Newsletter 63 – Term 1 Week 10 2021

I would like to congratulate the St Joseph’s College Community on a wonderful first term of 2021. From the generous and caring efforts of the parents and ancillary staff in supporting the student and teachers, to the committed and professional work of the teachers in preparing and delivering engaging learning experiences and the organisation and conducting of extra-curricular activities, to the outstanding results of the students in the academic, sporting and cultural life of the College. The first term of 2021 has absolutely raced by and our College community can be very proud of their achievements.

As we head towards Easter Sunday it is important to take the time to reflect upon what actually happened on the first Easter day. Just recently I read a reflection written by Pope Benedict on the first Easter day that I really liked, and I would like to share with you today.

No doubt, if we had been alive in Jesus’ time we, too, would have been astonished by the miracle of a resurrected corpse. Luke tells us that just as Jesus was entering the town of Naim, a funeral procession was coming out. The dead man was the only son of a widow. Jesus was filled with compassion for the widow and so went over to the coffin and said, “Young man! Get up, I tell you. The dead man sat up and began to talk and Jesus gave him back to his mother.” Luke 7:11-17.

Mark tells us how in like manner Jesus resurrected the corpse of the twelve-year-old daughter of Jairus, an official of the local synagogue. “Little girl I tell you to get up. She got up at once and started walking around. Give her something to eat.” Mark 5:22-24, 35-44.

The two individuals raised to life by Jesus returned to their normal lives and at a later point in time they died, definitively. So, how was their “resurrection” different to Jesus’? Well, “Jesus’ Resurrection was about breaking out into an entirely new form of life, into a life that is no longer subject to the laws of dying and becoming, but lies beyond it – a life that opens up a new dimension of human existence.”

Unlike the widow’s son and the daughter of Jairus, “Jesus has not returned to a normal human life in this world like Lazarus and the others whom Jesus raised from the dead. He has entered upon a different life, he has entered the vast breadth of God himself, and it is from there that he reveals himself to his followers.” “In Jesus’ Resurrection, a new possibility of human existence is attained that affects everyone and that opens up a future, a new kind of future, for mankind.”

Now, what would you have been thinking if you were one of Jesus’ followers on that first Easter day? They were simply overwhelmed by the reality, but after their initial hesitation and astonishment, they could no longer ignore that reality. “It is truly he. He is alive; he has spoken to us; he has allowed us to touch him, even if he no longer belongs to the tangible in the normal way.”

Jesus’ disciples were quite used to Jesus performing the unusual; restoring sight to the blind; restoring mobility to the crippled; curing lepers of their disease. But now they had to grapple with a new understanding of Jesus: “He was quite different, no mere resurrected corpse but one living anew and forever in the power of God. And yet, at the same time, no longer belonging to our world, he was truly present there, he himself. It was an utterly unique experience, which burst upon the normal boundaries of experience and yet for the disciples was quite beyond doubt.”

So, when Easter Sunday does arrive we can join with the writer of Psalm 117 in saying, “This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad”. We can rejoice and be glad, because Jesus, through his humanity, has given us the opportunity of true resurrection. However, as the resurrected Jesus said to the once doubting Thomas, “You believe in me Thomas, because you have seen me; happy are those who have not seen me, but still believe.” John 20:29.

As a Catholic community that’s us.

Reflection by Pope Benedict and quotes from “Jesus of Nazareth” by Pope Benedict

This Easter break we pray that we may open our eyes to the gift of Jesus.

My Lord, Jesus,

You have risen to new life!

Give me new eyes with which to recognise your presence in the world around me.

Sharpen my vision so that I see beyond the ordinary events of each day

and into the extraordinary reality of your grace.

Brighten my view of the world with renewed hope in the coming of your Kingdom.

Soften my gaze so that I view others with the kind of tenderness and compassion you showed so many.

May each day of this Easter season provide glimpses of your glory.

In your sacred name, I pray.

Amen

Staffing Term 2

Over the last couple of weeks, we have had a number staffing changes. Mrs Jessica Matchett and Mrs Angela Harris have both begun maternity leave. Ms Therese Cronin has advised the College that she will be taking leave from her fulltime teaching position for the remainder of the year. Miss Jennifer Hesson will also be departing St Joseph’s College and moving to Brisbane to further her study. Mrs Anita McMartin is departing St Joseph’s College and taking up a role at Downlands College. Ms Deb Mischlewski will be on long service leave in Term 2.

In replacing these staff, the following people have joined our College or taken on other roles. Mr Peter Keightley has moved into the Mathematics Curriculum Leader role. Mrs Carissa Jaworski joins us from Concordia College to teach Mathematics and Science. Mr Blake Cullen begins his teaching career at St Joseph’s College teaching Physical Education and Science. Ms Shauna Green joins us from St Ursula’s College as a Guidance Counsellor replacing Ms Stephanie Jones who departed earlier in the year. Mrs Maxine Hetherington is joining us from Our Lady of the Southern Cross Dalby teaching English. Ms Sue Garry will be joining us on a contract for Term 2 teaching English and Humanities.

We welcome these people to St Joseph’s College.

