St Joseph's College, Echuca

Living with Strength and Kindliness

This year at St Joseph’s College, we are animating the Kildare Ministries value of Hope.  

Our theme for 2024, Hope - Launching us into a future of endless possibilities, was created in collaboration with our Student Leaders. 

 

Our beautiful theme banner for this year was designed by one of our students - Meg Alberni. Meg worked with art educators and other students to ensure her design represented our College and the ideas of her peers. Within the design you will see the following interpretations:

  • Hope symbolised by the doves and stars.  
  • Stars remind us of our small part in a larger cosmos, encouraging a sense of wonder and optimism about what might be beyond our current understanding or reach.
  • Doves are seen as messengers of love, God, or the divine. Their appearance is often interpreted as a sign that we are not alone, that there is guidance.
  • Six of the doves have their feather tips coloured in each of the House colours representing the relationships of teachers and students within each House. The doves with their House colours are a symbol of loyalty and reminders of the strength and constancy of relationships, providing hope for lasting connections and mutual support.
  • The young person running towards the portal is ready to launch into the future, represented by space, planets (including Earth) and the cosmos or universe.  The vastness of the universe reminds us of the infinite possibilities it holds.
  • The portal is embellished with ancient script and symbols that represent our past and our House Patrons; Saint Brigid's lamp of learning, Caroline Chisholm's kind hands, The Oak tree representing Daniel Delany, Mother Benedict Moore's rosary beads, Sir Douglas Nichols' justice scales and St Patrick's clover. These symbols remind us of the stories, messages and values of each of the patrons.
  • The student running towards their future is launching off the ground that is intentionally coloured green with a yellow path - the colours of St Joesph's. The student has all the support, learning and experience they have gained from their time at St  Joesph's to confidently launch into a future, where they will carry and enact the values of Strength & Kindliness.

Lent

Next week the season of Lent begins. Lent is a liturgical season beginning with Ash Wednesday and ending on Holy Thursday. It includes six Sundays, the five Sundays of Lent, plus Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord.

 

Lent is a time for reflecting on our lives, for refocusing on God’s love for us, and God’s call to love and serve others. It is a time for renewal through prayer, fasting and giving. Lent provides us with an opportunity to consider how we might help those in need, rather than thinking about ourselves.

 

At St Joseph’s we will be flipping pancakes on Shrove Tuesday (Tuesday 13 March), the day preceding Lent, before the fasting season of the 40 days of Lent. We will then mark the beginning of Lent with an Ash Wednesday liturgy held in our House groups. This is an opportunity for us all to reflect on what this liturgical season means to us and to come together in prayer. Throughout Lent we will be engaging with the Caritas Project Compassion Resource. Donations to Project Compassion allow Caritas Australia, the Catholic Agency for International Aid and Development, to work with local communities around the world to end poverty, promote justice and uphold dignity. 

 

We will have many opportunities to engage in awareness raising, prayer and almsgiving throughout the remainder of this term. 

 

Lee Pethybridge

College Leader - Faith and Community