As we move into Advent, the festive season, summer and the end of the school term, we have a timely reminder to consider the less fortunate in our community. Last Sunday, the 14^th of November, was World Day of the Poor. For us in Kennedy house, inspired by the values lived by Fr Ted Kennedy and the messages of St John Paul II College’s social justice initiatives, this day is certainly close to our hearts.

Pope Francis’ Message for this occasion began with the words, “The poor you will always have with you” (Mk 14:7). Although this can be interpreted in many different ways, one of the major themes arising from this line is to “never lose sight of every opportunity to do good.” In this sense, we are encouraged, particularly in this festive period, to provide assistance to those in need. Much like Father Ted Kennedy achieved with encouraging all, including the poor and marginalised into his Redfern parish, Pope Francis encourages us to not wait for people who are marginalised, disadvantaged and vulnerable to come to us for help, but to actively go out and meet them. Pope Francis goes on to say, “It is important to understand how they feel, what they are experiencing and what their hearts desire.”

With this in mind, St John Paul II College will again be putting together Vinnies Christmas hampers for families who are less fortunate to share over the festive period. In the coming weeks, house groups will be disseminating information to students about bringing in non-perishable items to create these hampers. In true St John Paul II College spirit, we are encouraging all students to be actively involved and, as Pope Francis states, “we should be working towards implementing new signs of Christian love and charity as a response to the new forms of poverty experienced by humanity today.” As a community, we are encouraging all to embrace the less fortunate during this period and encourage our younger generation to follow the same message of offering love and support to all.

Pope Francis’s Message for World Day of the Poor can be accessed via this link.

Nic Whatman
Leader of Learning and Wellbeing - Kennedy

JPC and Ferré House wish to congratulate Eva Kolak and Nina Buckley (Year 11) on their acceptance in to the University of Canberra’s Fast Forward program.

Acceptance into the program is based on grades and community service and is limited to 25 students.

The program gives students early entry offers to a course of their choice, as well as access to careers workshops, internship opportunities and a $2000 study grant.

• Eva Kolak – Bachelor of Human Movement
• Nina Buckley – Bachelor of Arts (Culture and Heritage)

Well done!

Kirstie Gibson
Leader of Wellbeing - Ferré

On Wednesday night (17/11/2021) the Year 12 cohort had their Laser Tag night at school to celebrate the end of our school journey. We set up a maze of tables in the corridor and had 2 teams versing at once. We had an amazing evening getting to bond as a year and just to have fun now that all our assessments are over.

A massive thank you to the canteen staff (Mrs Parker and Mrs Manning) who provided us with delicious pizza and fruit platters, as well as all the teachers (Mr Mitchell, Mr Maloney, Mrs Jewell, Ms Gibson, Mrs O'Meara, Mrs Rey and Mrs Bramham) who gave up their time to supervise and spend the evening celebrating with us.

Emma Bramham, Yr 12
Leader of Peace

JPC Careers Updates

If you like supporting local theatre, then come see the play If I Could Save Her this December! Written and directed by JPC Teacher Shaylie Maskell (head director of Green Oak Theatre) and starring JPC Alumni Jeremy Chan and Amber Telford, the show is the latest original play to hit the Canberra theatre scene. We’re performing 6 shows from 16-19 December, perfect for an end-of-school celebration! Tickets available from $25 via https://www.trybooking.com/BRPOB. If you want to learn more about the show or company, check out www.greenoaktheatre.org.