Faith and Mission

Mission Statement

Inspired by St Mary of the Cross MacKillop and living our Gospel Values of self worth, mutual acceptance and personal responsibility, we strive to enrich our Catholic community by providing a learning environment that is empowering to all.

School Values

St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School Park Avenue strives to instil the Gospel values of Self Worth, Mutual Acceptance and Personal Responsibility in all that we do.

  • Self Worth
  • Mutual Acceptance
  • Personal Responsibility

Charism

St. Joseph’s School, Park Avenue was founded in 1929 by the Sisters of St Joseph, a Catholic teaching order of nuns founded by Saint Mary of the Cross MacKillop. The Sisters of St. Joseph maintained a leadership role at the school until 1981 when the first lay principal was appointed. St Joseph’s Park Avenue is part of the Northside Catholic Community of Rockhampton and fortunate enough to have the use of Our Lady Help of Christians church which is adjacent to the schools grounds.

At St Joseph’s we have modelled our religious character as a school faith community around the actions and teachings of the Holy Family and Saint Mary of the Cross MacKillop.

As our school is named after St Joseph, our church’s patron saint is Our Lady Help of Christians and the teachings and gospel values of Jesus permeate all aspects of our school community, we have a close connection to the Holy Family.

Our School Values of; Self Worth, Mutual Acceptance and Personal Responsibility, reflect the gospel values present within our school community and are a central focus of the Catholic identity of St Joseph’s Park Avenue.  These three values directly reflect our beliefs, teachings and faith of our patron saint while also providing real life values to which our students can aspire.

As a part of our Christian witness and faith identity, we celebrate the prayer life of our students through class led prayer assemblies and class prayer opportunities. Each learning space has a special prayer table that honours the current liturgical season and class related Religious Education focuses.

Staff highlight the relationship between our Mission Statement, School Prayer and our School Values, and these can be found in every learning space in the school.

We acknowledge both the indigenous and catholic nature of our school through the use of music, symbols and our cultural acknowledgment before prayer and school assemblies, while also singing our school song on Monday morning assemblies.

Catholic and indigenous symbols are present throughout the school with contemporary images of Saint Mary MacKillop being visible within the classroom environment. These symbols are represented in various ways through our school emblem, welcoming signs, Josephite and indigenous crosses and the new perforated screens that feature in the internal area of the school.

At St Joseph’s we have embraced the challenge of re-invigorating our faith community and refocusing on both the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist as being central to our Catholic character.  St Joseph’s School has a significant presence within the parish, celebrating monthly student led masses during the Saturday 6.30pm vigil mass in Our Lady Help of Christians church.

Our school regularly celebrates whole school masses with the parish community to recognise the significance of the feast days of St Joseph, Our Lady Help of Christians, St Mary of the Cross MacKillop and Holy Days of Obligation. Classes also attend the Friday morning parish mass on a rostered basis.

As a community we strive to increase an awareness of the sacraments within the church and encourage both parents and students to take part in the sacramental program offered within the parish. Similarly, the significance of scripture within school liturgies such as prayer rituals, prayer assemblies and other school celebrations is a key focal point.

St Joseph’s displays a great width and depth to the many contributing factors of the catholic nature of our school.  Whether this is regularly supporting St Vincent DePaul, Project Compassion, Catholic Mission or supporting those in need within our own community, the catholic character of St Joseph’s Park Avenue is ingrained within the community of staff, parents and students for all to see.

School Prayer

Loving God,
we ask that you bless and enrich our
school community with your loving care.

Help us to grow our faith,
to recognise our own self-worth
and be accepting of all our fellow
St. Joseph’s school community members.

May we take on the responsibility of
looking after our environment to thankyou
for the wonderful gift of creation.

Amen

School Song

St. Joseph’s Park Avenue

(Written and composed by B. Mitchell)

St. Joseph’s Park Avenue – a great place to be,
Together we work towards harmony.
We proudly live our motto – “Strive for an Ideal”,
We are making a difference, because our God is real.

