A Man of Many Titles 

St. Joseph, our school patron, is a saint of many titles: carpenter, father, worker, faithful husband, patient man, courageous and so on.  And yet Joseph is mentioned only a handful of times in the Gospels, primarily in the infancy narratives and later in passing. Despite this, Joseph played a significant and pivotal role in the life Jesus and Mary.   

Joseph was a compassionate man who stood by Mary and fulfilled the will of God with integrity and commitment.  He lovingly protected a child not his own, and worked to provide a home, food and stability for his family.  Joseph was a wonderful role model to Jesus, and gave him a profession and from this, the experience of the dignity and value of work. 

Like Joseph, we are all called to be workers and, whether that be doing laundry, performing surgery, changing nappies, constructing buildings, dusting, teaching young minds or running a business, we bring dignity to these tasks just a Joseph did all those years ago. 

As we celebrate the Feast Day of St Joseph this Sunday, may our school community continue to value and celebrate the man St. Joseph. 

With God's blessings,

Megan Mahoney
Assistant to the Principal Formation & Identity

Celebrating Harmony Week

Harmony Week is celebration held annually in March across Australia. It’s aimed at promoting diversity, respect and inclusiveness. This event is an excellent opportunity for parents to teach their children about different cultures, traditions and customs. The goal is to encourage everyone to appreciate and celebrate differences and promote a sense of community and belonging for everyone.

During Harmony Week, there are a number of events and activities held around Australia to bring people from different cultures together. These activities include multicultural food festivals, cultural performances, art exhibitions and workshops. Participating in these events helps children to gain a deeper understanding and appreciation of the diverse communities that make up Australia.

As a parent, you can engage your children in discussions about multiculturalism and encouraging them to ask questions. Promoting a more harmonious and inclusive society, can help children grow up with a greater appreciation for the richness and diversity of Australia's cultural landscape.

This Special Report hopes to instil positive values and create an opportunity to start a conversation with your child about understanding diversity and multiculturalism. We hope you take a moment to reflect on the information offered, and as always, we welcome your feedback. If this raises any concerns for you, a loved one or the wellbeing of your child, please consider seeking medical or professional help.

Click on this link to view the Special Report https://stjosephs.qld.schooltv.me/wellbeing_news/special-report-celebrating-harmony-week-au .

St Joseph’s School Stanthorpe is a community that has developed its culture around learning in recent years.  As a TCS Lighthouse School as well as a Visible Learning+ Certified School since May 2021, we better understand the significant potential for our learners when teachers have clarity around the curriculum, are evaluating their own impact and when they are supported to deepen their professional practice where they have agency. Similar empowerment has also been evident in our student learners who are now more able to articulate and act on what it means to be an effective learner than they were a few years ago. They are also becoming more able to take responsibility for, and direct, their own learning, regardless of whether they are early in their school life or closer to completing it. 

The consistent focus on a common language around learning and the implementation of high-impact teaching and learning strategies has assisted us to develop this culture. However, the ability to continue to grow as a learning community has been uppermost in our minds during this term.  Through the analysis of multiple forms of evidence, staff have been involved in conversations around the extent of our growth over the past 12 months and this has led us to redefine our aspirational goals for teachers, students and parents for the future. 

The introduction of Subject Discipline Literacies (SDL) in 2023 as an initiative for all secondary schools, sits firmly under the umbrella of Visible Learning at our school.  With the focus of SDL on clarity of curriculum expectations around literacies, the explicit teaching of skills that can be transferred and using data to identify, meet the needs of and evaluate the growth of the learners, the connections to Visible Learning are clear.  The first group of secondary teachers will begin their training in a few weeks, although all secondary staff have already had the opportunity to explore the rationale behind the 3L program, to review their particular subject areas through this lens and to consider the impact on learners when these skills have been developed. 

The overall professional learning plan for all teachers at St Joseph’s in 2023 will again be founded on Professor John Hattie’s Ten Mindframes for Visible Learning, with each teacher choosing one of the mindframes on which to focus. This is a choice made by them after considering their own needs as a learner as well as the needs of the student learners with whom they work.  Resources have been curated on Canvas and One Note platforms to support teachers’ learning in these areas. Whilst all teachers will be involved in impact cycles, those teachers who have been trained in SDL will have to opportunity to link their learning with their chosen mindframe and build that into an ongoing impact cycle to evaluate their impact on student learning.  They will continue to have the support of myself on this journey as AP Teaching and Learning as well as a SDL tutor, but will also benefit from their mindframe PLT colleagues who all have the role of coaches.  Learning at St Joseph’s is a collective responsibility, whether you are a teacher or a student and something in which we are all invested. 

