history of St. Joseph's

St. Joseph's Catholic School, Park Avenue was founded in 1929 by the Sisters of St Joseph, a Catholic teaching order of nuns founded by Blessed Mary MacKillop. The Sisters of St. Joseph maintained a leadership role at the school until 1981 when the first lay principal was appointed. The school is situated in the established North Rockhampton suburb of Park Avenue, and attracts families from all areas of Rockhampton. The majority of children live in the Park Avenue area and the northern suburbs along the Bruce Highway to The Caves. The school population represents a range of socio-economic and cultural groups. The predominant cultural background of the children is European (mainly Anglo-Saxon), although there is an identified group of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children (13%). The school has a policy of inclusivity and children with identified needs are accepted into the school after it has been established that the school is able to cater for their needs.

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The school enrolment is currently about 350, comprised of Prep to Year 6 children. In 2016 there are two Prep classes and 12 Primary classes. The teaching staff is comprised of 14 class teachers and a Principal; an Assistant Principal (RE); an Assistant Principal (Curriculum); a Learning Support teacher and an Indigenous Liaison Officer. Other part-time staff includes a School Counsellor, a Music teacher and a host of ancillary staff. Curriculum is the life of the school and represents the total planned learning experience provided by the school. Our curriculum seeks to develop children who will have a clear sense of their own self worth and, by accepting responsibility for their learning, successfully demonstrate the outcomes of a lifelong learner. A learning framework has been developed to support this goal. St. Joseph’s offers a traditional curriculum structure based around two individual classes per grade, with an emphasis on literacy and numeracy. Additional learning support for individual learners will take place within the context of the classroom, for the main. This approach enables the school to provide children with individual support, ongoing learning challenges and the ability to self-direct part of the learning process in the context of the classroom environment. In addition, while some Key Learning Areas are addressed through specialist and discrete units of work, most Key Learning Areas are integrated into units developed through Inquiry based learning that infuses thinking and learning. Staff members participate in ongoing professional development. As part of our ongoing effort to ‘educate for the future’, the school has developed an excellent technology infrastructure which integrates seamlessly across the curriculum. In 2016, St. Joseph’s will offer access to a range of technologies with our younger students using XO android devices and iPads, the mid years working with Chromebooks and the older students involved in a 1-1 program with MacAirs. Additionally, 2016 will see the first full-year implementation of Flexible Learning Areas; a concept that was introduced during 2015. The aim of the FLAs is to provide students with the means to work through and in their preferred learning style and to better enable teachers to target teach and meet the individual needs of learners. Our school has a positive relationship with the Park Avenue Catholic Parish. This relationship is maintained by the school leadership team through open lines of communication with the parish community. The school provides the opportunity for children to participate in weekly liturgical celebrations within school, as well as regular masses, liturgies and sacramental programs in conjunction with the wider parish community. Parents are encouraged to be involved in school life at all levels, an Outside School Hours Care facility operates every school afternoon and during vacation periods.