Stop a Moment

Are you already feeling bombarded with Christmas reminders, decorations and festive lights?

Are you feeling overcome when seeing numbers counting down the days until Christmas?

Have you had the sudden realisation that Christmas will soon be upon us and you still have so much to do?

Rest assured, you are not alone. But I invite you to take a moment and simply breathe. Take a moment to contemplate the true message of Christmas and the meaning it brings. Take a moment to give thanks for family and friends. Take a moment to consider how we can all make our Christmas more meaningful, so that this time can be one of peace, joy, companionship and support for all those in need this season.

Below are some videos that may help provide a fresh and much needed perspective of Christmas and its meaning. 

The story of Christmas told by preschool & kindergarten students from Hilltop Preschool & Kindergarten

Ignite Media - An artistic take on how the story of the nativity might have read, had a social network existed

The Digital Story of Nativity - How social media, web and mobile tell the story of the nativity

Megan Mahoney
Assistant to the Principal Formation & Identity

FROM THE VOICE OF CATHERINE MCAULEY-FOUNDER OF THE SISTERS OF MERCY

As a Mercy School, we are inspired by the passion and commitment of the Mercy Sisters in their work at St Joseph’s School from 1875. 

St Joseph's School Year 12 students said their goodbyes and walked out the gates for last time on Friday 15th November, wrapping up 13 years of formal schooling! After completion of their final exams, students spent their last week undertaking a number of activities including a two-day Retreat at Leslie Dam where students had the chance to reflect and reminisce about their Joeys journey and to consider, wonder and acknowledge their future. As well as activities and a movie night, students also participated in a meaningful prayer ritual and affirmation activities based on the theme of “The Compass of our Lives”.

During their last week, Year 12 students also spent the morning with Sergeant Daniel O'Dea who spoke to the students about general road and personal safety, as well as provide tips to the students for staying safe on the road during end of school celebrations.

The highlight of the week however, was undoubtedly the Graduation Dinner on Thursday evening where students were able to 'frock up' to celebrate their graduation with family, friends and staff. The Bathersby Centre was transformed into an 'Enchanted Evening' setting and guests enjoyed a smorgasbord dinner provided by Anna's Restaurant. 

On their final morning, the Year 12s said their final farewells at a special liturgy with the whole school, family and friends, as well walked down the traditional 'guard of other'! 

St Joseph's School would like to congratulate Year 12 students on their achievements and remind them that their talents and opportunities can only take them so far in life; it’s their other qualities of passion, perseverance, commitment, determination and hard work that will take them the rest of the way to achieve their dreams! Good luck Year 12 in your future endeavours! 

On Monday 18th November Year 5 students met with six other Catholic schools at Assumption College in Warwick for the inaugural Year 5 Regional Leadership Day. Facilitated by Sharon Young (APRE) at St Mary's Warwick, the students took part in six different activities around the theme of leadership including a team work activity, reflecting on the qualities of Jesus, learning how to speak in public and considering the traits of leaders from different aspects of life. The students learned a lot from the day and are looking forward to putting it into practice as leaders of the Primary campus next year.

The Prep classroom was overrun with teddy bears on Tuesday 19th November when the Teddy Bear Hospital visited the school! The students brought their own teddies to school to act as ‘patients’ during the visit, with medical students on a rural placement program with Queensland Rural Medical Education (QRME) talking about things such as broken bones, casts, staying injury free and healthy eating. The Prep students rotated around a number of activities throughout the afternoon which also included using bandages on their teddy bears!

The main aim of the Teddy Bear Hospital program is to familiarise children to health care environments and medical treatments in a fun and interactive way! By creating a positive interaction between the child and the 'Teddy Doctor', the Teddy Bear Hospital aims to overcome fears and anxieties children may hold concerning the hospital environment. The program also plays a pivotal role for health professionals in developing the unique interactive skills required to engage successfully with children. 

This Term in Year 8 Maths, students have been given the task to compare theoretical probability vs experimental probability by hosting the Carnival of Chance! Prior to the carnival, students worked in groups to brainstorm and design a game to be played. They then worked out the chances of a player winning, losing, or breaking even and as other students played, recorded the number of wins versus games played so they could compare theoretical probability vs experimental probability. Year 5 & 6 also came down to participate in the carnival and had the opportunity to play a game of chance to win lollies and other prizes. This is a great opportunity to make Maths more engaging and hands on, as well as an opportunity for the Primary students to engage with the Secondary campus. 

