It was a first for Catholic Education Diocese of Parramatta recently when the largest cross section of Western Sydney schools attended the annual Diocesan Education Mass at the Cathedral Church of St Patrick’s in Parramatta.
Principal celebrant of the Mass was Bishop of Parramatta Vincent Long who was joined by Diocesan priests.
Contributors to the Mass represented a strong cross-section of Diocesan schools including readers from Cerdon College, Merrylands, Prayers of Intercession from St Paul the Apostle Primary School, Winston Hills, offertory procession by Holy Family Primary School, East Granville; musicians from Catholic Youth Parramatta Youth Band, Extraordinary Ministers of Communion from Parramatta Marist, Westmead and altar servers from Nagle College, Blacktown and Parramatta Marist at Westmead.
In his Homily, Bishop Vincent Long reflected on his childhood and how as a child he had a sense of self-reliance, which was a result of the unconditional support and wisdom from his own father. He said the followers of Christ, also experience this love “which gives them the strength to withstand the winds of affliction.”
“We are experiencing this crosswind as a church at the moment. If God uses painful episodes, then he can certainly use the modern episodes of exile of our wilderness to purify and make us more worthy of our calling and mission,’’ Bishop Vincent said.
“In Catholic education, our concern is not only in the learning outcomes, but in the holistic formation of the person. It is essential that we learn to be a servant of the kingdom and usable signs of hope in this world today,’’ he said.
The Mass culminated in the recognition of the winners from the 2018 Year of Youth Art Competition. All students from Kindergarten to Year 12 were invited to create an artwork to celebrate the Year of Youth and it’s theme; for young people and the Church to ‘open new horizons for spreading joy.’ This theme is based on Pope Francis’ call at World Youth Day 2016:
The winners were Elizabeth McKee of Our Lady of the Angels, Castle Hill (First in the Infants section), Mia Valente of St Bernadette’s Primary, Dundas (First in the Primary section) and Andrea Abreu of Nagle College, Blacktown (First in the Secondary section).
At the conclusion of Mass, participants were treated to an impressive visual display of the social outreach projects of Diocesan primary and secondary and schools. It was a reminder to everyone there of the extraordinary work that happens in Catholic schools supporting the most vulnerable in our community.
Catholic Schools Parramatta Diocese
www.parra.catholic.edu.au
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11 Sep 2026
From Facebook
🌈🏃♀️🏃♂️ COLOUR RUN 2026! 🏃♂️🏃♀️🌈 📅 Friday 23rd October 2026 🎉 LET’S GET EXCITED, ST JOSEPH’S! 🎉 We are so excited to announce that St Joseph’s is holding our FIRST EVER COLOUR RUN! 🌈🎨🏃♀️🏃♂️ This is a wonderful opportunity for our students, families and wider community to come together, have some fun and get covered in COLOUR! 💙💛💗💚🧡 💰 OUR FUNDRAISING TARGET IS $20,000! 💰 And we need your help to make it happen! 🙌 🏃♂️ SPONSORS WANTED! 🏃♀️ We would love to hear from local businesses who may be interested in supporting our Colour Run. 🌈🤝 Your sponsorship will help make this exciting event a huge success for our school community! 🏆 PRIZES TO BE WON! 🏆 There are some fantastic prizes up for grabs for our TOP FUNDRAISERS, so every donation counts! 💰🎉 📣 Sponsorship cards went home this week — so it’s time to get fundraising! 📣 Get your family, friends and neighbours involved and start spreading the word! 🌈💙💛💗💚 Lace up your runners 👟, grab your sponsorship card 📝 and get ready to RUN, SPLASH & HAVE FUN! 🏃♀️🌈🎨 💙💛💗💚🧡 Together We Can Make a Difference! 🧡💚💗💛💙07 Sep 2026
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🥇 NUMBER 1 IN AUSTRALIA! 🥇 The final national results for the Oz-Rocks Competition (Sept 1–3) have officially been released, and our school community has achieved something truly extraordinary! Out of 888 schools competing across the entire nation, St Joseph's Primary School, Schofields has taken 1ST PLACE AS THE HIGHEST SCORING SCHOOL IN AUSTRALIA! On top of our school-wide championship, we are thrilled to announce an incredible individual milestone: 🥇 Alex in Year 5 finished ranked #1 OUT OF MORE THAN 60,000 STUDENTS nationwide! To become the top-ranked student in the entire country is a phenomenal achievement. Beyond Alex's historic win, there were outstanding individual performances and record-breaking efforts right across the school. Every single recall, speed trial, and session played a direct part in putting St Joseph's on top of Australia. We could not be prouder of every single student who put in the effort, time, and speed over the last three days. Absolutely outstanding! ⚡🎸 Thank you to our incredible teachers for leading the charge, and to our parents for supporting the home practice sessions. St Joseph's Rocks! WE ARE NATIONAL CHAMPIONS! ROCK ON! 🎸🏆 Catholic Schools Parramatta Diocese Times Tables Rock Stars @followers
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🌈🏃♀️🏃♂️ COLOUR RUN 2026! 🏃♂️🏃♀️🌈 📅 Friday 23rd October 2026 🎉 LET’S GET EXCITED, ST JOSEPH’S! 🎉 We are so excited to announce that St Joseph’s is holding our FIRST EVER COLOUR RUN! 🌈🎨🏃♀️🏃♂️ This is a wonderful opportunity for our students, families and wider community to come together, have some fun and get covered in COLOUR! 💙💛💗💚🧡 💰 OUR FUNDRAISING TARGET IS $20,000! 💰 And we need your help to make it happen! 🙌 🏃♂️ SPONSORS WANTED! 🏃♀️ We would love to hear from local businesses who may be interested in supporting our Colour Run. 🌈🤝 Your sponsorship will help make this exciting event a huge success for our school community! 🏆 PRIZES TO BE WON! 🏆 There are some fantastic prizes up for grabs for our TOP FUNDRAISERS, so every donation counts! 💰🎉 📣 Sponsorship cards went home this week — so it’s time to get fundraising! 📣 Get your family, friends and neighbours involved and start spreading the word! 🌈💙💛💗💚 Lace up your runners 👟, grab your sponsorship card 📝 and get ready to RUN, SPLASH & HAVE FUN! 🏃♀️🌈🎨 💙💛💗💚🧡 Together We Can Make a Difference! 🧡💚💗💛💙
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From Facebook
🥇 NUMBER 1 IN AUSTRALIA! 🥇 The final national results for the Oz-Rocks Competition (Sept 1–3) have officially been released, and our school community has achieved something truly extraordinary! Out of 888 schools competing across the entire nation, St Joseph's Primary School, Schofields has taken 1ST PLACE AS THE HIGHEST SCORING SCHOOL IN AUSTRALIA! On top of our school-wide championship, we are thrilled to announce an incredible individual milestone: 🥇 Alex in Year 5 finished ranked #1 OUT OF MORE THAN 60,000 STUDENTS nationwide! To become the top-ranked student in the entire country is a phenomenal achievement. Beyond Alex's historic win, there were outstanding individual performances and record-breaking efforts right across the school. Every single recall, speed trial, and session played a direct part in putting St Joseph's on top of Australia. We could not be prouder of every single student who put in the effort, time, and speed over the last three days. Absolutely outstanding! ⚡🎸 Thank you to our incredible teachers for leading the charge, and to our parents for supporting the home practice sessions. St Joseph's Rocks! WE ARE NATIONAL CHAMPIONS! ROCK ON! 🎸🏆 Catholic Schools Parramatta Diocese Times Tables Rock Stars @followers
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