Uniform Term 2

A gentle reminder about information that will be included with your students reports about uniform expectations moving into Term 2. We continue to emphasise with the students that the uniform is an important part of setting the tone for the College community. We hope that this information will assist both parents and students by clearing up any confusion and setting clear guidelines for the appropriate wearing of the College uniform. If you have any concerns please feel free to contact your child’s House Leader, Mr Joseph Cryle or myself.

Best wishes for the break. Please be safe and take appropriate breaks when travelling. We look forward to students returning on Tuesday 20 April refreshed and ready to participate fully and give their best in Term 2.

Kort Goodman

Principal

Date Change 

We would like to highlight a key date change from what is published in the 2021 College Calendar. The 2021 College Cross Country will be moved from 20 April to the 30 April and now occur at Captain Cook ovals.  

New Cross Country date and venue – 30 April at Captain Cook oval 

Year 9 Resilience Camp was scheduled for this week, however given the recent lockdown requirements this camp needed to be postponed. The new date for the Year 9 Resilience Camp is now Tuesday 20 April to Friday 23 April.  

Winning 

We all love to win, or when we see people we know win, we all love to celebrate the best of results. We always aim high; that gives you a great launching pad. 

The problem with focussing on the win or the result is that you can take your eye off the hard work and the next step and the process of putting in place all the training you have done. 

On the radio the other week, when pressed about where South Sydney Rabbitohs would place this year, coach Wayne Bennett could only be drawn to say, “I just want every player to play to their potential. The rest will take care of itself!” 

This is why we talk so much about progress. Are we getting better, stronger, thinking more clearly, predicting better results? 

I am encouraged and refreshed by all of our students who have shown progress and growth over the term – that is what learning is all about. 

Respecting ourselves and our community 

Every day at St Joseph’s College, our school value of ‘Respect’ is visible. It is visible in how our students and staff treat each other and it is evident in the high standards of personal responsibility to which we all hold ourselves accountable. At SJC, respect is also about contributing to our school’s culture, recognising that we are all a part of something bigger than ourselves and that we can all influence our learning culture in a positive way through small acts that acknowledge the value of everyone. 

Respect is also about how we conduct ourselves in the wider community. Each and every time students are in the public arena as a member of the SJC community, they are a representative of our school.  

Mobile Phones 

I would like to take this opportunity to remind parents and students that all communication between parents and students during the school day should go through the office. Students should not be using phones throughout the school day as this can affect their ability to concentrate in class, develop their own strategies for resilience and interact socially with their peers in a face-to-face environment. Occasionally, staff may request that student use their phones for learning purposes (to film performances, experiments etc) but this would be exceptional rather than common occurrence. Please encourage your child to avoid personal mobile phone use throughout the day. 

Student Emails 

All students at St Joseph’s College have an email account. Please can you encourage your child as part of their organisation time each afternoon or evening to check emails to ensure they are up to date with information being communicated using this methodology. It will remain an important organisational skill throughout their life to check emails, set reminders and write events in their calendar or learning journal. A skill we need to work on.

Upcoming Events 

Deputy Principal

Brendon Willocks

bwillocks@sjc.qld.edu.au

In this Easter week we listen and deeply hear the stories of the Last Supper, of Jesus’ agony and betrayal, and his crucifixion and burial. We are left waiting for the conclusion – the joy of the Resurrection.

We also head into these holidays breathing a sigh of relief for the time of rest. Many of us are desperate for time with family and time away from the business of the world.

Although the stories of Easter are reasonably familiar to us, this week I encourage everyone to step back and recall just how stunning and ground breaking this foundational Christian narrative is: that Jesus – God incarnate – would allow himself to be betrayed, humiliated, and put to death. And that his rising from the dead would then allow all humanity access to eternal life, along with the renewal of all Creation.

Embrace your family and enjoy your time together. While also taking time to reflect on the powerful meaning of the ultimate sacrifice made for all of humanity.

Lord, help us to honour your sacrifice and suffering this Easter Season. Help us to connect with the love shown for us in your crucifixion and be compassionate people, who wipes away yours and anyone who suffers tears, not because we feel sorry for those who suffer, not because we offer a solution to end the experience, but because we understand that the greatest cure for suffering is a hand extended in friendship and love, to get you through the ups and downs of the journey, to find our purpose in life and understand our dignity and strength as a human being and the responsibility we share for all creation given to us at our birth. Help us to be the strangers who see the light in others and help it to shine.

Amen.

Support for Compassion Cup (Project Compassion – Caritas)

Matthew 6: 1 – 6, 16 – 18

Jesus said to his friends, “When you give to the poor, don’t make a big show of it. When you are praying, don’t do it in front of everyone so they’ll think you’re really good. When you fast, don’t make a big production of it. If you do everything for show, you’ll already have the only reward you’re going to get”.

As always, we were overwhelmed with the generosity of the community, the advocacy, awareness raising and the abundance of fundraising that took place this term for Project Compassion -Caritas. Our Catholic Social Teachings call for us to advocate for human dignity and the common good in society and advocate for equity. Our community works hard to build a culture that refutes oppression, promotes subsidiarity, and highlights issues concerned with social justice, and wealth distribution.

