Semester 1 Academic Awards

 Last Friday we hosted our inaugural Semester 1 Academic  Awards Assembly.

At St Joseph's College one of our core values is to strive for excellence in everything we do and to celebrate our individual and collective success.

Success can look different for everyone but any achievement requires persistence, effort and hard work.

Our awardees are students who consistently work hard and have achieved outstanding results in Semester 1.

For Year 7-10 awards, a minimum of an A was required in English, as well as an average overall grade of an A or 82% and above in their other subjects.

In VCE, students were required to achieve an A+ average in two or more subjects.

As part of our Awards Assembly we also acknowledged those students in Year 7 and 9 who exceeded expectations in numeracy or reading in their recent NAPLAN tests.

Congratulations to the following list of award winners. 

It was a privilege to celebrate their success, along with members of their family and our College community.

May this celebration of success inspire us to all reach even greater heights in the future!

NAPLAN Awards

One of our School Captains, Jack Anderson, gave a very moving speech on the day which was too good not to share!

Good morning students, staff and parents. Welcome to our Whole School Assembly.

Today we are gathered together as a College community to celebrate all that is good with joy and gratitude. We welcome back our Yr 7s from Kildare Campus. We trust that you have settled in well to your new surroundings and we look forward to hearing about the great things happening in this new environment. 

Our College prayer reminds us that we are young, vibrant and hopeful. We need to bring this into the classroom; may we be enthusiastic learners, inspired to learn as much as we can so that we can work toward a better future for all people, not just ourselves. We need to believe we can change the world for the better. We are encouraged to love learning and to live with a sense of purpose. Are we making the most of the opportunities we have to learn, to follow our dreams and passions and to make the most of the gifts and talents that we have been given? Are we choosing to live our life well? At this time of our lives, whilst here in our school, are we being kind, treating each other with respect and dignity; are we embracing the amazing learning opportunities that are put before us each and every day?

The theme for today’s assembly is ‘celebrating success’. Our individual and collective successes. 

I would like to start by congratulating each and every one of you for what has been achieved throughout the first semester of the 2023 school year. I would also like to acknowledge that everyone here is on a different path, a different journey on what they want to do and want to achieve. From simple goals such as passing an assessment task, handing work in on time, making a contribution to a class discussion; to striving for personal excellence and lifelong fulfilment. It is why it is so important to encourage, support and work with each other in the classroom. We need to play our role in supporting and providing an environment in which all of our classmates can learn. Today we get the chance to recognise and celebrate your mates' personal achievements; this is what makes learning fun and it creates a more relaxed and enjoyable learning environment for everyone. To be able to recognise and celebrate not only your mates' achievements, but your own as well, is something that deserves credit and recognition. This is why today’s assembly is a great opportunity to recognise some of our very own quiet achievers and celebrate what they have accomplished so far this year.

Performing well academically requires the exact same formula that is needed to achieve anything. Time, persistence and hard work. These three qualities, these three traits are the secrets to success in everything, and especially for our academic pursuits. I should know, because in the thirteen years I have been at school, I have seen many people triumph, many who work hard to pursue their passions outside of the classroom. And then some people simply cruise. The people that have done well have all displayed these three traits; time, persistence and hard work; and strived to do their absolute best in their subjects, with the results well and truly reflecting their effort and later they get to follow a career path which they absolutely love. 

A couple of years ago there was a student who came to St Joes, just like us, and she put a significant amount of time and effort into her studies. She walked away with a 99.10 ATAR and went off to uni into her desired course. Since hearing that, I knew that this would be my motivation for Year 12. For the people who know me, they all know how seriously I take my learning, especially this year, and that I put a lot of my time into my studies. But study only comes when you are motivated. Motivation only comes when you want to achieve a goal. So for me, it is to try and get the highest ATAR I can, to know that I have tried my hardest and got the most out of my abilities. I am enjoying the challenge, digging deep when I feel tired, and I am still having a break outside of school to enjoy things I love. But I know that we all have different goals and hopes for the year. I know everyone has a different idea in what they want to achieve and what they want to do. But this doesn’t stop us from trying our best.

For all the students receiving an award today, I would like to express my congratulations, this is a small reflection of your hard work from the first semester. For those who have missed out, keep on persisting, your time will come if you continue to put in the hard work and show determination with your studies. 

I would like to thank the parents who have gathered with us this morning to celebrate your kids' success. Thank you for creating a home environment that fosters a love of learning and encourages giving your best.

I have a parting message before we get into acknowledging the award recipients: a question or challenge for you: What is it that you want to achieve throughout your time here at St Joseph’s and how will this impact your motivation to try your best?

(Jack Anderson)

Rhys Leslie

Director - Data and Improvement