Central to the religious life of the school is the person of Jesus Christ who came among us ‘as one who serves’ (Luke 22.27). Our Catholic school is committed to reaching out to help those in need, through charitable outreach initiatives. All outreach activities connect to the person of Jesus Christ and to the sacraments, especially the Eucharist. Drawing on the Catholic Social Teaching of the Church, we have a deep commitment to supporting a range of charitable organisations, families and individuals in need.
The principles of Catholic Social Teaching are central to the outreach projects at St Joachim’s Catholic Primary School Lidcombe. Students from Year 3 to Year 6 meet weekly as the Mini Vinnies team to offer their services to help those in need in our community and throughout the world. Students take on leadership of initiatives from making and selling prayer beads to running Crazy Sock Day to raise funds for Catholic charities including St Vincent de Paul Society, Caritas, Catholic Mission, Mary MacKillop Today and Catholic Care. Teachers volunteer their time to support students in living out Mary MacKillop’s motto of never seeing a need without doing something about it. Our parents and staff are rostered to make soup each week for the Vinnies night patrol.