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

Building Children’s Confidence

Wellbeing is about balance in all aspects in life. It encompasses the health of the whole person – physical, mental, social and emotional. A person’s wellbeing can change moment to moment, day to day, month to month and year to year. It can be influenced by what’s happening in a specific moment and the actions that people take. One particular aspect of helping the wellbeing of children is to nurture their confidence. Feeling confident helps children do well in all aspects of their life, both now and into the future. The below fact sheet offers suggestions about nurturing confidence through resilience, praise, motivation and optimism.

House Points

With only 2 and a half weeks left in Term 3 our House Point tally is very close and all houses have nearly reached the benchmark reward of 1500 points. The current points stand at:

Fatima      1481

Lourdes      1431

Madonna  1344

Louretto    1127

When Houses reach the benchmark of 1500 points they will be able to have a free clothes day and the house with the most points for the end of term will be given a pizza lunch. Good luck to all Houses!

Welcome Back

I know I speak on behalf of all the staff and students when I warmly welcome Catherine Parmenter back to school and also thank Linley Ellis for her wonderful care and energy in the Library in Catherine’s absence. In light of Catherine’s return, the Season’s for Growth program will recommence in Week 1 of Term 4.

School Musical – Wednesday 25 and Thursday 26 September

Have you brought your tickets yet? ‘A Night in the Library’ is sure to be a showcase of the talents of all our students as we follow the adventure of three inquisitive children as they uncover the secrets behind a mysterious book. Some books really do have the power to hook you until the very last page!

Tickets are on sale on Qkr! until 4pm on Thursday 19 September.

Save the date

Grandparent’s and Special Friend’s Day on Thursday 24 October. Please share this date with those who would like to join us on the day.

In closing, may I ask that we all keep Sue Dempsey, the former Principal of St Joseph’s in our thoughts and prayers. Sue’s mother passed away earlier this week.

Yours in Christ,

Amy Doszpot

Assistant Principal

amy.doszpot@cg.catholic.edu.au 

Religious Life of the School

Last week I shared with you the Gospel message that:

This week I will introduce the 3rd Phase of the Evangelisation process: Conversion - a change of heart to a complete and sincere adherence to Christ and his Gospel through faith.

We know we have experienced conversion (a change of Heart) when we engage in:

• Prayer- Top priority for a disciple; quiet time alone with God each day
• Scripture: Listening to The Word; The Holy Spirit brings word alive for us
• The Eucharist; we are nourished and the fire of love is stoked in our hearts
• Community- Grow in holiness within community relationships
• The Sacramental life of the Church- We are the body of Christ

Where do you see yourself in your faith journey?

Prayer and Worship 

Student-Led Christian Prayer

Each Friday, after first break, Year 6 lead classes in prayer with a focus on the Gospel for the coming Sunday.

Liturgical Season: Twenty-Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C

Liturgical Season Colour: Green

This week the focus is on the Gospel of Luke 15: 1-10

Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him. And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, “This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.”

So he told them this parable: “Which one of you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that is lost until he finds it? When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders and rejoices. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbours, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.

The Parable of the Lost Coin

“Or what woman having ten silver coins,[a] if she loses one of them, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? When she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbours, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

At home, we invite you to read the upcoming Gospel as a family and discuss our focus questions for the week.

1. Why do think Jesus chose to tell this story?
2. How did the woman react when she found what she had lost?

Celebrating Liturgy and Sacraments

Grandparents and Special Friends Day

Upcoming Class Masses

This year we have been working to strengthen our connection with our Parish. One way we have been achieving this is for classes to attend one grade mass per term. Families are very welcome to join us for these masses. The upcoming masses are:

• Friday 6th September, 9:15am: Grade 3 and Grade 6
• Friday 13th September, 9:15am: Grade 2 and Grade 6
• Friday 27th September, 9:15am: Foundation and Grade 5

Sacraments

Sacrament of Confirmation

Last Saturday evening we continued our formation sessions for the Sacrament of Confirmation in The Hub. It was lovely to see the parents and children coming together to learn about the Gifts of the Holy Spirit and how these relate to virtues.

Please contact Father Paul  if you have any questions about the Sacrament of Confirmation at: paul_nulley@hotmail.com

Upcoming Confirmation Classes Year 6

5.15pm in the Learning Hub followed by Mass at 6.00pm in the Church

• Saturday 14 September
• Saturday 21 September

Sacrament of Confirmation

• Sunday 13 October 9am

Social Action & Justice

Action For Justice

Year 6 are busy undertaking market research, developing their packaging and marketing materials for their Lip Balm Pop-up shop coming to you before the end of Term 3.

Religious Identity and Culture

Ethos and Charism

Our strategic priority to deepen our St Joseph’s identity means to deepen our understanding of our Josephite Charism.  We can learn much about our Josephite Charism through quotes from Saint Mary Mackillop. This week our quote is:

Evangelisation and Faith Formation

Faith Formation

Did you know that we have a Theology study group here in the St Joseph’s Parish? This evening, the group meets at 7.30pm at the Parish Centre. The focus for this week is on unpacking the Apostles Creed. In particular the phrase “I believe in the Holy Spirit…”

See the St Joseph’s Parish Facebook page for more information.

Melanie Stratford

Religious Education Coordinator

melanie.stratford@cg.catholic.edu.au 

Sustainability in Action

Chickens Everywhere!

It is officially Spring and new life is all around us! Foundation has proudly hatched 5 (as of press time) baby chicks. One lucky chick will become a part of our new school hen crew! Green Team and some helpful others have loved taking on the responsibility of feeding and caring for our nameless chickens. On Friday, Week 9, the Green Team will judge a compost bin decorating contest where the winners will get to name our fine-feathered friends.

"Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's need, but not every man's greed." - Mahatma Gandhi

Ryan McGee

Sustainability Coordinator

ryan.mcgee@cg.catholic.edu.au 

Remembrance Day Service at St Joseph’s will be held at 10.30 Monday November 11 in the courtyard. Please let me know if you would be interested in taking on a role during the ceremony. Morning tea will be served in the staff room following the service. All welcome.

Defence Community Organisation

DCO supporting males build social networks in Canberra – all male ADF partners and male serving members who are MWDU in Canberra are invited to join DCO for a ‘Blokes night off’ at the Durham in Kingston.

Below is the link to Eventbrite where you can register attendance.

https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/an-adf-members-and-partners-event-blokes-night-off-trivia-canberra-tickets-71615595173?utm-medium=discovery&utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&aff=escb&utm-source=cp&utm-term=listing

Battleship and Banana Joe and Lego still a big hit with the older kids.

Ella and Ava enjoyed making ANZAC slice this week. I hope there was some left to take home girls! We had glitter glue and sparkles this week for craft which was loved by the Foundation girls.

Sally Adams

Defence Support Mentor

sally.adams@cg.catholic.edu.au 

Happy birthday to these students celebrating their birthdays this week.

Henry D

Jigme C

Pritika T

Christelle M

Amani N

Ajmer S