Dear Parents, Carers and the St Joseph’s Community,

Twice a week, we gather as a staff for prayer. Like the students, we break open our Christ Centred Community focus. Our Gospel for this year is Matthew 28:16-20, the Commissioning of the Disciples. On Monday, Esther Coghlan shared an address Neale Daniher recently gave to the Melbourne Football Club.  Neale, a sufferer of motor neuron disease, speaks of the need for us to conduct ourselves in the right manner when life gets tough; to have courage, to take responsibility and to look for opportunity. To follow in discipleship, does not mean life will be easy, but it means that we are grounded in right decision making and strengthened by our faith to help us look for opportunity when faced with adversity. I encourage you to take 5 minutes to watch his video.

A link to Neale Daniher’s address  

Last week, during Men’s Health Week, I came across some useful tips to help boys express their emotions. By modelling a healthy expression of emotions and feelings, we can help boys to understand that these are normal human behaviours. Expressing emotions can help boys to understand themselves so that they can then have empathy and understanding for others and develop healthy and respectful relationships with themselves. Click here to find out more

Trivia Night

Are you a trivia buff? Do you want a fun night out? Do you want to win some great prizes? Do you want to see how smart the teachers really are? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then I have just one more question … Have you bought your tickets for the St Joseph’s Trivia Night on Friday 29 June? Tickets are available on Qkr!

Parent / Teacher Meetings

With reports currently being written and prepared to be sent home on Friday Week 9, an important part of the shared communication between school and home is the opportunity to meet with teachers. In Week 10 there will be formal Parent / Teacher Meetings to allow teachers to provide feedback to parents about the progress of their child and to set some goals for the second half of the year. There may be meetings held between now and the end of the term that serve to have these conversations, but it is hoped that by the end of the term that all parents will ensure they do meet with their child’s teacher. This year we are using the new Schoolzine platform to book and manage the organisation of the Parent / Teacher Meetings. Please follow the two links below to access the booking process:

Link to the booking platform: 

https://sjo.act.edu.au/view-session/3​ 

Link to a guide for the booking process:

https://sjpsoconnor.schoolzineplus.com/sk-booking-guide​

Boundless - Untying Religion in Art

'Art, like Christain faith itself, is at home in the region of symbol - that relam in which meanings are not so much stated as they are evoked or illuminated, and in which events are not so much described as they are remembered and celebrated.'

Roger Hazelton, A Theological Approach to Art

Each year, Catholic Education Canberra and Goulburn hold the Annual Recognition Awards as a way to celebreate Catholic education. This year, as part of these celebrations, a Catholic Schools Cultural Festival is also being inlcuded. This festival opens opportunities for students to engage in a variety of cutlural experiences within schools, and to submit entries to various competitions which will be recognised at the Annual Recognition Awards in August.

One of these competitions is also open to all members of the Catholic Schools community, including parents. Boundless - Untying Religion in Art, is an art competition that all parents are welcome to enter. For full details, please see the information attached to this week's newsletter. 

Yours in Christ,

Amy Doszpot

Assistant Principal

amy.doszpot@cg.catholic.edu.au 

The Sacrament of First Holy Communion and The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ

This coming Sunday is a special day for our Catholic community as it is the day we celebrate the First Holy Communion of 45 children in our community. We also celebrate The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ. The combining of these two special events is no coincidence. It is a purposeful connection of our children receiving the Body of Christ for the first time, on the solemnity which honors the Body (corpus) of Christ (Christi). This feast on the second Sunday after Pentecost has also been called Corpus Christi, which is Latin for “the Body of Christ.”

In the Gospel this Sunday (Luke 9:11b-17) we hear about the miracle of the loaves and the fishes. This miracle appears in all four Gospels and is also connected to the Eucharist.  In the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke and in Paul's account (1 Corinthians 11:23-24), we hear the story of the Last Supper where Jesus takes bread, looks up to heaven, blesses the bread, breaks it, and then gives it to the disciples.  In his Gospel this week, Luke uses this same language to remind his readers that in the miracle of the loaves and fishes, Jesus is doing more than feeding hungry people. That he is giving us his body and will continue to give, as often as the community breaks bread in remembrance of him in the Eucharist.

As we gather as a faith community in remembrance of Jesus this Sunday, we celebrate with the 45 children receiving the most holy body of Jesus for the first time. These children have been preparing with their families over the past 6 weeks and are ready to take this next step in their faith journey. On Friday these children will complete their final preparations by coming together to participate in a Retreat day in the Parish Hall.

