St Joseph’s Primary School 1 Week 3

Issue 03, Term 1, Week 3 Date: 12th February 2014

Important Dates—Term 1

Week 3 Feb 13th - Chinchilla District Swimming Carnival

- Principal Meeting (Toowoomba)

Feb 14th - Opening School Mass (Leader Induction)

Feb 15th - Requiem Mass for Eddie—11am

Week 4 Feb 17th - Year 6/7 Leadership Day

- P & F Meeting

- SW Cricket Trials

Feb 21st - School\Sport Captain Leadership Conference

- P&F Welcome BBQ

Week 5 Feb 24th - School Board Meeting

Feb 28th - SW Swimming Trials

Week 6 Mar 5th - Ash Wednesday

Mar 6th - Chinchilla District Rugby League & Netball

Trials

Mar 7th - SW Basketball Trials

Week 7 Mar 15th - Parish St Patrick’s Day Celebrations

Week 8 Mar 17th - P & F Meeting

Mar 19th - St Joseph’s Feast Day

Mar 21st - Chinchilla District Soccer Trials

Week 9 Mar 24th - School Board Meeting

Mar 28th - Chinchilla District Tennis Trials

Week 10 Apr 4 - Final Day of Term 1

School Resumes for Term 2 on Tuesday 22nd of April

Dear Parents

Many people think that St Valentine’s Day is a silly sentimental sort of thing, that it is simply the frontispiece for commercial opportunity. However, in the midst of all the cut-out hearts, red-wrapped chocolates and the red roses, there can be found a story of real love, compassion and concern for other people. Historically, St Valentine served as the Bishop of Terni, a small city in the heart of Italy, during the third century. Emperor Claudius II decided that single men made better soldiers than married or engaged men, so he outlawed marriage or engagement for young couples. Realising the injustice of this law, Valentine secretly married young couples. As soon as Claudius found out about Valentine’s activities, he had Valen-tine jailed and beaten; later he was sentenced to death and beheaded on February 14, 270 A.D. On February 14, 1997, Pope John Paul II wrote that, because of Valentine, Terni had become the “city of love without borders, the city of universal love”. The Pope went on to define the love that we all must have: “A love that conquers, breaks down frontiers, crumbles barriers among human beings. Love that creates a new society.” On February 14, 2007, Vincenzo Paglia, Bishop of Terni, said: “In our world where the risk is that love will be forgotten amidst so many forms of hatred, the message of St Valentine points towards love drawn from the depth of his own life, showing us a shared path that meets and welcomes all.” If you ever had the opportunity to see the musical, “Les Miserables”, you might recall the final statement: “To love another person is to see the face of God.” God is present in our love for other people, because He is present in everything that is good. We might proclaim our faith in God, but if there is no love and kind-ness associated with it, then our faith is a rather disconnected thing. “If we are lacking the kind of love that causes us to have compassion towards other people, to love them and to wish to make them happy, we cannot be united to God because we are not at all like Him, we are in no sense in God’s image.” Sweden-borg. A scriptural Valentine worth our consideration might be: “God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him may not perish, but have eternal life.” John 3.16. Perhaps these words prompted the following verses: “You can see God’s beauty, You can see His love shine In everything around you, Just look at all the magnificent signs. You can see His love in a mother and child As they share a loving embrace. But it is easiest to see His undying love, When you gaze at the Cross And see Jesus’ face.” Michael Rew.

For us, God’s love does not lie in great heroics but in the daily actions of our common lives. Our souls unite with God’s through the quiet consistency of kind acts and expressions, in the affairs of our everyday lives. As St Valentine was able to see beyond the injustice of the Emperor’s laws and offer support for true hu-man love, so might we be able to see past the silliness and sentimentality of our modern St Valentine’s Day and take the opportunity to thank God for His endless love for us and to reflect that, by our love, com-passion and concern for other people. “Someday we will harness for the world the energies of love, and humankind will have discovered fire for the second time.” God Bless

Aaron Wells

Principal

From the Principal’s desk... Welcome to Week 3 of Term 1!