Year 3 & 4 have been visiting the Blue Care Respite Centre this term, and on Thursday 14th November it was 3/4C's turn! The students wrote letters of introduction which they read to the clients, and there were some lovely interactions as the children shared games of noughts and crosses that they made for the visit. These were left at Blue Care for future visitors to also use. 

The students were also lucky enough to enjoy a recital from a local musical group who not only entertained the clients but got the students singing and dancing along. On returning to school, the students wanted to know when we would be visiting again!  

Thank you to the staff at the Blue Care Respite Centre for welcoming us and letting us share in their lovely morning program.

Hundreds of past students of St Joseph’s School are scattered throughout Australia and around the world, working across every industry. We’re proud of our past students and their achievements – big and small. In future newsletters, we will be highlighting a past student and sharing what they have been up to since leaving the Joey's gates. 

MICHAEL DEZUANNI

What year did you graduate?

I attended St Joseph’s from 1975 to 1981 as a primary school student. After that I went to Marist College Ashgrove as a border for Secondary school. However, I kept in touch with lots of the St Joseph’s students as they went through Secondary school.

What were your favourite subjects at St Joseph’s School?

As a primary student, I would have to say English and Maths.

Can you tell us about your time at St Joseph’s School? Is there anything you especially remember?

I remember we had a lot of fun before school and at lunchtime rolling down the hill on large tractor tyre inner-tubes, towards Connor Street! I frequently ripped my long pants doing that, to my Mum’s annoyance. We also played ‘red rover’, which was pretty rough and ended in quite a few injuries. I also remember it was very cold in winter, and it was wonderful to stand in front of the oil heaters in the classrooms to warm up when we came back into class.

School sports carnivals were also lots of fun. I was in Emu house and we were in constant battle against Koala to win the sports carnival trophy.

We had lots of great teachers, including the Mercy sister nuns. They could be pretty strict at times, and I had my fair share of being in trouble. But I was always encouraged to do my best, and I learnt to love learning at St Joseph’s School.

What has been your journey since finishing school? Briefly outline your career path and what you are doing now. Have you always wanted to pursue the kind of career you have embarked on?

When I left Year 7 in 1981, I went to boarding school at Marist Brothers in Brisbane, which was a huge shock coming from a small town. However, many of the other boarders were from other small towns, and we had a similar experience. When I left school, I went to the University or Queensland to study for an Arts degree, with majors in English Literature and Journalism. Following that, in 1990 I completed a Graduate Diploma in Education with a focus on English and History. If you had asked me in primary school if I would become a teacher, I would have laughed!

My first teaching role was in Rockhampton at Glenmore High School in 1991, where I taught English and Film & Television for four years. While in Rockhampton, I continued my studies part time - I completed a Master of Letters in Cultural Studies at Central Queensland University (I guess I had caught the study bug). I then moved back to Brisbane in 1995 to teach English and Film & Television at St Joseph’s College Gregory Terrace. In about 2000, I decided to start studying for a PhD part time at the University of Queensland. In 2004, I had a major career change when I took up a position at Queensland University of Technology (QUT) as a teacher educator - I was now teaching the teachers! I completed my PhD at QUT in 2009, and over the next few years I began to move across into conducting educational research. Since that time, I have been really fortunate to be involved in lots of research projects focused on how students and adults learn to use technologies, and how they think critically about their media use. I have undertaken research in hundreds of classrooms around Australia - about everything from kindergarten children’s use of iPads for learning, to high school students learning with YouTube and video games. I have undertaken research for companies like Telstra and Australia Post, the Queensland Government, UNESCO, the State Library of Queensland, Google and Microsoft. I am privileged to be the Associate Director of the Digital Media Research Centre at QUT, where my colleagues include world experts on digital media, including social media platforms like Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Facebook. Most recently, I have become a researcher on the Australian Research Council’s Centre of Excellence for the Digital Child, based at QUT, which is a multi-million-dollar Centre that aims to understand how children aged 0-8 interact with digital technologies at home and school. Also, next year I have a book coming out with MIT Press called Peer Pedagogies of Digital Platforms: Learning with Minecraft ‘Let’s Players’ on YouTube. It has been lots of fun to write as I spent a lot of time watching YouTubers like DanTDM and Stampylonghead!

