St Joseph's Parish School Weipa eNewsletter

APRE

A note from the APRE

Lent – What is it?

Lent is the liturgical season that prepares us for Easter, the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. We began lent on Ash Wednesday and it lasts for forty days, not counting Sundays. Ash Wednesday is the day that we were marked with ashes on our forehead to remind us of our mortality. The Bible tells us that we came from dust, that God, our Creator, breathed life into us, and we shall again return to dust of the earth. Holy Thursday officially ends Lent, although we still observe Good Friday and Holy Saturday as part of Lent. During Lent, we prepare ourselves for Easter through prayer, almsgiving and fasting. How can we do this?

Prayer: We can find time in our day to pray. Thanking God for what we have.

Almsgiving: We can donate to Project Compassion. Help others in need.

Fasting: We can give up something. Not eat red meat on Fridays.

Project Compassion

This year, Project Compassion brings us the stories of three resilient women from three different corners of the world. They are facing vastly different challenges, but are all united by one dream: to create a better tomorrow for all future generations. Through Project Compassion, the students will get to know the stories of Ronita, Leaia and Memory, and see how the money they raise helps others in need.

The St Joseph’s Community will be fundraising during Lent to raise money for Project Compassion, so that we can be a part of creating a better tomorrow for future generations. Each class will hold their own fundraiser with all money raised being sent to Caritas Australia at the end of the term.

Here is a little information about the women in the stories, so you can discuss them with your child at home:

Ronita from the Philippines lives with her husband and two children. With the money from Caritas, she was able to go back to school to finish her education so that she could earn money to support her children.

Leaia from Samoa. Not having access to a reliable source of clean water was very difficult for Leaia and her family. But, with the support of Caritas Australia, a water tank was installed at their home.

Memory from Malawi. She was able to get training to become a carpenter and is now a trailblazer for future generations of women in her village.

Please help us by donating to the Project Compassion donation boxes in each classroom, and supporting all the fundraiser events the students hold this term. Our small donations go a long way!

Shrove Tuesday

Tuesday last week was Shrove Tuesday, also known as Pancake Day. This is the day before Lent begins where we feast before we fast. The staff at St Joey’s cooked pancakes for all the students and they enjoyed these in the morning.

Ash Wednesday Liturgy

Wednesday last week was Ash Wednesday and marked the beginning of Lent. We celebrated as a community with a liturgy in our Church where each student received the sign of the cross on their forehead in ash. The ashes used came from burnt leftover palms from Palm Sunday last year.

Opening School Mass

Monday this week we celebrated the beginning of a new school year with an Opening Mass in our Church. Fr. Dariusz joined us and it was a lovely whole school celebration. As part of the Mass the Year 6 students had their Student Leader Commissioning where they were presented with their Student Leader badges and shared a Leadership pledge they had written.

Mass & Welcome BBQ

Please join our St Joesph’s Mass at 6pm Saturday 16th March followed by a shared BBQ dinner at the school. This is a great way to meet other families in our Parish and get to know each other a little better. Our students will have readings and other duties during the Mass and it would be lovely to see many families together, celebrating our patron Saint Joseph.

Uniforms

Wear the correct uniform on the right days, e.g. Term 1 Sport uniform on Thursdays (and swimming days) and Formal uniform on all other days.
Wear fully black shoes with navy blue socks or wear navy blue/black crocs on wet weather days (no jibbitz).
Wear hair tied up if it is past our shoulders with small navy blue, black or white hair ties (boys & girls). Hair is to be clean, neat and tidy. Hair must not fall or obscure the face. No extreme hairstyles or colouring in unnatural tones.
Wear the right type of earrings or jewelry. Earrings- one set of small gold/silver studs/sleepers. No other piercings allowed. Jewelry- one fine gold/silver chain with small religious pendant. Watch- a small watch (Smart watches must be switched to airplane mode whilst on school grounds).
Bring a SJW school hat & SJW school bag every day.
Make-up or nail polish is not allowed. Nails must be kept to a minimum length.