In our Joey’s Way we ask all of our community to Lead through Service, and the generosity shown throughout our Compassion Cup challenge has been a true example of this.

During the challenge so far, we have raised over $2000 for Project Compassion. Special mention must be made of those groups that initiated stalls on Joey’s Day, with over $500 being raised on this day through the sale of lollies and delicious cakes provided by A9 and A1.

We look forward to announcing the winner of the Compassion Cup in our first assembly next term.

Kellie-Marie Ford

Assistant Principal – Religious Education

E kford@sjc.qld.edu.au

In recent weeks, we have been confronted by a number of News stories detailing the alleged misconduct of some of our elected leaders. In particular, much of this coverage has centered on sexual harassment or assault of women by men in positions of authority. 

As a proudly co-educational Catholic community at St Joseph’s College, we may like to think that we are not part of this problem. Opinions on this issue will vary significantly between community members. It is incumbent on all of us, however, to be part of the solution. Our response to issues around gender equality and right relationships both here and for our students in the broader community are made of up both proactive strategies and responsive process. 

In terms of our proactive strategies to ensure right relationships at St Joseph’s College, we have: 

• Developed and publicised our Joey’s Way framework and emphasised the importance of imperatives like ‘Respect Unconditionally’, ‘Use Empathy’, ‘Celebrate Diversity’, ‘Practise Honesty and Integrity’ and ‘Speak and Act Safely’. 

• A robust and purposeful Joey’s Way Curriculum taught each morning from 8:30-9:00am that covers topics like Restorative Practices, Character Strengths, Mental Health and Relationships and Sexuality Education. 
• Planned the delivery of gender-focussed curriculum in Joey’s Way time to enable gender specific conversations. For our boys, these conversations focus largely on values clarification, acting with integrity, practising empathy and safe decision making. For our girls, these conversations focus largely on character strengths, group advocacy and safe self-advocacy.  

In terms of our responsive strategies to ensure right relationships, we utilise 

• Our Student Engagement Guidelines detail our guiding principles and strategies for maximising student engagement in learning. Section 4.9 (page 10) also outlines our anti-bullying processes: 

Bullying in any of its forms has no place at St Joseph’s College. All members of our school community must be able to enjoy a safe school environment, free from fear or harassment.  

At St Joseph’s College, we define bullying as the utilisation of a power imbalance by one person or group of people to oppress another student. A power imbalance can be on the basis of age, physical size, capability in a particular activity, social status or number of people.  Bullying includes, but is not limited to physical bullying, emotional bullying, psychological bullying, racial harassment or sexual harassment. If a student believes they or a peer is being bullied, they can take the following steps:  

1. If it safe to do so, calmly ask the person to stop the behaviour that is making them threatened. 
2. Report the bullying to a trusted adult, this can be a parent,guardianor a staff member.  
3. Report the bullying via Stymie, an anonymous reporting platform (see section 4.7) 

If bullying is reported to the college, we will take the following action:  

1. Manage the situation discreetly and recorded on our database. 
2. Offer support to the victim of bullying 
3. Investigate the incident using witness testimony and surveillance cameras where applicable. 
4. If necessary, utilise a formal sanction according to our Transgressing The Joey’s Way Compendium  
5. If appropriate, the College may invite relevant students to partake in a Restorative Conference.

All this information, including relevant policies and guidelines, is detailed on the College website under ‘Student Engagement’.  

Thank you in anticipation of your support as we continue to ensure that all members of our community are safe and included. 

Have a safe and blessed Easter. 

Joe Cryle

Assistant Principal – Student Engagement

E jcryle@sjc.qld.edu.au

Hello everyone, our names are Dan and Emily and together we are proud to be your 2021 Sports Captains. We are eager to embrace and acknowledge the outstanding efforts of the College athletes this year. Most recently both the Senior netball girls and the Confraternity team travelled to Roma for the Mercy Shield. It was our second year attending this carnival, with both teams eager to return.

Our Senior netball team consists of mainly year 12 students (Jemma Bradshaw, Emily Duggan, Miriama Tini, Ella Taylor, Claire Pretorius and Mariah Zillman), with some students from grades 9-11 also playing (Maddison Duggan, Eliza Zillman and Hayley Utz). The girls performed exceptionally well throughout the three days, remaining undefeated for the entire carnival, and successfully bringing home the Mercy Shield, for the second year in a row.  A special thanks goes to Ms Newton and Mr Wheeldon who gave up their weekend and countless hours in preparation for the carnival to support the team.

On Friday 19 March to Sunday  21 March the Confraternity Open Boys side travelled to Roma, where they competed against other schools for the Mercy Shield. Special thanks to Paul Canning, Mal Ayuel and Brian Cantwell for generously giving up their time to go with the boys on this trip. The boys played 4 games where they drew one game and lost the other three. Although they didn’t win the shield, the boys played to the best of their ability and with a little more training they will be ready to take on the Confraternity Carnival, in June.

