Dear Parents,

Life here at St Joseph’s is definitely returning back to ‘normal’, as can be seen by the very full calendar of the last few weeks.  Though exhausting, it is also exhilarating.  To be able to come together as a whole school to celebrate our patron saint , St Joseph, was wonderful.  The outdoor liturgy, led beautifully by Year 1 students was very special and the tabloid activities that were facilitated by our Year 6 students were great fun for all. Even Mr Michael Nolan got in on the act with pinning a moustache on a larger than life photo of me.  I think this was one of the most popular activities of all.  Though the parachute, tug of war and obstacle course all came a close second, I feel.  There was a great community spirit felt all throughout the school on that day.

The following day we acknowledged National Call to Action Day against Bullying and Violence.  Again, with the help of Year 6 student leaders all students engaged in activities and discussions around what bullying is and is not, how to be proactive if bullying occurs and each class has a pledge which all classmates have signed to say that they will not engage in unkind behaviours such as bullying.  To help children further their understanding around bullying and equip them with strategies, all classes will engage, over the next few months as sessions become available, with an online session with staff from Kids Helpline.  The class teachers will inform you of when their session is so that you can engage with your children around this topic.  The attached document, “Is it Bullying” is one that we find particularly useful to help children identify whether an incident is bullying or not.  We hope you find it useful too, when talking about school issues at home.

This week also saw us celebrate the diversity we have in our society, culturally and neurologically, as it is both Neuro-diversity Week and Harmony Week.  It has been enlightening to walk around the school and see various signs and posters created by the children that explain, acknowledge and celebrate the various neurodivergent traits people have.  To see these and hear the way our children are talking or acting towards and being inclusive of others gives us hope for a more understanding and accepting society. 

This is equally evident in the way children talk about and include others from cultures that are different to their own.  Monday’s Harmony Day celebrations were bright, colourful and reminded us all that we are so lucky to have so many different cultures contributing to make a fascinating, tolerant and inclusive 21st century Australian culture.

Huge Thanks 

Janelle Heffernan, the principal at St Carthages in Lismore, has expressed her and her community’s thanks for the donation of the filled backpacks.  Thanks for making a difference and helping your children to make a difference to someone’s life and their wellbeing.

“I just wanted to say a heartfelt thank you to you, your colleagues and your school communities for the very generous donation of backpacks filled with supplies for distribution to our school families who have been directly impacted by the recent floods in Lismore. Your generosity of time in driving to Lismore to deliver was amazing.

We have had about 35 families (60 students) who have lost their homes and all of their possessions. We have so many more who had flood water in their homes but managed to save some of their possessions. Many families have lost their businesses and are unsure at this stage whether they will rebuild. 

Our students have now returned to school and the smile on their faces when they saw the backpacks was priceless. It brought tears to our eyes. The older students expressed their feelings saying that they couldn't believe that people so far away would care enough about them to help them out.

Our little people were filled with excitement when they got to pick their own bag and there were so many to choose from!

We now have the majority of our students back at school and even though we are unable to occupy 10 classrooms, our school hall and our administration block we are managing in the spaces we have. We are cohabiting with builders so that is, at times, interesting. We also are not able to use any of our green spaces so we have empathy for schools in the city who operate only on hard surfaces! We have told our students that they are on an adventure and they have coped beautifully.

So again I say thank you and hope that you will be able to pass on our thanks to the other schools that were involved in this massive effort.

Our school leaders have done a little video to share. 

I wish you all the best for the remainder of the term and we pray that the Easter season brings with it a message of hope for our devastated communities.”

Backpack_Drive_Thank_You.pptx

Reflecting back on the last two weeks I feel so very grateful for what I have, what we have as a community and I am very aware that so many others are nowhere near as fortunate as us.  To finish off with, I ask you to take a quiet minute to offer up this prayer for those people in the flood affected areas of our country and for the millions of people in the Ukraine experiencing immense devastation and trauma.

Most merciful and compassionate God,
Giver of Life and Love, hear our prayers and let our cries come unto you.
We weep with your people
We hear the cries of displaced children and laments of distressed parents
We feel the desperation of those searching for loved ones 
We behold the silence of vanished towns and villages.
We see the devastation.

We are overwhelmed by the enormity of it all.
Our hearts are hushed, our minds are numb.
Let not our hands be stopped, our voices dumb.
God of the universe, open our hearts to feel your compassion
Galvanize in us the act of continued giving
Bond us to our sisters and brothers in need
Comfort and heal the injured, the bereaved, the lost
Strengthen the aid workers and medical personnel
Bolster the resolve of governments and those with power to help
Open through these tragedies pathways to partnerships and peace
In Your Name of mercy and healing and compassion we pray. 

Amen