6 May 2025 (Week 2 Term 2 2025)
Dear St Joseph’s Community
We have a big and joy-filled week ahead at St Joseph’s! Our Stage 3 students are off to camp for what promises to be an exciting adventure packed with fun, friendship, and teamwork. Back at school, we are preparing for two very special events: our Mother’s Day breakfast and prayer service on Friday, and our combined Stage 2 and 3 Parish Family Mass Sunday week. These occasions remind us of the heart of our school — the strong bonds between our students, families and Parish.
Thank you for all the ways you support and help make these moments possible. Whether it’s joining us in prayer, lending a hand at community events, or simply being part of the life of our school, you play an essential part in our shared story. I look forward to seeing many of you across the week!
Upcoming Stage 2 and 3 Parish Family Mass
This term we will hold our first Parish Family Mass for 2025, with the first being postponed due to the then pending cyclone.
All members of our school community are warmly invited to our combined Stage 2 and 3 Parish School Family Mass at 8.30am on Sunday, 18th May. Students from both stages will be preparing songs for the Mass and will have special roles to fill.
The Parish morning tea is on after Mass in McCarthy Hall and St Joey's staff and families are invited to bring a plate to share. These can be taken to the hall before Mass begins.
Families are invited to stay and play after Mass in the school playground and get to know our parishioners.
These Masses are incredibly important for our school community and our connection into the Parish that supports us so well. I am very hopeful that all families can make the time to come along to join us for the Mass. Students from other stages are of course welcome to attend too. I look forward to seeing you there!
Mother's Day Breakfast and Special Mother's Day Mass on Sunday
We’re excited to celebrate Mother’s Day this Friday morning with a special breakfast and prayer service, generously sponsored by the Parent Assembly. A big thank you to Mrs Jones for all her work in organising this beautiful event. We also have a small gift ready for all our mothers, mother figures, and grandmothers to let you know how much you are appreciated.
Our teachers and students have been busy preparing some lovely Mother’s Day craft, which will be coming home this week — we hope you enjoy the thoughtful creations your children have made for you!
Mother’s Day is always a special occasion in our Parish as well. At the 8:30am Mass this Sunday, bookmarks made by our students will be handed out to the mothers in attendance. We’ll also be sharing a short video featuring some of our students sharing what makes their mums so special — we’d love to see you there!
I’ll be away at a course for the second half of this week and am sorry to miss this wonderful celebration, but please know I’m wishing you all a joyful and blessed Mother’s Day.
Stage 3 Camp
Our Stage 3 students are off to camp this week, and we know they’re in for an exciting and memorable time! With plenty of fun activities, teamwork, and new experiences ahead, it’s a wonderful opportunity for them to build confidence, strengthen friendships, and create lasting memories.
A huge thank you to our teachers and staff who are accompanying the students and making this experience possible — we couldn’t do it without you! We wish everyone a fantastic few days away and look forward to hearing all the stories when they return.
New Statue of St Joseph
We are excited to share that our new statue of St Joseph is now in place at the front of the school! This beautiful gift was generously given to us by Bishop Greg, and it makes a bold and meaningful statement about who we are as a faith community to have our patron present at the entrance of our school.
Mr Wardrop has done a phenomenal job with the installation, supported by some wonderful volunteers, and the plinth he crafted is truly excellent — a real testament to his talent.
John will give St Joseph a final scrub and a fresh coat of paint. We are organising a special Mass and blessing of the statue, hopefully later this term. We look forward to celebrating this moment together as a school and Parish community.
... and how many men does it take to move St Joseph?
Change to Bike Racks
With the addition of St Joseph, we needed to find an alternative place for the bike racks. After much reflection, we have decided to trial having the bike racks at the bottom of the school, behind STEM. This allows the bikes and riders to be supervised by a staff member as they enter the school at the bottom pedestrian gate in the mornings. The bikes will be safely locked behind the gates during the day. We will also have staff on hand in the afternoons at car pick up to help navigate the riders moving out of this gate along with the students leaving to be picked up by parents.
