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Dear Parents and Carers,
We have been blessed with perfect weather for the start of the Intensive Swimming Programme this week and the children have been thoroughly enjoying their mornings at the pool. Thank you again to the SRC for sponsoring the bus from funds raised at the Colour Run for the K-4 children to be transported to and from the pool!
We are looking forward to coming together as a community at the upcoming events listed below:
Award Presentation Evening – Thursday 7th December at 7.00pm
We look forward to welcoming all our St Joseph’s families to this very special end of year event held here at school on Thursday.
Families are asked to arrive anytime from 6.45pm and to be seated ready to commence at 7.00pm. The children are to wear school uniform please.
We are excited to have special guests joining our school community to celebrate all the successes of 2023 and look forward to all the children and hopefully parents participating.
End of Year Celebration and Year 6 Graduation Mass – Wednesday 13th December at 6.00pm
Please join us to give thanks to God for all the blessings of 2023 and especially our Year 6 graduating students. Our community will come together in unity at 6.00pm at St Joseph's Church and again, we hope that every member of the community will join this event.
Christmas Fair – Friday 15th December at Vaughan Park
From 5.30pm, please join the fun at this community event.
Christmas Carols - Sunday 17th December 5.30 for 6.00pm Start at Taylor Park
All the children K-6 have been preparing for this event and we look forward to the St Joseph’s children presenting the carols they have been working on during this community event.
Please Support St Joseph’s Fund Raising…
Our St Joseph’s Parent and Friends Association has been kindly invited to host the BBQs for the above two 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 Grenfell community. We will need lots of helpers for these events so please do keep these dates free and do volunteer to support our school and the local community.
Semester 2 Reports
We are pleased to share with you your child’s Semester 2 Report is available on Compass from Tuesday 5th December. If parents have any questions or anything specific related to the report that they would like to discuss with their child’s teacher/s, please email the teacher directly by the afternoon of Friday 8th December to arrange a phone call or face to face discussion on Monday 12th December.
Student School Leadership at St Joseph’s
Congratulations to the school captain nominees for the terrific speeches delivered on Friday during assembly last week! Each of the speeches showed the students’ commitment to St Joseph's and an understanding of the responsibilities of the role of school captain. It was great to hear the vision each of the individuals had for how they could contribute to the school.
The school captains for 2024 will be announced during the Mass next week.
In Conclusion…
Planning for 2024 is well underway and we will be sharing some plans with the community next week via the Newsletter.
The students and teachers are busy wrapping up the learning for the year at present. Parents can look forward to the children bringing their workbooks etc home next week. Please can you help by sending in a plastic carry bag clearly marked with our child’s name. Thanks!
We look forward to seeing you at the upcoming school and town events!
With best wishes,
Louise Grant
Principal (Acting)
School Christmas Food Drive - Grenfell Food Hall
We have had an outstanding response to our Christmas Food Drive, all in aid of our local Grenfell Food Hall. Next week, members of our school Mini Vinnies group will have the opportunity to attend the Grenfell Food Hall to donate all the food items that were collected this term. We know the Grenfell Food Hall will be appreciative of the thoughtfulness and generosity of our entire St Joseph’s School community. We thank everyone who supported our Christmas Food Drive. In doing so, you have helped to support people in our local community, as well as provided the children the positive experience of building a more compassionate society, where people support one another and work towards shared goals.
So, from the bottom of our hearts, thank YOU!
Year Six Graduation Mass
Next week we will formally farewell our Year Six students at their Graduation Mass. This is the last Mass Year Six will share together as primary students. We thank God for all they have contributed to our school. Over the years they have been at St Joseph’s, these students have faced challenges and have learned and worked together to overcome them. Next week we celebrate their achievements and, together with them, present our hopes, plans for the future and joys to the Lord. We pray that they may continue to challenge one another and journey in faith, hope and love, and follow in the footsteps of Jesus. The School Captains and House Captains for 2024 will also be announced. We welcome all families to come along and attend this very special Mass with us.
Advent
Advent is a special time of preparation. It is a time to say ‘yes’ to God, as Mary and Joseph did. It is a time to think about others and a time to do things for others. It is a time to prepare our hearts for the joy of Jesus’ birth at Christmas.
Advent Prayer
God our Father,
Help us during this time of Advent to be your friends. Keep us always ready to follow your way of love. Through our Lord, Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever.
Amen.
