Mission & Learning at Joey's
NAIDOC CELEBRATIONS
MINI VINNIES WINTER APPEAL
PJ & Jersey Day
Thank you to our whole school community and supported this great cause.
To support the St Vincent de Paul Winter Appeal, we held a PJ & Jersey Day. This event allowed students to come to school in their pajamas or favourite jerseys for the day.
By participating, we raised funds for Vinnies. The donations will go towards helping people in our community who are experiencing poverty, homelessness, and disadvantage during the colder months. This initiative was a great way for our students to show compassion and support a worthy cause.
100+ DAYS OF KINDY
Celebrating their first 100 days of Kindergarten, students dressed in vibrant, bright clothing for a special "100 Days Brighter!" celebration.
To mark this exciting milestone, the Year 6 students presented their Kindergarten buddies with special commemorative tokens. This day was a wonderful way to acknowledge the learning and growth of the youngest students of our community.
YEAR 5 DIOCESAN EXTENSION OPPORTUNITIES
Abella Raffaele, Scout Moorhead, Benji Browne, Amelia Reichel, and Nicholas Simpson
Abella Raffaele, Benji Browne, and Henry Browning
ICAS COMPETITION
Over the next few weeks, students who have chosen to participate in the ICAS competitions will be taking part in the assessments. ICAS is a suite of academic competitions designed to challenge students' higher-order thinking and problem-solving skills. The competitions will cover the following subjects: Writing, Digital Technologies, English, Spelling, Science and Mathematics.
KEMPSEY SPEECH & DRAMA EISTEDDFOD
Good luck to all our students participating in the Kempsey Speech and Drama Eisteddfod! We know how hard the class groups have been preparing, and we can't wait to see your fantastic work and performances on stage. The schedule has been shared on Compass and we hope you might be able to join us.
PARENT - TEACHER LEARNING CONVERSATIONS
Parent-Teacher Learning Conversations will be held on Wednesday 13th August from 3.30 - 6.30pm.
Some timeslots are still available, they can be booked through the Compass app on your student's dashboard.
COMBINED SCHOOL MASS AT ST PAULS COLLEGE
We're looking forward to joining together with students and staff from across our campuses for Mass at St Paul's College at the Mercy Centre on August 15th to celebrate the Feast of the Assumption. This important event in our Church’s calendar will be made even more special by joining together to mark and observe this day in a combined schools Mass.
All families welcome, 9:45am.
BOOK WEEK 2025
We are all looking forward to celebrating Book Week especially on August 19th!
To start the day, we'll have our highly anticipated Book Week parade, where students can show off their creative costumes inspired by their favourite book characters. Following the parade, the day will continue with a variety of engaging, literacy-based workshops. Throughout the week, children will embark on a book-related scavenger hunts around the school, making for a fun and educational day celebrating the joy of reading.
Hope to see you there!
STAGE 2 & 3 HAT HEAD EXCURSION
FATHER'S DAY LUNCH & PLAY
SACRAMENT OF CONFIRMATION
Attention Parents of Yr 3 Students
The Sacrament of Confirmation will be held on
Monday 22nd September 2025, at 5:30pm,
at All Saints Catholic Church, Kempsey.
In preparation, we are inviting parents and caregivers of Baptised Year 3 students to attend an information session on Tuesday 26th August, at All Saints Catholic Church, beginning with a special mass at 5pm followed by an information session held in the church at 5:30pm.
At the parent session Fr James will provide guidance and insight into this sacrament, how to support your child, choosing a Catholic sponsor for your child, as well as parish forms to be completed. If you are unable to attend please contact the school so we can make alternative arrangements.
Year 3 students are the year group that takes part in this Sacrament, however, if you are interested and your child is in year 4, 5, or 6 and would like to make their Sacrament, please contact the school.
Students will be engaging in a program during religion lessons at school to prepare and teach them about this Sacrament, and will also be engaging in a retreat experience here at school. Students will be bringing home a ‘Confirmation Student Workbook’ with some activities to complete at home.
The students will also be partaking in a Commitment Mass during school time where they pledge their commitment to learn about and participate in this Sacrament. All parents and families are warmly invited to attend.
Confirmation Commitment Mass, 9:30am, Friday 19th September, 2025.
As parents and caregivers, we ask that you support your child’s preparation by talking with them about the Sacrament of Confirmation, nurturing and building their understanding of the Sacrament and how it strengthens their faith through confirming the promises that were made at their Baptism.
What is Confirmation?
Confirmation has always been linked to baptism. Together with the Eucharist, it forms one of the three Sacraments of Initiation. Confirmation confirms what occurs in the initial and primary Sacrament of Baptism.
In the Sacrament of Confirmation the minister of the Sacrament lays hands on your child, prays over them on behalf of the Church family, and anoints them with chrism - sacred oil blessed by the Bishop the previous Easter. As the person is signed with oil the Bishop says, 'Be sealed with the gift of the Holy Spirit.' The actions of prayer, laying of hands and anointing with oil is a solemn and ancient gesture that can trace its roots back to the earliest Christian communities of the first century.
Confirmation is the sacrament through which the Holy Spirit is given in a special way to us. It is the sacrament of spiritual strength. The Holy Spirit is given for our spiritual strengthening, which is brought about in a most particular way through the Gifts of the Holy Spirit.
FEAST OF ASSUMPTION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY
On this Feast, Catholics traditionally celebrate Mary going to heaven. We remember how at the end of her life Mary was taken up to heaven to be with God. Mary is very special because she was chosen by God to be the mother of God's son, Jesus. There is an important difference between the ascension of Jesus into Heaven after His Resurrection, and the assumption of Mary. To ascend is to rise up under one's own power; while to be assumed means something that is done to one. Jesus, being the Second Person of the Trinity, had no need of assistance; whereas Mary did not have this power. The tradition is that 'God took Mary, body and soul, to heaven after her life on earth had come to an end'.