Junior Joeys from Sacred Heart School, Ulverstone and Our Lady of Lourdes School, Devonport came together recently at MacKillop Hill, Forth.
Facilitated by Sr Carmel Jones, the 35 Grades 5 and 6 students learnt more about Saint Mary MacKillop, Father Julian Tenison Woods and the Sisters of Saint Joseph. Through interactive activities, they reflected on how important Saint Joseph is in the Josephite story, pondered in nature like Father Julian and chose Mary MacKillop quotes that really spoke to them about their role in their school communities in 2020.
Taking as their theme Never see a need without doing something about it, considerable time was spent planning activities across the year. Many creative ideas emerged, from assisting those who might just need a smile or a word of encouragement to fundraising for community projects. It was wonderful to work with such an enthusiastic and responsive group of boys and girls who are committed to making a difference in their school communities as Junior Joeys for the next twelve months.
It was a great day and we are looking forward to our role as Junior Joeys.
Since this day Junior Joeys at Our Lady of Lourdes have responded to the current pandemic by holding a Feel Good Friday. This involves encouraging students to wear casual clothes and organising activity songs to be broadcast into classrooms during the day.
There are a number of Catholic schools in the Josephite tradition across Tasmania who have established Junior Joey groups or who are in the process of forming groups for the first time.
Carmel Jones rsj
(Since writing this article, it is noted that Junior Joey activities may well be curtailed due to school closures. However, congratulations to Junior Joeys for such a positive start to 2020!)