History:
St Joseph's School is situated in the centre of the Hawthorn Catholic Parish of the Immaculate Conception. The FCJ Sisters took charge of the school in 1889 on the Power Street site. In 1923 the Brigidine Sisters took over responsibility for running the school.
The school moved in 1976 to the present site in Glenferrie Road after the closure of St John's Secondary (Years 7鈥�10), which had been run by the Marist Brothers for fifty years. The Jesuits in Hawthorn Parish have supported the school from its earliest days.
Fr Des Dwyer is the current parish priest and resides in the parish presbytery of the Immaculate Conception Church. St Joseph's School boasts fine buildings and playing areas which have been developed over the years with the assistance of a most supportive parent body.
Description:
The parish of Hawthorn has two churches, the Immaculate Conception and St Joseph's. It is a well established parish in an old residential area with a balance of both older and younger families. The parish priest plays a key role in the life of the parish school. Fr Des and the Parish Team support the staff in the preparation of the children for the sacramental programs 鈥� Reconciliation (Year 3), Eucharist (Year 4) and Confirmation (Year 6) 鈥� and provision of family liturgies for the children. As manager of the school Fr Des ensures that Archdiocesan directives are carried out.
St Joseph's is also supported by a Parish Education Board. The membership of the Board consists of the parish priest, the principal of St Joseph's School, a teacher representative, a parent representative, the school accountants and a parish representative. The Board is an advisory body providing a structure for discussion and policy development with specific reference to St Joseph's.
Features:
School curriculum programs are based on the Victorian Essential Learning Standards. St Joseph's has a strong literacy program with student results consistently above State and like schools. The current school improvement plan has a major focus on Mathematics and Information and Communications Technology.
Specialist subjects provided are Physical Education, Performing Arts, Chinese, Visual Arts and Technology.
Extra-curricular activities available include a variety of sports, musical instrument tuition, and chess.
There is a strong sense of community at St Joseph's, which has an active Parents and Friends Association. The members organise an extensive social calendar and give generously of their time to raise funds for the school programs and support the teachers and the children. St Joseph's was fortunate in being able to update all of its facilities and create several learning areas with the support of the Building the Education Revolution (BER) program and the funds raised by the parent body through the works and activities of the Parents Association.