PROGRAMMES | LUMEN
21
The STAR routine ( i . e . Silence , Tidiness , Attire and Respect ) also begins each lesson in the school . Over the years , this routine has become part of the SJI Catholic significance , and is fundamental in bringing together students and teachers from different walks of life together in mutual respect and understanding at the beginning of a new day of learning .
At a deeper level , our Catholic Josephians gather at the chapel for morning prayer to start their day . While Safe Management Measures and Home Based Learning might appear to have brought about more restrictive challenges , the community has found ways to still gather . From decentralising morning prayer and Masses to three different locations , to having pre-recorded morning prayer sessions led by Catholic student leaders shared over YouTube , these fastresponding solutions were ably led by passionate and devout students and teachers who care deeply about praying together as one community during this pandemic .
The SJI family has also readily used the past year to come up with various service projects from Year 1 to 6 , across CCA and CAS groups , to reach out both to communities in need within the school as well as in the wider society . For this year ’ s Lenten Project , the community devoted time to extend care and help to three beneficiary groups in society , with a focus on protecting and providing for others much like how St Joseph did . The lower secondary cohorts pulled together donations for Food From the Heart , an organisation that feeds the hungry in our country , whilst the upper secondary cohorts raised funds to purchase digital devices for needy students of Stamford Primary school . The Year 5s and 6s collected pre-loved items for itsrainingcoats , an organisation that sees to the everyday needs of
migrant workers living in Singapore . With reflection and time spent in the service of others , the annual Lent Project is just one of the many service projects that allow our Josephians to give and to better the lives of others , especially the last , the lost and the least in our society .
Our Catholic Societies Josephians also encounter God through the friendships that they form in their faith communities . This is ever present and alive in the Catholic societies of the school : the Legion of Mary Presidia , Young Christian Students and the Society of St Vincent de Paul . For our Year 1s and 2s , these are their second CCA , and for the Year 3s to 6s , they become voluntary faith communities that students can join to grow in their faith . These groups provide a very different experience from church ministries where they allow for spiritual conversations amongst people of similar age and within the space of school . In addition to weekly meetings , the Catholic societies also participate and sometimes plan special activities such as the Stations of the Cross and the annual Lasallian Youth Camp . The latter was a day of fellowship held on 13 March where various fellow groups came together to initiate the new Year 1 Catholics into the societies . During the day , there were moments for prayer and encounter as well as games to allow for interaction with one another .
Our Josephian Formation Journey ( JFJ ) In 2021 , the school also launched JFJ , an effort by the Student Development team to bring together the many elements that set our Catholic education apart . Josephians of yester-years would recognise the Paraliturgies that continue to remain milestones and rites of passage for students that pass through the graduating years of Year 4 and Year 6 . Over the years , the teachers who are part of the Chaplaincy Team have also crafted Paraliturgies for other levels , such as for the initiation of the Year 5s into the school community with the conferring of ties and the TABA Paraliturgy for the Year 3s at the start of their upper secondary life .
At the core of the Paraliturgies and lessons that form JFJ is an emphasis on reflection and prayer . These reflections allow for students and teachers to share their thoughts and feelings on issues that might be close to their heart or on challenging topics that today ’ s youth grapple with in their realities outside of school . The prayer elements also allow for periods during JFJ for spiritual pause and to invite God to do His work in the hearts of those present .
As a returning Josephian to the school who now teaches and works alongside heavyweights who have crafted and built these programmes and the spaces into what they are today , I find myself learning to be a better Catholic educator . The sanctuary that SJI is today was made possible by the many tireless hands and hearts of teachers , staff and students who readily come together in faith , service and community . It is these same hearts that continue to invite God into the many areas of our school , tangible and intangible , that allow for us to encounter Him through one another .
Facing page ( bottom right ): Students leading prayers during the Stations of the Cross devotion held around the school grounds
This page ( top left ): Celebrating the Eucharist This page ( top right ): Students walking the Labyrinth
Facing page ( bottom left ): The Legion of Mary gathered in rosary devotion
Facing page ( bottom right ): Josephians packing the collected food items for ' Food from the Heart ' donation drive