This Week Let us include in our prayers….. 

• Our fragile home; planet earth. May we dare to find new ways of living and working so that we do less harm to our common home and ensure the most vulnerable have food in their bellies and homes for their heads to rest at night. 
• A proliferation of friendships within our local communities and abroad. May our humanity and hope foster new ways of relating and being near and afar. 
• Catholic Schools and communities across the country. That we continue to strive to make a difference in the lives of those in our schools and the wider community by challenging young people to live out the message of Jesus and to reach their full potential as compassionate, contributing, life-giving members of society.  
• For those families who have recently lost a loved one. May you find strength to cope with the challenges ahead during the period of grieving. We pray that God’s great wings of love surround you during this time.  

Sunday’s Gospel - 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time 

Please find shared in this week’s newsletter: the Sunday prayer at home which has some wonderful resources to unpack this week’s readings in a family friendly way.   

This week’s Gospel from Matthew is another Parable about the Kingdom of God. The question is raised for us….. Just what is the “kingdom of heaven”? There is no doubt that Jesus has a passion for the Kingdom and he wants us to share it. The Kingdom is a central feature in his mission of teaching and healing. But it remains elusive, even baffling, like the parables he tells that both hide and reveal this concept.   

On Sunday Matthew’s Gospel brings Jesus’ Parable Sermon to a close with three more stories. Two of them call for decisive action while the third counsels’ patience. Something that is always a challenge for me! Faced with such different demands that we might well cast up our prayers for the gifts of wisdom as well. Sunday’s readings also reassure us that our lives are in good hands. We are surrounded by God’s loving purposes that will come to glorious fulfilment if we hold strong to our faith. Sunday Reading Reflections 

Catholic Education Week 

This week we are celebrating Catholic Education Week. Whilst the public launches may have been postponed due to the Pandemic, at St Joseph’s we are still going to celebrate and recognise Catholic Education in Queensland this week. Here are some ideas that you could do at home to Celebrate prayer life and the value of a Catholic Education: 

Prayer Space:  

This week you could create a prayer space in your home. This can be done with a small table and some coloured cloth that reflects the season in the Church year, we are currently in green for ordinary time. Find a candle and a crucifix (if you have one). You might also like to add some flowers and prayer stones. If you have a Bible it could be placed in the space as well opened to a favourite passage or story. Try not to over clutter the space. Keep it simple, students love to decorate the space.  

Routine:  

This week, try to have all of the family participate in a routine where they gather each day (perhaps before bedtimes). Each person might offer their own thoughts about what or whom they would like to pray for. 

Pray in Creation: 

Sit outside each day and take a moment to listen to the sounds, paying attention to what you can feel and see. Give thanks to God as you sit in stillness, peace and quiet.  

Gratitude Prayer: 

Share a moment of your day that you are grateful for with someone else.  

Meditative prayers: 

Practice silence and stillness. Light a candle to remind you of the presence of God and sit quietly alone or with others in your family. Close your eyes and become aware of your breath. You might like to include a mantra. Maranatha is an ancient Aramaic work meaning come Lord Jesus. This can be repeated gently with the breath. Spend 5-10 minutes (even a minute is fine and work your way up to five). 

Traditional Prayers: 

Traditional prayers can provide comfort in repetition and simplicity. They can help to refocus the mind. These prayers have been prayed by members of the Catholic community for the past 174 years as they celebrate God and their faith. Take time to say the Our Father and/or the Hail Mary. Perhaps you can pray a decade of the Rosary as a family and share who or what is your offering for the prayer.  

Ignatian Examen: 

This prayer comes from Ignatius Loyola the founder of the Jesuits (Pope Francis is a Jesuit). The Examen has 5 simple steps: 

Stillness: Stop and become present in the moment. Let the ‘noise’ inside your head stop and be aware of God.  

Thanks: Think of the things you are grateful for in your day. Don’t rush this- you might realise there are things you would have expected and yet some surprises.  

Awareness: Think and pray a bit more. What is really going on in your mind and heart share your thoughts, and feelings with God.  

Sorrow: Now share with God what you are sorry for and now name how you can do things better. 

Hope: Look ahead to tomorrow. What is a positive way you could look at  a new day?  

Week 4- Whole School Liturgy 

We will be having our first school liturgy of the word on Friday the 7th August. We will be celebrating Catholic Education Week and importantly the feast day of our second patron saint St Mary of the Cross.  The students will be learning all about St Mary of the Cross (Mary Mackillop) with a particular focus on what she means to us here at St Joseph’s.  One of the most used, motivating and known sayings of Mary Mackillop is ‘never see a need without doing something about it’. A motto that has become infused in the St Joseph’s Weipa  spirit.  We can all learn a great deal from the inspiration of Mary Mackillop, she was a champion for the poor and needy, she had no troubles rolling up her sleeves and getting her hands dirty, she believed in the importance of education, she was an advocate for social justice and she stood up for what was right no matter the cost. A true inspiration!   

Curriculum News 

Assessments 

This week the staff worked collaboratively to examine quality assessment tasks.  We identified the elements of quality assessments and reflected on the importance of creating assessments that were reliable, valid, engaging, inclusive and most importantly aligned to the Australian Curriculum Achievement Standard.  

Teachers at St Joseph’s work hard to ensure that assessing students learning is an ongoing cycle. During each teaching period we use the student’s assessments to gauge what the students know, what we need to teach and where to next.  Assessment is the ongoing process of gathering, analysing and reflecting on the evidence of students’ work to make an informed and consistent judgement to improve their future learning. This is done through three types of assessments. 

• Assessment for learning, this is formative assessment used by the teacher to understand what it is that students already know so teaching can be planned and differentiated.  

• Assessment as learning, this is formative assessment where teachers gather and monitor students working during the teaching cycle to ensure that the student is understanding the concepts being taught. This is important as it will identify any areas that may need consolidation or reteaching.  

• Assessment of learning, this is summative assessment as it is completed at the end of the teaching cycle. This is where students’ responses to the assessment task are moderated and marked against the Australian Curriculum to measure how well they have achieved.  

All three levels of assessment are equally important in all learning areas of the Curriculum.  

May St Joseph smile on you,  

Meg Newell 

APRE/CST