Kia Ora Whanau,

Thirty days till Christmas! How is Christmas shopping going? Is the Christmas tree up? Are the Advent Calendars ready?

This Sunday is the first Sunday of Advent. The church season in which we prepare for Christmas, the celebration of the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. At Mass this Sunday we will see the return of the Advent wreath with the four candles. These represent hope, faith, joy and peace. One candle is lit each of the four Sunday’s.

Sunday also signifies the beginning of our final three weeks of the 2022 school year. Preparations are underway for the various celebrations and trips. Please keep an eye on the school calendar and your emails.

If you are intending to take your child out of school for the family Christmas holiday, earlier than the 16th of December, please email the home group teacher and the office (office@sj.school.nz). We will ensure your child has their books and school work to take home on their last day. However the expectation is that all children complete the full school year.

All the best with your Christmas shopping.

Have a lovely weekend!

Take care,

Ka manaakitia e te Atua

Alister Bridgman
Principal

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at principal@sj.school.nz

The following topics will be covered in this weeks Principal’s message:

• Advent
• St Joseph’s Christmas Giving
• Welcome
• Please Return Library Books
• Attendance Dues – Final Payment Requested by Diocese Next Week
• End of Year Liturgy & Family Picnic
• Thank You Morning Tea for Volunteers
• Art For Sale
• Community Notices

This coming Sunday is the first Sunday of Advent.

Advent is the beginning of the Church Year. The word Advent comes from the Latin word which means ‘coming.’ The Lord is coming. – we must be ready. Jesus tells us what sort of lives we must lead in preparation for this time.

As we prepare our house for Christmas by putting up the tree, decorating our homes, sending cards and wrapping presents, we keep focused on what is at the heart of our preparations. We make time during Advent to prepare not only our homes, but our hearts and minds through prayer. We prepare ourselves for the birth of Jesus on Christmas day.

This first week of Advent we focus on being a people of HOPE.

It is that time again that as we start to prepare for our own Christmas offerings, we think of others. This maybe through prayer or if you are in the position to do so a small item for the

St Joseph’s Christmas Giving 2022

Each year our Community of Faith is blessed to support the Monte Cecilia Housing Trust at Christmas.
This year we would like to encourage our students to take a little time to purchase a small gift to go towards our Christmas giving.

Here are some great ideas.

• Art supplies
• Small cars
• Small dolls
• Games
• Outdoor sports games.
• Please no clothing or second hand goods.

There are four baskets in the school office for donations to be dropped into Boys and Girls Years 0 – 10, Teenagers, Mums and Dad’s. These are filler items to accompany the gifts that the parish puts together.

Thank you for your generosity.

Just a reminder that the library is now closed for stocktake. Please check to see if you have any school library books or school resources at home please.

The Auckland Catholic Diocese has asked us to remind parents that Attendance Dues for students should be settled next week, the last week of November.

A big thank you to all those families who have paid the Attendance Dues in full – very much appreciated!

If you have any difficulty paying your child’s Attendance Dues, we ask that you contact Alister Bridgman directly, as he is empathetic to circumstances families sometimes find themselves in. We’re here to help you if we possibly can.

You can ring Alister on (09) 489-4994; or email him at principal@sj.school.nz. Please don’t hesitate to contact Alister at your earliest convenience.

Again, thank you to all families, not only your Attendance Dues, but for your generous donations which we are most grateful for.

Please check out the latest community notices that are on our school website.