Term 3 - 2021 - Week 3

Dear Parents and Caregivers

Feast Day of St Mary of the Cross MacKillop

This morning we celebrated the Feast Day of St Mary of the Cross MacKillop. Thank you to the Year 7’s who organised a lovely Mass which we held in our Auditorium. While it was very different without the presence of parents, it is always a wonderful moment in time where we reflect on the life of Mary and we are apart of her legacy in St Joseph’s schools.

St Mary has been described as a fighter, a feminist, an educator. She was undoubtedly a person who was so empowered by her self-belief and faith that she wasn’t afraid to respectfully tackle authority - even at a personal cost to her.

Despite the hardship and resistance she faced, St Mary refused to be weighed down by them. Instead she recognised these as part of God’s plan in which she had to play her part with energy and trust. I hope that we continue to honour her vision, not just in education but as a nation to ‘never see a need without doing something about it’.

Farewell Mr Brown

On Wednesday we were advised that Mr Adrian Brown had notified CESA of his decision to conclude as Principal at St Joseph’s School, Murray Bridge from the end of Term 3, 2021. As stated by Dr Neil McGoran:

I know that Adrian has found his time in leadership at St Joseph’s School personally and professionally fulfilling and has deeply appreciated the support of the students, staff, parents, parishioners, and the local community. Adrian has led with deep faith, vision and innovation and has contributed significantly to the life of the St Joseph’s School community. His passion for ensuring the provision of high quality, contemporary learning opportunities for students, imbued with a deep sense of spirituality, has been central to his leadership at St Joseph’s School and within Catholic Education South Australia. We will have opportunities over coming months to acknowledge Adrian’s significant contribution. To ensure a smooth transition of the leadership at St Joseph’s School, we will begin the consultation process for a new Principal this term. I will write to you again once a substantive Principal has been appointed to begin in Term 1 2022 at St Joseph’s School, Murray Bridge.

I will communicate at a later date as to how Mr Brown would like to be farewelled for his time spent at St Joseph’s, Murray Bridge to ensure that Adrian is appropriately acknowledged for his service as Principal.

While a process will occur to select an appropriate replacement Principal, Mr Thomas and myself will stay on until the end of Term 4 in our acting roles.

Pupil Free Days - Friday 27 August

Remember to put the Pupil Free Day, Friday 27 August, into your family calendars as this date will be a Pupil Free Day as staff will be engaged in a Staff Retreat focussing on spiritual development.

Middle School Development

Our new Middle School building continues at a rapid pace.  As we are aware the building will be completed around the beginning of November.  Over the past two weeks we have seen solar panels and guttering installed.  While over behind the library the Food Innovation Centre has commenced.  Mrs Smith had great pleasure in selecting appliances last week, which will be used to finalise the area when delivered in October.  This month we will see windows being installed in the new building and external cladding fitted and render applied.  This is most exciting as then the works begin internally.

Mrs Lamont has been working with Year 6 and 7’s around Year 7 and 8 Micro Credentialing Skills Course that students would be most interested in.  These 6 Courses has now finalised the curriculum offerings in 2022 for Years 7 and 8.

2022 Planning

I am starting to make plans for 2022. This planning will continue throughout the term and well into Term 4. There are many operational aspects that need to be considered at this time. Primarily in the coming month I need to ensure that we are sufficiently staffed for next year and are appointing the highest quality teachers.

On Thursday, next week, I will send home a letter asking you to express your intentions for 2022 to enable me to explore various class structures. Knowing the number of students we are likely to have in school next year is vital information - this is where I need your help.

Keep well, god bless

Brady Stallard

I am thrilled to become part of the St Joseph’s School community. Everyone has been so warm and welcoming, and I am looking forward to establishing relationships with the Murray Bridge Community.

I live at Forest Range, surrounded by apple orchards on a 15-acre property. We have chickens, dogs and a cat but we hope in the future to raise cattle. I have three grown up children, 2 girls who have left home and my son who still lives with us and who works as a Park Ranger. I attend Our Lady of the Rosary Catholic Church in Stirling and enjoy caring for our older parishioners. My favourite things to do include reading science fiction, walking our border collies Mac and Missy and kayaking along the Murray River. My favourite holiday, yes you guessed it! travelling down the Murray River on a Houseboat. Nothing beats an early morning kayak before everyone is awake.

I applied for the position as Leader of Middle Years at St Joseph’s School because I am passionate about middle years students. I am a Science/Maths/STEM trained teacher, and my passion is for leading inquiry-based learning where students engage with authentic, real-world problems.

Today, I am visiting the Year 6 classes to ask their opinion regarding the micro-credential (skills based) courses we are running in Year 7 and 8 next year. The students will choose from a range of courses including jewellery making, cake decorating, automotive service technology, drone flying, rowing and Barista (coffee making), just to name a few. Tomorrow, I visit the Year 7 classes. We will use the student’s ideas to form our list of 6 micro-credential units to be offered in 2022. These courses are unique to Catholic Schools and are in line with recommendations from the SACE Board to prepare students for life after school.

