Week 4 Newsletter Term 3

Dear Parents and Guardians,

NAIDOC week has been a great opportunity to really celebrate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and recognise the wonderful contributions of Indigenous Australians.  We have enjoyed learning about the languages, art, culture and traditions of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in our school community and have explored the meaning of Voice, Treaty, Truth.  

Together we recognise the importance of listening to the voices of our First Nations People and we respect the diversity of our First Nation’s Peoples: their histories, cultures, knowledges and continuing deep spiritual connection to the land, seas and waterways. We celebrate the unique giftedness that our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students and families contribute to the unique context of our school. A huge thanks to Ms Tari Sagigi and Ms Lillian Miller who worked tirelessly all week coordinating activities and the many visitors who came together with us to share their voice throughout the week. Friday’s Whole school Mass was an uplifting experience that showed a true connection of hearts, minds and spirits. 

Each week as I visit classes, we continue learning more about Growth Mindset, challenging student and adult learners alike to take risks, grow from mistakes and continually challenge ourselves to improve and refine understandings and skills. We are learning to lean into discomfort i.e. persist with a problem or issue to explore new ways of thinking, working and collaborating to be successful. At the heart of developing effective learners is the concept of pushing through discomfort which in Visible Learning language is referred to as ‘The Learning Pit’ to achieve personal goals. Learners of all ages need opportunities to ‘have a go’. It is an expectation at St Joseph’s that we all take responsibility for our learning, can talk about our learning, know where we are in our learning, what success looks like and our next steps. We encourage student to ask themselves 5 questions about their learning.

1. What am I learning?
2. How am I doing?
3. How do I know?
4. What can I do to improve?
5. Where do I go to get help?

Parenting expert Michael Grose also highlights the significance of children being able to tolerate discomfort or sit with uncomfortable feelings. In his recent article (attached to the newsletter) “Helping kids to tolerate discomfort” he suggests that it is useful to think of discomfort as a ‘muscle’ that becomes stronger with training.

The Public Health Unit has beuan screening students to identify who may be at risk from Step A. Screening will continue on Monday. Parents are welcome to attend the screening of your child although it will be difficult to give you an accurate time as there is no clear schedule due to the nature of the process. No medical treatment is administered at the school, but any child considered at risk will have parents contacted by the Public Health Unit to organise treatment. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact us so we can give you the contact details for the Public Health Unit.

How did St Mary of the Cross MacKillop become a saint?

On Thursday 8th August we celebrated the feast day of Saint Mary of the Cross MacKillop. St Mary of the Cross MacKillop is Australia’s first saint. To become recognised as a Saint is more than just being a good person who followed in the footsteps of Jesus. 

There are three things to look at if a person is to be considered for sainthood (canonization is the Church’s term). First, the person must be beatified, thought of as having “heroic virtue;” second, they must be thought of as being in heaven, and third, they must be recognized by the Catholic Church to have interceded for those still here on Earth (a miracle).  To become canonized, at least two miracles are required, and the miracles come for a petitioner praying to the person for help. The miracles must be documented and investigated. There must not be means other than divine intervention that could have caused the miracle.                                                                               The process to have MacKillop declared a saint began in the 1920s, and she was beatified in January 1995 by Pope John Paul II. Pope Benedict XVI prayed at her tomb during his visit to Sydney for World Youth Day 2008 and in December 2009 approved the Catholic Church's recognition of a second miracle attributed to her intercession. She was canonised on 17 October 2010, during a public ceremony in St Peter's Square at the Vatican. She is the first Australian to be recognised by the Catholic Church as a saint. 

God Bless!