Dear Parents and carers,

Catholic Leader’s Day was held at the end of last week and it was great to have the opportunity to pray, work and socialise with the other Catholic Education Archdiocese of Canberra Goulburn Principals and Leaders. The focus of this event was on Catalyst and how schools will be moving forward to continue to build on the firm foundations for learning that have been established across the Archdiocese. We have much to look forward to!

Back here at school, the children and staff enjoyed a busy end to the week with the following events:

Year 6 Walking with Jesus

Thank you to Mrs Harveyson and the parents who helped to transport the Year 6 children to Hennessy Catholic College in Young on Friday for this special event. The children thoroughly enjoyed this immersive and prayerful experience and the chance to interact with other Primary students from the Western Region of our Archdiocese.

Day for Daniel Morcombe

Held annually on the last Friday of October, Day for Daniel honours the memory of Daniel Morcombe and is Australia’s largest child safety and awareness day.

We hope that parents and carers have had the opportunity since last Friday to have a conversation about personal safety. If you have not yet seen the ‘chatterboxes’ the children made, they serve as an excellent starting point.

Thank you Mrs Leslie King for coordinating St Joseph's efforts to mark this special and important event.

Socktober – Tuesday 31st October

A myriad of socks were on display on Tuesday as St Joseph’s as we participated in the Socktober Mission Day initiative. In 2023, Socktober is raising funds for children in need in Timor-Leste. One of Australia's closest neighbours, Timor-Leste is a small island republic just under 700kms from Darwin, which shares its western border with Indonesia. The country secured its independence from Indonesia in 2001, after an oppressive and violent occupation. Today, the scars still linger as the people grapple with the effects of poverty, low quality healthcare and infrastructure, corruption and inequality. 

Thank you to Mrs McFarlane and the children for arranging a Liturgy for us to unite together and pray for the people of Timor Leste. After the Liturgy the children enjoyed  group game rotations all related to….you guessed it….socks!

Thank you parents, carers and children for your kind donations to this worthy cause! As part of the Mission Day, the children created coin trails in the colour houses. We would like to congratulate and thank all the children and their families for the donations towards the coin trails. Thank you for making a difference in the lives of the people of Timor Leste!

Kindy Transition Day

Time is really flying by and on Tuesday we welcomed the Kindy’s commencing on 2024 for their second transition day. The children had another great morning at ‘big school’ and it is really encouraging to see them looking so at home at St Joseph’s..

The next and final transition day is:

Tuesday 14th Nov 9.15 - 2.00pm Parents are invited at 1.15pm for Q and A 

Welcome to the Inclusion Team from Catholic Education

Being part of the Archdiocese means that as a school we have access to a range of experts in their fields to help us to ensure that we are maximising every child’s learning and experience at school. On Tuesday we were delighted to welcome 5 colleagues including Inclusion Officer Carmel  Blake, AChild Psychologist Ashley Dale, , KSpeech Pathologist katie Kerr and teaching and Learning Officer for Aboriginal Education Katrina cambridge., 

School Board and Parents and Friends Association

This week, both the School Board and the Parents and Friends Association for St Joseph’s met and had excellent discussion's on past and future efforts to support St Joseph’s. We are very fortunate to have such dedicated parents who enthusiastically support the life of the school, our events and initiatives. 

You may recall that a review of School Boards, Community Councils and P&Fs across the Archdiocese has been undertaken over the past 18 months. The review has now concluded and in line with the recommendations made, our School Board and P&F will be transitioning to a new School Community Council over the next few months. Our Board and P&F is working with the Catholic Education Office on aspects of the change, and we will provide you with more information in the weeks ahead.

There are many ways parents and carers can be involved and contribute to the school and we are extremely blessed at St Joseph’s that so many contribute in so many ways. As we make this transition, please take some time to think about whether you could give some time to be part of this group. The commitment is not too onerous with meetings twice each term. Please watch this space for further details and opportunities.

My Body, My Life – November is here!

Year 5 and 6 parents will by now have received a letter with regards to the My Body, My Life program. On Tuesday 14th November 2023 the Archdiocesan Healthy Relationships Team will be here at St Joseph’s working with the Year 5 and 6 students to run the My Body, My Life puberty and personal development program. 

