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Dear Parents, Guardians and Community,
Welcome back.
I hope everyone had a great break and your sporting team did well. Congratulations to all the Collingwood Fans, if the AFL is your sport. The students are settled and learning well already.
This week our Year 4 students are visiting Emmanuel College to help them learn about secondary schools to help their transition later on. We thank Emmanuel College who support our school in many ways.
Welcome back to Laura Graham who returns full time to the Deputy Principal role this term sharing the Deputy Principal role with Michelle Ristovski. Laura will return to part time in 2024 and Michelle and her will continue to share the role.
STEM MAD. Next Week our STEM Aviation Students are off to the Melbourne Archdiocesan Catholic Schools STEM MAD day where Catholic schools come together to look at all things STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths). We will be competing in the Aviation section with three planes entered. Fastest Plane, Heaviest Payload and Individual design. Thank you to Patrick Abela who has helped us out with lots of advice and design ideas. It does help when we having a parent who works for Boeing.
Mulch: You may have noticed we have a lot of mulch left over that we received from Hobson City Bay Council. If anyone would like to take some you are more than welcome. We can get cars onto the area if you have a trailer or ute. Just let us know and we can arrange for the gates to be opened.
Congratulations to Elisa Tamburro who got engaged over the holidays!!
God Bless
Anthony
Some important dates to Remember for Term 4
Event |
Date |
Time |
Where |
Seniors Mass |
Friday 6th October |
11:30 am |
Church |
Year One and Two Family Mass |
Sunday 29th October |
10:30 am |
Church |
Remembrance Day |
Friday 10th October |
10:45 am |
School Playground |
Advent Liturgy 1 |
Friday 24th November |
3:00 pm |
School Hall |
Prep family Mass |
Sunday 26th November |
10:30 am |
Church |
Seniors Mass |
Friday 1st December |
11:30 am |
Church |
Advent Liturgy 2 |
Friday 1st December |
3:00 pm |
School Hall |
Feast of the Immaculate Conception |
Friday 8th December |
9:15 am |
Church |
Advent Liturgy 3 |
Friday 8th December |
3:00 pm |
School Hall |
End of Year Mass |
Thursday 14th December |
11:30 am |
Church |
JOB VACANCY
Fr Greg is looking for a new Parish Secretary to work 21 hours Tuesday, Thursday and Friday ideally from 9 – 4pm but subject to negotiation especially on the latter time. Besides good communication skills a few of the key requirements today are in possessing strong finance skills ( including Xero) and strong PC skills, in particular Microsoft Office. The permanent part-time position is based at the Parish Office in Williamstown. Full details of the job vacancy can be found on website of ‘The Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne’ under ‘job vacancies’. Applications are to sent to recruitment@cam.org.au by 13th October.
Jogathon update
Get your colour on, the St Mary’s annual Jogathon is back bigger and brighter.
This year we’ve decided to add some colour and fun and are delighted to be holding our first Colour Explosion Jogathon with Australian Fundraising. We are fundraising for the school, with all monies raised being used to help pay for school resources and equipment.
The event will be held on Friday 3 November on Robertson Reserve.
A timetable for the day will be sent shortly and we encourage parents to come along and cheer the students on, so please save the date.
This week, students will bring home their sponsorship book with instructions on setting up their cybersafe online fundraising profile at www.australianfundraising.com.au. Please note, we are registered as “St Mary’s School – Williamstown”.
Cash donations can be received by students but must be converted to online donations before 3 November. We cannot accept any cash donations for this fundraiser.
- If possible, we’d encourage students to wear a white t-shirt (not mandatory, but recommended to maximise the colour explosion) and closed in shoes.
- Students will be covered in non-toxic, biodegradable colour powder from head to toe. Colour Powder is made of high-quality corn starch and permitted food colours. A safety data sheet is available upon request.
- Students will be given free sunglasses and a rainbow headband for the event.
If you didn’t receive a booklet, you can request one from the office.
We’re looking for volunteers to help out with this event. We will send a sign-up genius link shortly, so please keep an eye out in the newsletter and SchoolZine app.
For more information, please contact our P&F Coordinating Group at cg@smwilliamstown.catholic.edu.au.
Our thanks to Treehaus Williamstown for their continued support of this event.
Happy fundraising!
P&F Coordinating Group
What’s on at St Jospehs by The Sea
October 2023
Sustainability & Energy Saving Event - Tuesday 10 Oct 2023 -7:30pm
St Josephs by The Sea, 16 Esplanade Williamstown
Presented by: Anthony Verhoef a Senior Engineer and Climate Reality Leader
Learn how to save energy, reduce your power bills, and help the environment.
Supper Provided
November 2023
Eco-Spirituality Week 13-19 November
We have some great activities coming up for Eco- Spirituality week. Eco-Spirituality exists when one listens and responds to the spiritual connection between human beings and their environment.
We invite you to be part of a reflective practice Monday 13 to Saturday 19 November.
Please download our Eco-Spirituality guide to support your reflections. Or find us and follow us on Facebook for daily posts during Spirituality week and for regular updates throughout the year.
As part of your reflections this week you are also invited to our special event on:
Thursday 16 November 7.30pm – 9.00pm
Father Julian Tenison Woods and Eco-Spirituality
Presented by Maria Francalossi, with an introduction to the Explore ~ Embrace ~ Embody Laudato Si’ Action Plan 2022.
To register for this event please email us or fill out the registration form on our website. Chick here to share flyer.
Donations are welcomed.
…...To conclude and celebrate Eco- Spirituality week the team along will volunteers from the community will be hosting a day in the Garden.
A Day in the Garden with the SJBTS Team
Sunday 19 November 2023
10:00am - 4:00pm
We welcome you to join us for a Day in the Garden. An event filled with blissful bites, fascinating concepts on sustainability, cosmology, wellness and beauty.
Enjoy...Wicking bed demonstrations, Garden Tours, Reflexology, Heartwarming refreshments at the Bee-Hive CAFE, children's activities, Sustainability Workshops with Anthony Verhoef, and so much more.
Sustainability in daily life workshops Nov 19 at Garden Day
Session times 10:30am & 2pm
Anthony Verhoef a Senior Engineer and Climate Reality Leader will be presenting.
Topics include:
- Reduction of power usage
- Time of Usage
- Efficiency of appliances
- Energy contract and rates
- Solar Panels
Check here to download a copy of the Sustainability in daily life booklet.
Click here to share a poster of our Garden Day with your community.
To book a reflexology session on Garden Day click here for more information.
And finally, we have released the information for our 2024 Retreats, bookings for 2024 Retreats are now open……..
Retreat Dates 2024
7-14 April 2024
Easter to Ascension The Presence and Absence of Jesus
Jennifer Scally rsj
$800
5-12 May 2024
My Heart is Longing for you
Maureen McDermott rsj
$800
2-9 June 2024
Art As Prayer
Directed by Therese Quinn rsj
$800
19-25 August 2024
Directed Retreat
Therese Quinn rsj and Jenny Scally rsj
$850
23-29 September 2024
The Strength of a Women's Witness
Therese Quinn rsj
$850
21-27 November 2024
Connecting with The Mystery of Earth's Love
Elaine Smith rsj and Carmel Crameri rsj
$800
Click here for a full description of our 2024 Retreats.
Caritas Australia’s Emergency Appeals – Morocco / Libya
Caritas Australia needs your support to respond to the devasting earthquake in Morocco
and floods in Libya. Thousands of people have died and others have been injured.
Communities need shelter, food, water and medical assistance. Please support Caritas
Australia’s emergency appeals.
Donate at www.caritas.org.au