Dear Heavenly Father,

We thank You for the wisdom found in Your word, which teaches us that two are better than one.

When we come together in unity, our labour bears greater fruit and we are able to lift each other up when we fall.

Help us to recognise the value that others bring, and to humbly accept the help and support of those around us.

When we face challenges, give us the humility to admit need for assistance, and the courage to reach out to others.

May we always be willing to lend a hand to those who have fallen, just as we hope others will do the same for us.

We ask these things in the precious name of Jesus,

Amen

Yesterday, and again last night, I used the above prayer to open the Leadership Meeting and then the Strategic Planning Working Party. I particularly like the phrase, ‘Help us to recognise the value that others bring.’ Perhaps too often as we move about our busy lives, the tendency is to just get on and do things ourselves and to not rely on others to share the load, or seek support.

As Principal at St Joseph’s, I certainly don’t have all the answers, and neither should I. The staff are the ‘value’ that truly brings to life what we do to meet the needs of the students and the wider community. We are blessed to have the caring staff we do, and the expertise that they bring to their many and varied roles.

At the same time, last night at the Strategic Planning Working Party, we were fortunate to have 8 parents give their time to moving forward with the early stages of developing the 2026 – 2028 Strategic Plan. I thank them for their time and for the insights and vision that they are bringing to this important conversation.

In addition to this, the staff meeting this week looked at what we are doing in regards to the written comment component of the Semester 2 school report. To be able to bring together both teacher insight and experience, along with the valuable and considered feedback received from parents earlier this week, we were able to look at what we are doing, with a view to ensuring we are meeting the needs of the students, parents and wider school community.

Therefore, as a community, ‘Help us to recognise the value that others bring.’

Tournament of Minds

This weekend, St Joseph’s has 27 students participating in the ACT Regional Tournament of Minds Competition, being held at Tuggeranong College. There are four teams, with a team entered into the Social Sciences, The Arts, STEM, and Language Literature challenges. The students have been working feverishly over recent weeks to prepare their responses and to build capacity to complete the spontaneous challenge. We look forward to hearing from the teams on Monday about their achievements over the weekend. Thank you to Mrs Fletcher, Mrs Jaram and Mrs Bettell for supporting the students during their preparation and on the weekend.

Justin Coulson Parent Evening

Next Monday, 1 September, the St Joseph's School Community Council is proudly bringing Dr Justin Coulson to the school to work with all staff, and then to host a parent evening. Justin is a leading voice in parenting in Australia, dedicated to helping families thrive through his research-backed and hard-won wisdom. All members of our St Joseph's school community are invited to attend this evening.

Please join this valuable parent information session – RSVP via Qkr!

Happy Families

A reminder that St Joseph’s is subscribed to the Happy Families School Membership!

We regularly share resources available through our membership with you, including Insight Articles and Webinars. You can also access your resources at any time using the below URL (unique to our school) and password.

URL - https://schools.happyfamilies.com.au/login/stjosephs

Password – happysjps

Please make the most of this membership by accessing and perusing the great articles and past webinars. If there are resources that you find useful, please share these with other parents and let me know, so I can promote them across the school.

This week I have included the most recent Insights article on ‘You Find What You’re Looking For.’

If you’ve had a rough day and your child is dragging their feet, mumbling, or rolling their eyes… you start seeing only those behaviours. Before you know it, every interaction feels like a battle. You expect the worst—and that’s all you see.

Nachos Day

Tuesday 2 September is our first Nachos Day for 2025!

Please make sure you have placed your order via Qkr!