St. Joseph’s Park Avenue – lift your voice in song!
St. Joseph’s Park Avenue – a place where we belong!
St. Joseph’s Park Avenue – lift your voice in song!
St. Joseph’s Park Avenue – a place where we belong!

Sisters of St. Joseph, thank you for our school,
Your vision has seen many children through.
We keep alive that vision not just in class and prayer;
In sport, on stage, in work and play we care.

Staff and parents are guiding us tenderly,
With kindness, love and dignity.
Like many before us our Joey’s days will end.
With fond memories of primary school and friends.

The Virtues Project

Virtues are the qualities and attributes of the human spirit. We have all the virtues; some are just stronger in our character than others. In late 2019 some of the Joey’s staff participated in The Virtues Project. The Virtues Project helps educators create positive, empowering cultures and environments where the children are developing their character while learning and growing.

While we are trying to develop character through all the virtues, we chose 7 virtues for St. Joseph’s Park Avenue. Each year has a focus virtue to learn about and strive to develop throughout the year.

PREP: The Virtue of Kindness

Kindness was selected for the Preppies as this is a key quality to have when commencing school. As they learn to make new friends and get along with the other children, kindness will be at the forefront of new relationships.

YEAR 1: The Virtue of Independence

Now that the students have had a full year of school, it’s time to develop some courage and take more responsibility for themselves.

YEAR 2: The Virtue of Perseverance

Learning is gradually getting more challenging, and the students need to persist with their tasks. This year they develop the determination to succeed and the will to carry on. It’s the time to commit to learning and overcoming obstacles.

YEAR 3: The Virtue of Faith

In Year 3 many children participate in the sacramental program and develop their relationship with God. It’s time to start believing in self and wondering about purpose.

YEAR 4: The Virtue of Justice

Saint Mary of the Cross MacKillop firmly held the virtue of Justice. She worked to be fair in everything she did and is a great model for the Year 4 students. They spend much time looking into being just, thinking for themselves and having the courage to stand up for the truth.

YEAR 5: The Virtue of Diligence

Learning continues to be challenging and now the students are in the Upper Precinct the expectations go up another notch. The students need to develop diligence in their character to get on and do what needs to be done, concentrate and strive for excellence.

YEAR 6: The Virtue of Zeal

Before the students leave primary school, they need to understand purpose and passion. It’s around now they discover what brings them joy and it’s time to persevere in enthusiasm and become self-aware of their values.

Virtues are what’s good about us and we can all develop our virtues to be the best version of ourselves.

Parish & Children’s Mass

Mass Times

Friday: 9am

Saturday Vigil: 6:30 pm

Prayer Assembly

The students engage in prayerful ceremonies that are student written and led. Each class is rostered on twice a year to deliver to the rest of the school a prayer assembly that may focus on what they are learning in Religious Education, their class virtue or other events that are occurring in the liturgical calendar. We aim to create a sense of sacred that is relevant to the spiritual development of our learners.

Prayer assemblies are held on Friday morning at 10:30 am in the Multipurpose area or Our Lady Help of Christians church.

Sacraments

The Sacraments of Penance, Confirmation and Eucharist are important and wonderful steps in children’s faith journeys and their welcome into the Church community.  These celebrations are beautiful moments of grace, when, as a Church, we share the love of Christ made visible through Jesus Christ.

The children at St Joseph’s are invited each year to join the North Rockhampton Catholic Community Sacramental program. Children need to be turning nine that year or older. The program includes a series of information nights and family workshops. These are well received by families and are a wonderful opportunity for parents to reengage with their own faith and help nurture the spirituality of their children.

Families that are seeking Baptism for their children are encouraged to make contact with the North Rockhampton Catholic Community.

Faith life participation

  • Shrove (Pancake) Tuesday
  • Project Compassion
  • Socktober
  • Vinnies Christmas Hampers