Joey’s Journal

St Joseph’s Primary School Phone: (07) 4662 7850 , Fax: (07) 4668 9732 Principal: Mr Aaron Wells PO Box 467 www.chinchilla.catholic.edu.au A.P.R.E: Mrs Michelle Nitz Chinchilla, QLD, 4413 Email: chinchilla@twb.catholic.edu.au Admin Officer: Mrs Bronwyn Cookson

Our Lady Help of Christians

Weekend Mass Time Fri 14th Feb @ 6:00pm

Requiem Mass for Eddie Ekari - Sat 15th Feb

Miss Bowdler and Year 1

will be leading us this

week at our Friday Whole

School Assembly—2:30pm

St Joseph’s Primary School 2 Week 3

From the A.P.R.E

Contact/Medical Details As a school it is vitally important that we have up-to-date contact/medical information for all of our families. In previous years, we have sent home forms for all parents to fill in their details at the start of each year. To avoid unnecessary duplication of details already on file, we will not be sending these forms out this year. We do however ask that if your details have changed that you please notify us as a matter of urgency. There are several options for doing this:

Phoning the school with new details

Coming into the school office and speaking with Bronwyn.

Emailing the school—chinchilla@twb.catholic.edu.au

Skoolbag—Change of Details e-form Your cooperation with this is greatly appreciated.

District Swimming Carnival I would like to wish all of our Joey’s students participating in the District Swimming Carnival the very best of luck this coming Thursday. I am sure that you will represent the school with pride and honour and I look forward to hearing of your successes.

Opening School Mass and Leader Induction This Friday we will be having our Opening School Mass for the year at 9:30am. This is a special occasion as we begin our school year, welcome our new students and commission our student leaders for 2014. As discussed last year, 2014 is a significant year as it is the last year for Year 7 students in primary school. As such our current Year 6 students will be the first Year 7 students to secondary in 2015. These two year levels will lead our school over the coming year. I would like to take this chance to invite all our families to attend and support our students. I look forward to seeing you there.

My Dear Child, Your journey is just beginning. As you travel the road of life, be gentle with yourself. Do not permit the small pebbles under your feet to determine your way or your feelings. They have the potential to grow in your imagination: remember they are just pebbles. Enjoy the gentle breezes that cool and refresh you on the journey. But wisely take shelter off the road when these gusts turn into fierce winds. Protect yourself in a strong place and wait for the storm to pass. Know that it always will. Allow the sun to warm your skin but be mindful of this: too much of a good thing can also burn you. Enjoy the solitude, and at the same time, the company of your journey. The journey has its own moments that will teach you something. Take the time to notice the beauty that surrounds you. It has been with you all the time – notice it and give into it, now and then. Don’t rush. Rest when you need it. It will give you perspective. Reflect often. Be grateful often. Forgive often. For these things add meaning on the road you are travelling. But most importantly, have courage on the journey- be it long or short. For the road is uniquely yours and… I am always with you. God. God Bless

Michelle Nitz

APRE

Administration

A Word from Sr. Marion

LIGHT OF THE WORLD. Jesus said, "Your light must shine in the sight of others." This probably sounds difficult for most of us, even on a good day, but it remains true that we notice what others do and say, and they notice things about us. We influence one another in many ways. Jesus goes on to say, "Seeing your good works, they may give the praise to your Father in heaven."

Regards, Sr Marion.

Why Is It So?

SCHOOL HOURS Please be aware that the recommended program for the school day is outlined below: 8.20am – 8.35am Arrive time 8.35am First Bell 8.40am – 10.40am Morning Session 10.40am – 11.00am Morning Tea 11.00am – 1.00pm Middle Session 1.00pm – 1.40pm Lunch 1.40pm – 2.55pm Afternoon Session 2.55pm – 3.15pm Collection time Teachers are on duty at morning tea & lunch as well as before & after school. Students should arrive at school no earlier than 8.20am & be collected by 3.15pm. If there are special circumstances the school must be notified. This information is important to clarify when students will have rostered supervision from staff while on the school premises. We also ask school students to only use the play fort while the teacher is on duty before school. We also ask school students to stay off the play fort during collection time to minimise distraction for our teachers who are ensuring students are collected by the appropriate people & leave the school safely.

