Dear SJMS Community
It's all about Mother's Day as term 2 kicks off. We had our Mother's Day stalls today which were a huge success. Thanks to the volunteers who helped with the stall and of course Tanya McCabe and Alison Pascoe for organising all the wonderful items for sale. It's a great little stall and the children love being able to buy something special to give to their loved ones.
Don't forget to RSVP to the Mother's Day morning tea on Friday 10 May. We also have a flower stall, yummy morning tea and a raffle, don't miss out! We are also looking for some small glass jars for our flower stall, if you have any baby food/mustard sized jars you can donate please drop them at the front office by Thursday morning 9 May.
Dear SJMS Community
On Tuesday we celebrated the Feast Day of St Joseph. Our day began with a Mass celebrated by Fr Paul Mullins and ended with the students gathering at the pool for a day of great celebration.
I received many emails from Josephite schools and centres around Australia marking and celebrating this significant day in the Josephite calendar.
St Joseph was often portrayed as a simple carpenter within the Scriptures. But as our students could tell us through their learnings he was anything but this. The little we know about Joseph from the Scriptures shows us a man of faith, honour and courage. He believes Mary even when he might have chosen to reject her story about the angel. He stands by her. Joseph is a man of integrity and truth. We live in a society obsessed with rights and a world that seems to reward the brash, pushy, and selfish. Joseph stands in stark contrast. He is a man characterised by compassion, strength, trust, respect, honesty, integrity, self-sacrifice and courage.
The weather was absolutely perfect for the annual St Joseph's Feast Day student celebration at the Norwood Pool.
Dear SJMS Community
Today we had our Ash Wednesday Mass (William St) and Liturgy (Bridge St). Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent. We know that Lent is a very special time of the year where we as Christians prepare for Easter by reflecting on our lives. It is a time where we focus more fully on making good and better choices. On Wednesday our foreheads are marked with ashes to humble our hearts and remind us that life passes away on Earth. Ashes are a symbol of penance made sacramental by the blessing of the Church, and they help us develop a spirit of humility and sacrifice. The ashes are made from the blessed palms used in the Palm Sunday celebration of the previous year. The ashes are then christened with Holy Water.
Photo: Reception and Year 1 students after the Ash Wednesday Liturgy with their Project Compassion Boxes
There were smiles all round on Tuesday as we celebrated Shrove Tuesday at Carnevale.
Thank you to everyone who organised, volunteered, donated and helped to make the day a success!
Click read more to access the Eastern Courier article about SJMS!
Dear Community Members
Our lives these days are governed by many calendars – the School or Preschool calendar, the sporting calendar and the calendar of the seasons to name a few. The Liturgical Calendar – the church’s annual cycle of seasons and celebrations – has plenty of competition. This part of Ordinary Time in the Liturgical Calendar may struggle to stay on the radar. Not only is it shadowed by Christmas and Lent, but prone to being overshadowed by the end of the summer holidays and the resumption of school and the working year. The Gospel of last week and this week could be called, “A Day in the Life of Jesus”. They follow on from each other in the Gospel of Luke. This week’s reading is by no means ordinary, rather appealing as it is striking the commanding figure of Jesus, preaching and healing with impressive authority.
Photo: Year 3 students working together
Dear Parents and Caregivers
Welcome back, I trust that the summer holiday break allowed you to spend valuable time with family and loved ones. I have thoroughly enjoyed the excitement the students have shown on their return to school and their holiday recounts. It is one of the best moments in the school year, where there is so much excitement in the anticipation to catch up with friends and share holiday stories.
Dear Parents and Caregivers
This is the final newsletter for the year and it only seems like yesterday that I welcomed everybody back after the Summer holidays. We’ve had another fantastic year in school, marked by many highlights. It’s not easy to capture the essence of this year in a couple of lines but I’ll try my best. This year we have been continually blessed by your children with their unique idiosyncrasies, personalities and traits; each one a contributory factor that helps to make our school the special place that it is.
On Thursday 29 November the SJMS students from Preschool to Year 7 gathered in St Ignatius Church for a Whole School Christmas Concert.
Thank you to all the families and friends who joined us on the evening.