We have asked students to dismount their bikes at the church as they usually would, and WALK their bikes across the school driveway (the boom gate closes at 8:30 before riders would be arriving) and down around the corner of Perry St, entering the bottom pedestrian gate (which also opens at 8:30). It is important that students walk their bikes as there are many pedestrians on Perry St in the morning, and make their way into school.
In the afternoon, staff will support students in exiting the pedestrian gate safely. We ask them to WALK their bikes up the side of Perry St, around the top of the school, and all the way along Perry St until they have crossed the pedestrian crossings; this is our usual practice, and students are familiar with this.
We will trial this arrangement for a week to see how it goes. I met with all of the bike riders today and explained the change to the routine. We would love it if families could reinforce these safe riding practices over the weekend, if your child rides a bike to school. We'll evaluate the process across the week to see how it's going, and we'll reinforce and teach this new routine to students thoughout the week also. We thank our parents for their support with this change.
Prohibited Items in Schools
As a part of the Diocese of Lismore Catholic School’s ongoing and proactive commitment to ensuring that our schools are safe environments for students, staff, and all members of the school community, Principals have been asked to share the following message with our parent community in relation to prohibited weapons not being brought onto school grounds.
Here is the link to read a letter and accompanying FAQs
Scripture Reflection
In John 21, we hear the story of Jesus appearing to Peter after the resurrection. Just days earlier, Peter had denied even knowing Jesus — not once, but three times. You’d think that kind of failure would have disqualified him from anything important.
But what does Jesus do? He doesn’t push Peter away or shame him. Instead, He gently asks Peter three times, “Do you love me?” And each time Peter answers, Jesus gives him a task: “Feed my lambs. Tend my sheep. Feed my sheep.”
It’s a powerful reminder that in God’s eyes, failure is never the end of the story. Even when we make mistakes — as parents, as partners, as people — Jesus offers us love, forgiveness, and a fresh start. Peter, who had failed so publicly, is not only forgiven but placed into a position of leadership and trust.
For us, this means we can keep going, even when we feel like we’ve fallen short. We can keep loving, keep caring, and keep trying, knowing that God’s grace is always there to lift us back up.
You are invited to listen to Bishop Greg’s Homily from Sunday’s Mass. It is a very powerful reflection on the love of a parent for a child.
Byron Writers’ Festival Competition
Jesse Blackadder Student Writing Prize 2025
Celebrating creativity and imagination in young writers, the Jesse Blackadder Prize was created in 2020 in memory of Jesse Blackadder, much loved Board member, author and founder of Byron Writers Festival’s StoryBoard program.
The Brief
Write an original short story of up to 500 words on any theme.
Who can enter?
Year 4 to 6 students.
Entrants must live within the Byron Writers Festival's footprint, which extends from Taree in the south to Kyogle in the west to Tweed Heads in the north.
Prizes
The winner will receive $300 cash and 1 x Byron Writers Festival Sunday Kids Program pass. The winning story will be published in the Byron Writers Festival member magazine.
A runner-up will receive 1 x Byron Writers Festival Sunday Kids Program pass and have their story published on the Byron Writers Festival blog.
Key Dates
Submissions open: Thursday, 1st May
Applications close: Monday, 30th June
Winners notified: Tuesday, 15th July
Presentation of Jesse Blackadder prize at Byron Writers Festival Sunday Kids Program: Sunday, 11 August.
On Tuesday, our students attended the Richmond Zone Cross Country in Goonellabah. Our students displayed great sportsmanship and behaviour on the day. We Would like to congratulate all of the children on their efforts on the day.
Of the 45 students who competed, the following students were successful in their races.
Olly Lowe - 1st place 8 years boys
Hugo McCall - 1st place 10 years boys
Jordynn Thompson - 5th place 11 years girls
On Friday, Henry Buchanan (soccer) and Rory Quinlan (hockey) attended the Polding Winter Sports Trials in Bathurst.
These 2 children competed against students from other Dioceses in the state for a chance to progress to the next level.
We would like to congratulate Rory Quinlan who was successfully selected in the hockey team.
Well done!
