From Rach Chapman

BASP (Brigidine Asylum Seekers Project) Fundraising 

We invite our students, families, staff and school community to contribute to our fundraising efforts for the Brigidine Asylum Seekers Project (BASP). 

So, who/what is BASP? 

The Brigidine Asylum Seekers Project (BASP) was established in 2001. It is a Melbourne-based initiative of the Brigidine Sisters whose motto is Strength and Kindness. The Brigidine Sisters have been engaged in education and social justice in Victoria since 1886.

BASP was established to work for a humane, just and inclusive approach for people seeking asylum in Australia. The main work of the Brigidine Sisters for over a century in Australia has been education but this has broadened to include work for more vulnerable people in society.

“I was a stranger and you made me welcome”

The Brigidine Asylum Seekers Project (BASP) aims to:

• Provide hospitality and practical support for people seeking asylum;
• Actively network with like-minded individuals and groups who are working for justice for asylum seekers;
• Promote advocacy for the rights of people seeking asylum;
• Engage in education about asylum seekers’ issues.

So how can I help? What can I do?

Please bring in everyday items such as supermarket items, tinned food, snacks for school lunches, toiletries, cleaning products, cooking oil, herbs and spices, biscuits, long life milk, tea, coffee, vouchers for Coles/Woolworths and more!

If you are able, next time you are shopping, please pop an extra item or two in your trolley to donate - it doesn’t have to be expensive or large, every donation counts! 

We thank you for any donation you and your family are able to provide over the next two weeks and look forward to delivering our donations to BASP in Melbourne. 

Thank you!

Year 12 Graduation Mass - 21st November

We extend our heartfelt congratulations to our Year 12 students who celebrated their Graduation on Thursday 21st November. We participated in a wonderful celebration Mass, officiated by Father Des and then shared dinner and continued celebrations at Dungula Events Centre in Moama. Thank you and congratulations again to our fantastic Year 12 students and their families, thank you to our staff, thank you to our Choir and Mrs Shannon, thank you to our Foundation students who celebrated with their buddies and thank you to Father Des Walledsen, Mary Zobec and St Augustine’s Parish. 

Gracious and caring God, our source of light, we ask for your almighty hand to be upon these graduates as we send them forward. With their schooling now complete, may they strive toward excellence in all they do.

Amen

Years 7 and 8 Liturgy - 28th November

On 28th November, our Years 7 and 8 students had their final Parish Liturgy together for the year. We were also blessed with the attendance of some local Year 6 students who were participating in a Transition Day at St Augustine’s. Our theme was celebrating the First Week of Advent. We had a reading from the first letter of St Paul to the Thessalonians, reminding us that God is generous in his love for us, so that we in turn may be generous, loving and kind to those around us. 

“When Christ comes may he strengthen your hearts in holiness.”

Students participated in putting the Advent Wreath together, and the significance of this was explained. Thank you to Mary Zobec for her support and assistance with this.

Thank you to our staff, especially Ange Shaw and Loretta Shannon in organising our beautiful Liturgy. 

Advent

Advent marks the beginning of the Church's new year and is a season of waiting and preparation. We await and prepare to celebrate the birth of Christ at Christmas. We hope and give thanks for Christ’s presence in us and in the Word and sacraments. We look to the future, waiting for Christ to come again. In the coming four weeks, we prepare with mounting expectation for the coming of Christ in a spirit of waiting and hope. 

During Advent we reflect on the themes of hope, peace, joy and love. It is also a time for spiritual reflection, with many people using the season to deepen their faith through prayer, worship and acts of kindness. 

God of hope, who brought love into this world,

be the love that dwells between us.

God of hope, who brought peace into this world,

be the peace that dwells between us.

God of hope, who brought joy into this world,

be the joy that dwells between us.

God of hope, the rock we stand upon,

be the centre, the focus of our lives

always, and particularly this Advent time.

Thank you!

I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for the wonderful warm welcome I have received since beginning at the start of this term. I look forward to the wonderful work we can continue to achieve together in 2025!

I wish you a blessed and safe festive season!

Rach Chapman

Deputy Principal

Catholic Identity and Community