Living with Strength and Kindliness

A few weeks ago we were lucky to host Sr. Farazana, a Presentation Nun who was visiting from Pakistan. Sr. Farazana shared with our students and staff the story of Nano Nagle. She spoke about her work as a woman of faith in Pakistan and how the Presentation Sisters are working to provide an education for young people in Pakistan.  

While Sr. Farazana was here she also asked our students to consider the following question - "what is God calling us to do today?" Our Year 7 and 8 students spent time reflecting on this and created some beautiful personal artistic responses using the symbol of a lantern.  

It was a joy to have Sr. Farazana here with us and to share with her the beautiful surrounds of our College and the wider Echuca Moama community. 

Students Engage in Net Zero Sustainability Camp

Recently, students from St Joseph's College had the opportunity to participate in a Net Zero Sustainability camp. This event brought together individuals from various Kildare Ministries schools, to explore and address sustainability issues.

Throughout the camp, our students engaged in discussions and activities centered around sustainability. They had the privilege of listening to guest speakers who shared their expertise and experiences in sustainable practices, igniting a spark in our students to take action. 

This camp supports our ongoing commitment as an Earthcare school, reinforcing our dedication to fostering environmental stewardship and care for our common home.

Motivated by what they learnt, our students have begun planning initiatives to lead a sustainability response at St Joseph's. 

Some of our Year 10 students have been exploring the encyclical Our Common Home. One piece of work was to rewrite key statements from this important church document in language that would connect with young people in Echuca.  I share with you some of the students inspiring ideas.

Today we must uphold the challenges and realise that the most beneficial approach is social. It is about making us think about questions in debate.

We need to act as one whole not different people as we are all one human and together we can make a change to our special planet and help out our future generations.

Today, however, we need to understand that a true ecological approach always turns into a social approach; it must include questions of justice in debates on the environment, to hear both the cries of the earth and the poor.

Lee Pethybridge

College Leader - Faith and Community

National Homelessness Prevention Week

This week is National Homelessness Prevention Week. 

At St Joseph’s we believe that we are all made in the image and likeness of God. Raising awareness and supporting all people who are suffering allows us to open our hearts to those in need. 

Unfortunately 122,000 Australians experience homelessness every night. 

This is a pressing issue not only across Australia but right here in our very own community. This week our student leaders, social justice members, staff and students have had the opportunity to participle in learning about homelessness and calling for change. 

As a school community we have also been fundraising items to donate to the Brigidine Asylum Seekers Project (BASP). We pray that we can raise vital awareness and items for people suffering and as a community continue to grow and support each other.

Thank you to Alisha Ryan for the magnificent sculptures that support us in raising awareness. 

On Wednesday our senior students had a brilliant night at Brigidine Campus learning about the homelessness situation in Victoria and in our community. Students created homelessness shelters and understood the difficulty that homeless people go through during this task. We finished the night with a call to action and formulating ideas and plans to support everyone in our school community. It was a fantastic opportunity for these students to think about others. 

Special thanks to Mrs Mai for a fantastic dinner. 

Mr Matthew Butler

Living Justice Living Peace Leader