Finally, we would like to wish everyone a safe and happy Easter and we cannot wait to see everyone back next term, ready for the Cross Country.

If we want excellent History, Geography and Civics teachers, why are we making Humanities courses so costly?

The government’s university funding reform package passed the lower house on September 24, 2020 and will pass the Senate if the Government succeeds in garnering enough cross bench support.  The plan would see fees for some Humanities degrees rise as much as 113%, while fees for courses in fields such as teaching, nursing and STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) would drop.

Education Minister Dan Tehan has said the bill aims to create more “job-ready” graduates, including teachers. But undergraduate education only degrees aren’t the only way to create brilliant teachers. There’s no doubt demand is high for teachers with expertise in STEM subjects such as Maths and Science. But students also deserve expert English, History and Geography teachers too.

Perhaps your favourite teacher at school did an Arts or Humanities degree, especially if they taught in one of those subjects.
An under-discussed aspect of the government’s proposal is it risks pushing many would-be teachers in these fields away from undergraduate Humanities training, potentially at the expense of their future students.

We all know what makes a great teacher — someone who loves what they are teaching (their discipline) and is passionate about teaching, learning and engaging students. In my opinion, we have some outstanding, committed educators teaching in the Humanities-Commerce Department.

According to research undertaken from the University of Melbourne – there is a rich relationship between the teacher as a person and their teaching practice, which includes their subject knowledge. The research outlines that the attributes of effective teachers include personality, cognitive capability, self-efficacy (belief in one’s ability to get the job done), communication style, motivation, cultural competence and self-reflection.

However, I think they have missed one crucial element – PASSION! In my opinion, passion is crucial! As anyone who has met a brilliant teacher can tell you, passion for the subject matter is so very important and the Humanities-Commerce Department have this in spades.

If we want teachers (particularly secondary teachers) to know and love their subject, and we want brilliant History, Commerce, Geography or Civics teachers, why make it so costly for them to gain deep background knowledge in the disciplines they’re destined to teach?

This is just my opinion.

Striving for Excellence in the Humanities-Commerce area

Commerce at SJC

Students are exposed to commerce from an early age (Years 7-8) at the College. It is in these formative years that they undertake an introduction to Business and Economics course in one of the Semesters during the aforementioned years. We are blessed to have several expert Commerce teachers including Mrs Stead, Mrs Wright, Mrs Digweed, Mrs Goodman, Mrs Harman and Mrs Nunn.

Commerce then becomes an elective which can be studied in Years 9 and/or 10. The students cover a wide range of subject matter and engage in a wide variety of learning experiences that students use to discover their own preferred learning style. Our teachers create a positive and stimulating environment, providing learning and teaching activities ranging from interactive activities, experiential opportunities, participating in competitions and presentations to group and on-line activities all of which our students find both challenging and rewarding.
Some of the wonderful learning experiences include student focused activities, for example students designing products or being a part of a group venture. The students are encouraged to attack these learning experiences and opportunities with great enthusiasm. During these activities/experiences the students learn invaluable (real life) skills and develop a clearer understanding of the world of finance, economy, business and government.

Students are also afforded the opportunity to examine the rights and responsibilities that they will have in their very near future. The topics present many current real-world issues which can be explored, and their impact more clearly understood by the students.
The courses at SJC are structured in a manner which allows the study of contemporary issues as they arise in the real world, including a pandemic. Whether it be an upcoming election, a product recall, an important legal issue or an interest rate change, our classes study the event to deepen their understanding of the world in which they live and this truly makes the course relevant and enjoyable.

Mr Andrew Fellenberg

HOD Humanities and Commerce
afellenberg@sjc.qld.edu.au

Year 8 Task Scandinavian.realestate.com – from Mr Cook’s Year 8 class

Year 12 Geography students making a difference

Above – Year 12 Geography on our recent field trip to the Bremer River with St Ursula’s

Below – Year 7 students undertaking their first dig site in their What is History – Archaeology unit. 

Budding archaeologists from Mr Keighran’s class.

Research below in Yr 10 Humanities on the Great Green Wall

Modern History students researching and collaborating

Year 12 Geography working on their Bremer River Field Report – Outstanding!

Yoga-terrific:  Mrs Goodman’s Cert III Business Studies class (this subject is worth an amazing 8 credit points towards your QCE.

Accounting with Mrs Digweed

The educational vision of Catherine McAuley, the foundress of the Sisters of Mercy and after whom McAuley House is named; was one that was wholehearted, compassionate and responded to the various learning needs of students. Catherine viewed education as a way of living out Jesus’ mandate to love others through enabling personal development and teaching social responsibility. The simplest and most practical lesson I know…is to resolve to be good today-but better tomorrow. Let us take one day only in hands at a time, merely making a resolve for tomorrow. Thus, we may hope to get on-taking short careful steps, not great strides.

(Catherine McAuley to Mary de Sales White, February 28, 1841). At St. Joseph’s College, our teachers follow in the footsteps of Catherine by providing a creative and innovative response to education.

Term 1 has certainly seen a much busier start to a school year than in previous years. We have had new introductions such as the Joey’s Way curriculum, which explores the twelve imperatives that are an essential part of our College Values.

