Dear parents and carers,

Holy Week is the most sacred of times for our faith community, when as Christians we journey with Jesus through the final moments of His life. Jesus’ triumphant entrance into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday is starkly contrasted against His tragic crucifixion on Good Friday. However, as believers we know that we will, and continue to, experience His endless love and revealed message at Easter.

As we journey through Holy Week, I pray that we are all touched by the message of Easter, and renewed in our shared belief in ourselves, each other, and our St Joseph’s community. I hope that the break from school allows students, staff and families an opportunity to stop and spend time with loved ones and to renew after a busy start to 2023. Have a wonderful break and stay safe.

Sip and Swap

Congratulations and thank you to Ryan McGee and her many helpers for hosting a wonderfully successful Sip and Swap event. With over 50 people attending, Josephite sisters Sr Noelene Quinane and Sr Colleen from Catholic Care brought attention to the work being done at MacKillop House to support Canberra Women in need. We were also fortunate to have Julie Bolton from the Monash Sustainable Development Institute share with us the impact of our insatiable appetite for clothes and how this can be managed into the future. It was a great night that raised awareness, but also much needed funds for MacKillop House. Thank you to everyone involved!

Enrolment Period

Unbelievably, we are already preparing for our 2024 enrolment period, which begins officially at the start of May. Most important is for current families who have enrolments for 2024, to please submit these as soon as possible. I will begin enrolment interviews for current families, early in Term 2. Please contact the Front Office if you have any questions.

Parents are asked to please be considerate of the following concerns from the start of Term 2.

• The Drive Thru lane is not used for parking of a morning (or afternoon). If you wish to walk your child into school, or finish getting them dressed or ready for school, please park in the marked carparks away from the Drive Thru lane.
• If your child arrives after 8.50am, a parent must sign them in using the Compass Kiosk, or the iPad if dropped off by someone not on the regular contact list. This is a required safety measure to ensure all students are accounted for each day. A student is not able to sign themselves in / out of school.

Seasons for Growth

The Seasons for Growth Children and Young People's Program strengthens the social and emotional wellbeing of children and young people (aged 6-18 years) who have experienced significant change or loss in their lives. The program provides a safe learning environment for children and young people where they can give voice to their experiences, understand and befriend their feelings, learn skills that help them adapt, develop friendships, and recognise ‘I’m not the only one’.

Seasons for Growth is an innovative, evidence-based change, loss and grief education program that draws on the metaphor of the seasons to understand the experience of grief. It builds the knowledge and skills necessary to strengthen social and emotional wellbeing following significant loss by:

• Exploring the impact of change and loss
• Learning about effective ways to respond and adapt

Participants learn that they are not alone in their experience of change, loss and grief, and are able to build their communication, decision making and problem solving skills within the context of a safe and supportive peer group learning environment.

All Seasons for Growth programs are grounded in sound, person-centred educational principles.

St Joseph’s would like to offer this program here at school. Jo Krippner will run this program and is looking for students who would benefit from being a part of ‘Seasons for Growth’. If you would like your child to have the opportunity to be involved please email Jo at jo.krippner@cg.catholic.edu.au

House Points/Recycling Challenge

Thank you to all families who brought 10c bottles and cans to school to be recycled this term. In Week 5 we recycled 2,369 bottles and cans, and another 923 in Week 9. A grand total of 3,292 for the term, raising $329.20! A fabulous effort by everyone. A huge shout out to the Percival family who takes all the cans and bottles to the recycling centre. 

We will continue our bottles and cans drive Tuesday to Friday in Weeks 4 and 9 in Term 2. Stay tuned for which days of those weeks are your House’s turn to fill up the recycling bins and trailer and earn House points!

The overall winning House for Term 1 was Lourdes with a massive total of 5826 points. Congratulations to all the students in Lourdes, they will be treated to a pizza lunch early next term. 

Thank you everyone for the support and effort that goes into making St Joseph’s a great school. Have a wonderful break and I look forward to seeing all the students on Wednesday 26 April.

Yours in Christ,

Cameron Tarrant

Cameron.tarrant@cg.catholic.edu.au 

Upcoming Events

• 6 April – Good Friday Prayer Celebration (6 Sliver) – 2.15pm in the Hall
• 6 April – Futsal Gala Day - MPower Dome
• 6 April – Last day of Term 1
• Monday 24 April – Pupil Free Day
• Tuesday 25 April - ANZAC Day
• Wednesday 26 April – First day of Term 2
• Save the Date – School Disco – Friday night 19 May. More information to come!