St Joseph's Newsletter

PROJECT COMPASSION: “BE MORE” 

Families received a Project Compassion box for their families to use to donate money during the liturgical season of Lent. These boxes went home with the oldest child in the family. 

Caritas Australia’s annual Lenten fundraising and awareness-raising appeal brings thousands of Australians together in solidarity with the world’s poor to help end poverty, promote justice and uphold dignity. 

A different story was featured each week during Lent to highlight the plight of those in need. This year the theme of this campaign was, ‘Be More’. 

Please return all Project Compassion boxes and envelopes to the school office by Wednesday 7th of April, or donate online via the Caritas website at lent.caritas.org.au 

Thank you. 

HOLY WEEK AT SCHOOL MONDAY 29 MARCH – TUESDAY 6 APRIL 

To assist the children to gain a deeper understanding of the Easter Story, classes are recreating the events through reenacting the story, from Jesus Entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday to the Resurrection at Easter. These are held here at school starting on Monday 29 March and running right through until Tuesday 6 April. Each of the representations will be approximately 15-20 minutes long.  

The Resurrection and Easter celebration will be held on Tuesday of Week 11, hosted by 3M.

The Easter Triduum holds a special place in the Catholic Churches’ liturgical year because it marks the culmination of the yearly celebration in proclaiming the Passion and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Latin word triduum refers to a period of three days and has long been used to describe various three-day observances. It is most often used to describe the three days prior to the great feast of Easter: Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday and the Easter Vigil.

The Easter Triduum begins with the evening Mass of the Lord's Supper on Holy Thursday and "reaches its high point in the Easter Vigil, closing with evening prayer on Easter Sunday". 

During these three days of contemplation and anticipation the liturgies emphasize the sacrificial death of Christ on the Cross, and the sacraments of baptism and the Eucharist, by which the faithful enter into the life-giving Passion of Christ and grow in hope of eternal life in Him. 

The Triduum begins with the evening Mass of the Lord's Supper on Holy Thursday, which commemorates when the Eucharist was instituted at the Last Supper by Jesus. The traditional English name for this day, "Maundy Thursday", comes from the Latin phrase Mandatum novum — "a new command" (or mandate) — which comes from Christ's words: "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; even as I have loved you, that you also love one another" (Jn 13:34). The Gospel reading for the liturgy is from the first part of the same chapter and depicts Jesus washing the feet of the disciples, an act of servitude (commonly done by slaves or servants in ancient cultures) and great humility.  

In this memorial of Jesus' last meal with His disciples, the faithful are reminded of the everlasting value of that meal, the gift of the priesthood, the impatience of remaining in relationship with God, the necessity of the approaching Cross, and the abiding love that the Lord has for His people. 

This is the first full day of the Easter Triduum, a day commemorating the Passion, Cross, and death of Jesus Christ, and therefore a day of strict fasting. The liturgy of the Lord's Passion consists of three parts: the liturgy of the Word, the veneration of the Cross, and the reception of Communion. Although Communion is given and received, this liturgy is not a Mass; this practice dates back to the earliest years of the Church and is meant to emphasize the sombre, mournful character of the day. The Body of Christ that is received by the faithful on Good Friday was consecrated the prior evening at the Mass of the Lord's Supper and, in most cases, was adored until midnight or another late hour.  

The cross is solemnly venerated after intercessory prayers are offered for the world and for all people. The deacon (or another minister) brings out the veiled cross in procession. The priest takes the cross, stands with it in front of the altar and faces the people, then uncovers the upper part of the cross, the right arm of the cross, and then the entire cross. As he unveils each part, he sings, "This is the wood of the cross." He places the cross and then venerates it; other clergy, lay ministers, and the faithful then approach and venerate the cross by touching or kissing it. In this way each person acknowledges the instrument of Christ's death and publicly demonstrates their willingness to take up their cross and follow Christ, regardless of what trials and sufferings it might involve.  

The ancient Church celebrated Holy Saturday with strict fasting in preparation of the celebration of Easter. After sundown the Christians would hold an all-night vigil, which concluded with baptism and Eucharist at the break of dawn. The same idea (if not the identical timeline) is found in the Easter Vigil today, which is the high point of the Easter Triduum and is filled with an abundance of readings, symbols, ceremony, and sacraments.  

The Easter Vigil, the Church states, ranks "the mother of all vigils". Being a vigil — a time of anticipation and preparation — it takes place at night, starting after nightfall and finishing before daybreak on Easter, thus beginning and ending in darkness. It consists of four general parts: the Service of Light, the Liturgy of the Word, Christian Initiation, and Liturgy of the Eucharist. 

The Service of Light begins outdoors (or in a space outside of the main sanctuary) and in darkness. A fire is lit and blessed, and then the Paschal candle, which symbolizes the light of Christ, is lit from the fire by the priest, who proclaims: "May the light of Christ, rising in glory, dispel the darkness of our hearts and minds." The biblical themes of light removing darkness and life overcoming death suffuse the entire Vigil. The Paschal candle will be placed in the sanctuary (usually by the altar) for the Easter season, then will be kept in the baptistery so that when the sacrament of baptism is administered the candles of the baptised can be lit from it.  