At this time of term, we always see students starting to feel tired which can present challenges. It is great to see that students are Participating and Persevering and embracing a new learning culture.

We will never apologise for having high expectations of students. One of the ways in which we have engaged students this Term is through goal setting in Joey’s Way classes. This has given students the opportunity to take ownership of their learning and set realistic goals.

According to multiple research studies, engaged students experience improved academic achievement and are more likely to persevere when the learning culture becomes a struggle. In contrast, disengagement can often lead to students displaying increasing disruptive behaviours and academic avoidance. We see an increase in absenteeism and this in turn creates issues for learning and social behaviours.

We have many avenues for students to further engage and learn in our community. We understand our learners by conveying care and we structure our curriculum to promote this. We show a genuine concern for students’ wellbeing through our Mentoring program and partnerships with parents and carers; relating to Catherine McAuley’s words of short careful steps, not great strides.

During Term 1, the College Enrichment Program provided students with an opportunity to depart the College to do study at home or attend work placements, participate in self-guided study on-campus or engage in activities to develop their potential personally, physically, intellectually, spiritually and socially.

These activities have triggered curiosity beyond the classroom, encouraged innovation and participation, and fostered connections within our College community and the local community.

Thank you to St Joseph’s College ancillary staff, external providers and our senior students for facilitating these activities and their ongoing support of the program.

We are currently finalising preferences for Term 2. Confirmation will be emailed to all parents and students shortly.

This week we introduce Blake Cullen and Lauren Reeves.

Blake is teaching in the Science and Health & PE Departments and Lauren returns part-time as a School Officer.

Welcome!

Mercy Cup Roma

The weekend of March 19 -21 saw 9 girls, Mr Wheeldon and I, head out to Roma to defend our title from last year.
We left Toowoomba at 8.05am with our first game beginning at 2.00pm against Assumption College. Even after the long trip the girls were on task right from the first whistle winning this game 27 to 16 points. Our second game for the afternoon was against Assumption 2 at 5.30pm. So, after settling into our accommodation we came back to play again winning this game 52 to 2.
Saturday morning, we had a lie in and a good breakfast. We could tell it was going to be a warm day because by 10.00am we were already sweating.

Our first game for the day was at 12 noon right in the heat of the day. With the mercury around 31 degrees the girls took the court against Marist College from Emerald. We won this game 39 to 11 points, but the heat was really affecting the girls. We had the outside temperature to deal with but also the heat coming from the cement courts to deal with.
Before long we were back on the court at 1.30pm to play team number 2, which were our opposing finalists from last year, St John’s College. We knew it was going to be a tough game, but I think we managed to handle the heat better than they did and won the game 39 points to 9.
Mr and Mrs Bradshaw had purchased spray bottles for us, and they were used constantly at each break just to cool us down. They also bought a tent that we had on the court for shade purposes and something we were so glad we thought of.

Our last game for the afternoon was pushed back to 3.15pm in the hope it would cool down just a little but there was no reprieve from the heat. Because of the way the draw was structured we were due to play Assumption 1 again.

It was a little closer this time with the score, but we managed to win 31 to 16. This was a semi-final and winning this put us straight into the grand final on the Sunday morning with our opposition again to be St John’s just like last year.

With the temperature being more acceptable at 9.30am in the morning we were in better spirits and keyed up for an exciting game. I think we were a little nervous and tiredness and the heat had hit us, and we were not on our game in the first quarter with the scores being even at the end of the quarter. That was the last of the closeness for the whole game. We had our money quarter in the third quarter and skipped away with a strong 14 to 3 goals. The girls continued and put them away in the final quarter coming out winners 34 to 15.

The girls were very excited to retain their title with Jemma Bradshaw being named Player of Carnival, sharing this title with a player from St John’s.

The team is very grateful to Ella Taylor and Hayley Utz who were pulled into the team two weeks prior to the commencement of the carnival. Our other shooters were pulled into a State Age carnival on the Sunday and were unavailable to come with us to Roma. I hope they enjoyed the weekend because we certainly enjoyed having them play with us.

A huge thank you to Mr Wheeldon who umpired for us for the weekend. He didn’t get to see many of the games the girls played which was disappointing for him.

A very big mention to Mr and Mrs Bradshaw who supported us all weekend with spray bottles, the tent, cut up oranges, rub downs and injuries, basically anything we wanted. Your support was gratefully appreciated.

Friday Night Basketball – Grand Final Night

For the first time for a long time the finals of the Friday Night Basketball were not held at St Mary’s. This year Toowoomba Grammar opened up their brand-new venue to host us and spectators.

This year we had three teams make the grand final with our Year 7/8 girls losing their semi-final the week before by 2 points in double extra time.

Year 7/8 boys were the first to play and their opposition was Toowoomba Grammar. The boys came up against a very well drilled and tall team. They were quick around the court but by the end of the first quarter we were only down 8 points to 2. Nerves were probably still there but second quarter to only lost by 2 point (8 to 6). We were starting to click.

