This week we all start back from the mid-term break. It seems some went away and others of us stayed home and enjoyed a true Warrnambool winter! Wet, blustery winds, wild seas, cold temperatures and even a few days of winter sun thrown in! The great thing being associated with our school community is seeing so many students, staff and parents out enjoying our beautiful natural environment. Our local beach has been spectacular this week; big swell, crashing waves over the breakwater, very high tides leading to little room to move on the beach!

As many would have noticed we have completed about 80% of the new boundary fence. This project has a focus on security, safety and school boundary clarifications. A comprehensive update was sent out last Friday about the project progress and changes to traffic movement while the works are completed. Our school app “schoolzine” has this information for everyone.

Other great news to share is the well deserved acknowledgement of the Warrnambool SES volunteers from the SES Unit at their recent awards day at The Mid City. (Picture acknowledgement, Rob Gunstone, Warrnambool standard). Congratulations and well done to Andrew Miles (St. Joseph’s Staff) and the many others associated with St. Joseph’s for their tireless voluntary work supporting people in need in this part of Victoria. 

Local, practical care to those who need us

Our school community also shared personal generosity late last Term. St. Joseph’s Parish invited our school community to consider supporting the annual  St. Vincent de Paul “Winter Appeal”. The appeal culminated in a school mass on the last day of Term Two. Wow!!! The donations were stunning. The donations were transported from school to our parish centre and then allocated to the weekly soup kitchen. Food, toiletries, blankets, and useful items were shared with local needy people. A big thank you to everyone for your support. This donation process also includes us working with the St. Joseph’s Chapter of the St Vincent de Paul Team and their leader in our area, Joe Baptiste. Joe is a retired engineer donating his time to help others. In chatting with Joe I was amazed at the Society’s local work. The numbers needing help in Warrnambool is staggering. With Joe’s permission I share the report that he presented to St. Joseph’s Church two weeks ago.

St Vincent de Paul

Caring for The Warrnambool Community

St. Vincent de Paul Winter Appeal Speech 2019. Good Evening. My name is Joe and I am a member of the St. Joseph’s Central Warrnambool Conference of the St. Vincent de Paul Society. We are again at the time of year where the Society conducts its Annual Winter Appeal throughout the Nation. This Annual Appeal is highlighted by the prominence of Corporate CEO Sleep-Outs which are held in the Capital Cities and also across other locations throughout Australia. Locally the Annual Winter Appeal is conducted by the Conferences across the Parishes within the Region and as well with support from the Catholic Schools which host Young Vinnie”s Groups within their Campuses. There are 3 Conferences in operation across the respective Warrnambool Parishes, with each conducting their own Winter Appeal.

Homelessness and loneliness are not isolated to Metropolitan areas, but they are very much significant issues across regional areas as well. There are numerous societal factors which lead to persons being homeless or who seek help in their struggle to put food on the table and to keep up with household utility costs on a day to day basis. These factors are inclusive of the impacts of unemployment, drug use, mental health and depression, domestic violence and relationship breakdowns resulting in family disengagement, particularly in the case of older teenagers and the early twenties age bracket. While we may from time to time, see multiple job opportunities advertised, they invariably have a very high skill qualification requirement. Consequently, while most people in search of work do have access to Centrelink, they nonetheless are at their most vulnerable emotional state without income stability.

The most significant contributor to the work of the Society in this area is the revenue derived from the sale of goods from the St Vincent de Paul shop in Fairy Street. Consequently, we are most grateful not only for the work of the Volunteers in the Shop but also to the General Public for their donations of saleable items. The Society also benefits greatly from several local Trust Foundations and Community Service Clubs.

There are 14 Volunteer Welfare members in the St. Joseph’s St. Vincent de Paul Conference alone and over the last 12 months the Conference rendered a total value of $157,663 in assistance to those in need within our designated area of the City.

An approximate breakdown of the number of persons assisted and the specific areas of expenditure are as follows:

• There were a total of 1535 Adults and 1339 Children assisted during the year.
• There were 764 Home Visits and 157 Interviews held at the Centre and other locations.
• There was $78,860 provided by way of Food Vouchers thru IGA and a further $38,997 of Food Hampers provided from the Food Share organization.
• St. Vincent de Paul Warrnambool expended $14,125.00 in Rental and Emergency Accommodation
• St. V de P supported $8,944 in transport costs, either by way of Car Registration, Fuel Vouchers or Public Transport to distant medical appointments, $5,654 in Power, Gas and Water Utilities and a further $11,083 which encompassed Education, Medical Scripts, Removalist costs and other incidental assistance.
• In addition to the above, the St. Vincent de Paul Holiday House in Japan Street, hosted 92 Adults and 112 Children throughout the year. These recipients came from a wide geographic area across the State, as referred to the facility by fellow city and regional Conferences. 
• The Holiday House is supported by a very small band of dedicated Volunteers who ensure it is cleaned and prepared for ensuing occupants. Expenditure encompassing its Laundry and Maintenance amounted to a total of $3,560 for the past 12 months.

Adopt a Farmer

As also mentioned last Term the farmers of outback NSW were touched by our support, generosity and practical help via the “Adopt A Farmer” campaign. Our six school ambassadors from Grade 6 travelled to this region to present our school fundraising cheque for $1200 in support of their community. No rain, people leaving the area and poor local income all presented as significant community challenges. However the Australian “Can Do” spirit was very evident.

One story the students shared was that due to water shortage on farms the local primary school had set up a shed with showers and washing machine. When farmers arrived with their children for school they could access this town water and school services to support family washing and showering needs. Essentially the farmers were saving their water for family, stock and farm sustainability. I thank everyone who supported our students and their commitment to empathy, respect and understanding. Values we all would agree are at the heart of humanity, learning and our faith at St. Joseph’s.

Warrambool Special Development School

The first “dig” on the new SDS Site, planned school opening, January 2020

The new Warrnambool Special Development School is currently under construction in North Warrnambool off Woollaston Road. Cathy Duynhoven (St. Joseph’s Business Manager) and I were fortunate to be able to visit the site as part of a recent school tour. The site and facilities are stunning. Walking around with approximately 60 other local supporters was indeed a privilege. The broader Warrnambool philanthropic community and service groups have really done an amazing job supporting the development of this much needed facility for young people in our region. The previous school had done an outstanding job but had outgrown the site and desperately needed new facilities. 

Recently Karen Everall (St Joseph’s Teacher Aide) co-ordinated a staff morning “High Tea”  as a fundraiser with our staff to help raise money for a purpose built playground at the Special Development School. A very big thank you to Karen and her family and all staff; between cooking, donations and raffles we were able to raise a brilliant $770 for the school’s new equipment.

Of note our Senior School Leaders are also working to support this very worthy facility development; we look forward to supporting their efforts in this area later this Term.

Yours sincerely, Michael Gray, Principal