REPLY SLIP – P&F WELCOME BBQ

Friday 21st February—6:00pm

Family Name:_____________________________

No: of Adults:__________ of Children:________

I can help out – food prep/serving/cooking/cleanup

St Joseph’s Primary School 3 Week 3

UNIFORMS

The uniform shop will be open Monday 2.45 - 3.15 pm

Wed & Fri 8.30 - 9:00 am

Uniform co-ordinators are: Ann Welke Ph: 4668 9580 Mob: 0409 643 758 Cathy McLatchey Ph: 4669 1904 Mob: 0404 013 218

From the Sporting Field…with Mrs Hart

District Basketball Congratulations to Campbell Gale; Coby Calleja; Jack McLatchey; Patterson Bannister; Jack Peart and Mason Paerau who were successful at last weeks Basketball Trials. These boys will join the Chinchilla & District Basketball Team and begin training in preparation for the Regional Trials in Roma on Friday 7

th March.

Congratulations also to Edward Phelps who was named as a Shadow.

District Swimming We wish the following students every success at the Chin-chilla & District Swimming Carnival tomorrow. These stu-dents have been training in readiness for the Carnival and we look forward to hearing their achievements. Best of luck to these students: Lucy McLatchey; Regan Olsen; Keegan Sutcliffe; Gabby Geldard; Corinne Smith; Patterson Bannister; Cameron Cardillo; Matt Jackson; Blake Moore; Neo Harth; Jack Peart; Louise Merritt; Breanna Collins; Jaimee Walsh; Shannon Bender; Ellena Welke; Jack McLatchey; Tom Watson; Jane Sommerfeld and Arlie Sommerfeld. Those successful students will form part of the Chinchilla & District Team and travel to Miles to compete in the South West Swimming Trials on Friday 28

th February.

South West Boys Cricket Trials We wish Coby Calleja; Carmeron Cardillo; Patterson Ban-nister and Regan Olsen every success this Monday 17

th

at the South West Boys Cricket Trials. The boys have been training with the Chinchilla & District players and we hope they have a successful and enjoya-ble day. If the boys are chosen in the South West Team they will travel to Ipswich/ Amberley from 30th March - 3

rd

Tuckshop

There will be no Tuckshop this

Friday!!

Assembly Briefs

TERM 1, WEEK 2

Birthdays: Zara Taylor, Melinda Woodgate, Ben Rowan, Ashlee Clarke & Koen Zerbst

Workers of the Week Prep W: Connor Kelly Prep R: Hunter Samuels Year 1: Lawson Llewellyn Year 2: Harry Simms Year 3: Sophie Bender & Lachlan Paerau Year 4: Holly Sperling & Charlie Lloyd Year 5: William Playsted & Cameron Cardillo

Goal Achievers Year 6/7G: Matthew Jackson, Harrison Smith, Blake Moore, Alex Jack-son Year 6/7P: Darcy Hubbard, Jane Sommerfeld, Alexus Ahu-Foliaki, Louise Merritt, Gabby Geldard, Coby Calleja, Jackson Budden, Matthew Winfield, Patterson Bannister, Liam Donnelly, Mason Paerau

CALL OUT FOR OLD PILLOW CASES Making a difference, here and across the ocean, one little dress at a time!

The Chinchilla State High School Girls Group is participating in the ‘Little Dresses

for Africa” campaign. Simple dresses are made out of pillow cases, and

distributed through the orphanages, churches and schools in Africa to plant in the

hearts of little girls that they are worthy! If you have any old pillow cases, ribbon

or elastic please send them to school and hand in at

the office.

For more information please contact

Colleen Forde (Youth Health Nurse)

on 0428 162 761.

“We’re not just sending dresses, we’re sending HOPE!”

