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Dear Parents and Carers,
Electronic Signboard
The brand new electronic signboard has now been installed and it looks AMAZING! Thanks to Bec Knight for arranging the purchase and installation of the signboard and Susie McLelland for completing the development application with council. A big thank you to the P&F of course, for funding the purchase.
We hope to have the electrical installation soon and can’t wait to be sharing with the whole community the wonderful things happening at our school as they’re driving past!
Jump into Joey’s - Read It!
At St Joseph’s we want to promote a love of reading from a young age and Read It! was a fantastic opportunity to share our love of reading with our Jump into Joey’s friends.
National Simultaneous Storytime is held annually. Every year a picture book, written and illustrated by an Australian author and illustrator, is read simultaneously in libraries, schools, pre-schools, childcare centres, family homes, bookshops, and many other places around the country. The aim is to promote the value of reading and literacy.
We had lots of fun listening to this year's story, ‘The Speedy Sloth’ by Rebecca Young. The St Joseph's students then assisted our Jump into Joey's friends to create their very own sloths to take home. Well done to Year 5/6 for running a fantastic morning.
Tell Them From Me Survey
Every year Catholic Education conducts a survey regarding the performance of our school. Staff, parents and students (Yr 4-6) are surveyed regarding feedback on Catholic identity, teaching and learning, school operations and student wellbeing.
Parents will be receiving a link to this important survey via Compass today. If you did not receive the link please let our front office know. Results of the survey are important to us and all parents are encouraged to participate. The survey is open from Thursday 25th May to Friday 9th June.
CCSP Parent Talk Newsletter
Council of Catholic School Parents NSW/ACT (CCSP) have published their latest newsletter. Parent Talk newsletter aims to provide parents and carers with relevant and timely information about developments in education, wellbeing, CCSP advocacy program and significant Catholic news and events.
You can view the latest newsletter here: https://ccsp.schoolzineplus.com/parenttalk?nid=27
Uniform and hats
A reminder that students are required to wear full Winter uniform, including ties and hats. Spare hats are not available due to the risk of sharing head lice (which we have recently had cases of at school). Please help support your child to ensure they are prepared for school and bring their necessary items.
National Sorry Day
Friday the 26th of May is National Sorry Day, which also heralds the beginning of National Reconciliation Week. National Sorry Day is a day to acknowledge the strength of Stolen Generations Survivors and reflect on how we can all play a part in the healing process for our people and nation.
Here is a prayer you might like to use this week:
Holy Father, God of Love,
You are the Creator of this land and of all good things.
We acknowledge the pain and shame of our history
and the suffering of our peoples,
and we ask your forgiveness.
We thank you for the survival of indigenous cultures.
Our hope is in you because you gave your Son Jesus
to reconcile the world to you.
We pray for your strength and grace to forgive,
accept and love one another,
as you love us and forgive and accept us
in the sacrifice of your Son.
Give us the courage to accept the realities of our history
so that we may build a better future for our nation.
Teach us to respect all cultures.
Teach us to care for our land and waters.
Help us to share justly the resources of this land.
Help us to bring about spiritual and social change
to improve the quality of life for all groups in our communities,
especially the disadvantaged.
Help young people to find true dignity and self-esteem by your Spirit.
May your power and love be the foundations
on which we build our families, our communities, and our nation,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen
Prayer Source: https://www.eternitynews.com.au/archive/prayer-national-sorry-day/
Year 5/6 Class Mass
On Wednesday the 31st of May at 9:30 am, Year 5/6 will be holding a class mass with Fr Jiss at St Joseph’s Church. The students would love to have you attend if you are able.
Mini Vinnies
This term the students have been offered the opportunity to join a school Mini Vinnies group. The aim of this group is to meet together regularly to set goals on what to do to help those in need within our local community. Mini Vinnies introduces children to social justice issues and to living faith through action.
Mini Vinnies is not just about doing good works in the community. It is also about students meeting to talk and share ideas and concerns, to have fun and to support each other. The Vinnies model of ‘See, Think, Do’ is a great way to get students connecting their beliefs and values with service activities and issues in the community. We look forward to updating you on our upcoming initiatives and activities.
Sunday Gospel Reflection (May 28)
Gospel Jn 20:19-23
Pentecost begins in the last place we would expect. The disciples are huddled in the upper room, with doors locked... why? Fear has seized them – paralysed after all that has happened, they’re trapped, uncertain and confused. COVID-19 lockdowns allowed us, in a certain way, to experience a feeling similar to those disciples following that first Easter experience. And yet the Lord now walks through the locked door.
Certainly no barrier. And the first words from the lips of the risen Jesus are words of Peace; words spoken no less this day, amid the fear and uncertainty of the world in which we live and our own personal burdens. And immediately after greeting them, Jesus draws attention not to His glory but to His wounds. Any reflection on Jesus’ wounds is a reflection on the wounds of everyone. Jesus does not appear to His disciples without wounds, but with wounds transformed. The knowledge that we are wounded sets us free. It sets us free from becoming self-referential and thinking ourselves superior. In Jesus our wounds are transformed and our weaknesses become our strength. And it is the Holy Spirit breathed into each of us this day that makes such a life possible. Jesus breathes, and at that moment the doors open and all fear that once seized them, is dispelled. They go out into the world, witnessing just as Jesus has commanded them: “As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.”
O breathe on me Breath of God –
Help me to know my wounds and weaknesses
and to place them into your wounds, that they may be transformed,
and that I may go out imbued with the Holy Spirit,
fearless, proclaiming the Truth of the Gospel.
Amen.
Source: Formed in Prayer
Sacramental Program
This year, St Joseph’s Parish will be offering the Sacraments of Reconciliation, First Holy Communion and Confirmation to eligible candidates. To be eligible to prepare for the Sacraments of Reconciliation and First Holy communion, candidates must be in Year 4 or above. To be eligible to prepare for the Sacrament of Confirmation, candidates must be in Year 5 or above and must have already received the Sacraments of Reconciliation and First Holy Communion.
The preparation for the Confirmation candidates will take place in Terms 3 and 4. Specific information regarding meeting/ mass dates will be provided towards the end of Term 2.
If you are interested in enrolling your child/ren please contact me at the school on 6343 1514 or via email: danielle.mcfarlane@cg.catholic.edu.au
Furthermore, if you know of anyone else interested in further information, who may not have access to this newsletter or the Parish bulletin, please encourage them to contact me also.
Yours in Faith,
Danielle McFarlane
Religious Education Coordinator
Parish News
Sunday 8 am Mass
St Joseph’s Church, Grenfell
Please note that a Mass will be held on the second and fourth Sundays each month. There is a Celebration of the Word with Holy Communion, not a Mass, on the first and third Sundays of each month. Everyone is welcome to attend!
The Parish would love to welcome more children to be involved in Mass on weekends. There are many opportunities for involvement, including doing the readings. If your child can participate in any way, please let me know.
If you wish to visit St Joseph’s Church, it is open daily from 10.00am – 4.00pm and following Mass on Sundays.
Chelsea Harveyson (Anderson)
Classroom Teacher and Sports Coordinator