The wheels fell off somewhat in the money-making quarter and TGS overpowered us a little by 12 to 7. We just could not penetrate their strong defence. We also had Kizito starting to get himself into foul trouble as was Darby Reid. The fourth quarter saw them break away even more and we knew our shot at the title had really expired.

Not at any time did the boys give up or hang their heads low. They had a tough battle against a strong opponent but kept fighting all the way to the final hooter.

The final score was 42 points to 23. Darby Reid and Kizito Oryem both top scored with 6 points each. Ryan Richardson and Oliver Smyth both scored 4 points each and Mason Deakin put in a classic three- point shot. Darby Reid was presented with the Player of the Final for our team.

We will now look forward to the AAG Cup in November with some of the boys being eligible for the 15 years AAG Cup as well.

The Year 9/10 girls created major heart attack problems with all the St Joseph’s spectators. Talk about a nail biter. Coming into the grand final the girls had been undefeated, and we were missing Tiarnee Smith for the night and only had 6 players for the final game. Our opposition was Fairholme and they too had come into the final as an undefeated team.

At the end of the first quarter we were leading 8 points to 7, with Abuk Aleer off the court not feeling very well. At half time we had taken a three-point lead going into the back half of the game. After half time we seemed to wake up a little and managed to score 6 points to 1 with a few fast breaks and quick scoring opportunities. Indi Ranford also helped with many ‘stealing’ opportunities and provided the ball for our players to score.

This left us with the final quarter, and everything hinged on this to take home the trophy. Both teams were getting into foul trouble as it was getting a little physical as both teams wanted the title. Our girls were getting very tired with only one sub and I guess a little lazy in our passing and defending.
Our strong lead was slowly being caught with Fairholme scoring as a result of our fouling. They scored 6 free throw shots and we just couldn’t get the ball down our end. We also lost Indi Ranford to foul trouble. Luckily the hooter went off just in time to see us secure the title 24 points to 23 with many spectators leaving with very little nails left on their fingers.

Nancy Daniel topped scored with 8 points, followed very closely by Rebecca Scott on 7 points. Abuk Aleer put away 5 points and Anna Deng and Jessica Grutt both finished with 2 points each to round out the scoring.

A great effort girls – well done.

The Open boys finally had their match up against Toowoomba Grammar in the final of the Open boy’s competition. We were off a strong win against St Marys in our semi-finals game and knew we were in for a tough game against the boys from TGS as they were coming through as undefeated and had big scores against most opposition teams.

The first quarter saw TGS move away with a 11 to 3 points head start. We were probably trying to play at the same pace as them, but our shots would just not fall. Our match ups in terms of size was also not on the even side. They had some tall timber and like their Year 7/8 boys’ team they were well drilled.

The second quarter saw us settle a little, but we still couldn’t penetrate the strong defence from TGS – and it certainly wasn’t from a lack of trying. The score had blown out to 23 to 8 points. Each quarter saw us perform a little better and we did break their defensive line a few more times.  The fourth quarter was probably our best quarter with the scores fairly even at 10 to 9 points.

Looking at the stats from the other games we finished the closest to their score from all teams TGS played so the boys can be very proud of themselves. They were simply beaten by a better team on the night and need to hold their heads up high and be proud of making it to the grand final this year.
Patrick Aleer top scored with 7 points, David Deng had two great three pointers to score 6 points, Hayden Maripa tried hard all night to come away with 3 points, and Dominic Deng, Owen Debney and Pepo Leju scored 2 points each. The final score was 46 to 24.

Darling Downs Representative

Congratulations to the following students who have gained selection in their respective sports:

Hockey 13 – 19 years – William Suey
Football 17 – 19 years – Noah Lawson, Brendan Roche, Riley Willmot,
Football 16 – 19 years – Savannah Teakle
Football 13 – 16 years – Zachary Lucida, Zac Vellacott, Kaden Willmot.
Football 13-15 years – Elsey Somersett
Netball 16 – 18 years – Kalei Brighton
Touch 13 – 15 years – Bailey Deakin, Zachary Lucido, Darby Reid
Touch 16 – 18 years – Kalei Brighton
Touch 16 – 18 years – Blaise Prendergast
AFL – 13 – 15 years – Tameka Dyne, Emmersyn Ranford, Indiana Ranford, Hayley Simmons, Cheyenne Zirbel, Sienna Wilson
AFL – 12 years – Torrin Edwards
Rugby League – 16 – 18 years – Mariah Zillmann
Rugby League – 14 – 15 years – Makaylah Kennedy
Rugby League – 13 – 15 years Patrick Muir
Rugby League – 16 – 18 years – Mitchell Berg
Basketball – 16 – 18 years – Tiarnee Smith, Clair Pretorius

I do apologise if I have missed anyone, but these are the forms I have received up until now.

State Swimming Results

Sienna Deurloo had some amazing results at the Queensland championships held at Chandler last week.  She won a bronze medal in the girls 400m freestyle event which is just terrific. She had a huge event list and her results are as follows.