Ms Natasha Hunt recently commenced at St Joseph's as a School Officer Assisting Learning (Teacher Aide) in Secondary.

Natasha has a Bachelor of Rehabilitation Studies from the University of Queensland and has commenced a Master of Teaching and Learning (Primary) at the University of Southern Queensland.

Natasha has experience working in a variety of roles including as a disability support worker, early childhood educator, physiotherapy assistant and therapy assistant.

We welcome Natasha to St Joseph’s School.

Tastebuds were tingling on Tuesday, 7th March as the Year 7 Home Economics class watched an Indigenous ingredients cookery demonstration at the QCWT delivered by their Indigenous Chef and industry partner Chef Chris, provided through the Gateway to Industry schools program.

Chef Chris, from Three Little Birds and Chef Cara, talked to students about native plants and bush tucker and used the natives that are currently growing in the Indigenous Edible Garden planted at QCWT in the cookery demonstration. Students touched, smelt and eventually tasted the Indigenous ingredients in some sweet and savoury dishes – Wattleseed brownies, Mountain Pepper marinated kangaroo with a bush tomato sauce, charcoal cooked yams and purple carrots with a lemon myrtle mayonnaise, and mini dampers with sour plum jam.

It was a worthwhile experience to learn about new and native ingredients that have been used in cooking and for medicinal purposes in Indigenous history for centuries. We thank the QCWT for the opportunity to attend.

Thursday 2^nd March saw Year 10 Religion and Ethics students depart for Brisbane as part of a study on world religions.   Despite a brief set back which saw us having to return to Stanthorpe and change buses (thankfully we were only 10 minutes out of town), we arrived at St. Stephen’s Cathedral for daily mass.  After a warm welcome from the officiating priest, we divided into groups for a tour of the Cathedral and chapel.

The tour guides led us around the buildings and gardens, informing us of the history, architecture, icons and features of the spaces. It was also an opportunity to see the memorial plaque and crypt where former Archbishop and past student John Bathersby was laid to rest. By this time, we were all keen for a bite to eat, and, following a hot and humid walk to the Botanic Gardens, found a spot to enjoy our lunch.

During this time, a former colleague of Ms Kendall’s spoke about Buddhism and her practices.  It was interesting to hear her perspective on this philosophy and the way in which she endeavours to approach all aspects of her life.  After saying our farewells, we set off for our next destination – the Brisbane Synagogue.  Phillip, our guide, explained aspects of the synagogue, sacred objects (including the torah which is VERY expensive) and described different rituals celebrated in the synagogue.  Throughout our time, the boys were required to wear their hats as a sign of respect and awe. 

Next it was off to the bus for our trip home but not before were told that we would have to go via Gatton as the Gap was closed.  In some respects this wasn’t so bad, as we pulled up at Plainlands where everyone was able to enjoy their “fix” of junk food.  Some twelve and a half hours later we arrived home.  Thanks to Ms Kendall, Mr Brown and Mrs Mahoney for the accompanying us on the day and providing us with this opportunity.

Secondary students were fortunate to have Courage to Care visit on Tuesday 28th February.

The organisation promotes acceptance across society by creating awareness of the dangers of prejudice, racism and discrimination. Students met and listened to first-hand accounts of survival from a Holocaust survivor and were challenged to be upstanders rather than bystanders when witnessing discrimination.

On Saturday 4th March, a large group of approximately 80 St Joseph’s students, teachers and families gathered at the Stanthorpe Piazza for our annual Busking Performance.

This event gave us the opportunity to showcase the impressive standard of talent being fostered in the students within the Arts curriculum at St. Joseph’s. The School Band, the Senior and Junior Choirs,  the Senior and Junior Dance Groups and Individual Recitation items entertained the large crowd assembled. The students’ enthusiasm and happiness were wonderful to see.

We were rewarded with some prizes - 3rd place in the Primary Section $100 and 2nd place in the People’s Choice Award $200!

Thank you to the many people who made all this possible and of course, special congratulations to our wonderful students who gave it their all and most importantly, put smiles on many people’s faces.

All our students who completed Year 12 last year will soon receive an invitation to do the Next Step survey. The short five-minute survey asks graduates about the study and work they have been doing since finishing school. The results from the survey help our school improve our senior programs and prepare students for work and further study.

We ask parents, siblings and friends to encourage our graduates to complete the survey. If their contact details have changed, please assist survey interviewers with their updated details or forward the survey to their new address so they can participate. Graduates may receive an invitation by mail, email or phone. The survey can be completed online or by phone.

For more information about Next Step, including previous results, visit www.qld.gov.au/nextstep.