The Jubilee Prayer

Father in heaven,

may the faith you have given us

in your son, Jesus Christ, our brother,

and the flame of charity enkindled

in our hearts by the Holy Spirit,

reawaken in us the blessed hope

for the coming of your Kingdom.

May your grace transform us

into tireless cultivators of the seeds of the Gospel.

May those seeds transform from within both humanity and the whole cosmos

in the sure expectation

of a new heaven and a new earth,

when, with the powers of Evil vanquished,

your glory will shine eternally.

May the grace of the Jubilee

reawaken in us, Pilgrims of Hope,

a yearning for the treasures of heaven.

May that same grace spread

the joy and peace of our Redeemer

throughout the earth.

To you our God, eternally blessed,

be glory and praise for ever.

 Amen

Congratulations to all of the children (and staff) for a smooth, joyful and optimistic start to the year. There was such a positive energy around St Joseph’s as the kids reunited with their friends and got back into routine. I enjoyed spending time among the Foundation rooms with our newest students as they settled into school life. 

I had the best day. We had two picnics!

I had a lovely experience last week which reminded me about maintaining a positive perspective. I was chatting to one of our Foundation student’s mums and asked her how he had settled in on the first day.  She replied that he had said “I had the best day. We had two picnics!”  I have filed that away in my mind in order to remind myself to see the beauty in everyday events and also to see our school as our children see it.

Staff Professional Development Day
Friday 7th February, 2025

This Friday our staff will meet together to spend the day learning more about the individual needs of each of the students in their care. We call this day ”Digest Your Class Day”. The keynote address will be delivered by Jen Hawkins (speech therapist) who will be exploring strategies to support all children’s learning particularly those with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Teachers will then spend time discussing the children with the child’s 2024 classroom teacher, wellbeing and learning diversity staff.

This day along with next week’s File Box Meetings, the Tell Us About Your Child form and Parent Teacher Interviews form a suite of strategies to enable staff to gather all of the information about the students in their care to best meet their needs.