From the Principal

Welcome Back to Term 3

I hope all staff and students had a restful break and have returned ready for another action-packed term. Next week, Year 12 students commence their Trial HSC Examinations, and we wish them well with their preparations for their final assessment which goes towards their school-based HSC Assessment Mark. 

🕊️ A Prayer for Our Year 12 Students 🕊️

As our Year 12 students prepare to sit their exams, we offer this prayer for strength, peace, and confidence:

Loving God, 

We lift up our Year 12 students to You as they begin their final exams.

Grant them calm hearts and clear minds.

May their hard work and dedication bear fruit, and may they feel Your presence in moments of stress or uncertainty.

Help them to trust in their preparation, to persevere through challenges, and to know that their value is far greater than any result.

Surround them with support, encouragement, and love from their families, teachers, and friends.

May this season be a stepping stone to new opportunities, growth, and purpose.

We place them in Your care, now and always.

Amen.

Brisbane Show

On Saturday, the Ag Show Team will head off to Brisbane for the Brisbane Show (Ekka). Twelve steers and thirteen students will be on parade. We wish them great success and a safe journey. Hopefully, in the next newsletter, we can celebrate their winnings, ribbons and trophies. A huge thank you to Ms Bright and her team for the preparation put into grooming the animals. Months of preparation is involved getting ready for a show, which was evident as I inspected the animals this week. 

Professional Development

Staff have been working with Sarah Paine (Pedagogical Mentor) and Aaron Dent (Leader of Grow and Development) on the University of Newcastle Quality Teaching Assessment model. 

The Quality Teaching Model is designed to empower teachers with the conceptual and practical tools for ongoing improvement of assessment. This will be an ongoing process of improvement as we prepare for the new syllabus documents published by NESA (NSW Educational Standards Authority). I would like to thank Aaron and Sarah for their training and guidance for staff, as we are always looking to improve our practice. 

Japan Visit

We welcome our visitors from Kiyose High School this afternoon. St Joseph’s families are hosting twenty students from the Tokyo school for one week. This is a great opportunity for our students to learn more about the Japanese language and culture, as well as for students from Japan to discover more about Australia. A huge thank you to Mrs Tanya Chapple for organising the visit, and also to the families willing to open up their homes to these students for the week.

ASPIRE 

This week, the ASPIRE production goes on stage. Four amazingly talented young ladies are representing St Joseph's Aberdeen: Lilly R, Lula P, Megan L and Michelle I in the production of "The Rise of Bozz" at the Civic Theatre in Newcastle. ASPIRE is a great opportunity for our creative students and a massive commitment for their families with weekly drives to Newcastle for rehearsals. I am looking forward to seeing the production myself tonight.

Veronica Rolfe

Principal