Religious Life of the School 

Lent

Ash Wednesday is the 40th day before Easter Sunday. We begin the season of Lent with Ash Wednesday. As Catholics we are marked with a cross of ash as a reminder that we must turn to the Gospel.  The use of ashes, made by burning palm crosses from the previous Palm Sunday, is very symbolic. The minister or priest marks each of us on the forehead, and says remember you are dust and unto dust you shall return. The marking of the cross of the forehead reminds us that  we should be sad for our sins and that we also must change ourselves for the better.  

We change our prayer cloths and altar frontals to the colour Purple during this time. Purple is the symbolic colour and is used for two reasons: firstly because it is associated with mourning and penance. This colour symbolises and anticipates the pain and suffering of the crucifixion. Secondly because purple is the colour associated with royalty, and celebrates Christ's resurrection and sovereignty.

Ash Wednesday – 26th February 2020 

This week the season of Lent begins with Ash Wednesday, which also marks the beginning of the annual Caritas Australia Project Compassion Appeal. Donations to Project Compassion allow Caritas Australia, the Catholic Agency for International Aid and Development, to work with local communities around the world to alleviate poverty, hunger, oppression and injustice. 

We encourage you to put your compassion into action this Lent through your prayer, fasting and almsgiving by supporting Project Compassion. Each class will receive a Project Compassion box for donations. 

Let’s Go Further, Together! 

Curriculum News

AUSLAN

The students are loving their AUSLAN lessons with Miss Yasi. To help practise at home I have included a finger spelling chart so we can all learn some of the basics together. Happy signing!

SeeSaw- Prep to Year 3

SeeSaw is a fantastic new app that the school has purchased. It allows students to show their learning with built-in annotation tools to capture their learning and store in a digital portfolio. Students can write, draw, video, narrate, upload documents and images to demonstrate their understanding. This allows your child’s teacher to easily monitor their progress and provide feedback on their journey. Teachers can provide feedback orally or in written form. You are able to walk along side your child and view their learning portfolio and see what learning is taking place at school. Teachers will be sending out parent invites to join their class in due course. 

Google Classroom- Year 4 to Year 6

Our teachers from Year 4 to Year 6 have established online classrooms using Google Classrooms. Google Classroom is a safe online application where teachers can create classes online, distribute work and assignments to students. The application allows students to submit work on a variety of platforms and teachers can monitor progress and provide feedback to students. What an exciting time to be a student at St Joseph’s working in a 21st Century class. 

May St. Joseph smile on you, 

Meg Newell