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

Mary was always faithful to God’s will.

She was faithful at the stable in Bethlehem, she was faithful on the flight to Egypt,

she was faithful when Jesus was lost in the temple, she was faithful in Nazareth

and she was faithful at the foot of the cross.

We pray that we will follow her example and be faithful to God’s will in our lives.

 We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ and your Holy Spirit. Amen

March 25 is the Feast of the Annunciation. “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him . . . might have eternal life.” (John 3:16) At the Annunciation, God revealed this good news to Mary. She was the first to hear and to believe that God would do what he promised. Her faith told her that nothing is impossible for God. Mary also heard God’s invitation calling her to be the Virgin Mother of his Son.

This call meant that Jesus would be formed in her womb, and she, as his mother, would nourish and care for him. This call meant that she had a special place in God’s plan for salvation. Mary replied, “I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” (Luke 1:38) In saying yes, Mary agreed to God’s plan because she wanted what God wanted. She was willing to accept all the joy and pain, all the unexpected events. She was willing to bring Christ to a waiting world.

On Thursday, 4 Green will lead our classes in a Prayer Celebration to break open this significant event in our religious calendar. Thank you to Miss Cawdron and 4 Green for your preparation.  

Year 6 Camp

Our wet and weary Year 6 students (and teachers) returned home this afternoon from their 3-day camp at Jindabyne Sports and Recreation Centre. They did not let the dreary weather dampen their fun. Here are some of their highlights ...

Canoeing on the lake. It was fun and we got to try some new things - Rachel N

Survival skills and using a flint and steel - Pawel W

Playing the indoor games such as dodge frisbee - Angela L

Trivia night and the food - Juliana L

Doing the races when canoeing - Daniel M

Learning new circus skills and hearing stories from the instructors - Amaliga S / Olivia F

Building the shelters when doing the survival skills - Kennedy W

The survival skills and having to work with my team to decide on the design of our hut - Kristian S

Getting to sing Frozen at the end of Trivia Night - All of Year 6 

Thank you to Jake, Emily and Cameron for sharing this experience with the Year 6 students. Opportunities like this do not happen without a lot of preparation and planning. 

Seasons for Growth

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 a 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.

If you think your child/ren would benefit from being part of our Seasons for Growth program by coming together in a safe space to share their experiences of change or loss please email catherine.parmenter@cg.catholic.edu.au by next Wednesday 31 March. The program will begin in Week 1 next term.

Social and Emotional Learning

Belly Breathing: This anchor breathing technique has calmative benefits. It is completed while lying on the floor with legs slightly bent, knees resting in against each other and feet against the floor. Children place their hand, folded paper boat or soft toy on their stomach, watching it rise and fall with each breath.

Breathing in slowly through the nose, children feel their stomach push against their hand, or watch the object rise toward the ceiling, as air fills the deepest point in their lungs. They are to keep their chest as still as possible, exhaling through tensed lips while tightening their abdominal muscles, letting them fall forward.

House Points

Students are permitted to wear free clothes this Friday as a reward for reaching their 1000 point Benchmark.

The current standing for House Points is:

Fatima - 2228

Lourdes - 1759

Loretto - 1724

Madonna - 1454

I wonder if Fatima will be able to hold their lead until next week? 

Chickenpox

There have been reports of an outbreak of Chickenpox across ACT schools. Please see the Chickenpox Fact Sheet  from ACT Health for more information about this infectious disease. Any students with Chickenpox are to remain away from school until the last blister has scabbed over.

I hope you have an enjoyable end to the week.