Faith News

Faith News

Important Dates

• Shrove Tuesday will be celebrated on Tuesday, March 1st.
• Ash Wednesday will be celebrated on Wednesday, March 2nd
• St Patrick's Day & Catholic Education Week Caritas Fundraiser Thursday, March 17 *Students to wear a touch of green

• First Reconciliation- Year Three students- 
• Thursday, March 10 at 11:30 am- St Brendan’s Church

First Eucharist- Year Four and Year Five students-

• Saturday, March 19 at 3pm- St Brendan’s Church, Somerville.
• Saturday, March 26th at 3pm- St Brendan’s Church, Somerville.
• Saturday, April 2nd at 3pm- St Brendan’s Church, Somerville.

Beginning of Year Mass

Thank you to the Year Five and Six teachers and students for preparing a beautiful Mass to celebrate the beginning of the 2022 school year. It was lovely to have Fr Shymon back with us after the Christmas break to celebrate this Mass. Due to the current guidelines, this Mass was attended by some staff and byt the Year Five and Six students. 

First Reconciliation for Year Three Students

First Reconciliation Operoo enrollments were due last Thursday, February 17th, and preparation has commenced in the classrooms for students in Year Three as well as some students in Years Four, Five and Six. These students will receive the Sacrament of First Reconciliation on Thursday, March 10 at 11:30 am in St Brendans church. In St Brendan’s Church. At this stage, we are unable to invite family members to this daytime occasion. A number of students were enrolled to receive this sacrament who have previously received the sacrament. These students are therefore not on the following list. Please contact me should you have any queries regarding First Reconciliation.

Please keep these students in your prayers as they prepare to receive the Sacrament of First Reconciliation:

First Eucharist Masses for Year Four and Year Five Students

First Eucharist preparation will take place in the classroom and students in Year Four, Year Five and and Six who wish to, but have not yet received this sacrament will be given the opportunity to enroll to receive First Eucharist. Enrollment information will be communicated to all families of students in years Three, Four, Five and Six via Operoo this week. Families are asked to please complete this form if their child has not received First Eucharist and they would like them to  receive this sacrament this year. Families who wish to decline this invitation because their child has already received the sacrament or for other reasons, must select to ‘decline’ on Operoo so that they do not continue to receive reminder notification form operoo. First Eucharist enrollments are due by this Friday, February 25th.

St Patrick's ‘A Touch of Green’ Day- Thursday March 17

Catholic Education Week will be celebrated in Catholic schools throughout Australia from March 13- March 20. More information can be found here. St Patrick's Day also falls during Catholic Education Week, on Thursday March 17. On this day, the St Brendan’s staff wear green. They are participating in their weekly initiative to wear a different colour to raise funds for Catholic Care agencies in the process. Students are asked to wear their full school uniform for that day, as well as a touch of green to celebrate St Patrick’s Day. More on St Patrick in our next newsletter. Some suggestions might include:

-A hair clip, tie or bow

-Green shoelaces

-A piece of school appropriate green jewelry

-Green socks

-A green badge

-Green glasses

-A green bowtie……

Students and staff are asked to contribute a gold coin on this day which will be donated to the annual Caritas Australia Project Compassion Lenten appeal. Find out more about the work of Caritas here.

Catholic Care

Many families continue to face challenges throughout these changeable and worrying times. Should families or individuals require support beyond that which can be offered within our St Brendan’s community, Catholic Care may be able to assist with financial and social services. For further information about the services offered by Catholic Care, please visit: https://www.ccam.org.au/

Catholic Baptism

For families with children who have not received the Sacrament of Catholic Baptism and are considering this sacrament for their child/ren, please contact the Western Port Parish Centre on (03) 5979 4374 or Marie Strong on 0423 249 601. Should you make Baptism arrangements with the Parish, please inform me so that this special milestone for your child can be acknowledged within the school community. Please also forward a copy of your child’s Baptism Certificate to the school so that this can be reflected in the school records.

Western Port Parish News

Please follow this link to the Western Port Parish web page and to find out more about parish happenings.

Christian Initiation for Adults: RCIA

Adults who wish to begin their faith journey through the reception of the Catholic sacraments, are also invited to contact the Western Port Parish Centre on (03) 5979 4374. 

Access to Australian Catholics

Families, please remember that you have FREE access to the Australian Catholics online resource. To access this fabulous resource, please click here  and use the following login details to gain access:

Email: parents@sbsomerville.catholic.edu.au 

Password: parents1

Enjoy these exciting first weeks of the new school year and enjoy this beautiful weather too.

Yours in faith & harmony.

Emma Chapple

-Religious Education Leader

-Performing Arts Classroom Specialist Teacher

echapple@sbsomerville.catholic.edu.au