30 October 2014
Newsletter Articles
Principal’s News
Dear Parents and Caregivers
The readings from Mass on Sunday present some of the great challenges of being a Christian. We sometimes take this wisdom for granted, and it’s easy enough to not be attentive as we should be when listening to the Liturgy of the Word. Below are some reflections.
The first reading from Exodus has how to honour God as its central theme. The text represents an interesting intersection of the new Covenant and the justice of the Ancient world. The text presents a number of binary opposites which draws us into the contrasts of “old” and “new”. For example, I will kill you with the sword” versus “if he cries out to me, I will hear him; for I am compassionate.” The reader can’t help but find the influences of the ancient world on the author. Here, God provides a clear reminder to the Jews that they too were once aliens in the foreign land of Egypt, and therefore presents another contrast between God who is YHWH and the gods of the Egyptians.
Thessalonica, the place of the Second Reading, was a cosmopolitan city with a large Jewish community and a number of pagan cults. Earlier in this letter, we see Paul and his companion Silvanus preaching in a Jewish synagogue “amid much anxiety” we are told. In fact, the Jews of Thessalonica stirred up a mob which eventually expelled Paul from the city. However, during his time there, a cohesive Christian community was established. Paul must have had success here, given his repetitive expressions of affection for the Thessalonian Christians, using the term of endearment “brothers” more times in this letter than in any other. Paul asserts to his audience that Christianity is an imitation of God revealed through Jesus. Joy in faith, despite persecution, is the mark of the Christian, a true imitation of Christ; and is the work of the Holy Spirit. Paul has transformed the Jewish apocalyptic idea of the oppression of the just in the last times, to a very Christian notion of salvation comes only through suffering. We can only imagine the nature of the rebuke this community received in their turning away from idols to serve the living and true God.
The first and second readings underline the challenge of Christian faith and belief, and both have much to say to us in this modern, ubiquitously secular world in which we live. The author of Exodus reminds us that our faith cannot be used to keep the alien, the foreigner out. But, rather, calls us to reach out in compassion and love. Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians highlights that this reaching out, this answering the call of God, comes with a price, and risks of rebuke, derision and, in some cases, persecution.
Matthew’s Gospel is the supreme conclusion to the Liturgy of the Word today with Jesus reasserting the greatest commandment. Here we see Jesus as Rabbi par excellence: he is challenged by a scribe (or scholar of the law) and Jesus asserts himself as an interpreter of Rabbinical Law. Jesus declares that “you shall love the Lord…”: this is the language of an authoritative teacher. This is such a great passage in Matthew’s Gospel for this reason: In Jewish Law there were 613 distinct commandments – 248 were positive precepts and the remaining 365 were prohibitions. These commandments were distinguished as “light” and “heavy” according to the seriousness of the subject. What Jesus does in his response to the scribe is to bring together a light and heavy commandment, to conclude with this most significant claim that these two Commandments sum up everything of the law and the prophets. There was no parallel anywhere in Jewish literature. From 613 commandments to two – pretty significant. Jesus deliberately focuses on love. But it is the intensity of the love that Jesus insists here.
This intensity of love we have seen in the Saints of the Church; in the great names of the modern Church: Catherine McAuley, Edmund Rice, Marceyln Champagnat, Maximillian Kolbe, and our own Saint Mary of the Cross. They poured out their own lives for others: the marginalised, the afflicted. They reached out to the alien, like those from the reading from Exodus. They were witness to the notion expressed in Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians that salvation comes only through suffering. And they embraced, in spite of the harm to themselves, the work of the Holy Spirit in their lives.
Sunday’s readings call us to this intensity of love in spite of a world that seemingly promotes a superficial, undignifying, artificial and temporary form of love. There are so many in our world that need and yearn for this intense love that Jesus gave us. Our challenge is to reach to them because we are commanded to “love the Lord, our God, with all our heart, with all our soul and with all our mind… and to love our neighbour as ourselves.” Everything depends on these two commandments.
Dr Michael McCarthy
PRINCIPAL
Leader’s News
Day for Daniel and Safe Start Program
As many would be aware of the tragedy that befell Bruce and Denise Morcombe and their family when their son Daniel was abducted and murdered. When I see what these people have been through and their continued strength, courage and conviction, I can only look on in wonder.
Through the work of the Daniel Morcombe Foundation the Morcombe family are raising awareness around child safety in the general community. In 2014 St Joseph’s will be joining with many schools and community organisations in the ‘Day for Daniel’ on Friday the 31st of October.
This day will be used as the launch for our annual Safe Start program for our Primary school aged students. The students will undertake a series of lessons under the headings of ‘I am special, so are you!’, ‘Safety is my right.’, ‘My body belongs to me.’ and ‘I can get help.’
