St Joseph's Catholic College Newsletter

From the Principal

Welcome to the New School Year!

Dear Students, Parents, and Staff,

As we embark on another exciting school year, we extend a warm welcome to all our returning staff, students and families, as well as those joining us for the first time. We hope you had a restful and enjoyable break and are ready to dive into a year filled with learning, growth, and spiritual enrichment.

 

Firstly, I would like to thank all the students and staff who attended InterActs this year, which was unfortunately cut short due to the storm that hit on 15 January. The clients of our local disability services had two great days of fun, as did the students. A big thank you to the staff and students who came to school on Thursday, 16 January and helped us clean up from the storm. Thank you to Chic Taylor from Hunter Disability who is the backbone of this event. 

 

Next year is our 20th Anniversary of InterActs (formerly All Stars), so we will make up for the storm-shortened version in 2025 by having a spectacular event in 2026. 

 

 

This year, we will commence another building program as we replace two old demountable classrooms with two permanent classrooms. H001 is currently located behind the Moylan Hall will be replaced and become a 5th Science Laboratory. L001 our Agriculture classroom will be replaced with a new Agriculture Laboratory with ample storage for animal feed and equipment. 

 

This term we have the ASPIRE team at St Joseph’s working with our students and the students from our Primary Feeder Schools. The program is designed to give students in the region an integrated creative and performing arts experience with a performance outcome. I am certain Mrs Dent will be providing further information in the near future.

 

This year, we have a literacy focus, which the English Faculty and our Pedagogical Mentor are driving. Helping students find their passion and love of reading while embracing the new English Syllabus in their goal for better literacy across all students. 

 

Meet Our New Staff

We are delighted to welcome several new members to our teaching and Leadership team. They will be introducing themselves in the newsletter so you can get to know them all a little better.

 

Mr Brent Lilley returns to us after a year of travel and continues as the Year 7 Leader of Wellbeing. Mrs Shannon Monro has taken up the role of Leader of English. 

 

Our returning Leaders for 2025 are:

Assistant Principals:

Joel Bristow & Marika Eveleigh

 

Leaders of Wellbeing:

Year 7 - Mr Brent Lilley

Year 8 - Mrs Kelly Millevoi

Year 9 - Mr James Douglass

Year 10 - Mrs Maree Medhurst

Year 11- Mrs Jo Smith

Year 12 - Mr Tim O’Toole

Student Leadership - Mrs Lesley Shipman  

 

Leaders of Learning:

Religion - Mrs Kristy Roach

English - Mrs Shannon Monro

Mathematics - Mrs Mel Ritter

Science - Mrs Janene Thompson

HSIE - Ms Wendy Thomas

PDHPE - Mr Stefan Sokulsky

TAS - Mrs Kirrlaee Green

Creative Arts - Mrs Claire Dent

VET - Mr Mark Caelli

 

Other Leaders:

Ministry Coordinator - Mr Vince Cooper

Pedagogical Mentor - Mrs Sarah Paine

Leader of Growth & Development - Mr Aaron Dent

Sport - Mrs Alison Tilse

Digital & Innovative Technologies - Miss Brittney Bayliss

Careers - Ms Kylie Watkins

 

Important Dates

  • Pupil Free Days: 

    • Term 2 Monday 19 May (after the Scone Cup) and Friday 6 June (before the King’s birthday long weekend)

    • Term 3 Monday 21 July (first day of Term 3)

    • Term 4 Monday 13 October (first-day Term 4) and Thursday 18 December (Last day of Term)

  • Parent-Teacher Conferences: 

    • Term 2 for Year 7 – 12 Monday 28 April (all day) and Wednesday evening 30 April.

    • Term 4 for Year 7 – 10 Tuesday 14 October (all day) and Wednesday evening 15 October

Celebrating Last Year's Achievements

We are incredibly proud of our students' accomplishments from the past year. We will celebrate with them next week, but here are just a few highlights:

  • Academic Excellence: Congratulations to our top-performing students Ashton Blake, Emily Ward and Charlise Anderson, who achieved outstanding results in the HSC and have been accepted into Medicine at the University of Newcastle.

  • Ma & Morley Scholarship Program: Congratulations to Emily Ward, who was awarded the prestigious Ma & Morley Scholarship from the University of Newcastle

Stay Connected

We encourage all families to stay connected with us throughout the year. Follow us on Facebook and Compass for Newsfeeds, and don't hesitate to reach out with any questions or concerns.

 

Let's make this school year the best one yet! Together, we can create a positive, supportive and inspiring environment where every student can thrive.

 

Warm regards

 

Veronica Rolfe

Principal