Our Theme for Term 4

Parents, please encourage your children to "FINISH STRONG".

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

World Teachers’ Day – Friday 31 October 2025

Hats Off to All Who Teach

At St Joseph’s Catholic Parish School, we will join schools across Australia in celebrating World Teachers’ Day on Friday 31 October. This day is a special opportunity to honour the dedication, skill, and heart of our teachers, those who guide, inspire, and walk alongside our students every day.

Teaching is a vocation that reaches far beyond the classroom. It is a ministry of presence, patience, and hope. Our teachers nurture curiosity, build resilience, and help shape the character of our future adults. Their work is both deeply personal and profoundly communal.

Yet we also recognise that teachers are not the first educators of children. That sacred role belongs to parents and caregivers, whose love and example lay the foundation for all learning. The partnership between home and school is essential. It is in this shared space—where family and teacher meet—that true education takes root and flourishes.

This year’s theme, “Hats Off to Teachers,” invites us to show our appreciation in a simple but meaningful way. The phrase “hats off” has long been used to express respect and admiration, tracing back to medieval times when knights removed their helmets to honour others. On World Teachers’ Day, we invite students, staff, and families to wear a hat as a symbol of gratitude, not just for our teachers, but for all who contribute to the education and formation of our young people.

Staff at St Joseph’s will also gather for a shared morning tea to celebrate the joy and privilege of working together in this mission.

To all who teach, whether in homes, classrooms, or communities, hats off to you. May God bless your efforts, renew your strength, and continue to guide your hearts in this sacred work.

Staff Book Spotlight

Quiet - Listening to the Quiet Voices Within and Around Us

by Susan Cain

Susan Cain’s Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking is a compelling exploration of how society often undervalues introversion, favouring extroverted traits like assertiveness, sociability, and quick decision-making. Cain challenges this bias by revealing the quiet strength, creativity, and depth that introverts bring to relationships, workplaces, and classrooms. Through research, storytelling, and personal insight, she invites us to reconsider what leadership, participation, and success truly look like.

For us as educators (parents), Quiet offers a powerful reminder: not all gifts are loud. Some of the most thoughtful, observant, and empathetic contributions come from those who speak less but think deeply. In a world that often rewards visibility and vocal leadership, Cain’s work encourages us to make space for reflection, to listen more attentively, and to honour the quieter voices among us, including our own.

When considering the needs of our children, Quiet urges us to guide them not toward conformity, but toward authenticity. Some children thrive in the spotlight; others flourish in solitude and thoughtful engagement. Our role is to help each child discover and honour their own way of being in the world. This means creating learning environments that value silence as much as speech, depth as much as speed, and listening as much as leading.

Am I making space for quiet growth?

Am I honouring the full spectrum of gifts in myself and others?

Mission Month – “Socktober Shootout”

This week, students from Year 5 have taken on the role of Mission Ambassadors to teach the students at our school about the work of Catholic Mission and Socktober. A huge thanks to the Mission Ambassadors who spoke to the students. 

This Thursday, all students are asked to support Socktober by bringing in a gold coin donation and wearing coloured/crazy socks.  Students are also invited to participate in a penalty shoot-out using one ordinary soccer ball and one “sockball”. 

Our Mission Ambassadors will be busy making the “sockballs” by using recycled materials.  This is to appreciate how children in poor countries of the world would make their own soccer ball.

Students who participate in the shootout will gain points for their sports house.  We look forward to seeing which house wins the Soccer Shootout! 

All Saints’ Day - November 1 & All Souls’ Day – November 2

The commemoration of All Saints is a day that we celebrate those who have gone before us having lived a faithful life. It may be an occasion where we call upon them in prayer, to intercede for us. It is a reminder that earth is a temporary place, where, if we follow the path of Christ, we will be united with Him and remain in communion with all Saints beyond this life.  All Saints Day too is a reminder that you do not need to be a bishop, a priest or a member of a religious order to be holy. We are inspired by tremendous, wonderful women and men, who have walked their journey of life and faith before us, including our own family and friends. On the feast of All Saints, we remember that everyone is called to be a saint. As the Second Vatican Council reminded us—a mother or a father, a student or an attorney, a teacher or a janitor. “Saints next door,” Pope Francis calls them. All we need to do is to “live our lives in love” and “bear witness” to God in all we do.  (Taken from I & O)

The Parish Mass to celebrate the Feast of All Saints will be held on Saturday 1^st November at 8.00am. 

All Souls Day is then celebrated on November 2.  This year, as it falls on a Sunday, it will be celebrated at the normal Sunday Mass times – 9.30am or 5.00pm.

During the month of November, we are invited to pray and remember for all those who have died.

God bless,

Mary MacCallum