Dear Parents and Carers,

Relationships

There is a saying ‘Nobody on their deathbed has ever said I wish I’d spent more time at the office!’ In fact, it often seems to be that they wish they had spent more time with family or friends; time with special people. Relationships are important. With this in mind I am going to once again lean on the wise words of another Principal who shared these thoughts with me a few years ago.

‘For Christian people, relationships begin with the One who offers the perfect connection. One who tells us we are special; so special He gave His life for us and all people. One who constantly welcomes, loves, forgives and reassures. The One who says to each of us ‘Follow me’ and invites us into a fantastic relationship with Him. How much better then, as forgiven people of God, are we able to work at the relationships that are important to us. In our school, relationships between students, staff and families are important.’

I hope that as staff, students and community members come to the end of another busy term, that we continue to see the importance of building relationships with one another. Relationships are foundational to great learning, great communication and in ensuring that we remain connected and present for each other. Thank you for the way in which you, our parents, continue to engage with our school in a positive way to assist the staff to best support the students of St Joseph’s.

BackTrack Fundraiser

Congratulations to Toby and Arthur for a fantastic day supporting their chosen organisation, BackTrack. Bernie Shakeshaft will be very excited to receive funds from our school. Thank you to students who dressed up, participated in games and bought cupcakes and to parents for their support. We had lots of fun! Please click the attached link to listen to the RM Williams Outback Great Australians Podcast on Bernie Shakeshaft (click this link)

Mackillop Athletics

I would like to wish Kruz, Nate, Alice, Laura and Sam all the best at the Mackillop Athletics Carnival next Wednesday. We are really proud of your achievements so far and know that you will continue to positively represent the school next week.

Kinder Orientation

Next Tuesday, we will have our second Kinder Orientation Day. Keep sharing this among the community. As mentioned last week, this is not only for students that have already enrolled for 2023 but also for prospective students/families.

Public Holiday

Next Thursday 22nd October has been declared a public holiday for National Day of mourning for Queen Elizabeth II.  St Joseph's will be honouring this Public Holiday and school will be closed.

eSafety News

Please find attached some safety tips for Online Gaming. If there is anything of interest/other information parents and carers would like to be informed about, don’t hesitate to ask and I will do my best to share some further information on these requested topics/themes. 

Online Gaming Safety Tips

Further to this, next week I will be asking parents for some information on:

(i) their needs in regards to information on device use and the internet (whether it be school or home) and;

(ii) their experience of BYOD and the current use of devices at school.

Please keep your eye out for this form so that we can get some feedback from a broad range of families.

Enjoy the remainder of the week,

Ryan Forsyth

Acting Principal

On Monday staff participated in Professional Development. We started the morning with a special liturgy in the Church where we reflected on the year's theme ‘gratitude’. We then looked at ways of implementing Christian Meditation into our everyday practice. Staff also looked at the Gospel of Luke and then explored the scripture of the woman who bathes Jesus’ feet with her tears.

The Gospel of Luke offers a model and guide for spiritual development. Some of the key points about Luke:

• Luke’s symbol is an ox (calf) - which represents the sacrifices offered in the temple as Luke’s Gospel starts and ends in the temple.
• Luke was believed to be a physician.
• Luke was born in Antioch in Syria in the first century c 65 and died in Thebes in Greece
• Possibly an Hellenic Jew but there is an argument that he may have been a gentile​
• Wrote 27.5% of the New Testament

Stacey Braun

Religious Education Coordinator

Term 3 fees are due for those not on a Direct Debit.  Please see Mr Forsyth if you need to discuss payment of fees.

A very big thank you to the Golden Treasure Chest Op-Shop for their generous donation to our school.  Mrs Pearce kindly visited St Joseph's last Friday and presented a cheque.

Adelong Liturgy Roster - July-December 2022

Keep up to date with events happening at St Joseph's via our electronic school calendar (please note dates can be subject to change).