Principals' Message
Dear Parents and Carers,
Welcome to the halfway mark of the term. Where has the year gone? It is certainly moving very quickly. The students have been busy in the classroom, learning new concepts, consolidating past concepts and showing a true enthusiasm and love for learning. It gives us great pleasure to visit the learning spaces and see students happy, smiling and engaged in their learning. We thoroughly enjoy asking students about their learning and hearing their responses.
Australian Catholic Education Conference 2025
Last week, along with Mrs Mitchell we had the opportunity to attend the 2025 ACEC in Cairns, the first time that it had been held in a regional city. The theme for the conference was, 'Hope, Anchored in Faith.' There were 1,600 Catholic educators, clergy and delegates in attendance which highlights the importance of such a gathering. It provided an incredible opportunity for professional growth and to connect with educators from across the nation to deepen our understanding of our shared vision and mission.
At the opening of the conference the keynote speaker’s statement was 'Catholic schools give Australian families the choice of a high quality, faith-based, holistic education’. The conference focussed on the strategic vision and mission of Catholic Education across three key areas of Faith, Excellence and Access. From humble beginnings 200 years ago, Australia’s 1,755 Catholic schools now educate more than 800,000 Australian students or one in five students.
The three days contained a mix of keynote speakers and individual sessions on a range of topics. It also reinforced the importance of learning and wellbeing, not only for our students but also for our entire school community, to support a positive learning environment. Our students can achieve anything if they truly believe it and work relentlessly to achieve it, surrounded by skilled, helpful adults. During the conference, we had the privilege of listening to some well-spoken and informed students who had some innovative ideas for the future of schooling and education. We are very proud and excited about the work we do at St Joseph’s in providing a variety of opportunities to support our students.
Annual School Survey
An annual satisfaction survey of parents, students and staff will be conducted on behalf of all Catholic schools in the Diocese this term. The surveys are designed to gather feedback from parents, staff and students about our school and will be used to affirm practices and inform school improvement. The surveys will be launched via email today, Monday 25 August 2025 using the email addresses supplied to the school. The survey will close on Wednesday, 3 September 2025.
Book Week Parade & Book Fair
A huge thank you to everyone who was able to attend our Book Week Parade last Friday! Although the weather leading up to this annual event made plans difficult, we were still able to celebrate and acknowledge this important event on our calendar.
A huge thank you to Mrs Simmons and Mrs Holley for ensuring the Book Fair and Parade were successful events once again. The day was a wonderful celebration of books and a love for lifelong reading. The highly anticipated Book Week Parade was a definite highlight, with students and staff members looking absolutely fantastic in their costumes and fully embracing this year's theme, 'Book An Adventure'. They explored old and new worlds and introduced an array of characters to everyone in many creative ways to unlock our imaginations with the power of books.
It was great to have our school community come together to celebrate and contribute to making this day so special for our students and their families. Please see the Library section of the newsletter for more information.
Happy Father's Day
Wow! It is that time of the year when we say a massive thank you to all of our amazing father's. Father's Day is a celebration of fatherhood; a time for us to honour, celebrate and to be thankful for all of the men, father figures and male role models in our lives. We recognise the very important role you play in the lives of children, so thank you to all of the dads and father figures in our school community. We are looking forward to our Father's Day BBQ next Friday.
Wishing all members of the St Joseph's School community all the best for a great week.
Maree Holland & Greg O'Toole
Co-Principals
St Joseph's School - a Faith Filled Community Where Learning Matters