ST. JOSEPH’S ACADEMYWeekly Newsletter

ISSUE 29.1

JUNE 7TH, 2013

FOR PARENTS, CARERS, FAMILIES & PARISHES

CARITAS AWARDTwenty pupils from St. Joseph’s were among those honoured on Sunday June 2nd in Glasgow.

Over 900 young people from across

Scotland were honoured by the

Catholic Church last Sunday in the

presentation of the CARITAS AWARD

which was introduced last year, in

commemoration of the visit of Pope

Benedict XVI to Scotland in

September 2010.

Twenty pupils from St. Josephʼs

Academy, a comparatively high

number for the size of school,

successfully completed a year of

activities developing their faith

through study, reflection and voluntary

work in the school, local community

and parishes.

The awards ceremony held in the

Clyde Auditorium, Glasgow, was

attended by a capacity audience of

3,000, including representatives of the

Bishopsʼ Conference of Scotland, the

education world, various faith groups

and Churches. Among those joining

three of the Scottish Bishops to

present Caritas Award medals were

Sir Tom Farmer and the Rt. Rev.

Lorna Hood, Moderator of the

General Assembly of the Church of

Scotland.

The award winners have gained the

Caritas Award by volunteering time in

their school and faith communities

across Scotland, offering practical

support to others, and by

demonstrating that these actions of

loving service are inspired by faith in

God. The testimonies of many of

these young people demonstrate the

very significant impact of their

involvement in the Caritas Award on

their lives.

The Caritas Award is open to any

pupil who wants to take part and

pupils coming from various faith

traditions and none. All of the award

recipients have demonstrated that

showing loving kindness to others has

caused them to realise the powerful

impact of even the smallest acts of

love.

In the words of one of our Caritas

graduates, Lara Nardini-Tidy: “We

were dedicated to this task of helping

or simply being there for others. It

was a chance for us to explore and

reinvigorate our faith and share it with

others.”

INSPIRE AND TRANSFORM

Ben Davis,Acting Headteacher

Grassyards RdKilmarnockKA3 7SL

01563 526144

www.saintjosephsacademy.co.ukTwitter: @StJoAcad

Thirteen of our 20 Caritas Award winners (left to right): Danielle Winters, Lara Nardini -Tidy, Jodie Trusdale, David Hunter, John McInnes,

Emma Woods, Grace Brown, Sean Colman, Devlin McCloskey, Sianon McMillan, Caitlin Murphy, Shannon Davie, Laura Gordon.

Pope Benedict XVI Caritas Award: Deus Caritas Est

S3 Diploma of Achievement CeremonyOn Tuesday May 28th in front of parents and invited guests our S3 pupils took to the stage to receive their Diplomas of Achievement. Every pupil in the year received an award. The certificate recognised their skills, academic excellence, wider achievement , attendance and included comments from their peers and their teachers. As the first Curriculum for Excellence cohort it was a very proud moment to see them all come together to celebrate their achievements. Those pupils who were not present have been lettered and their certificate is waiting at the office for a parent or carer to collect it.

The Diploma of Achievement Ceremony (clockwise from top left): Matthew Cowan; Donald Jessop; Olivia Gater; some of the Diploma recipients with staff and invited guests; David Brown and Shannon Laird.

U-18 Girls Football Final

For a team that were newly formed this academic year, the St. Joseph’s Girls Football team have had a superb year, and had an exciting end to the season by reaching the Ayrshire Schools Cup Final.

The final took place last Friday night at Dam Park, Ayr with a 7pm kick off. The girls looked the part with their new St. Joseph’s Academy football strips and with the weather was on our side. The team were feeling positive.

The game itself was an exciting contest, with the St. Joseph’s girls on the scoreboard first with a goal from the captain Courtney McAvoy. The opposition, Kilmarnock Academy, soon responded with a goal to bring the score level.

Although the girls had many opportunities to score in the second half, they were unable to succeed. With the scores all square after 90 minutes, the game moved into penalties. Although the girls did superbly well, scoring 2 penalties, it wasn’t enough for us to secure the win.

As the coach of the girls team this year, Miss Allan would like to take this opportunity to congratulate the girls for such a successful season and for working so well together as a team. Well done girls!

S1 and S2 Retreats

Over the months of May and June S1 pupils have been taking part in a series of class retreats, held in St. Matthew’s parish Church and hall.

The pupils take part in a wide range of activities designed to help them deflect on their own personal faith journey and development.

Through games, song, videos, role play, scripture readings, and prayer they are given the opportunity to learn more about themselves and further their religious education.

The retreats are an informal, relaxed way of engaging the young people and it is one that they certainly seem to enjoy.

They are led by our tireless school chaplain, Fr. Martin Chambers and accompanied by their RE teacher from school.

Home Room Weekly Reflection: Caritas

Having witnessed 20 of our S6 pupils receive their Caritas Awards at the ceremony in Glasgow this weekend, this week we reflect on the meaning of Caritas (‘love’) in our own lives with a reading from St. Paul and the Caritas Prayer.Love is always patient and kind; it is never jealous; love is never boastful or conceited; it is never rude or selfish; it does not take offence, and is not resentful. Love takes no pleasure in other people's sins but delights in the truth; it is always ready to excuse, to trust, to hope, and to endure whatever comes. Love does not come to an end. The Caritas Award PrayerLet us pray: Loving Father, almighty God, you so loved the world that you sent your Son Jesus so that we might live through him. Help us to respond to your love. Grant us understanding of the loving ways of Jesus. Teach us to see others with his eyes and, through your Holy Spirit, guide us in our efforts to show love in our daily actions. Living Lord, you are love. Help us, whom you made in your image, to practice love in loving communion with others. We make this prayer through Jesus Christ, Our Lord. Amen.

PARISH MASS TIMES St. Matthewʼs: 10.00 am, Fr. Chambers " " St. Josephʼs: 6.00 pm (vigil), 11.00 am Fr. LathamSt. Michaelʼs: 12.00 noon, Fr. McGhee " " Our Lady of Mount Carmel: 9.00 am, Fr. McGheeSt. Paulʼs: 9.30 am, Fr. Lawson " " " Our Lady of Lourdes and St. Patrick: 6.00 pm (vigil), Fr. McGrattanSt. Sophiaʼs: 11.30 am Fr. Lawson " " St. Thomas the Apostle: 9.00 am, Fr. McGrattanOur Lady & St. John: 6.00 pm (vigil), Fr. Chambers "St. John the Evangelist: 10.45 am, Fr. McGrattan

GE Caledonian Visit

On Wednesday 29th May twenty new S3 pupils joined pupils from across Ayrshire to take part in GE Caledonian’s first STEM Fair.

The young people took part in workshops, demonstrations and STEM challenges were given a tour of the workshop where aircraft engines are overhauled. We even had the opportunity to look at the new GENX engine that powers the Boeing 747 and 787 Dreamliner planes.

Representatives from Kilmarnock college, University of the West of Scotland and GE Caledonian were also on hand to advise and encourage pupils to consider further education, apprenticeships and careers in Engineering.

S4 Visit to Kelvingrove Art GalleryThe new S4 pupils who are embarking on Art and Design qualifications at National 4 and National 5 visited Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Glasgow Museums Resource Centre for inspiration. They said: ‘It was interesting to see how all the artefacts and art work were stored at the Glasgow Museums Resource centre.’

‘Interesting and inspiring to see Salvador Dali’s Christ on the Cross and hear the story behind it.’‘It was inspiring to see the how the different artists had created the work on display at Kelvingrove.’

‘Alison Watts’ work showed me how an artist can manipulate traditional self -portraiture to tell a whole personal story.’