Our staff, students and parents are asked to come to school dressed in red and to make a gold coin donation that will be given to the Morcombe foundation to support their continuing work in raising awareness of child protection and safety.
Australian Mathematics Competition
On August 7 students from Years 3 to 7 entered the Australian Mathematics Competition sponsored by the Commonwealth Bank. The competition is entered by thousands of students from around 40 countries. This is a truly international competition having become an important enrichment event across the Pacific and South East Asia region. The competition tests everything from basic numeracy skills through to advanced problem solving.
The AMC is conducted by the not-for-profit Canberra based Australian Mathematics Trust under the trusteeship of the University of Canberra.
This year 40 students from St Joseph’s entered and our students performed particularly well with Thomas Glesson earning a High Distinction (top 2%) and Travis Murphy and Hamish Alldridge earning Distinction Awards (top 15%). A further 15 students, Eliza Telfer, Caitlin Ellis, Kiara Smith, Mitchell Brunkhorst, Adam Raccanello, Charlotte Widderick, Stephen Baronio, Alessia Harris, Karma O’Reilly, Melissa Petroccitto, Weylin Alldridge, Lara-Jane Biggin, Claire McCormick, Hannah Reeves and Alanah Yates earning a credit award. (Top 50%).
School News
YEAR 11 NEWS
The Year 11’s have had a busy start to Term 4. 14 students applied for leadership positions for 2015 and every one of them should be very proud of the speeches they delivered to the school cohort. Voting has been completed and the successful students will be announced at Awards night on the 5th November.
The students have also been completing their First Aid Certificate during Pastoral Care under the expert guidance of Gail Smail. They completed their final exam and will be presented with the certificates before the end of the year.
Students also had the privilege of listening to Mr Greg Shaw, the Senior Director of Forensic and Scientific Services, Queensland Health. Greg spoke to them about the interesting work that he and his team do, which includes a wide range of activities ranging from forensic testing, virus control, and drug identification. Four of our students have been invited to tour the forensic facilities at Coopers Plains in Brisbane next week.
The Young Winemakers have been rewarded for their efforts throughout the year with the awarding of a bronze for their Rose at the Royal Adelaide Wine Show National Schools Competition. A great effort.
Ski Trip Success
On the 18th of September, 42 students embarked on the 20 hour journey to the snowy slopes of Perisher. After a tiring bus trip and copious quantities of McDonalds, we reached Ski Rider resort, hired out our ski gear and headed straight to the slopes to begin our first skiing/snowboarding lesson. Although a little nervous, most people believed in their ability to be able to challenge the steep runs pretty much as soon as our first lesson ended, however they were sorely disappointed. Many glorious stacks were had, one being when a certain teacher crashed into a group of students and when a particular school principal dislocated his shoulder and broke his rib. It was also disheartening when we logged onto the Perisher app to find out that our ‘favourite’ gate was the magic carpet – this was the beginners area where our instructors took us, also known as the smallest slope in the world.
However, it wasn’t all bad for our week at Perisher, and we did improve, I swear – and although the snow was cold, there were three hot elements that warmed us up including the weather, hot chocolates and our instructors. We also had some top quality entertainment at ski rider, including a magician/comedian, a trivia night, and last but not least, Ailis singing ‘Let it Go’ on the bus in true Elsa style. Alas, after a week of shredding up the snow and drinking enough hot chocolate to fill an ocean, it was time to put away or skis for the last time, pack up our disgustingly messy rooms and, with aching muscles and weary eyes, begin our journey back to Stanthorpe. This week was a standout of the year and I recommend it to anyone, no matter what their sporting ability is, because when it comes to skiing it is suffice to say that everyone is bad their first time. Ski Trip 2014 was an excellent week.
By Teaghan Druitt
|
Call Out For Yearbook Photos As part of the 2014 Yearbook there will be a ‘Social’ page that will feature St Joseph’s Students in the community. If you have a photo of your child taking part in events such as the Apple and Grape, Anzac Day, local sporting events or community programs we would love to feature it on this page. Please email the picture, name of student and where it was taken to Jemma.Tripp@twb.catholic.edu.au. |
Black Diggers
“Every Queenslander should watch the play ‘Black Diggers.’
Every Queenslander should watch the play ‘Black Diggers,’ for the entertaining knowledge of what really happened to the Aborigines that fought in WW1. It sheds light on how Indigenous Australians were treated before the war, in the war and after the war. The themes and characters in the play have enormous value to the wider public, from anyone to 11 years old to 80 years young. Even for those that say they can learn nothing from this play, and think they are in for 2 hours of boredom are wrong, every Queenslander should watch the play ‘Black Diggers.’