As a Catholic school, we are keen to ensure that parents and carers are fully engaged in this very important aspect of their child’s development. Research also shows that despite any awkwardness you and your child might feel, children prefer to hear this information first from their own parents or carers. To that end Yr 5 and 6 families are invited to view 60 minutes of online video content and participate in some activities together at home with your child prior to the 14th November. 

Student School Leadership 2024

All students in primary school need to be given the opportunity to demonstrate and develop leadership skills. Positive students' leadership opportunities and experiences will facilitate the transition to high school and the world beyond. 

At St Joseph’s the students experience leadership all the way from Kindy through the school. Through these experiences they learn about responsibility, cooperation and flexibility. Once the children reach the end of Year 5, there are opportunities for the children to put themselves forward in more formal, ongoing leadership roles such as School Captains and House Captains.

Next week, the Year 5 children will learn about roles available and the essential criteria for fulfilling those roles. They will have the opportunity to nominate for the role of House Captain, School Captain or both. Nominations will be due by Friday 10th November. 

Please watch this space for continued updates on this process.

In Conclusion…

Excitement is mounting in the K/1 classroom as the children and teachers look forward to Friday’s trip to Wagga to see Possum Magic. This promises to be a fun and most memorable opportunity for the children and we wish them a happy day and safe travels!

This week we received confirmation of a couple of important dates from our calendars. Yes! Christmas is just around the corner so please do reserve the following:

Christmas Fair - Friday 15th December 5.30pm at  Vaughan Park 

Christmas Carols - Sunday 17th December 5.30 for 6.00pm Start at Taylor Park

Our St Joseph’s Parent and Friends Association has been kindly invited to host the BBQ for the above events. This is potentially an excellent fundraising opportunity for the school and more importantly, a great way for St Joseph’s to contribute to the wider community. We will need lots of helpers for these events so please do keep these dates free and we will keep you posted on how you can volunteer.

With best wishes,

Louise Grant

Acting Principal

World Mission Month – Socktober

Thanks to all students and families for your support of Socktober for Mission Month. The Mini Vinnies group led our Mission Day liturgy admirably, with all students gaining a deeper awareness of the needs of children and communities in Timor Leste, as well as a deeper appreciation of the work of Catholic Mission.

The students also took part in a variety of fun ‘sock’ related activities. We then had a photo around our ‘Socktober’ chalk art and concluded with our ‘longest coin trail’ competition. The coin trail competition was very competitive between the Sports House groups, with students from all Sports Houses getting into the spirit of the day and contributing to the endless trails of coins. All of the money has been collected and will be donated to Catholic Mission for their ongoing humanitarian projects. Catholic Mission projects on the ground help sustain and enrich the lives of vulnerable children by providing vital medicines and health support.

A special thanks also to our School Captains, India Edwards and Camilla Metcalfe, who shared the final prayer for the day with all students, summing up our important work of supporting families in Timor-Leste facing health and wellness challenges. Overall, the day was a huge success! Well done everyone!

All Saints’ & All Souls’ Day

November in the Catholic tradition is a month of remembrance of the dead. To begin this, All Saints’ Day is celebrated on the 1st, and All Souls’ Day on the 2nd. These are not nationally recognised holidays and are no longer holy days of obligation in Australia, but the Church continues to encourage prayers of the faithful for the departed during this time.

All Saints’ Day

All Saints’ Day, November 1st, is a day to commemorate all saints in heaven. This dates back to the early Church where the faithful would gather together to acknowledge the anniversary of a martyr’s death. Around the 4th century, there was such a large number of martyrs that they could not assign an individual day to each one, so All Saints’ Day was established as a common feast day for all saints.

This day is also known as All Hallows and the Solemnity of All Saints.

All Souls’ Day

All Souls’ Day, November 2nd, is a day of prayer and remembrance for the souls of the departed. The faithful remember, pray, and celebrate Mass for the souls who are not entirely cleansed from venial sins and are in the state of purgatory. Through this, it is believed that the living faithful can assist the departed faithful to be granted the Beatific Vision of God in heaven.

