St Joseph’s Catholic College provides a safe, caring and supportive environment in which each student is shaped by her relationship with Jesus in the Catholic tradition and is inspired by St Mary of the Cross MacKillop to make a difference in the world.
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Introduction
Students are educated in the Josephite tradition to empower young women to act justly and to lead lives as disciples of Jesus. This informs our approach to the pastoral care and wellbeing of our students as we strive to develop contemporary MacKillop women living the college values of justice, hope, compassion, and respect and empowered to lead within the wider community.
Student Wellbeing Team
The wellbeing and pastoral care of students is a priority for all teachers. Students in each year begin the day in their house based pastoral group under the leadership of their Pastoral teacher who manages attendance, daily organisational issues and facilitates the formal pastoral program.
The six house based pastoral groups in the year are led by a Year Leader who supports the social, emotional and academic wellbeing of students in the year. Year Leaders provide a point of contact for teachers and for parents. The student wellbeing team is led by the Leader of Student Wellbeing and comprises:
| Year Leader of Year 7 |
Mrs Julie Hawkins |
| Year Leader of Year 8 |
Ms Chloe Smythe |
| Year Leader of Year 9 |
Mr Dave Matthews |
| Year Leader of Year 10 |
Ms Lisa Parsons |
| Year Leader of Year 11 |
Mr Terry Gahan |
| Year Leader of Year 12 |
Mrs Rachael Elcoate |
| Leader of Student Wellbeing |
Ms Amanda Balfour |
Counselling Services
The College Counsellor supports the student wellbeing team and is available to students Monday – Friday each week.
The Counsellors are Mrs Nicole Musialik and Mrs Caroline Zavolokin and they work with individuals and with small groups of students to process and resolve issues related to their social and emotional growth.
Caroline only works during the school term. In the event of a mental health emergency please contact the Mental Health Intake Line on 1800 011 511.
Programs supporting parents such as Parenting Teens and Tuning into Teens are offered at the beginning of every year. When appropriate, students and families are referred to community agencies for more targeted and specialised support. The College Counsellor also supports Year Leaders and Homeroom teachers to facilitate contemporary wellbeing programs for our students.
Pastoral Structures
The primary pastoral structure is the year group led by a Year Leader who joins the students in Year 7 and takes them through to Year 12. Year Leaders are concerned with the welfare of all students in the year group and play a pivotal role in pastoral care.
Year groups are divided into six pastoral groups each managed by a Homeroom teacher responsible for the daily pastoral and administrative routines of the group. These pastoral groups are based on the six college houses – a house is a vertically structured group of students from each year and is led by a House Leader. A student’s house creates an additional point of connection with others and provides opportunities for the student to be involved in a variety of experiences that empower her to make a difference.