Select Read More and you can access St Joseph's Secondary Years Middle School Curriculum Guide

On November 10th 2020 The Fiegert family’s world came crashing down. Nicholas, the youngest son of 4 beautiful boys was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive cancer called Rhabdomyosarcoma.

Nicky has commenced IV chemotherapy, at times daily for weeks at a time. His treatment plan also includes intensive weeks of daily Radiotherapy leaving him extremely ill. Nicholas’ treatment is ongoing with at least another round of Radiotherapy and continued IV chemotherapy and then moving onto oral chemotherapy until at least next year.

We reach out to our St Joseph school family for love, prayers and support.

If you would like to offer a financial contribution please see the link below.

Thank you for your generosity and prayers.

In reflecting on the life of Saint Mary MacKillop to write my Newsletter article I began to think about the amazing woman she was.  Even from today’s perspective the things she achieved from such a young age and for a woman during those times are incredible.  She was only 24 years old when she began the school in Penola.  She was and is truly inspiring for us today and embodies so much of the Australian spirit. An online article from ‘Paracatholic’ put it this way.

“The term ‘Aussie Spirit’ is often heard in sporting conquests; in times of natural disasters; in local settings; in national settings; in the ANZAC tradition; in reaching out to help foreign countries when needed; or indeed when simply lining up waiting to get on public transport!  The ‘Aussie Spirit’ often refers to a mixture of grit, resilience and humour underlined with a sense of mild disregard for egotistic authority whilst still being prepared to ‘go into bat’ when needed or giving someone a ‘fair go’ in any given situation. 

Mary MacKillop was the epitome of the ‘Aussie Spirit’.  She certainly ‘went into bat’ for those struggling with their lot, regardless of who they were or where they were.  She believed in and acted on the sense of a ‘fair go for everyone’.  And she certainly demonstrated a willingness to be a ‘disrupter’ in an authoritarian environment if it meant she was able to continue the work for which she took her vows.

Mary MacKillop showed us how the ‘Aussie Spirit’ is about seeing the worth and dignity of every person made in God’s image and likeness – she saw Christ in every person she met.

Mary MacKillop showed us how one aspect of the ‘Aussie Spirit’ is about standing up for the lives and dignity of the needy and defenceless, the vulnerable and disadvantaged.

Mary MacKillop showed us how the ‘Aussie Spirit’ is also about having hope in a world that seems fractured and polarised.

Mary MacKillop showed us how the ‘Aussie Spirit’ is about facing great challenges with vision, passion and creativity.

Mary MacKillop showed us how the ‘Aussie Spirit’ is about challenging the status quo in times of hardship and envisioning new ways of living and sharing the Good News.”

Saint Mary MacKillop’s motto through life is one that we could try to live by:

“Never see a need without trying to do something about it”

We celebrated St Mary of the Cross MacKillop’s feast day on Friday, but because of Covid guidelines we had to be innovative.  Our Year 7’s led us in the readings and prayers while Fr Vim celebrated the Mass via TEAMS.  The students in other classes shared this and responded in their classrooms.

We have been learning about Mary MacKillop and all the kind things she did for others. Today we thought about how she made an old stable into a school for children in need. The class then thought of something they could make the building into and added what they would need inside of it to help someone else.

PLEASE NOTE - Scheduled items may be postponed or cancelled due to COVID-19 Restrictions. Attendance by Parents & Caregivers may also be restricted. Advice will be given by the school when it is received.

Select READ MORE to view the TERM 3 CALENDAR

As part of the All Culture Fest On June 27th in Murray Bridge two of our families were involved in the Citizenship Ceremony which took place.

Jose Garcia Father of Angie and Tomas

The Lin Family, Yurong Wu, Yu Lin, David & Emmie

The Australian Migrant Resource Centre is a leading settlement agency in South Australia assisting the successful settlement of migrants and refugees.

Contact Murraylands Migrant Resource Centre for more information.

St Joseph’s Murray Bridge School was involved in a Country SA PHN Wellbeing Schools trial project working with ACHPER SA - The Australian Council for Health, Physical Education and Recreation, South Australia in term 2. This project provided a range of opportunities promoting active and healthy living and included staff meetings, individual staff mentoring, work within classes and a parent forum. Our School is committed to developing a better understanding of Active and Healthy Living. Attached is a range of details that offers access to supportive information, resources, local agencies, facilities and contacts within our local area. Set up as a support tool, not a complete list it is a snapshot as at June 30, 2021. Your support to be a positive role model is really important.

Select Read More for more details.

Is Your Family Missing Out On The Benefits of Being Active Every Day

Hello friends and families,

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