressing toward achieving the strategic intents of the St Joseph’s College Towards 2024 Strategic Plan over the upcoming newsletters.

The intent of sharing this information is to provide the community with appropriate information of the growth that we have achieved over the last three years and areas for further development. This information also celebrates and acknowledges the outstanding efforts of the students, teachers, ancillary staff and wider community who have led, engaged with and contributed to this growth over the last three years.

This week I will share the second and third sections of Domain 1 Teaching and Learning – Curriculum Structure and Provision and Pastoral Care and Student Wellbeing.

Domain - Teaching and Learning – Curriculum Structure and Provision

Strategic Intent: St Joseph’s College is delivering a rigorous, diverse, and inspiring curriculum that challenges our students to pursue their passions and aspire to excellence.

Key Improvement Strategies: 

In relation to curriculum structure and provisions the College has:

  • Developed a rigorous and robust Professional Learning Community. A PLC that in my opinion sits at the very top of the ladder of PLCs in our Diocese.
  • Continually reviewed the curriculum offerings and structure and made changes to ensure all students have access to subjects that allow them to pursue their chosen pathways.
  • Ensured all teaching and learning programs specifically address literacy and numeracy.
  • Implemented a quality career education program providing all students with the opportunity to access information and experiences that will allow them to graduate with a pathway.
  • Developed strong connections between academic and student engagement teams.
  • Embedded impact cycles to provide appropriate data for teachers to work with students to improve their learning outcomes.
  • Increased student participation in co-curricular activities through review and flexibility around the approach to providing these experiences.

 Domain - Teaching and Learning – Pastoral Care and Student Wellbeing

Strategic Intent: St Joseph’s College continues to strive to maximise engagement in learning and the wellbeing of students to grow as valued members of our community.

Key Improvement Strategies:

The College has enhanced staff understanding and exploration of Relational Pedagogy through:

  • Implemented relational pedagogy and the use of the Ignatius Room.
  • Developed a number of platforms for gathering student voice on a range of topics across the College.
  • Explored and engaged with strategies to assist teachers to know their learners through Student Engagement Data.
  • Implemented and reviewed a mentoring program for our at-risk learners.
  • Continued to develop, review and implement year level specific programs based around ‘The Joey’s Way’ imperatives.
  • Educate teachers in using, The Joey’s Way as a model of pedagogy to maximise student engagement in learning.
  • Engaged with and continually reviewed, The Joey’s Way Curriculum, built around the ACARA Personal and Social Capabilities.

As you can see through the review of domain one sections two and three, we have come a long way over the last three years and we have a lot to celebrate in our growth towards achieving our strategic intents across domain one. Congratulations again to all community members who have contributed, we look forward to continuing to engage with and embed these intents over the next twelve months and into the 2024 – 2028 SJC Strategic Plan.

Kort Goodman - Principal - KGoodman@sjc.qld.edu.au