To the community of St John Paul II College,

This Sunday, the Church celebrates Divine Mercy Sunday, the second Sunday after Easter.

Divine Mercy Sunday focuses on the gift of mercy and love given through Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection. St Faustina was a Polish nun who received visions from Jesus, including one of Him wearing a white garment with beams of red and white coming from His heart, which came to be known as the image of Divine Mercy. Pope John Paul II extended the feast of the Devine Mercy Sunday to the entire church when he canonized St Maria Faustina Kowalska in 2000. He said, “Divine Mercy reaches human beings through the heart of Christ crucified.”

During this time we can pray to St Faustina for an increase of faith in God’s divine mercy:

O Jesus, You inspired Saint Faustina with profound veneration for Your boundless Mercy.
Grant me through her intercession, if it be Your holy will, the grace …for which I fervently pray.
My sins render me unworthy of Your Mercy, but be mindful of Saint Faustina’s spirit of sacrifice and self-denial, and reward her virtue by granting the petition which, with childlike confidence, I present to You through her intercession.

Amen

Open Evening 2024

On Wednesday afternoon, the College welcomed prospective students and their families to JPC for our annual Open Evening. Guests were invited to tour our facilities and hear from our wonderful students and staff in showcases of both subjects and whole school areas.

We received considerable feedback from visitors on the night including:

"Your students are your best salespeople – they love their school".

"What an amazing community you have here".

"Everyone was so lovely. Helpful, informative and honest about the school".

Thank you to the students who gave up their afternoon and evening to participate in the night. This includes our wonderful tour guides, showcase experts, band members and hospitality students. These students modelled all of the qualities that we hope to develop in members of our community. Their warm, and welcoming nature ensured that families left with an extremely positive view of our school.

I would also like to thank the teaching and support staff who assisted on the night, in particular Mrs Bramham whose leadership of the night ensured all details were organised to the highest standard.

Languages Trip 2024 – France

This Sunday, 28 students and four staff will depart for the 2024 languages trip to France. Students will spend a week learning and practising their language skills while being immersed in a rich cultural experience. A special thank you to Mrs Wallace for her leadership in planning the trip and to the staff who are accompanying students on the trip. Images and details of the trip will be shared via our social media pages over the coming two weeks. 

Of course, there have been many other wonderful things that have occurred at JPC over the last couple of weeks. We thank all of those involved in these activities and for the collective effort to make them a success.

Jacob Knowles
Assistant Principal – Development