National Sorry Day and Reconciliation Week

St Joseph’s will recognise the historical injustices that impacted the lives of many Indigenous individuals and families through our traditional whole school prayer on Monday morning. All are welcome to join in our reflection on this important day in our story. 

Zayden wrote an impressive piece to share what Sorry Day and Reconciliation Week represents for him. We thank Zayden for his contribution and the inspiring words that can help to educate others and make a difference.

National Sorry Day is a day when all Australians apologise for the actions towards Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islander families for the acts of racism with over 50,000 First Nation children being forcefully removed from their families. I wholeheartedly agree that Sorry Day should be recognised by every single Australian and we should apologise because it would not have been easy for families to watch their children be taken away from them. - Zayden Field, Year 6 2021

Sacrament of Penance

Congratulations to those children who completed their Sacrament of Penance this week. They were lovely ceremonies and we pray that the Sacrament of mercy and forgiveness is one of many for the future of these young people. 

We continue to pray for and support those who will be receiving the Sacrament next week on Wednesday and Thursday. We appreciate the many staff and families who have supported these children through their learning about Penance. 

Upcoming Sacrament of Confirmation

The Sacrament of Confirmation ceremonies will be on 2nd, 3rd and 4th August. The process leading to this Sacrament will be consistent with previous years at this stage, including a Registration Night (parent only), a Workshop Night (parent and child) and the Presentation of Candidates to Parish Community Mass (family) at weekend Mass. The dates of each of these events will be communicated in coming weeks.

Kinder: Signs of God

Our Kinder children had a great time searching for signs of God within our school. They detected the beautiful statue of Joseph holding baby Jesus and traveled the meditative rosemary maze to reach him.

Mr Lynch’s Celebration 

Congratulations to our very own Mr Lynch who made the plunge to complete the Sacraments of Initiation within the Catholic Faith. He was accompanied by his sponsor and family on Pentecost Sunday after completing the RCIA program (Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults). If you are interested in exploring the RCIA program, please don’t hesitate to enquire by calling the Parish Presbytery on 6583 1024 or contacting Nathan Porter, Assistant Principal Mission via the school office.

MINI VINNIES - DONATE A SOCK!!

Our Mini Vinnies Team are leading a sock donation campaign to break a world record for the longest clothesline of socks. This campaign aims to help raise funds and awareness of various charities run through the Rotary Club, Port Macquarie. Families are encouraged to donate an old, unpaired sock for the cause. The campaign ends on Monday so get your odd socks in!! 

If families would like to partake in this record attempt on Saturday 5th June, volunteers and teams of people are needed to help with pegging. Please contact Trevor on 0429 439 232 if you can help.

MAY IS THE MONTH OF MARY

It is during the month of May that we are invited to devote some of our time and prayers to our Mother, Mary. Mary, who intercedes for us, takes our prayers to enact God’s will. We pray the Hail Mary using the Rosary, to pray for an end to conflict in places such as Palestine and Israel and other regions of the world. 

Nathan Porter
Assistant Principal Mission