At St Joseph’s School, we are very conscious of preparing all students, ultimately, for their tertiary studies and/or entry into the workplace. In particular, the skills they learn from P-12 are important for them to become life-long learners. Our ‘senior’ groups in Primary (Year 6) and Secondary (Year 12) are having a successful year leading the way for all students in their respective campuses.

A real success story this year has been our Year 6 Hub. This week, we hosted Mr Paul Herbert (Toowoomba Catholic Schools Senior Education Leader), Mr Kort Goodman (Principal St Joseph’s College, Toowoomba) and Mr Simon Fleming (Principal Assumption College, Warwick) for a visit to the school. They all marvelled at the incredible learning going on in the classroom. Our Year 6’s are an exemplar of successful Visible Learning, that is, students who can:

• Articulate what they are learning
• Explain the next steps in their learning
• Set learning goals
• See errors as opportunities for further learning
• Know what to do when they are stuck
• Seek feedback

They are wonderful to watch and are ready for the transition to Secondary.

The academic year is quickly coming to an end for the Year 12's. Shortly, classes will finish, and they will head into a “mastery” period prior their exams. For many, the exam period will involve external exams set by the Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority (QCAA). After that it will be their Retreat, Graduation and final farewell. From school, they will head off to tertiary studies and/or employment.

In the September break, a number of the Year 12's will be participating in the Toowoomba Catholic Schools External Examination Preparation Program. The program will be run at St Saviour’s College in Toowoomba and will bring together Year 12’s from across the diocese to do additional preparation under the guidance expert teachers. This is a unique initiative that has been organised by the Secondary Principals in the Toowoomba Diocese. 

As the first group of Year 12's to graduate under the new QCE (Queensland Certificate of Education) and ATAR (Australian Tertiary Admission Ranking) systems, I commend them for their hard work and leadership during a challenging year. I also thank the teaching staff for their significant and professional preparation, tuition and mentoring of the students.

I hope all students follow the example and success of our Year 6’s and Year 12’s.

God Bless