Principal's Report 

All Saints Day November 1

Next Monday we celebrate All Saints Day. This feast day was inaugurated very early in Church history to remember and celebrate all those who have died in faith. 

“There is a saint for just about every occasion. There is a patron saint of the internet (St Isidore). There is one for lost objects (St Anthony) and one for lost causes (St Jude). It is possible to wonder why St Stephen is the patron of those who suffer headaches until you realise that he was the first martyr and was stoned to death. It is possible to smile at such lists, but at least they remind us that those who have been canonised by the Church are as human as we are and were as involved in the struggle and mystery of human life. Every one of the church’s canonised saints was a sinner, some notoriously so. At least we have that in common with them. Hopefully, we will also share the openness they had to the way in which God might be tugging them in a particular direction. Of recent years, the church has canonised a large number of new saints. This is a reminder that sanctity is not such a rare phenomenon. It is the vocation of every Christian, even if that fact is never officially recognised. Sainthood is the life to which we are called.” (From Finding God’s Traces by Michael McGirr)

Passive or active learners?

As we settle back into the school term after the recent excitement of the Year 12 students finishing their formal classes and what we fervently hope is the last bout of remote learning, I think it is timely to remind students that the learning and teaching process is most efficient when it is a two way exercise. I read the following recently and I think it says a lot about the partnership that needs to exist during this last term of the year.

The most influential teacher in my educational career was a nun by the name of Sr. Agnes Patricia. The thing I will always remember about her is that she taught me about teaching itself. It was her belief that no teacher could ever teach anyone anything. She felt that the teacher’s task was to create an environment in which students can learn. Her opinion was that knowledge needs to be pulled into the brain by the student, not pushed into it by the teacher. Knowledge was not to be forced on a student. The brain has to be receptive, malleable and most importantly desirous of that knowledge.

There will be a lot of hard work done by College staff during the remainder of this term in order to create an environment that is conducive to learning. It is up to each student to commit his or herself to making the effort required to pull as much knowledge as they can into their brains. 

Some of the hard work that will be done will not bear fruit for some time but is still just as important.

We will keep all our Year 12 students in our prayers as they begin their exams this week. Hopefully they will approach these exams with confidence because they have worked hard in preparing for them.

Whatever the future holds for these young people we send them into it with our best wishes and our prayerful support. We will pray that they sit their exams well, achieve results that reflect their talents and that they will find fulfilment and happiness in the future. 

College Leadership

At last week’s final House Assemblies for year 12 students we announced the Senior House Leaders for 2022. I am pleased to let the College community know that the following students have been appointed.

Brigid House – Ella McCormick and Isaac Fusti

Chisholm House – Joshua Walsh and Dermot Ritchie

Delany House – Jett Westblade and Callum Walker

Moore House – Sam Deola and Macy Larkin

Nicholls House – Kate Parker and Cleo Oberin

Patrick House – Greer Thompson and Chelsea Prout

We wish them all the best in their leadership roles and thank them for being willing to serve our St Joseph’s College learning community in this way.

God bless.

Michael Delaney

Principal