Dear parents and carers,

Today, 7 May the 133 eligible cardinals have entered the conclave to elect a new Pope. This historical moment is of great significance to our Church and will be closely followed by many around the world. Today, we pray for the cardinals, the wider Catholic Church, and our St Joseph’s community as we enter this time of waiting.

Father Most Holy,
Our God and King,
Protect Your Church in this time of transition.
Guide the Cardinals in their sacred duty.
Grant them Wisdom and Courage,
Hope and Charity,
and the Faith they need to discern Your Holy Will.

Amen

Today we enjoyed a wonderful Cross Country Carnival at the O’Connor Oval. All of our primary students between 500m to 2km under beautiful skies and in front of the cheering House groups. Congratulations to all students for participating and being so positive. It was also heart warming to ride the course with the runners and to hear the constant encouragement from all staff and parents who were supporting the carnival. Thank you to Andrew Reynolds for planning a great day.

Note: I apologise to any parents and grandparents who may have missed races today due to some changed start times. This was an oversight in communication that was sent out.

Mother’s Day Breakfast and Prayer Celebration

A reminder and invite to all of our mums and the special women in our lives to join us for the Mother’s Day Breakfast from 8.00am on Friday morning. We will host have danishes and tea and coffee in the courtyard, before the Prayer Celebration in the Hall at 9.15am. We are looking forward to seeing our community come together once again for this important occasion.

Happy Families

A reminder that St Joseph’s is subscribed to the Happy Families School Membership!

We will regularly share resources available through our membership with you, including Insight Articles and Webinars. You can also access your resources at any time using the below URL (unique to our school) and password.

URL - https://schools.happyfamilies.com.au/login/stjosephs

Password – happysjps

Please make the most of this membership by accessing and perusing the great articles and past webinars. If there are resources that you find useful, please share these with other parents and let me know, so I can promote them across the school.

This week I have included a very interesting article that gives some valuable insight into parenting approaches to support our children –

…Sometimes you do have to step in, make decisions, and take action. But more often, your child simply needs you to be there emotionally. Not as a therapist. As a parent who listens. Support. Don't solve.

Support. Don't solve.

Da Vinci Decathlon

Last Wednesday two teams from St Joseph's competed at the Da Vinci Decathlon held at Canberra Grammar School. This academic challenge involves the teams working across 10 disciplines to solve complex problems and to apply newly learned skills. Congratulations to all the students who were part of Da Vinci this year, with special recognition to our Year 6 team who placed 3rd overall. Thank you to Tiffany Fletcher, Felicity Loftus and Tegan Carton for supporting the students as they prepared over recent months.

Building Project

The building project is most definitely coming along. This week the builders have set out the markings for the foundations and started preparations to have these poured next week. It is exciting to see the building ‘mapped out’ on the ground after the site was cleared so quickly. Please keep an eye on the website for ongoing updates - https://sjo.act.edu.au/st-joseph-s-building-project

Enrolment Period and Open Day

We are now in the official enrolment period for the 2026 school year. You will no doubt have started to hear and see many schools advertising and promoting their schools.

The best promotion for our school is the shared positive experience of our current families. I encourage you all to speak with family and friends about what makes St Joseph's such a beautiful school and to invite them to come for a tour.

Flyers / postcards were sent home to all families at the end of last week. I ask that these are shared in some way with those in your area or perhaps at your places of work.

School Open Day Saturday 10 May

This Saturday 10 May between 9.30 – 11.00am our school and ELC will be open for new families to come and take a tour as part of the enrolment period.

At the same time, I invite all current families to take the opportunity to visit the school. It would be great for your child/ren to show you around the school and to share their learning for the year. I haven’t got the coffee van this year… but I am more than happy to make some coffees if you would like to come through the school!

Please come along and be part of what I hope will be a busy and exciting morning at St Joseph’s.