The Liturgy of the Word follows, consisting of seven readings from the Old Testament and two from the New Testament. These readings include the story of creation (Genesis 1 and 2), Abraham and Isaac (Genesis 22), the crossing of the Red Sea (Exodus 14 and 15), the prophet Isaiah proclaiming God's love (Isaiah 54), Isaiah's exhortation to seek God (Isaiah 55), a passage from Baruch about the glory of God (Baruch 3 and 4), a prophecy of Ezekiel (Ezekiel 36), Saint Paul on being baptized into Jesus Christ (Rom 6), and the Gospel of Luke about the empty tomb discovered on Easter morning (Luke 24:1-21).  

From the early days of the ancient Church the Easter Vigil has been the time for adult converts to be baptised and enter the Church. After the conclusion of the Liturgy of the Word, catechumens (those who have never been baptised) and candidates (those who have been baptised in a non-Catholic Christian denomination) are initiated into the Church by (respectively) baptism and confirmation. The faithful are sprinkled with holy water and renew their baptismal vows. Then all adult candidates are confirmed and general intercessions are stated. The Easter Vigil concludes with the Liturgy of the Eucharist and the reception of the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of the Crucified and Risen Lord. 

Easter is the celebration of Christ's resurrection from the dead. It is celebrated on Sunday, and marks the end of Holy Week, the end of Lent, the last day of the Easter Triduum and is the beginning of the Easter season of the liturgical year. 

As we know from the Gospels, Jesus Christ rose from the dead on the third day following his crucifixion, which would be Sunday. His resurrection marks the triumph of good over evil, sin and death. It is the singular event which proves that those who trust in God and accept Christ will be raised from the dead. 

Since Easter represents the fulfillment of God's promises to mankind, it is the most important holiday on the Christian calendar. 

In the Gospels, the precise details of the Easter narrative vary slightly, but none of these variances are critical to the main story. Despite the variances, the key aspects of the Easter story all match. Above all, they agree that the tomb of Christ was indeed empty, which is the most essential fact. 

Based on direct evidence from the mid-second century, it is believed that Easter was regularly celebrated from the earliest days of the Church. 

The Easter date is movable and always falls on a Sunday between March 22 and April 25. Easter in the Roman Catholic Church is always on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the spring equinox. 

Following Easter Sunday, the season of Easter begins and lasts for seven weeks, ending with Pentecost. 

Last Friday Mini Vinnies invited students to wear a touch of orange to raise awareness of Bullying and to promote harmony in our school.

They also hosted a disco at lunch and sold orange ribbons, raising around $170 for Caritas Project Compassion. This takes our total funds raised to $437.

While as a school community we don’t believe it is necessary for students to give each other Easter Eggs, as they often get a number at home, if children are wishing to share Easter eggs with their class members, we ask that this does not occur until Tuesday the 6th of April when the Resurrection has been celebrated. 

If teachers chose to give classes Easter eggs, this will not occur until then. The egg is a symbol of new life, hence why we wait until Easter to hand them out. Thank you.

Palm Sunday, 28th March

On Palm Sunday (March 28), St Joseph’s hosted the Sunday 9:30am Mass at Sacred Heart Church on Port Road at Hindmarsh. It was lovely to have families come along and join in this celebration with our local parish.

On Friday the 19th of March Australian religious songwriter and singer, Andrew Chinn, visited our school to share his songs with our children. It was a fantastic celebration and the students and staff all had a great day.

You can check out his website www.butterflymusic.com.au  where you can listen to some songs,

watch some video clips, and find out a bit more about his music. Andrew’s music is also available on iTunes.

Last week I visited the Year 4 students whilst on a sleepover at the Adelaide Zoo and was overjoyed to hear of their experiences and excitement! It was great to see that the parent volunteers also enjoyed themselves.  Thank you to Michelle, Angela, Jessica, Nimanthi and Shaun who helped make this excursion possible.  Thankyou! Thankyou! Thankyou!

With recent policy changes to staff:student ratios on excursions and to ensure costs are kept to a minimum it is absolutely VITAL to have parents assist with supervision on excursions, sports competitions and carnivals.  Your assistance when possible (we understand that many of you have working commitments) is greatly appreciated.

The Parents and Friends are organising a ‘Wish list.”  Teachers and Students are compiling a list of goals/items they'd like to fundraise for! The P & F want to hear from you too!  Please let a member of the P & F, your class representative or send an email to info@sjsh.catholic.edu.au with any suggestions you think need to be considered that would benefit the entire school?

We look forward to hearing from you!

Coming to Learning Journey on Wednesday 7th April? Let P&F cook your family dinner! 

? Slinging snags in bread + cold drinks between 4.45pm and 5.45pm from the school canteen. 

? Can we please ask you to pre order and pay via Qkr! as we will not be cash handling and this also helps us cater for the right amount of demand and eliminate waste. 

✅ Orders are open NOW and will close on Tuesday 6th at 9am. Just look under the P&F tab in Qkr! and give us a shout in the comments if you need help. 

