St Joseph's Newsletter T1 Wk 6
9 March 2022
Principal’s Piece
Kia Ora Koutou
Kia kaha, kia maia, kia manawanui! Kia tūpato.
Be strong, be brave, be steadfast.
Since our last newsletter two weeks ago our school has experienced first hand the impact of the global pandemic - Covid 19. As a school we know there are 50 cases amongst our school and a number of others amongst our parents. Some have had mild symptoms, for others the symptoms have been more severe. Those who have come in contact with the virus have had to be strong, brave and steadfast! Many are now on the road to recovery with a number of students returning to school after completing their isolation periods.
With Covid now in our community we know that we will get more cases in the coming weeks. Hopefully the numbers will not reach the heights of last week. Please keep safe and continue to practice good hygiene ….
Last Wednesday was Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent. Our school marked the occasion with Fr Stuart leading a liturgy and blessing the ashes for our students. It was an opportunity for our students to reflect on what the time of Lent means and how they can become better people by observing their Lenten promises.
Whilst Covid has meant that some of our bigger school events have had to be cancelled, a number of smaller events have been able to go ahead. Last week the Year 7&8’s were able to take part in the Waikato Badminton coaching programme that took place in the Church Carpark. Also last Tuesday was the Year 1-3 Water Sports Fun Day. The children really enjoyed the different water sports and getting wet! It was great to see the students able to have some fun.
Coming up this Thursday we have a mufti day to raise money for the people of Tonga. The children are allowed to wear mufti in exchange for a gold coin to go towards the work to rebuild Tonga after the eruption in January. Next week, we have our Year 4-6 students involved in the Bikes at School programme run by the Hamilton City Council. The programme teaches our students how to be safe on their bikes as they travel to and from school.
Thanks again for your ongoing support!
Kia manaaki te Atua koutou katoa
Grant Stuart
Tumuaki / Principal
Gospel Reflection
First Sunday of Lent, Cycle C
Sunday, March 6, 2022
Gospel Reading
Luke 4:1-13
In the desert, Jesus is tempted by the devil.
Background on the Gospel Reading
In each of the three Synoptic Gospels, after his baptism, Jesus is reported to have spent forty days in the desert, fasting and praying. In Luke and in Matthew, the devil presents three temptations to Jesus. The devil tempts Jesus to use his power to appease his hunger, he offers Jesus all the kingdoms of the world if Jesus will worship him, and he tempts Jesus to put God's promise of protection to the test. In each case, Jesus resists, citing words from Scripture to rebuke the devil's temptation.
Each temptation that Jesus faces offers insight into the spirituality we hope to develop as we keep the forty days of the Season of Lent. We can trust God to provide for our material needs. We worship God because God alone has dominion over us and our world. We can trust God to be faithful to his promises. Jesus' rejection of the devil's temptations shows that he will not put God to the test. Grounding himself on the Word and authority of Scripture, Jesus rebukes the devil by his confidence in God's protection and faithfulness.
This Gospel highlights for us one of the central themes of the Season of Lent. We are dependent upon God for all that we have and all that we are. Anything that leads us to reject this dependency or to distrust its sufficiency, is a temptation from the devil.
Luke ends his report of Jesus' temptation in the desert by noting that the devil departs for a time. The implication is that the devil will return. Jesus knows that he will be tempted again in the Garden of Gethsemane. The depth of Jesus' trust in God is shown most fully when Jesus rejects the temptation to turn away from the task God has given to him. Jesus' final rebuke of the devil is his sacrifice on the Cross.
Jesus' responses to the temptations of the devil teach us how we can respond to temptation. As we start our journey through Lent, this Sunday's Gospel calls us to adopt the same confidence that Jesus had in the face of temptation: God's word alone will suffice, God's promise of protection can be trusted, and God alone is God.
Sideswipe: Exemptions during Lent
7 Mar, 2022 05:00 AM
3 minutes to read
By Ana Samways
Lent is the 40-day period leading up to Easter, meant for abstinence and penitence, observed in the Catholic Church. The current rules for Lent are that Catholics age 14 and up must abstain from meat on fast days (Ash Wednesday and Good Friday) and all Fridays during Lent. There is an exception for chronically ill and pregnant or nursing mothers. That's why churches have fish fries on Fridays and how McDonald's came to serve the Fillet-O-Fish. Fish is not considered to be meat. But over the history of the Catholic Church, the question of what is meat and what isn't has been asked again and again. The original idea was to avoid basic livestock meat like beef, pork, and poultry. The rules for eating wild animals came up over time as Catholicism spread to different parts of the world, and local bishops made rulings that had little to do with biology, but a lot to do with the foods local people depended on. The reasoning for each animal varied. In Canada, beaver is classified as a fish for the purposes of Lent because it is an aquatic animal. In the southern US, alligator is considered a fish for the same reason. And in Central and South America, capybara is okay to eat during Lent, and has even become a traditional Lenten dish, because the animal spends so much time in lakes and rivers. (Via Neatorama)
NZ Herald 2022
Student Leadership Teams
School House Leaders
At St Josephs, House Leader is a very important role, and this year we have elected some new leaders to guide their houses to victory. This year we have left the voting to the seniors due to COVID-19, and the results are in and we are glad to announce that we have 12 new house leaders ready to guide their house members through this challenging year we call 2022.
