On March 19 each year we celebrate the feast day of St Joseph. Everything we know about St. Joseph, the husband of Mary and the foster father of Jesus, comes from the Bible, and mentions of him are underwhelming, to say the least. Despite this fact, the little that is known about him provided the basis for Joseph to be declared the patron of the universal church by Pope Pius IX in 1870. In his Apostolic Letter entitled Patris corde (“With a Father’s Heart”), Pope Francis described Saint Joseph as a beloved father, a tender and loving father, an obedient father, an accepting father; a father who is creatively courageous, a working father, a father in the shadows.

The Letter marks the 150th anniversary of Blessed Pope Pius IX’s declaration of St Joseph as Patron of the Universal Church. To celebrate the anniversary, Pope Francis has proclaimed a special “Year of St Joseph,” beginning on the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception 2020 and extending to the same feast in 2021.

Against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic, which, Pope Francis says, has helped us see more clearly the importance of “ordinary” people who, though far from the limelight, exercise patience and offer hope every day. In this, they resemble Saint Joseph, “the man who goes unnoticed, a daily, discreet and hidden presence,” who nonetheless played "an incomparable role in the history of salvation.” 

Some of what we know of this great biblical figure includes that he was a carpenter, a working man, who was certainly not wealthy. However, despite his humble work and means, Joseph was also described as coming from royal lineage, since he was descendant of King David, the greatest king of Israel. We know from his actions, especially towards Mary, that Joseph was a compassionate, caring man.

We know he was man of faith, who was obedient to whatever God asked of him even without knowing the outcome. We know Joseph loved Jesus and Mary. His one concern was always for the safety of those entrusted to his care. Since Joseph does not appear in Jesus' public life, at his death, or resurrection, many historians believe Joseph probably had died before Jesus entered public ministry.

Joseph is described in the scriptures as a ‘just’ man. Throughout his life he remained simply, joyfully and wholeheartedly obedient to God—in marrying Mary, in naming Jesus, in shepherding his family to Egypt, in bringing them to Nazareth, in the undetermined number of years he lived a life of quiet faith and courage. 

By referring to Joseph as 'just', the Bible is describing him as someone who was completely open to all that God wanted to do for him. He became holy by opening himself totally to God. He did not think of himself but focused instead, on the lives of Mary and Jesus. 

St Joseph can be a model for all of us as we too strive to live our own lives ‘of quiet desperation’ attuned to God’s active presence working within and through our lives. 

Many blessings for the week ahead!

Tina Murray

Principal

HARMONY DAY 2021 - On Sunday we celebrate Harmony Day. The continuing message of Harmony Day ‘Everyone Belongs’ calls upon each of us to deal with cultural, racial and religious intolerance by promoting respect, fairness and a sense of belonging for everyone.

Harmony Day is about inclusiveness, respect and a sense of belonging for everyone and recognises the truly multicultural nature of our society.

We thank Mrs. Grados for her leadership in providing resources for this event and the staff for deepening the student’s appreciation for the importance of this day through coverage in classrooms throughout next week.

On Monday 22 our students will celebrate Harmony Day by wearing mufti clothes (comfortable casual clothes and sensible closed in shoes, instead of the school uniform). Students are encouraged to wear clothes that reflect the colours of the flag of their family’s country of origin with a possible splash of orange. The payment for wearing mufti clothes is a gold coin donation. Students will be able to add their coin to the slogan - BE MORE - as they enter the school on Monday morning. All funds collected will be added to the donations made to classroom Project Compassion boxes and will be sent to support the work of Caritas Australia. 

SCHOOL PHOTOS AND WINTER CHANGEOVER - Due to the unpredictability of the weather students may return to school after the School Holidays in either Full Summer or Full Winter Uniform, not a mixture of both.

School Photo Day will take place on Thursday May 6.

All students must wear their full Summer Uniform on this day.

The official changeover date for all students to wear their full Winter Uniform is Monday May 10. 

SAFETY FIRST - A booklet containing information and important reminders has been included with this newsletter in response to a number of concerning incidents involving road and traffic safety around our school site. This includes a frightening experience when one of our kindergarten students and their parent was nearly hit by a car. Please be mindful of the huge responsibility we hold as parents to model and teach safe pedestrian behaviour.

We celebrated this event with several liturgies; shared a glimpse into our classrooms with our online clips and set up a display that documented the history of our School.

Parents are invited to journey into our classrooms by viewing the clips uploaded using the following link -

This site will be available for viewing until the end of Week 9. 

Thank you to our wonderful P & F Association for funding the new bubblers and water bottle re-fill station installed yesterday.