College Board This year has been a challenging year for all of us with the Board being no exception.The Board has continued to operate with meetings being held remotely. While this has presented challenges at times, it has enabled the Board to continue to work with the school to ensure we provide support and assistance over many areas. The Board has been extremely supportive of the school in its approach and work in the remote learning area which needed to be put in place at short notice. The school has done a wonderful job of continuing to provide quality education in difficult circumstances. Another difficult challenge was the death of two students earlier in the year. Such a tragic loss. Our hearts went out to the families and friends of the boys. The Board has been supportive of staff and students during these difficult times. The work undertaken by our staff to support our students in the area of mental health has been amazing. This year we also saw the completion of our Performing Arts Centre upgrade which has provided a great space for the school.
Mark Nicholls has been a Board member for eight years and for much of that time he has been a member of the Board Executive. As an Old Collegian he has a passion for ensuring St Joseph’s continues to thrive and he has added greatly to our Board discussions. Br Roger Cripps has been a faithful contributor to our Board and College for 13 years. As an experienced Principal, Roger’s priorities were always the wellbeing of the students. We wish Jamie, Mark and Roger well and sincerely thank them for their generous support of St Joseph’s College. I would like to thank and acknowledge the dedicated staff of the College and all members of the many groups who support the College. I thank our Principal Tony Paatsch, Deputy Principal’s Michelle Brodrick and Mark Kennedy, Business Manager Andrew Dowd, Assistant Adele Watt and College Leaders for their willingness to make this College so successful in 2020. On behalf of the board I wish you all a safe New Year. Joanne van Slageren, Board Chairperson
Sadly we farewell three Board members this year. Jamie Crough has been a member of the Finance and planning subcommittee for a number of years before joining the Board in 2020. Jamie has been of great assistance in making the complex financial systems seem simple.
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