Sunday Gospel Reflection (December 9)
Gospel Mark 1:1-8
“Prepare a way for the Lord.” In every sense, the cry of John the Baptist is the call of each baptised Christian. It is the mandate not only of Catholic leaders to share the message of Jesus, but of every single member of the Body of Christ.
We can take John the Baptist as the ultimate model of evangelism. There is no doubt he was well-known, and charismatic. But the defining values he espoused were humility and faithfulness. His mantra could be summarised into: “Don’t look at me, look at the One who is coming.” We can extract an evangelising blueprint from John’s approach as we seek to “prepare a way for the Lord.” Humility is key - less of “me”, more of Jesus shining through our actions and words. And there is also very little ambiguity in John’s message - he doesn’t mince his words.
We, too, must be clear as we proclaim the Gospel to others. Also, faithfulness, not “success”, should be our aim. John showed the ultimate faithfulness by eventually dying for the cause. We may not be called to martyrdom, but we are nonetheless called to remain ever-faithful to the truth of the Gospel, even when it’s difficult. How are we preparing a Way for the Lord, both in our own hearts and in the lives of those we lead this Advent?
Father God,
We pray for the grace and strength to be true witnesses to Your love this Advent.
May we “prepare a way” for You through the way we live our lives and the words we speak.
Amen.
Source: Formed in Prayer, CSYMI
Student Prayer of the Week
Wishing everybody a wonderful 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.
Christmas Timetable Mass Times
Weekend Masses:
Sat. 23rd Dec - Young Vigil - 6.00pm
- Boorowa Vigil - 6.00pm
- Grenfell Vigil - 6.00pm
Sun. 24th Dec - Young Mass - 10.00am
Christmas Eve: - Young Vigil (outdoors) - 6.00pm
Sun. 24th Dec - Boorowa Vigil - 6.00pm
Christmas Day: - Grenfell Mass - 8.00am
Mon. 25th Dec - Binalong Mass - 9.00am
- Young Mass - 10.00am
Dear Parents and caregivers,
We have nearly reached the end of another school year. As we tidy things up and prepare for the holidays, it is time to restock the library with outstanding loans. Your child will be coming home with a list of books that have been signed out to them and as yet have not been returned. I would ask that you help your child to locate as many of these books as possible and return them before the end of the school year. Your assistance in this matter is greatly appreciated!
Kind regards,
Leslie King
Teacher/Librarian
Keeping Your Child Safe Tips
The holidays are a great time to be together with family and friends but children also have a lot of extra free time on their hands and for some children this means more time on digital technology. While technology can be a useful tool both for learning and entertainment, it is important that parents are aware of what their children are accessing in order to keep them safe. Here are ten tips to protect your children when they are using technology.
1. Build an open trusting relationship around technology — keep communication open and supportive so your child knows they can come to you if something goes wrong or does not feel right online.
2. Co-view and co-play with your child online. This will help you understand what they are doing and why they enjoy an app, game or website, as well as providing a great opportunity to start conversations about online safety.
3. Build good habits and help your child to develop digital intelligence and social and emotional skills — such as respect, empathy, critical thinking, responsible behaviour and resilience — and practise being good online citizens.
4. Empower your child — wherever possible, help them make wise decisions for themselves, rather than telling them what to do. Try to provide them with strategies for dealing with negative online experiences that will build their confidence and resilience.
5. Use devices in open areas of the home — this can help you manage and be aware of who your child interacts with online through phones, tablets, smart TVs, gaming consoles and other connected devices.
6. Set time limits that balance time spent in front of screens with offline activities — a family technology plan can help you to manage expectations around where and when technology use is allowed — search online for templates or examples.
7. Know the apps, games and social media sites your kids are using — make sure they are age-appropriate and learn how to limit messaging or online chat and location-sharing functions within apps or games, as these can expose your child to unwanted contact and disclose their physical location.
8. Check the privacy settings on the games and apps your child is using and make sure their profiles are turned on to the strictest privacy setting. Restrict who can contact your child or ask them to check in with you before accepting new friends.
9. Use available technologies to set up parental controls on devices that can filter harmful content, monitor your child’s use and limit or block their time on connected devices or functions (e.g. cameras, in-app purchases).
10. Be alert to signs of distress and know where to go for more advice and support. More resources for parents can be found at: https://www.esafety.gov.au/parents/resources
Kind regards,
Leslie King
Child Safe Advocate
