ST. JOSEPH’S ACADEMY Weekly Newsletter

Ben Davis, Acting Headteacher

Grassyards RdKilmarnock KA3 7SL

01563 526144

www.saintjosephsacademy.co.ukTwitter: @StJoAcad

ISSUE 14.3

FEBRUARY 2ND2015

FOR PARENTS, CARERS, FAMILIES & PARISHES

INSPIRE AND TRANSFORM:

NURTURING FAITH-FILLED WORLD CLASS LEARNING

Art by James Johnstone, S3

Around the school this week

From left clockwise: fifty S4 - S6 pupils visited the Theatre

Royal Glasgow to watch a stunning production of ‘To Kill A

Mockingbird’; Senior Sports Leaders worked with 80 pupils

from St. Andrew’s PS the other night teaching them games

and developing their sporting skills; S5 pupil James Stephens

got himself suited and booted for his Parachute Regiment

interview and is now looking forward to heading to Catterick

for further tests; pupils in S4 PE enjoyed the new equipment

that tests their catching skills.

Positive

Destinations

Pupil

Leadership

Engaged

Learners

Ambitious

Learning

Audience member in Glasgow…

‘Impeccable behaviour… I’m really impressed with hte

wau your puoils concentrated and took in the play

for the full two hours’

Catholic Education Week 2015

Catholic Education Week got off to an

excellent start with pupils and staff

attending Masses in all parishes across

East Ayrshire. Pupils provided readings,

psalms and bidding prayers, some spoke

at Mass and others gave out specially

made leaflets and bookmarks. Pictured

here are pupils from St. Joseph’s and St.

Patrick’s Primary School after 11 am Mass

in St. John’s Church, Cumnock. This week

we have held special assemblies for

Catholic Education Week and have more

celebrations planned. The next edition of

the newsletter will focus on this.

Anti-sectarian

intergenerational event

The pupils from the S6

Personal Development class

provided food and

refreshments for hundreds of

guests to New Farm Loch

Community centre last weekend.

This was part of a large scale

project involving pupils from St.

Joseph’s and James Hamilton

Academies. Other pupils from

S2 and S3 took part in

activities during the week.

‘Proclaiming the Joy

of the Gospel’

WEEKLY HOME ROOM REFLECTION: Catholic Education Week The theme for yesterday’s Education Sunday and for this week is designed to give us the chance to consider how “Proclaiming the Joy of the Gospel” is the mission of every Christian. Pope Francis has made great efforts to remind us that the life of a Christian should be joyful. We should not look like mourners coming back from a funeral, he tells us, or like people “whose lives seem like Lent without Easter”. He encourages us to rediscover our enthusiasm for the Gospel and to share it joyfully with others. The Holy Father invites Christians to “go forth” from being obsessed with our own needs and to “get involved by word and deed in people’s daily lives.” So, what does this mean for us? We all have a great capacity for joy and celebration. But sometimes we can get stuck in the rut of depression and pessimism. Sometimes we can feel engulfed with bad news – stories of tragic events, natural disasters, inhuman acts, gloomy forecasts. Such events can cause us to be confused by life’s uncertainties and by human frailty and to question our faith in God. They can encourage doubts and scepticism. They appear to leave no room for joyful celebration. But our faith calls on us to overcome such pessimism and to tell another story –a Good News story. As Christians, we can offer a better way of looking at life, a higher challenge, a promise of infinite love. Pope Francis reminds us that we can all tell that story, not by preaching or lecturing, but through the witness of our own lives, through what we say to people, how we speak to them, how we show love and care for them. We first hear this Good News about this in our family homes from our parents and grandparents. We go on to learn much more in school, from our teachers, in our religious education classes. In our parish we learn about it through the liturgy, at Mass, in the Scripture readings and in the homily. And we put into practice the things we learn about the love of Jesus through our own acts of witness, in our contributions to charities such as Young Minds, Ecuador and Cancer Research. We also show this Good News by participating in parish activities and, above all, by showing loving concern for others in our school.

Let us pray: On this day when we remember life lost through hatred, lack of respect and indifference, let us pray for a better future. May we cherish in our hearts the truth that every person is made in the image of God so that we build bridges to those who are different and speak out against discrimination.’ Amen

PARISH MASS TIMES St. Matthew’s: 9.30 am, Fr. Chambers St. Joseph’s: 6.00 pm (vigil), 11.00 am Fr. Latham St. Francis Xavier, Patna: 5.00 pm (vigil)St. John the Evangelist: 10.45 am, Fr. McGrattan Our Lady of Mount Carmel: 9.30 am, Fr. McGhee St. Michael’s: 4.30 pm (vigil)St. Paul’s: 11.30 am, Fr. Chambers Our Lady of Lourdes and St. Patrick: 6.00 pm (vigil), Fr. McGrattanSt. Sophia’s: 6.00 pm (vigil) Fr. Chambers St. Thomas the Apostle: 9.00 am, Fr. McGrattan

IMPORTANT DATES...................................................................

February 6th - 11th February Weekend

holiday (pupils return on 12th)

February 14th Ordination of Bishop Nolan

February 17th Options Information

Evening

February 24th 4.00 pm - 6.30 pm

S5/6 Parents’ Evening

March 2nd Parent Council 7 pm

Above: pupils welcome Nil By Mouth to the school for

an assembly on anti-sectarianism; right: don’t miss

several of our talented pupils with their work on

display in the Dick Institute.