Principals Message

An Obstacle or an Opportunity

In ancient times, a king had a huge bolder placed in a 

roadway, then he hid and watched to see if anyone would 

remove it.  Some of the Kingdom’s wealthiest merchants and 

courtiers came by and simply walked around the boulder.

Many of them loudly blamed the king for not keeping the 

roads clear, but none of them did anything about getting 

the big stone out of the way.

Then a peasant farmer came along, carrying a load of vegetables on his back.  When he came to the boulder, he laid down his burden and began trying to move the stone to the side of the road.  After much pushing and straining, he finally succeeded.

As he picked up his load of vegetables, he noticed a purse lying on the road where the boulder had been.  The purse contained many gold coins and a note from the king indicating that the gold coins were for the person who removed the boulder from the roadway.

The peasant learned what many other have learned since: 

Every obstacle presents an opportunity to improve one’s condition.                                                                 Anonymous

At St Mary’s we endeavor to teach the students gratitude, empathy and mindfulness, (GEM) through our Resilience Project. These are great values and strengths to have through life when situations and relationships don’t end the way one would expect.  If we looked at every obstacle in our life as an opportunity, imagine how enriched our lives would become. 

EASTER – the Church’s Greatest Celebration

As Holy Week approaches let us be reminded of the historical events of the Christian Liturgical calendar.

Christ entered in triumph into His own city to complete His work as our Messiah: to suffer, die and rise again . . . Let us remember with devotion this entry which began His saving work . . . and let us follow Him with a lively faith. 

Our faith is certainly founded on the great deeds

 of the past, but those deeds also point us inevitably to the future.  

Palm Sunday invites us to “remember with devotion” 

Christ’s entry into Jerusalem which sets the stage 

for the drama that would follow.

On Holy Thursday we gather with the Disciples around the Lord’s Table to celebrate the Last Supper and to thank God for the holy gifts He gave us on that occasion – the Eucharist, His own body and blood which would be sacrificed on Calvary the next day.

On Good Friday we enter into the Passion of the Christ who endured rejection, humiliation and intense physical pain for the forgiveness of our sins. We follow Jesus as He carries His cross and with Mary, the Mother of Sorrows, we stand at the foot of the cross. 

During the Easter Vigil, in the darkness of the night, we await at the tomb of the Lord for His promised Resurrection. We immerse ourselves in the symbols of the liturgy – the new fire, the word, the water, the holy oils, and the bread and wine – all of which point us to Christ and help us to understand and share in the reality of His death and resurrection.                                                                                           Reflection by Bishop Thomas Tobin 

SYMPATHY:

We offer our deepest sympathy to David, Mitchell and Paige Cross on the death of their much loved wife and mother Michelle. Michelle was a valued part of St Mary’s school community before the family moved to Tatura in 2018. 

CARITAS FUNDRAISERS:

Our students have been raising funds to send to Project Compassion for Caritas Australia.  This week Wednesday March 29th grade 3/4 BB are asking for a gold coin donation for the privilege of dressing as something starting as P for Project Compassion.

On Thursday April 6th a gold coin will buy something from the  food stall being organised by the Foundation/1/2 students on the Cross Country day (Thursday April 6th) .

PROFESSIONAL LEARNING:

Festival of the Sacred Network Tuesday March 28 – Mrs Brockett and Mrs Fraser -Ms Marshall 5/6

Director Briefing Wednesday March 29 Mrs Fraser

Aboriginal Network Thursday March 30 Mrs Fraser

Pupil Free Day Data Analysis – Friday March 31 all staff

ATHLETIC SPORTS:

All our students F – 6 will participate in the Athletic sports next Monday April 3rd.  These will be held at the McEwan Reserve Numurkah Road Shepparton.  St Mary’s will be running the High Jump and we will require helpers if you are available. 

The buses will leave St Mary’s at approximately 9:00am and return by 3:00pm

Students will need to wear their sports clothes, bring their lunch with snacks, water bottles, hat and depending on weather a jumper or coat for warmth. 

Students have been practising their long and triple jumps, high jumps and hurdles.

CROSS COUNTRY:

On Thursday April 6 our students will be participating in our school Cross Country Event.  Our students have been practising the distance run.

TERM DATES: 

St Mary’s Term 1 finishes on Thursday April 6th a 2.20pm.

Term 2 resumes on Monday April 24th. There will be an ANZAC holiday on Tuesday April 25th. 

Term 2 finishes on Friday June 23rd. 

Catherine Fraser