Dear parents and carers,

Last Friday our school commemorated ANZAC Day as a community. Below is the commemorative address given by LTCOL Pip Cleary, a parent and Vice Chair of the School Community Council at St Joseph’s.

ANZAC Day Speech to St Joseph’s Primary School

3 May 2024

Good afternoon students, teachers, parents and fellow veterans.

I would like to firstly acknowledge the Traditional Owners of this country, the Ngunnawal people, and recognise their continuing connection to land, waters and culture. I would like to pay my respects to their Elders past, present and emerging. I also pay my deep respects to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men and women who have served in the Defence of Australia in times of peace and war.

Today we gather to remember those who have served and continue serving to defend Australia. We do this because it is the anniversary of the day when Australian and New Zealand soldiers landed on the beach at Gallipoli in Türkiye on 25 April 1915. This was the first major military campaign for soldiers from Australia and New Zealand.to defend Australia.

Since then, 25 April has been known as Anzac Day. ‘Anzac’ comes from the name Australian and New Zealand Army Corps. It was shortened to ANZAC in 1915.

At Gallipoli, Australians and New Zealanders served with soldiers from other nations, including England, France and India. The Australians at Gallipoli came from all sorts of backgrounds, but they shared the terrible experience of war. Ever since then, for more than a hundred years, the men and women in our Navy, Army and Air Force have honoured the memory of our original Anzacs.

ANZAC Day has continued meaning for us because of it reminds us of what ordinary people like you and I are capable of. We are all capable of extraordinary feats of service, sacrifice and bravery.

“… the heroes of that war; [were] the soldiers and sailors and nurses – those who taught us to endure hardship, to show courage, to be bold as well as resilient, to believe in ourselves, to stick together.” (Paul Keating)

But we don’t need to be in battle or serve on operations to demonstrate those characteristics. I urge each and every one of you to remember and live out those values everyday.

Be bold, show resilience when things don’t turn out as you would like. Above all, look out for each other in the playground by being kind and inclusive. As we in uniform know well, we are only as strong as our weakest member, so work hard to lift your classmates up.

I urge you to make the sacrifice of those men and women in World War One and all conflicts since worthwhile and seek to make Australia a better place, both now and in the future.

Lest we forget

On behalf of all in the St Joseph’s community, I thank LTCOL Cleary for her address, and all those within our wider community who have served or continue to serve.

Staffing

I am pleased to announce that Mrs Lisa Bauer has been appointed as our Defence Support Mentor (DSM), starting the week 20 May. Lisa brings a great deal of experience volunteering in schools and fostering strong parent and school communities. Lisa’s first priority will be to reach out to our defence families and to get to know the students who she can support.

School Open Day Saturday 11 May

This Saturday 11 May between 9.30 – 11.00am our school and ELC will be open for new families to come and take a tour as part of the enrolment period.

At the same time, I invite all current families to take the opportunity to visit the school. It would be great for your child/ren to show you around the school and to share their learning for the year. We will have a coffee cart here just to get the weekend started!

Please come along and be part of what I hope will be a busy and exciting morning at St Joseph’s.

Syro Malabar

Many may not be aware but for many years St Joseph’s Parish has welcomed the Syro Malabar community to celebrate Mass and to use our shared facilities. This has been a very rewarding and enriching experience, which we have seen when they have joined our school fetes and been active contributors to parish events. The school has also been used on most weekends during the school year, for the running of catechism classes and community gatherings. This weeken marks the end of our shared agreement with the Syro Malabar community, as they move to St Jude’s Parish and in time, to their own church and community space at Symonston. Please see a message from Fr Binesh, as they prepare for their final catechism classes this Saturday.

Dear Cameron, and St Joseph’s School Team 

I am writing to express my sincere gratitude on behalf of the Syro-Malabar community for the generous support and assistance provided by St Joseph’s School  in allowing us to conduct our catechism classes at your esteemed institution.

…your willingness to open your doors to us reflects not only a spirit of inclusivity and cooperation but also a commitment to supporting diverse cultural and religious practices within our community.

We are truly grateful for the generosity and hospitality extended to us by the school administration, staff, and students…

Please convey our heartfelt thanks to all those involved in making this collaboration possible.

Warm regards,

Fr Binesh Joseph CST

Parish Priest

St Alphonsa Syro Malabar Parish Canberra

Please note therefore that Saturday 11 May will be a very busy day at the school with the Open Day and also catechism classes for the Syro Malabar community.

Tuning into Kids Program

Anna Cater, our School and Family Counsellor, is offering parents the opportunity to access the Tuning into Kids program this term. Anna ran this program last year and received great feedback on the strategies it provided parents.

Please see the flyer below for more information. This program and the topics covered, tie well into what we as a school are working on, assisting students to regulate their emotions and to build resilience.

A reminder that Friday 10 May is a very special day for our school as we celebrate Mother’s Day and host our annual breakfast. We are looking forward to welcoming all of our families into the school. Following the breakfast, Year 5 are leading the Mother’s Day Prayer Celebration.

Family Engagement with Faith

Below is a resource that has been compiled and published by Catholic School Parents Archdiocese Canberra Goulburn - https://www.parents.cg.catholic.edu.au/ . The activities are designed to encourage families to engage in faith-based activities with their child throughout term two. I hope that parents find some time to look at some of these activities.

A reminder that we have signed up to a school membership of this wonderful parenting and professional learning resource.

We encourage all parents and carers to access the St Joseph's Happy Families unique URL and to make the most of the great articles and resources. Full details were sent out via Compass.

Have a great end to the week.

Yours in Christ,

Cameron Tarrant

cameron.tarrant@cg.catholic.edu.au