? Snag in bread $2.50 (Onion, sauce and smiles are free) 

? Selection of canned drinks, fruit box & water $2.00

We will have some extra snags and drinks available to purchase on the night (but highly advise you pre order to be sure). Any ‘on the night’ orders will also need to be paid for via Qkr!

?? Kids can play on the playground on this evening, however must be supervised by parents.

I like to go to Port Power matches, read (especially Harry Potter), I love teaching Receptions because I get to see so much growth in children over the course of the year, I am from a huge family (one of eight siblings- we have a family dinner every Friday night all together which we call 'survivor night' because back in the day before anyone had kids, we used to watch American Survivor. I grew up on a farm near Crystal Brook.

On the 1st March, nine students from Year 3-6 represented our school at the SACPSSA Swimming Carnival. Well done Nayia, Monique, Mila, Grace, Savva, Laurence, Morrissey, Harry and Sebastian. Special congratulations to Harry Clinch who won Age Champion for Year 4. Awesome effort everyone!

Each year, millions of bread tags end up in landfill – but a concept out of South Africa has inspired an Adelaide charity to collect and recycle them, with the money gained helping the disabled. 

The year 4C class has started collecting bread tags for the organisation and is asking for your support.

Can you please gather and send in your bread tags with your child.

For more information on this charity, please click on the link below:

What an amazing effort that Ava has put into supporting the BREAD TAG Initiative of the Year 4 Class. She has gone above and beyond to support and think about making a difference for others. Just to put your mind at rest Ava and her family have not eaten all of the bread that has contributed to this “haul” of tags! She has enlisted the support of her extended family, her neighbours, her street and her Church community. THANK YOU AVA AND HER FAMILY FOR THEIR GREAT AND CONTINUING EFFORTS ?

On behalf of all the students in the 4C class, we would like to say a huge THANK YOU to Ava and all who have helped collect hundreds of bread tags for the charity we are involved in this year, ‘Aussie Bread Tags for Wheelchairs’. For more information on this charity, please click on the link below https://www.abc.net.au/7.30/adelaide-charity-recycling-bread-tags-for-a-good/13031710 

Please continue to COLLECT AND BRING IN YOUR BREAD TAGS. From Mrs Carter and the 4C class.

Please note the winter uniform is to be worn in Term 2 and 3. 

• Sports jackets are to be worn with the sports uniform.
• The wool jumper is to be worn with the school uniform.
• Predominantly white sneakers are to be worn with Sports Uniform.
• Black shoes are to be worn with the school uniform. 

Please refer to the image of our school uniform.

It is pleasing to see so many children and families using the crossing to walk safely across the street.  It is concerning to see parents and carers continuing to perform ‘u turns‘ or ‘3 point turns’ so close to the crossing.  Please DO NOT undertake ‘3 point’ turns or ‘U’ turns near the kiss and drop area.  Please note that council infringement officers will be patrolling the area regularly and infringement notices will be issued when vehicles are not following the rules.

Fines have been issued to parents who have not remained in their vehicles.

Personal hygiene and the hygiene standards in our school are critical to reducing the risk of infection.

All children and staff will need to continue to:

• wash their hands regularly, particularly after using the toilet and before eating
• avoid spreading infections to others by staying home if they are unwell
• cover a cough or sneeze with a tissue

SA Health encourages parents to provide children with their own personal, labelled and named drink water bottles. These can then be refilled at the drink fountains or water taps, rather than children drinking directly from the taps.

Parents will need to maintain social distancing when in the school yard or in classrooms. This is subject to change as we follow SA Health regulations.

Did you know St Joseph’s School Hindmarsh has been part of Credit Union SA’s School Community Rewards program since 2018?
The program brings a direct financial benefit to our school and is available for you to participate in at any time.

Who is Credit Union SA?
Credit Union SA is South Australia's third largest credit union, with over 50,000 members, and unlike the major banks, Credit Union SA’s profits go back to their members and the communities they live in.

How does School Community Rewards work?
 The School Community Rewards program allows you to nominate our school to receive a financial benefit for every product you have with Credit Union SA. So every home loan, car loan, insurance or savings account held by you will generate an ongoing annual benefit for our school.

You’ll get the benefits of Credit Union SA’s great rates and products, while also raising funds for our school without having to donate your time or money!

How will it help our school?
Funds generated through the School Community Rewards program will help us develop and upgrade our facilities, allowing us to further create a fantastic learning environment for all students. 
We have already raised over $2,000 through the program.  We are using this money towards the school grounds redevelopment. So just imagine what we could achieve with greater involvement from our School community.

Where can I find more information?
To find out more about how School Community Rewards benefits our school please talk to our School Community Rewards representative, Lucy Brooks on 0428 787 230.

All members of the school community must consider their own circumstances and obtain their own advice before joining School Community Rewards. The school takes no responsibility for any advice or product offered by Credit Union SA Ltd. This information is general in nature and does not take into account your own personal circumstances. It is important for you to consider the terms and conditions or Product Disclosure Statement before acquiring any of our products or services to help you decide whether they are suitable for you. Conditions and fees apply. Lending criteria apply to all.