Dear families,

The past weeks have been truly a busy blur of blessings on the Social Justice and Ecology front here at St Jo’s. We have hit the ground running with our Eco Warriors and Spirit Team actions and I couldn’t be prouder of their commitment and engagement.

Spirit Team
These leaders have had a number of events to run: Beginning of Year Mass, Ash Wednesday Mass and Monday Afternoon prayers.

Our School Captains Clara and Kye, and School Spirit Team leaders Molly and Olivia, took part in the Caritas Project Compassion 2025 launch, held at St Bernadette's school on Shrove Tuesday. This was a very special event as it is Caritas' 60^th anniversary. They participated in a liturgy where they presented a prayer and a photo of one of our Caritas events, and then shared morning tea (pancakes of course!) with students and staff from 6 other schools present. It was a morning of community and connection that reminded them of the importance of social justice and charity. 

The Spirit Team are now busy preparing for St Joseph’s Day and Holy Week. Please follow our SZapp announcements for more information on these.

Eco Warriors

The Eco Warriors have waged a war on waste over the past weeks! With the help of KESAB and Wipe out Waste, they spent a day sorting waste and collecting data about St Jo’s waste: what is thrown away, what can be saved, How much. The report will be published on the school website once it is finalized. 

The Eco Warriors then delivered a whole new waste management system to their classes and talked to their peers about how to use each bin, how to separate waste properly and how to manage the bins so that they are kept in good order.

They also launched and ran Creation10 Time – a 10-minute session on Friday afternoons when all students engage in caring for our common home: our classes, our school, our bins, and our selves.

They will continue their ‘waste’ work through the rest of the semester with a mission to drastically reduce the production of waste and make sure that what is ‘thrown away’ is managed properly. They will be helped by another amazing organization: Green Adelaide who have come on board to provide more expertise and resources in our mission to be greener.

I would like to encourage all families to have conversations with our students around what is happening at school in this realm- we want the ripple of education about ecology to reach your home!

Project Compassion 2025

By now, the Project Compassion boxes will have arrived home. We encourage you to donate what you can, and help Caritas continue its incredible work with people and communities in need all over the world. For more information about the work that Caritas does, please visit: https://www.caritas.org.au/resources/project-compassion/

Pope Francis

The Pope was admitted into hospital on Feb. 14 for bronchitis. While there, he developed additional infections that required him to remain under the care of doctors, and soon after developed pneumonia in both lungs, according to the Vatican.

Over the Feb. 22 weekend, the Pope had an “asthma-like respiratory crisis” for which he required oxygen. He has also received blood transfusions after being diagnosed with low platelets, which help the blood to clot, the Vatican said.

The combination of health issues has kept the Pope from performing his public duties, including weekly prayers on Sundays, but his doctors have recently said he is alert, joking, and continuing to work, as well as reading messages from well-wishers around the world.

Loving God

We come before You in prayer, lifting up Your servant, Pope Francis, in his time of need. You are the Source of all healing, and we ask You to surround him with Your loving presence, granting him strength and recovery. May Your divine grace rest upon him, restoring his health and filling him with renewed vigour to continue leading Your Church with compassion and wisdom.

“But I will restore you to health and heal your wounds, declares the Lord.”
(Jeremiah 30:17)

We place Pope Francis into Your hands, trusting in Your eternal care. May he be comforted by the love of the Church and the prayers of all the faithful. We ask, through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, that his recovery be swift, and his spirit be strengthened in Your peace. May Your will be done in his life, O Lord, and may Your healing power be with him always.

We offer this prayer in the name of Your Son, Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit.

Amen.

Credit: Caritas Jerusalem

Christine Farrugia

Assistant Principal: Religious Identity and Mission