Principal's Report 

Dear Families, Students and Staff,

In recent days we have become aware of a social media petition campaigning for St. Joseph’s College to change its uniform and grooming procedures to allow for facial hair. 

Unfortunately, the promoters of this petition are not aware of all the facts of this situation. What is being presented on social media as a simple challenge to the College uniform and grooming expectations is oversimplifying a very complex and multi-layered situation.

College staff members have been working with the family involved for several weeks now. We will continue to engage in mutually respectful dialogue with them and provide all the support possible to resolve this situation as soon as possible. 

In the meantime, the privacy of all those involved - student, family and staff - needs to be respected. The College will not be engaging in any public debate of its policies and procedures.

We have in place a robust schedule for regular cyclical review and at the appropriate time and in an appropriate manner we will consult with our community to review the uniform and grooming procedures. These procedures are in place to help our students and families meet the expectations of the wider learning community that they have chosen to join. 

It has long been my experience that mutually respectful dialogue, patiently working through proper processes, eventually resolves the vast majority of difficult situations. 

I am trusting this approach in our commitment to bring about the best result possible in this situation for all concerned. 

I would encourage everyone to trust our processes and at the appropriate time and in the appropriate manner have your say as to what, if any, changes should be made to the uniform and grooming expectations our community has for our St. Joseph’s College students.

I would also ask for your support of the staff whose job it is to hold students to those community expectations. This is often a thankless task given the boundary-pushing nature of the typical teenager. 

Quality education only comes about with a strong three-way partnership between families, students and staff. This week’s Learning Mentor meetings are a strong testament to how well these partnerships are working in our school. We are proud of these partnerships and committed to keeping them as strong as possible, especially as we pay attention to all that needs to be done to have one strong and vibrant learning community operating across two campuses.

Thank you.

God bless.

Michael Delaney

Principal.