In the Name of Service 

Last term I attended a workshop facilitated by Brother Damien Price on the power and potential of service learning, and how this can be facilitated in the school setting. 

“Service Learning is when, as part of its curriculum and culture, the members of a school community are invited to engage directly and indirectly in service experiences with the wider community. Through reflection upon their experience associated with the core values of the community, participants are challenged to evaluate or modify their worldview” (Brother Damian Price, Educators Guide to Service Learning, p. 4). 

Service-Learning experiences must have the student at the centre of its focus, and, by walking with the students in their experiences, community values and attitudes are integrated into their life experiences impacting the way in which they view the world.  

Service-Learning experiences can be both normative (smaller experiences woven into the culture and curriculum of the school) and heightened (those experiences that address specific values and concepts) with the effectiveness of the experience determined by quality reflection.  

By linking our actions to the culture and values of our school, reflecting on these experiences and connecting these to the Jesus story, the Catholic story is strengthened and becomes the lived experience of each and every student of St. Joseph’s School. 

With God's blessings,

Megan Mahoney
Assistant to the Principal Formation & Identity

Subject Discipline Literacy - Day 1 and 2

During the last two days of Term 1, a number of secondary teachers started the Subject Discipline Literacy training process with Anna Jones, Tracey Cullinan, Claudia Villari, Grace Coxon, Sandra Ellis and Phoebe Johannesen being the first teachers to get involved. The conversation across the two days focused on:

• what we are currently experiencing with secondary learners in regard to reading and writing.
• how the program can empower teachers at St Joseph's to then empower learners to be able to better comprehend and compose using the specific literacy demands of each subject area.
• how the training can be implemented in the classrooms of those teachers involved.  
• the connections made to Visible Learning such as teachers having clarity around the curriculum, the role of explicit teaching of skills, how feedback and the setting of goals can move students' learning forward and the role of will and thrill as well as skill in the learning process.  It was also clear that a consistent approach to language will be necessary moving forward so that our learners have clarity.  This is something we have discussed as a staff many times in respect of our learning community.
• implementing well - and for sustainability - which means starting small and building on those initial successes.
• being able to measure the impact of this intervention so that what we do is evidence-based.

This term, planning has commenced around how the learning from those two days can be implemented in the classrooms.  A further two days of training will occur later in the term, followed by a new group of teachers embarking on the training in Term 3.  

Welcome to FR Salvador Fernandes who will be working in Stanthorpe, Lyra and Wallangarra until 18 June 2023, whilst Fr Gonzo is on annual leave.

Fr Salvador Fernandes is a member of the Missionary congregation of St Francis de Sales – MSFS alias FRANSALIANS, founded by the Servant of God, Fr Peter Mermier after the French Revolution, under the patronage of Mother of Sorrows and St Francis de Sales.  

Fr Salvador hails from Goa in India and speaks Konkani, Hindi, English, French - "Bienvenue à apprendre le français avec moi.

Ordained a priest 1987, Fr has worked as a teacher and Principal for 21 years in India in the Fransalian schools and 3 years as chaplain in France-Switzerland in a school managed by the MSFS.  He is currently working in the Diocese of Toowoomba and has been since November 2014.  Fr Fernandes says "It is always enriching for me to meet new people in this parish supply ministry."  

Fr Salvadore can be contacted can be contacted on 0428 304 318.

Anzac Day is one of Australia’s most recognised national occasions. On Monday 24th April, St Joseph’s School united in honour of our service personnel who have served the nation over many years and, in particular, to remember those who have made the ultimate sacrifice.

The school gathered in the Bathersby Centre for a Prayer Service and an address by our special guest, Mayor Pennisi. Following the address, the staff, students and guests, moved to the School’s Services Memorial Garden for a wreath laying ceremony.

Our students also represented our school at Stanthorpe’s ANZAC Day services and the street parade on Tuesday April 25.

Students laid a wreath at the Weeroona Park Remembrance Wall to pay their respects.

Students also represented our school at the Dawn Service and parade in Tenterfield.

~ Lest we Forget ~

After months of training, 15 students, 3 staff members along with 2 parents, recently participated in the Kokoda Challenge, a 48 km hike through the Gold Coast hinterland. The event saw hundreds of school teams challenge themselves in the spirit of the ANZACs by traversing difficult inclines, through mud and at night, in just over 13 hours.

Central to this event is the Spirit of Kokoda, embodying courage, endurance, mateship and sacrifice. The values were integral to Australian soldiers who fought on the Kokoda Track in Papua New Guinea during WWII and are still relevant today.

Students are to be commended on the funds they raised for the Kokoda Youth Foundation, an amazing effort and excellent opportunity for students to step outside their comfort zones and achieve their goals.

Mr Jacob Steele, Miss Anika Spiller and Mr Robert Duff led 3 teams of students throughout the 48km treck.

Congratulations and well done to the following students on their successful completion of the Kokda Challenge :

Luke Webb
David Nemeth
Patrick Brown
Ryan Whiticker
Nichols Jr Gallego
Samuel Ellis
Will Bonner
Elizabeth Searle
Claire Williamson
Brigid O'Dea
Jeassy Gallego
Bronte Duff
Taryn McCosker

Year 12 students, Kiara Osborne and Amelie Gesch attended as support crew along with Mrs Mary Roberts and parent, Mrs Martina Brown.

Well done to everyone involved !

Year 10 Visual Art students visited GOMA (Gallery of Modern Art) in Brisbane on Monday 18th April to view the flagship exhibition ‘Air’ showcasing a range of works differing in mediums and forms curated within 5 different ‘chapters’ relating to air – ‘Atmosphere’, ‘Shared’, ‘Burn’, ‘Invisible’ and ‘Change’. Works included installations, paintings, drawings, sculptures, large scale works, photography, time-based and light-based artworks, and one with living plants! Students were able to see how artists from different times, places and cultures respond to or use notions of ‘air’ as inspiration. It was great for them to experience these works in person. Check out the artworks yourself - Air – Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art (qagoma.qld.gov.au)

About the exhibition - “Air is elusive, immaterial and invisible, animating our bodies and occupying the space beyond us. At this moment in time, we are more sensitive to the air we breathe than ever – alert to airborne threats and aware of our shared reliance on this vital element. The experience of COVID-19 has reinforced our interconnectedness as local and global communities, leading us – and many artists in ‘Air’ – to examine the world we live in and ask, ‘How can we better breather together?” (QAGOMA, www.qagoma.qld.gov.au/learn/education-resources/air/, 2023).

If you’re looking to enrol or know of someone looking to enrol their child in Prep for 2024, our Prep Open Days are a great opportunity for your family to experience our "Visible Learning School". This is where teachers see learning through the eyes of their students, helping them become their own teachers.

Bring your child to our PREP OPEN MORNINGS on Wednesday 20th & 27th July at St Joseph's School Stanthorpe.

~ Meet our Staff ~ Talk to Teachers ~Tour our School ~ Let them Play ~

The Annual St Joseph’s School Parents & Friends Association will be held on Saturday 20^th May 2023.

The Trivia Night is a wonderful opportunity for our Stanthorpe community to come together, relax and enjoy a night out along with raising funds towards the continuing improvement of our school’s facilities and resources. We encourage our school families to get a team together, as we can guarantee it will be a fantastic night of fun & laughter !