Principal's Piece

Dear Friends and Families

This week marked the first week of Advent for us as a school. Whilst Advent doesn’t officially start until Sunday 28^th November we want the opportunity to reflect on each of the four weeks of Advent before students depart for the holidays. At Mass, after praying the Lord’s Prayer, we hear “. . . as we await the blessed hope and the coming of our Saviour, Jesus Christ.” This prayer reminds us that during Advent, we wait in joy, in hope, and in anticipation for the wonderful event we are about to experience—the feast of Christmas, the coming of Christ into our lives in new ways, the return of Christ in glory at the end of time. As the Church, we wait during Advent and look forward to celebrating the fact that God loves us so much that he sent his Son into the world to save us. This waiting is far from empty; rather, it is full of the hope that God promises us as we prepare for Christ in the feast of Christmas (D Todd Williamson). Our Monday morning assembly this week included our first Advent reflection which centred around the theme of hope. We will continue exploring the different themes of Advent over the rest of the term. You are welcome to join us for our Advent liturgies at 8am Monday mornings.

A reminder that we still have no Canteen Manager. Thank you to all those families who continue to send their children to school with recess and lunch. Those children who come to school with no food are provided with a basic emergency lunch, however this means we have to take one of our staff members away from their normal duties. If you have time to help us make some of the emergency lunches we are very happy to have volunteers in the canteen. Please see Miss Eileen if you are available to help.

Over the last few weeks several students have engaged in unsafe play at school. When we talk with them about this we often hear that they are emulating TV shows or online games that are not suitable for children and should definitely not be played or watched without the supervision of an adult. We ask you to talk with your child about what they are watching and playing online and about appropriate ways of playing and interacting with others. If you would like any support in this area please don’t hesitate to discuss this with me.

This Thursday is the last day of swimming lessons for the year. We know the children have enjoyed the opportunity to visit the pool each week and they have made great improvements in their swimming ability. Thank you to Miss Gehrmann, Miss Bec and Mr Jamie for leading this swimming program. It has also been great having our AFAFE families involved with swimming lessons this term.

For planning purposes St Joseph’s OSHC would like to know if families are returning next year. We have an extensive waiting list so if you no longer need care in 2022 we would appreciate being informed. Unfortunately, we have made the difficult decision to not accept Kindergarten students for 2022 as this drastically reduces the number of students we are able to accept due to the higher staff to student ratio required. If you are interested in booking your child into the January Vacation Care program please make sure you let Ena at OSHC know on 9166 0135 .

This is the last week to provide your feedback about St Joseph’s. If you haven’t already done so please complete the parent survey. This feedback will be used to inform the school’s strategic plan for the next three years and also our school improvement goals for 2022. If you can please complete the survey online by going to www.NSIPartnerships.com.au and then enter the code SJKPACS. If you would prefer a paper copy to complete they are available from the front office.

Enjoy the rest of your week.

 Miss Gabby

Principal

Advent Reflection Week 1 – Hope

Advent is a time for remembering and reflecting on the birth of Jesus. Father, I pray that you will turn our hearts toward you as Christmas approaches. Let us not get caught up in the hustle and bustle of the season this year and miss the chance to celebrate the gifts of hope, peace, joy, love, that you sent to us on that first Christmas.

Father God, every word in scripture points to the gift of hope that we have because of Christ Jesus. The Christmas story wasn’t the beginning of that message of hope because the old testament is full of glimpses of your plan to redeem your people and restore them into a relationship with you, but we are able to truly begin to see and understand just how great your love for us is when we read the story of Jesus’ birth in scripture.

O God, open our hearts to prepare the way for the coming of Christ. Guide us in your ways of compassion so that we may extend your love and mercy to all people.

God of our waiting, We light this candle to remind us of the great promise that your Son, Jesus, will be born anew among us. We pray that you may deepen our awareness of the mystery of God in our lives, as revealed in your Son, Jesus.

~ Amen ~

 

Be alert and watchful for the needs of others this week and be ready to respond.