Principal's Page
Principal's Message
Dear Parents and Carers,
Feast of St Mary of The Cross MacKillop
This coming weekend, 8 August, is the feast of Mary Mackillop. Mary had a great passion for educating children who were poor and marginalised, including Aboriginal children. Mary was a woman ahead of her time and a resilient, hardworking dedicated woman who saw a need and actioned a response. “Never see a need without doing something about it.”
It feels very apt to pause and reflect on Mary’s life in the year we celebrate 200 years of Catholic education in Australia. Whilst Mary did not begin Catholic schooling in Australia her input was immeasurable. She recognised the fact that many children could not access this education for financial reasons and felt strongly that God’s love needed to be shared with all. So strongly that she begins the battle which would eventually enable many Australian children to access Catholic Education and give them a chance for a stronger relationship with their God.
Mary’s journey was not trouble-free. She fought many battles along the way and her faith was continually tested as she trod a path that upset many. Throughout this time and with these challenges she showed resilience and continued to fight for what she believed was right. The Sisters of St Joseph founded St Joseph's Catholic Parish Primary school in 1882 with the pioneer sisters being Sr Collette, Sr Eulalie and Sr Marie. It is believed that Mary visited the school. Mary MacKillop modelled being faith-filled for us as she lived by “Do all you can with the means at your disposal and calmly leave the rest to God.” (1891)
As we move toward the end of Week 4 our St Joseph’s families, with great support from teachers, are doing the best they can and taking on the responsibility for their children’s learning. In addition, parents are also supporting their social, emotional, and academic growth during the pandemic. St Mary of the Cross would be urging parents, students and staff at this time to:
“Do all you can with the means at your disposal and calmly leave the rest to God.” (1891)
Please know that I feel a great sense of empathy for parents, carers and teachers. Parents aren't trained teachers. And even trained educators have trouble teaching their own kids! These circumstances are a great reminder of how important teachers really are and how difficult they too find remote learning.
Also, children may or may not talk much about the virus, remote learning, or how the lockdown and pandemic have affected their social lives, but many are feeling it. Our role as the parents and educators of St Joseph’s is to lead with love, and remember that strong relationships with children make for positive educational experiences.
Is it time for your family to have a learning RESET!
It may be a good time for your family to have a bit of a 'reset' this week in order to sustain your family during remote learning and the lockdown over the coming weeks.
Over time, some of your family remote learning routines may have slipped away a little. This is understandable so on the next page of this newsletter there are many tips to help parents and carers keep children focused, interested, and balanced while learning from home.
I welcome a conversation with any parent so please feel free to contact the school.
St Joseph, pray for us.
Jen Charadia
Principal
Principal Awards and Merit Awards
GREAT NEWS!
The Merit Awards will resume this week and will be included in the Weekly Assembly video on Friday. Certificates will be included in this week's learning packs.
Principals Awards will resume at a later date to be advised.
Acknowledgement to Country
St Joseph's Bulli acknowledges and pays respect to the Dharawal people past and present, the traditional custodians of the land on which our school is built.