St Joseph’s Primary School 4 Week 3

JACKSON’S PARTS N INDUSTRIAL

SUPPLIES

WARREGO HIGHWAY

CHINCHILLA

4669 1244

*Hydraulics *Filters *Tools *Welding* Nuts &

Bolts *Oil *Bearings and much more

“If we haven’t got—we’ll get it”

Providing general counselling and parenting programs to Chinchilla fam-

ilies

A TRAGIC DEATH: We are still

mourning the untimely death of

Eddie Ekari. The body was flown

back to Eddie's home parish in the

highlands of PNG where the funeral

Mass was celebrated on

Wednesday Feb 5th. Bishop Robert

is coming to preside at a special

Requiem Mass for Eddie here in

Chinchilla at 11am next Saturday

February 15th. May he rest May he

rest in Peace! Fr Jim

The Parish Ladies Group meets on

the 4th Tuesday of the month.

Meetings will recommence on

Tuesday 25th February, 2014.

Contacts: Mary on 46 628158,

Pat on 46 627902 or

Dahl on 46 694447. All welcome!

St PATRICK’S DAY/ CATHOLIC

BALL

Dear Parishioners,

Do we need a meeting to discuss

our forthcoming functions, or can I

call for helpers to help run St

Paddy’s Day and Catholic Ball.

Helpers for: St Paddy’s Day:

Bbq - Bar - Afternoon Tea- Soft

Drinks - Produce Stall - Raffles –

Shamrock-Money - Concert - Setting

Up - Ceaning Up. Catholic Ball:

Decorations Friday Pm - Supper -

Door Keepers/ Ticket Sellers -

Selling Bar Tickets - Security Men -

Cleaning Up Sat Night Sun Morning.

Owing to family commitments I am

unavailable to be at these functions,

but I will get most stalls ready and

your help will be needed at the

functions.

Hoping you can help at either or

both of these functions as they are

our only social and fundraising

events for our parish. With Thanks,

Lorna Gadsby 4662 7596

Email:lmgadsby@bigpond.com

MONTHLY ROSTER February

Grounds T Dwyer team

Sanctuary Cleaning M Casey

Floral L Gadsby

Linen Cleaning L Lauder

Meals on Wheels

Lorna Gadsby Julie Budden Naureen Gearon Pam Walsh

Bulletin Typing Jenna Ginardi

jginardi@bigpond.com

MASS ROSTER Friday 14

th February

at 5.30pm

Welcome V. Hughes

Readers V. Hughes Sr. Marion

Gifts F. Hicks C. Jones

Organist G. Ellem

Special Ministers J. Bourke F.Hicks

Church Cleaners N. Merritt C. Jones

Collection Counters J . Dwyer M. Polzin

This is the website for our Diocesan

Social Justice Commission. Well

worth a visit! www.tsjc.org

St Joseph's School Opening School Mass Friday 14th February at 9.30 am. All welcome to join us in our celebration as we induct our student leaders for 2014.

Date Claimers: *Parish Council: Monday Feb 24th *St Patrick’s Day Open Air Concert and BBQ, 15th March 2014. *Debutante Ball, 26th April 2014.

Upcoming Masses and Liturgies:

CHINCHILLA: Friday 14th February at 5.30pm MILES: Saturday 15th February at 6.30 pm

Weekday Masses: Tuesday 11th February at 9am Friday 14th February at 9.30am (with St Joseph’s School) Saturday 15th February at 11am (Requiem for Eddie)

Recently Deceased: Father Peter Collins (Melbourne Blessed Sacrament order priest), Lawrence Cantwell

Anniversaries: Rev Fr Raymond White, Most Rev James Byrne DD, Marjory Sutt, Sulina Fuller, George Blades, Jane Daly, Florence Joyce, Marian Grove Liddy, Catherine Wall, Jill Greenhalgh, Sr Judith Thompson, Alice Houston, Margaret Munro Sick: Scott Patrick Cousins (son of Bill and Maria), Josie Handley (Ireland), Ian Walters, Noel Smith (Cessnock), Rhonda Barbe, Margaret Ryan, Jenny Ryan, Gerald Collins (Maitland), Cyril Kruger, Dianne Colls, Fran Johnson, Allistair Leahy, Bishop Michael Putney (Townsville), Flo Lehmann. Please advise typist if you wish to add or take off names, after clearing it with the sick person or someone from their family.

Response to the Psalm: "A

light rises in the darkness

for the upright."

Floral helpers are needed to join

monthly roster. Please contact Lorna

on 4662 7596 if you can help out.