This day is also known as the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed.

Catholics celebrate All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day in the fundamental belief that there is a prayerful spiritual communion between those in the state of grace who have died and are either being purified in purgatory or are in heaven, and the ‘church militant’ who are the living. – Pope Francis

Source: https://understandingfaith.edu.au/all-saints-all-souls-day/

Class Mass Dates

Please note in your diaries the following Mass dates:

• Year 2/3/4 Class Mass – 20^th November

(now a Liturgy of the Word due to priest unavailability)

• Year 6 Graduation Mass – 13^th December

We welcome everyone to attend these very special events at St Joseph’s Church.

REC Network Day

The final Religious Education Coordinator (REC) Network Day of the year was held last Wednesday at the Catholic Education Office in Manuka. RECs from across the Archdiocese gathered collegially for a day of briefings. We heard from a World Youth Day attendee, followed by an address from Archbishop Christopher Prowse who spoke about the importance of understanding charisms. We were then involved in professional development around leadership, the AITSL standards and RE Policy. To conclude the day, staff were introduced to a ‘soft launch’ of a sample Religious Education Scope and Sequence to guide our teaching. Due to our small school context, this will be adapted and reflected in a scope and sequence more suited to our context and similar small schools in our Archdiocese. Overall, the day was very productive and gave attendees a valuable opportunity to focus on ongoing and future developments in the important area of Religious Education in schools.

Sunday Gospel Reflection (November 5)

Gospel             Matthew 23:1-12

Jeff Hyman, in Forbes, points out that a number of research studies have concluded that humble leaders listen more effectively, inspire great teamwork and focus everyone, including themselves, on organisational goals better than leaders who don’t score high on humility. He suspects that humility gets a bad rap because it is sometimes linked with subservience or weakness or introversion. However, he points out, ‘Psychological research actually indicates the opposite. Humility is most closely associated with a cluster of highly positive qualities including sincerity, modesty, fairness, truthfulness, unpretentiousness and authenticity.’

Professor Br David Hall, Dean of the ACU La Salle Academy, in Essentials for Faith Leadership describes humilty as the ‘X Factor’ in leadership. Christian leaders, he suggests, take their inspiration as disciples from Mary, the model disciple. “Mary knew that she needed God, so humility is to recognise I need God. Indeed it means I cooperate with God because I can do nothing without God.” With this recognition of our dependence comes the necessity of prayer woven through each day and week as a conversation with God, attentive to the teachings of the Gospel and the promptings of the Holy Spirit in our interactions with

others.

Have mercy on me, gracious Father, have mercy.

As the day unfolds, grant me humility, kindness, and courage.

Bring glory to yourself, gentleness to my heart, and a good gospel outcome.

Amen.

Source: Formed in Prayer, CSYMI

Student Prayer of the Week

Yours in Faith,

Danielle McFarlane

Religious Education Coordinator

Parish News

Sunday 8 am

St Joseph’s Church, Grenfell

Please note that a Mass will be held on the second and fourth Sunday of each month. There is a Celebration of the Word with Holy Communion, not a Mass, on the first and third (and any fifth) Sunday of each month. Everyone is welcome to attend!

If you wish to visit St Joseph’s Church, it is open daily from 10.00am – 4.00pm and following Mass on Sundays.

Welcome Back Fr Jiss

Welcome back Fr Jiss. It is good to have you back in Young Mission and trust that your time with your parents and your Order was restful.

An Urgent Prayer for Peace

God of compassion

We turn to you with heavy hearts

As we consider the needs of your family.

Israelis and Palestinians, we are all your people,

Each of us loved by You

And called to live in peace and justice.

We lament the dreadful loss of life,

Destruction of property and loss of human dignity.

We are pained by so much suffering.

We beg you to bring healing to this ancient place.

Help your people find a way forward.

Enable everyone to look each other in the eye,

And embrace each other as sisters and brothers,

As they find your image in every face.

We ask that courage and grace

Will help create a wiser and more gentle future,

Where everyone has a home.

God of wisdom, come to our aid.

Amen.

By Michael McGirr / Caritas Australia