She made finals in the 50m and 100m freestyle and 50m and 100m backstroke events with the placings below:

4th – Open 1500m freestyle
4th – 16 years 50m backstroke
4th – 16 years 100m backstroke
4th – 16 years 200m freestyle
5th – 16 years 200m backstroke
8th – 16 years 100m freestyle
9th – 16 years 50m freestyle
12th – Open 800m freestyle

Relays:
4th – 16 years 200m Medley Relay
5th – 16 years 200m freestyle Relay

Chase Deurloo also swam well at his 12 years Queensland championships earlier in the week.
18th – boys 12 years 200m breaststroke
35th – boys 12 years 100m backstroke
38th – boys 12 years 50m backstroke

Cross Country

The date and venue for our cross country has changed to Friday April 30 – Captain Cook Oval.
All students will make their own way to the event, buses  will take students back to the college for Period 4 & 5 of Day 2.

Awards

Three of our young ladies won awards at softball presentations over the past couple of weeks.

Addyson Jones won rising star award.

Bridie Nicol won Under 17 division Best and Fairest award for 2020/2021 and Toowoomba Softball Association Junior Player of the Year for 2020/2021.

Evie King Warriors club awards for under 12’s. Evie won the Encouragement Award and Best and Fairest Award for the season.

Football (Soccer)

Girls who would be interested in playing in this competition please contact Miss Newton

• Game Days – Mondays
• Locations – Glennie, Downlands, Mary Mac/Kratzke Oval, TSHS (junior oval)…..
• Proposed start/end date – Monday 10th May – Monday 30th August
• Avoid the two Monday public holidays, hence later start (potential for some friendlies before the season gets underway?)
• Cost – $50 per player TBC (to include refs/field use and winners medal)
• Junior (7,8,9) and Senior (10, 11, 12) divisions again (or by ability)
• Play each team twice, then a finals series (1 v 4, 2 v 3 etc)
• Expression of interest so far are good (Glennie x 2, Ursies x 2, Downlands x 2, Mary Mac x 1, TSHS x 1, Fairholme x 1? Highlands? Concordia?)

Deb Newton

Program Leader – Sports

dnewton@sjc.qld.edu.au

The last two weeks have been very busy in the Library. Every break has seen the space abuzz with students taking advantage of the resource to study and work on assessment. Additionally, it was great to have students of all ages enjoying board games as one of their activity rotations on Joey’s day- thank you to Mrs Baker and Miss Hesson for running the activity. 

Farewell Miss Hesson: 

I would like to take this opportunity to farewell our fabulous Library Assistant, Miss Hesson. Miss Hesson has been at St Joseph’s since 2019 and during her time, she has contributed so much to our Library Service. Her skills in cataloguing, the library management system and technology have been invaluable, as has her knowledge of our collection. In particular, I know that the students appreciate her passion for Manga- which is a very popular part of our collection- and we will all miss her smiling face. Miss Hesson is departing to pursue further study and we wish her all the best in her future endeavours.  

With Miss Hesson departing we will be undertaking recruitment of a Library Technician in the coming weeks. 

Library Hours: 

Please be aware that with the staffing changes the library hours will be altering in Term 2. The new hours of operation will begin from the beginning of term and will be: 

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday: 8.30am- 4pm. 

Friday: 8.30am – 3.15pm. 

Happy Easter:

With Easter right around the corner, we have used our Conversation Wall to have students reflect on what Easter means to them and it has been lovely to read their responses.

As Term 1 draws to a close, I would like to wish all of our St Joseph’s community a safe and happy Easter break. I look forward to welcoming our students back in Term 2, where we will engage with the SJC Creative Writing Competition. Students who are interested in entering should keep an eye out for further details in the opening weeks of next term.

Kirstie Andrews

Teacher Librarian

kandrews@sjc.qld.edu.au

Empathy – encouraging kids to care

Teaching children to see the world how someone else experiences it and respond appropriately is not always straight forward. Some children learn to manage the feelings of themselves and others with ease, while others need a little more direct instruction and practical support to develop these skills. One of the first steps in teaching children to show emotional concern, is to support children to have strong self-regulation skills and an understanding of their own feelings. Parents can become an ‘Emotion Coach’, acknowledging your child’s feelings as they are being experienced and having conversations about how to handle these emotions.

Teach your child how to read the facial expressions of others, by making different facial expressions and role-playing what feelings can look like, feel like. Use everyday opportunities to model having sympathetic feelings towards others and discuss how that person might be feeling (e.g. story in a book, TV or real life). Help children to realise what they have in common with others, teaching the importance of being kind and helping others.

For more information check out these articles :

The case for teaching empathy: Why empathy doesn’t “just happen” (parentingscience.com)
For Families: 5 Tips for Cultivating Empathy
The importance of showing empathy to kids who think and learn differently (Understood.org)

Upcoming Defence Force Information Sessions

Stay informed about important upcoming Queensland and National ADF events and information sessions by visiting the Defence Jobs website. View the specific event information link for more details including location, times and to book your ticket/s. Further information about these events and Army Reserve Information Sessions can be accessed on the ADF Facebook site. Please note that some of these events are during the Easter holidays.