Racism is a strong theme in this play, a concept that attempts to prohibit and put down the Aboriginals, and stop them fighting for their country. But this theme is left on Australian soil as the Indigenous Australians fight on the warfront, everyone is of the same skin colour there, no race is better than the other. But when the remaining Aboriginal soldiers return home from the war, they are subjected to the same racism from before the war. This theme is of incredible value to the public, it is depicted that racism can never truly be avoided, or forgotten about, it will always be there. This theme leaves the public shocked; a taste of the real world is given when the retired soldiers land is taken away from them. Mateship and comradery are themes that are integral experience of the aboriginal soldiers, they rely heavily on each other, and when that is taken away, and gradually more and more Aboriginal lives are lost, the mood that was so light, happy and merry is replaced by a sombre, macabre dread as their brother’s die. This shows the public how much Aboriginals care for each other and how significant the land is to them. Despite one of the Indigenous Australians death on foreign soil, his friend wants to take him back home, as he believes he should be buried in his native country. This play focuses on the vital themes of racism, mateship and comradery which give deep insight into the life of an Aboriginal soldier.
Asbjorn Gaskell
|
Year 4 Art on Davadi Recently Mrs McLucas and the class went to Artworks on Davadi to recite our poems. We wrote them all by ourselves and we said them in front of the people there. After we did that, we went around and looked at the paintings that the artists were doing. The paintings were very beautiful and interesting. The people there were cheerful and humorous. Many of their paintings were about Nature. A few people from our class played Uno with Charlie and Aaron and we had lots of laughs. The visit was a new experience for most of us and I enjoyed it very much. Alyssa Gasparin. Recently the Yr4’s went to Artworks on Davadi to present our free verse poems, our Fathers’ Day limerick and our Haiku. There was an Art Group working there and they were our audience for the session. After finishing our poems, we all went around to have a look at the group’s paintings. The work was done with oils, pastels, water paints, charcoal and pencil. Some of us met Aaron and Charlie from Granite Belt Support Services and one by one we started to play Uno. We said goodbye to the group and they said they enjoyed our visit and we enjoyed it too. Georgette Forbes |
The School Musical for 2015 will be "Annie"
Believe it or not, this week has seen the very beginnings of the production as we get underway with the auditions for the many roles that this musical provides.
"Annie" has recently been staged in Brisbane--and is a very popular musical.
It is perfect for a school musical as it allows for a large cast, and provides an opportunity for many students to have their "moment in the sun"
It is also an opportunity for students to participate in the band and help with the sets, costumes and all the tech work.
We welcome as many parents as possible to come and enjoy the comradery that develops over the weeks and months.
Here's to a successful Musical'15--no 8 in our productions
Juice Stall with Year 11 and 12 BCT
Currently, our senior BCT class, comprised of both Year 11 and 12 students, are operating a juice and smoothie stall as part of our Events Administration topic. With a compilation of the knowledge we have gained over the course of our studies including objectives, concepts, timelines and budgeting, the final phase of our plan has finally come around. Our juice and smoothie stall is well underway with our assessment centred around evaluating its effectiveness.
With a focus on the local community and integrating the Mercy Value of ‘Service’, our combined class has decided to assist our local Miss Fruit and Vegetable, in her fundraising quest to secure the title of Stanthorpe's 2015 Miss Showgirl. The funds that we are raising through our three week stall will be re-invested back into the community by way of maintenance and upkeep of the showgrounds.
However, as our main focus has been on the Stanthorpe community and the local produce, this wouldn’t have been made possible without the assistance of Sam from The Summit Fruit Shop, and Mr Putzolu’s Foodworks Supermarket in Texas who have both supplied countless donations such as bananas, watermelons and the utensils required to make these delicious banana, and berry smoothies as well as the watermelon and tropical juices.
Year 2 News
In Year 2 we have been learning about art and producing some artworks inspired by a famous artist. So far we have done a piece of pop art and a mosaic. In Science we have been learning about forces, we have explored push and pull. Each Tuesday Year 2 have been enjoying Dance Fever and we have worked really hard to learn our set dances. So far we have done hip hop, shake and bake, and a superheroes dance.
P & F News
|
NEXT P & F Meeting Tuesday 25th November |
Reminders and Updates
School Musical
Reminder to all students who would like to audition for the school Musical 2015, please return your audition slips to the office as soon as possible.
|
ARE YOU NOT RECEIVING NOTICES? It could be that we have the wrong email address for you. To make sure that you receive all notes home please ensure that administration have a current email address. If unsure, please email administration your family name, name and grade of student to stay up to date with all that is going on at St Joseph’s. |