All are welcome to share in this special celebration of the Eucharist this coming Sunday 23 June at 9am in St Joseph’s church. Please keep these children and their families in your prayers as they take this important step in their faith journey.

Riamabana Fundraising Appeal

Our partnership with Riamabana changes the lives of the children who attend the Riamabana Academy. This year we have been asked to support the building of an additional toilet block as the academy has outgrown the existing facilities. This building works which will significantly improve the conditions for the children at the academy will cost $2 500. To raise money for this cause that is close to our hearts, we will be holding a Market Day in Term 3 on the Feast Day of St Mary Mackillop on Thursday 8th August. Saint Mary Mackillop is well known for her philosophy of ‘Never see a need without doing something about it.’ At St Joseph’s we see the needs of the children who attend the Riamabana Academy and we plan to do something about it. More information to come next week.

Student Prayer Focus

Our Student Prayer Focus over the coming month reconnects us with our focus Scripture for 2019: Matthew 28:16-20. In our focus Scripture the disciples are commissioned and Jesus tells them that he is with them always.

Just as the disciples were commissioned, we too are invited to  “go and make disciples of all nations” and in doing so are Glorifying Christ with our lives.

How will you Glorify Christ with your life this week?

In classrooms this week you will see that green leaves are once again being added to the trees in each class prayer space. The green leaf symbolises Ordinary Time. On each leaf of a word or phrase is written which symbolise how each class member will work to glorify Christ with their lives during the week.

Sacramental Information

Students in Year 6 can now be enrolled in the Sacrament of Confirmation at the link below. Please add the Sacrament of Confirmation and preparation session dates and times to your calendars. A reminder that the Sacrament of Confirmation will take place with Archbishop Christopher Prowse on the last Sunday of the holidays before Term 4 commences.

 Please enrol at http://bit.ly/sacraments2019

Please contact Father Paul  if you have any questions about the Sacrament of Confirmation at:

paul_nulley@hotmail.com

Melanie Stratford

Religious Education Coordinator

melanie.stratford@cg.catholic.edu.au 

 Volleyball News

Sunday saw St Joseph’s compete in our first Volleyball Tournament for 2019. The team played their best every game and won each set! Our five representatives from Years 4, 5 and 6 must be commended for their skills in passing, setting and hitting. They worked together as a solid team attempting to get a full attack at every point.

Well done everyone!

Sustainability in Action

Year 2 enjoyed an ICON Water incursion last week, complete with a detailed model of Canberra’s water system.  What did we learn?

“ICON water is really interesting and tells us where our water comes from. We learned that putting nappies and wipes down the drains could eventually end up in the sea” said Aidan M.

“We learned how water works and where all the dams are stationed” said Tom H.

“When dams get too full they overflow” said Hamish M.

Toilet Talk!

Year 2 was thrilled to have Kate from ICON explain the 3 Ps of what you can flush down the toilet. 

“Just toilet paper, poo and pee!” said Olivia O.

“Don’t put nappies either!” said Kayla N.

“I was surprised to learn that you can’t flush tissues down the toilet, as they don’t break down like T.P.” said Mrs. McGee.

Ryan McGee

Sustainability Coordinator

ryan.mcgee@cg.catholic.edu.au 

Defence Kids Club

It was Year 3 and 4’s turn this week to make ANZAC slice. Defence children brought along a friend and their cooking skills were rewarded with some yummy (extra sweet) ANZAC slice to take home.

Year 2s excelled at making paper planes during Tuesday's Defence Kids Club and Ninja Warrior continues each Tuesday at second break. Well done to Bridgette, Nellie and Mirabel for completing the course in record times.

Education Assistance Scheme - DCO

A message for all Defence families who may be posted in the future, or who have moved in the last 18 months - With your child bringing home their end of term report shortly, please hold onto the report for safe keeping. You may be eligible for paid tutoring for your child “if they have not reached or are unlikely to maintain a sufficient standard as a result of relocation.” Evidence, such as your school end of term reports can be helpful in your application for assistance. Please find more details at the DCO link below. If you have any questions, please let me know.

http://www.defence.gov.au/DCO/_Master/documents/Handouts/Education-assistance.pdf

Sally Adams

Defence Support Mentor

sally.adams@cg.catholic.edu.au 

Tiffany Fletcher

P&F President

Happy birthday to these students celebrating their birthdays this week.

Daniel McK

Amelia M

Kosta V

Jake McK

Josephine B

Loko F

Lucy P

Aaron P

Louis P