Defence Jobs Australia – Toowoomba:  Defence Careers Information Session

6 Sectors Presenting Emerging Occupations

There are many new and emerging jobs and industries in Australia that didn’t exist in their current form a few years ago. Early identification of these new opportunities is important to ensure that educational and training programs are preparing our workforce with the knowledge, skills and abilities needed to fulfil these jobs in the future. Read the myfuture article that highlights the following emerging jobs:

•  Digital marketing
•  Cyber security
•  Healthcare
•  Retail
•  Manufacturing
•  Information technology

Did you know there are hundreds of qualifications that can be undertaken as School Based Apprenticeships/Traineeships?

A-Z list

Apprenticeships: www.qtis.training.qld.gov.au/Apprenticeship

Traineeships: www.qtis.training.qld.gov.au/Traineeship

Congratulations to new School Based Trainee Charli Sampson at Action Indoor Sports, Certificate III in Sport and Recreation.

SBA Vacancy Certificate III in Business – Totally Workwear

Click here for more information

Year 10 Work Experience: 21^st – 25^th June 2021

A reminder for Year 10 students to organise your placement sooner than later. Please email the Careers team for an Employer list in a particular Industry area you are looking at for ideas.

“Work experience is so important. Finding out what you don’t like is equally as important as finding out what you do.”

The Digital Parents Showcase is back for 2021!

The Skills and Thrills Digital Showcase is a 30 minute video available (free) to all parents, with most benefit to parents of high school aged students.

This video resource will only be available from March 03 to May 31, 2021, we encourage it to be watched in this time.

The video will cover the following information:

• Industry trends for the next 5-15 years
• Industry trends post Covid-19 impacts
• Apprenticeships
• Traineeships
• School Based Apprenticeships and Traineeships (SBATs)
• Opportunities in the vocational education and training sector (VET)
• How to support our child to make informed career choices

SkillsOne will additionally be hosting a video panel discussion with industry representatives and ambassadors in Tuesday, 11 May (evening). Parents can submit questions to be addressed on the evening via info@skillsone.com.au.

Click here for video access and information

Please take the time to read the below flyers as supplied by the Department of Transport after near misses and poor driver behaviour in and around Toowoomba schools.

NEXT MEETING

May 4 – 7pm – Library

*please note – the April meeting will not be held due to School Holidays*

WE NEED YOUR HELP!

We are seeking volunteers to help out in Tuckshop throughout the year.  Volunteers are required between the hours of 8am and 3pm each school day, however we understand people may not be able to give up an entire day –  if you only have an hour or 2 to lend, it would be a great help as well. We appreciate any time that is given to help out and would love the opportunity to get to know some of the parents in our school community, especially the new families this year.  You do not need experience to volunteer in Tuckshop, we are happy to guide you along the way – it’s a fun day of helping out and your kids will love seeing you at school for the day.  Volunteers are required to wear closed in shoes, neat hair and a great smile .  If you are interested in volunteering, please contact the College  with your availability as soon as possible so we can put together a roster for term 1.  We look forward to seeing you soon!

Deb Ditchmen and Michelle Tully

Canteen Convenors

E dditchmen@sjc.qld.edu.au
E mtully@sjc.qld.edu.au

Covid restrictions apply – EFTPOS only – No Cash accepted until further notice.

Winter stock is now available.

We are currently taking appointments for winter uniform fittings.   Appointment bookings will take preference over walk-ins if the shop is busy.

https://MidfordBooking.as.me/StJosephsCollegeToowoomba

Blazers are available for the cold weather  – all sizes available.

The uniform shop is currently out of stock of the following and waiting on orders to arrive:-

Size M boys formal hats                               ETA TBA

Size 10, 12, 18, 20 & 22 Jumpers                ETA 05/05

Online ordering available at :-

www.midford.com.au

pass phrase StJC1956

New stock into the shop

Formal Girl long pants.

Face Masks – navy  (washable/reusable) S & L

150ml hand sanitiser

TRADING HOURS

TUES & THURS        –        8AM TO 12PM

WED                            –         8AM TO 4PM

Maximum 4 people in the store at once.

Easter Holidays Trading Hours    Click here to view.

Midford Retail COID – 19 03 2020

Click here to view Refund Policy

Click here to view College Uniform Price List 2020/2021

Second hand uniforms are also available at the Uniform Shop.

If you have used uniform items that would like to donate, please drop off to the Uniform Shop during opening hours.  Donations are greatly appreciated.

If you have used uniform items that you would like us to sell for you, please call into the uniform shop and collect a “Used Clothing” form. Used uniforms items MUST be in good condition, hems intact, no holes, stains or missing buttons. They also need to washed, ironed and be the current uniform.

If you have any questions, please call us on 4631 8514 during opening hours.

If you have mislaid some of your belongings, please visit Student Entrance to check if we have it.  Remember to name ALL of your belongings as any items left unclaimed will either be given to the Uniform Shop or St Vincent’s De Paul at the end of each term.

Are your details correct in our system?

Is your information up-to-date?
Will your report card go to the right address?
Don’t miss important messages sent through the email system or App notification.

Please email any changes to office@sjc.qld.edu.au