Catholic Education Week at St Joseph’s College

Catholic Education is well known for its distinctive mission to not only honour and educate the whole person intellectually, spiritually, physically and emotionally, but also for teaching the fundamental skills necessary to be compassionate and just citizens of the world.

St Joseph’s College’s theme for 2022 is ‘Allow Compassion to be the lens of your heart’, and that is exactly what students in a Year 9 Personal Best class demonstrated during a bake sale for charity on Thursday.

As part of a larger student-led project, Personal Best students have been working through all the stages of project planning and implementation to identify ways they can help vulnerable and less fortunate members in our community.

Students identified a number of potential charities to assist including Brigidine Asylum Seekers, Vinnies, St Luke’s and Echuca Neighbourhood House.

Other fundraising activities have also included cooking meals to sell to staff members and a donut drive.

St Joseph’s College Catholic identity leader Kirrilee Westblade said the project was a great example of how religious education programs within the college not only taught students valuable life skills but also delivered strong community outcomes to help build student’s identity and relationship to where they live.

“The program offers students the opportunity to practise their employability skills while putting their Catholic values to work in the community,” Mrs Westblade said.

“Skills developed in the program include problem solving, communication skills, digital literacy, teamwork, presentation skills, critical thinking, creativity and financial literacy.

“Students have demonstrated outstanding teamwork, motivation and commitment to the projects and although still in the early stages, have already raised a sizeable amount of money and are hoping to make their final donation to their chosen charity at the end of term.”

This week as the college celebrates Catholic Education Week, it has also acknowledged and celebrated some of its employees who have achieved 25 years or more of working in Catholic education.

In a statement, the school said: “We honour those who have contributed greatly to their education community and are very proud of the work they have undertaken and the many lives they have impacted throughout their career.

“We would like to congratulate Geraldine Ryan, Adam Prime and Kerrie Wood, who have achieved 25 years in two or more Catholic schools, and Ruth McLaughlan, who has served 25 years at St Joseph’s College.”