What do you believe St Joseph’s School has shown you/given you as a person?

I believe I caught the study bug while I was at St Joseph’s School. From an early age I learnt to value education, and that was due to the support I received from the teachers at St Joseph’s School. I was always encouraged to do as well as I could, and taught that my talents were important and special.

What piece of advice would you have for current students at St Joseph’s School?

I would say that you should never under-estimate what you can achieve if you follow your passions and believe in yourself. Stanthorpe and St Joseph’s students are capable of anything and should aim as high as they can.

Recently three of our Year 9 students, Kaelie Doyle, Cydney McErvale and Kira St John attended the USQ NASA Space Apps Challenge.

Space Apps introduces problem-solvers to NASA’s free and open data. NASA missions to earth, the sun and solar system, all gather data in pursuit of new knowledge in order to expand our understanding through new scientific discoveries, and to help us to improve life on earth. By using NASA data to solve each year’s challenges, Space Apps teams learn about NASA’s data and share in the creation and application of the knowledge.

The girls also experienced life at USQ including listening in to a lecture, working with state-of-the-art technology, constructing websites and even had the opportunity to 'walk through' our solar system, manipulating planets using virtual reality!

Senior students of St Joseph’s School have been given an insight into what it takes to join the Navy Cadets when the TS Kookaburras, the Stanthorpe-based branch of the Australian Navy Cadets, recently attended assembly.

Former Navy Officer and Granite Belt resident, Mr Peter Beacroft was joined by TS Kookaburras members, Mrs Katrina Nemeth and three St Joseph’s School students Joshua Davis, Jack Bell and David Nemeth who are already members of the cadets.

The TS Kookaburras delivered information to students about how to join, their purpose and the benefits of being members such as learning skills in leadership, working together, gaining confidence and learning to be assertive and resilient. A variety of prizes were also given to students who asked the best questions.

Children from 13 years old can apply to join the Navy Cadets. If you are interested in joining the Australian Navy Cadet Unit, please contact Peter Beacroft on 0418 673 298 or email Peter.Beacroft@navycadets.gov.au.

The media coverage of climate change activist, Greta Thunberg, not only helped raise awareness of this issue, but it has also instilled fear in many young people. Children around the world are feeling overwhelmed by the magnitude of the issue. They are getting caught up in a doomsday scenario and collective hysteria that is causing, what is now termed as ‘eco-anxiety’.

Anecdotal reports suggest that children of all ages, even pre-schoolers, are being treated for eco-anxiety by healthcare professionals and psychologists fear that this may lead to a learned helplessness or hopelessness.

As parents and care-givers, it is important to understand how best to diffuse a child’s anxiety relating to impending environmental disasters. Discussing the known facts and instilling hope will give children a clear vision for a positive future. Reassurance about what countries and individuals are doing, and what you can do as a family, will go towards helping curb the effects of eco-anxiety.

In this Special Report, parents and care givers will be provided with strategies on how to approach conversations on environmental issues that are age appropriate. We hope you take time to reflect on the information offered in the report, and as always, we welcome your feedback.

If you do have any concerns about the wellbeing of your child, please contact the school for further information or seek medical or professional help.

Mary MacKillop Catholic College together with seven event sponsors and the generosity of the community, have now donated over $13,000 from their recent Race Day to the Granite Belt community in light of the current drought and recent bushfires.

The profits were split three ways into the community, to reach as many as possible, while still having a significant impact. As many as 10 local businesses participated, with the College purchasing vouchers to then be donated to the Rural Fire volunteers as well as students and their families for back-to-school supplies.

Mary MacKillop Catholic College Principal, Chris Gabbett said, “Being able to support small local businesses by purchasing vouchers and then also giving back to Rural Fire Volunteers and helping another Catholic school in our diocese is a win-win situation”.

Funds were also donated to the Stanthorpe Group Rural Fire Brigade to assist with the preparations for the continuing extreme fire conditions this season.

Mary MacKillop Catholic College continued to show its support of those in drought affected communities, with their Senior students establishing a dedicated social justice action group. The message is simple, and echoes the famous words of St Mary MacKillop – “never see a need without doing something about it!”.

Above: Andrew Kendall with Michael Bentley of Stanthorpe Newsagency

The 2020 Book lists are now available for parents to start preparing for 2020 at St Joseph's School! These book lists have also been sent through Parent Paperwork via email.