The House leaders in Aubert house are:
Veronica Jovanovic
Raphael Brdanovic
Keira-Lee Tane
These house leaders hope to inspire you and encourage you to try your best and to include yourself in house activities, persisting to win the house shield.
The House Leaders in Pompallier house are:
Anastasia Tsatsas
Ava Moore
Ciaran Whaley
This group of leaders will do anything to help their house succeed and win the house shield this year.
The House Leaders in Barbier house are:
Tessa Scott
Emily Langley
Alex Johnston
These house leaders specialize in sharing their excitement and enthusiasm with others in their house and will not hesitate to join the battle to win the house shield for 2022.
The House leaders in Chanel house are…
Ashleigh Van Eyk
Ezra Gower
Catherine Scanlon
These house leaders are strong, dependable and will always come to help when you need it. They hope to assist blue house in taking home the house shield this year.
They wish you all the best for 2022!
Zara Mawdsley - The News Team
News Team 2022
At St Josephs, the News Team play a huge part in our communication. They take videos and photos at our events, so that you can see what your child has been up to!
Our members are Kayden Moyle, Ronan Low, Sophie Jenkins, Claudia Noble, Maddie Kovacs, Samantha Alonte, Sophia Turno, Jai Sargeant, Daniel McPeak, Zara Mawdsley and Laura Barton. So far, they have reported on the year 1-3 Water Fun Day, the Ash Wednesday mass, the year 7-8 Space Focus, and interviewed various leadership groups.
We can’t wait to share other amazing things we do with you!
Laura Barton - The News Team
Sports
Waikato Waterpolo Prizegiving
At the recent Waikato Waterpolo Prizegiving Angus McDiarmid was awarded Best Trainer for the U12 Squad 2021 and Ashley Lander, a former student, was awarded the Most Valuable Player for the U12 Squad and Most Improved Player in the U14 squad.
News
COVID 19 - Update
We now have a number of students who are able to return to school after isolating but we still have some showing symptoms of Covid 19. A number of these children are testing positive. If this is the case with your child, please let us know.
Please email the Principal directly: g.stuart@stjosephs.school.nz or Ring (07) 855 5434 and press 0.
All the household contacts of a positive case need to self-isolate for 10 days, then then are able to return to school provided they are symptom free. From 11.59 pm this Friday, 11 March, the self-isolation period will reduce to seven days.
Notices
Before and After School Care 2022
Safety
A reminder that students waiting to be picked up after school need to wait either by the office at Strowan Avenue, or in front of the church with the duty teacher. If they are not collected from the front of the church by 3.00pm, they will then be taken to wait at the office. Please do not tell your children to play on the playground while they wait for you, as this is not supervised; they need to wait at one of the designated spots. We remind all families to be considerate with parking around our school, and please do not drive or walk down the driveway to drop off or to collect students.
SJF ‘No Nuts’ Policy
At St Joseph’s we have a ‘No Nuts’ policy. This means that no student is allowed to bring nuts of any description to school for lunch. Children’s lunch boxes are checked regularly. For more information, ask at the school office or speak to a teacher.
COMMUNICATION
Make sure you keep up to date by checking out our school app and website, in particular, the calendar, as this will have all the latest information. School App If you have not already downloaded it, download free from Google Play Store: St Joseph’s Catholic School Fairfield. The app allows you to send absentee notifications to school, receive alerts from school, gives staff email contacts, read the school newsletter and any other notices that may have gone home with the children. Simple and easy to use - download it today at https://stjosephsfairfield.apps.school.nz/install/
Mobile Phones
At St Joseph’s Fairfield cellphones are not permitted at school unless the parents have written a letter to the Principal outlining the purpose. If this is agreed, the cellphone will be powered off and left in the Principal’s office until the end of the day when it will be handed back as the child leaves the school grounds.
PTFA
Community Notices
Parish Mass Time
Parish Mass Time changes effective from 8 February
St Peter Chanel
Tuesday 9am - No Vaccine Pass Required
Thursday 9am - No Vaccine Pass Required Liturgy with Communion
Saturday Vigil 5pm - Vaccine Pass Required Booking in for the Vigil Mass is required
St Joseph
Wednesday 9am - Vaccine Pass Required Liturgy with Communion
Friday 9am - Vaccine Pass Required
Sunday 9am - Vaccine Pass Required Booking in for the Sunday Mass is required
Bookings required for Mass please fill in the form below or click here.
Brain Play
2022 Term Dates
Term Dates
Term 1: Wed 2nd February – Thu 15th April
Term 2: Mon 2nd May – Fri 8th July
Term 3: Mon 25th July – Fri 30th September
Term 4: Mon 17th October – Fri 16th December
Teacher Only Days
Term 1 – Monday, 7 March
Term 2 – Friday, 3 June
Term 3 – Monday, 29 August
Term 4 – Friday, 11 November