Our Lady Help of Christians’ Parish

Chinchilla

Fr Jim Cronin: Ph 4662 7 031 Year C 30.6.13

Feast of the Presentation of the Lord 2nd Sunday, Year A: 8th February, 2014

Fr Jim Cronin: Phone: 4662 7031; Email:jimcronin5@bigpond.com

Don't rob the poor to pay the rich Bruce Duncan | 03 February 2014

Travelling around rural and coastal towns, you cannot fail to notice the number of shops that have closed or are empty. Despite the overall good economic figures for Australia, many businesses are struggling. In addition, some of our major industries, including car manufacturing and refineries, are moving offshore resulting in big job losses, hitting towns like Geelong very hard. Minister for Social Services Kevin Andrews is introducing a review of income transfers, particularly to the unemployed and those on disability benefits. He has said that the aged pensions will not be touched, though this is where most of the problem lies. The age pension costs Australia $36 billion a year, a third of total welfare spending, with Family Payments costing $26 billion. In the last ten years, the cost of the age pension has increased by nearly $13 billion, but only $5 billion of this was due to ageing of the population. The rest of it resulted from generous changes to entitlements and eligibility. The then shadow treasurer Joe Hockey on 17 April 2012 told the Institute of Economic Affairs in London that 'all developed countries are now facing the end of the era of universal entitlement'. He continued: 'Addressing the ongoing fiscal crises will involve the winding back of universal access to payments and entitlements from the state.' What might this mean? The cost of various entitlements varied from $15 billion for the Disability Support Pension, $8 billion for Newstart, and $5 billion for Parenting Payments. Yet rather than causing a blow-out in the budget, as a proportion of the overall economy these payments have actually decreased over the last ten years. One would welcome a review of the Newstart benefit of $36 a day for a single person aged 22 to 65 ($250.50 a week), which is only 45 per cent of the after-tax minimum wage and $130 below the poverty line. Compare this with the aged pension rate at $53 day. The Newstart payment is unconscionably low. Even the Business Council of Australia supports an increase in the Newstart allowance, by $50 a week in the view of welfare advocates. Newstart is very important in helping tide people over while searching for jobs, and is already tightly targeted. The numbers of unemployed have been trending up from a low in July 2011 of 4.9 per cent to 5.8 per cent in December 2013, numbering 716,000 people. In December full-time jobs decreased by

31,600, though this was partially compensated by an increase of part-time employment of 9000. This unexpected jump in unemployment may be partly explained by the Government from January 2013 moving 75,000 people off Parenting Payments to Newstart when one's child reached six years of age (for a couple) or eight years of age (for a single parent). Quite properly the Government needs to work towards a more balanced budget after the deficit spending that protected Australia during the worst of the Global Financial Crisis. But as is evident from the European experience, austerity budgets and drastic cuts to spending only drive economies down further. As J. M. Keynes argued powerfully in the Great Depression, governments must stimulate and manage the economy in the interests of the whole people, especially the unemployed. Had the Howard Government not been so generous with its tax cuts to upper and middle income groups, there would today be no budget deficit. The problem for later federal governments was how to restore adequate tax income, against the populist mantra of 'no new taxes'. In large part, the answer lies in restoring greater equity to the tax system, especially by eliminating overly generous income transfers via tax concessions to upper income groups. For instance, government doles out largesse to wealthier groups through tax concessions on superannuation, negative gearing on house investments, tax deductions of billions of dollars a year to the mining industry for fuel, along with tax loopholes like family trusts, mortgage offset accounts and other devices. Governments all over the world, including Australia's, are now making serious efforts to curtail transfer pricing by major transnationals, depriving countries of billions of dollars of tax by moving profits to pop up in low-taxed countries like Ireland. Google made profits of £900 million in the UK in 2012, but paid only £11.6 million in corporate tax. Google is not alone in such massive tax evasion. The budget problems of the Federal Government are not caused by Newstart or disability pensions, which have been declining as a proportion of economic activity. The problems largely derive from inadequate tax revenue.

Bruce Duncan is a Redemptorist priest lecturing at Yarra Theological Union. He is director of the Yarra Institute for Religion and Social Policy and a founder of Social Policy Connections.