Religious Education & Family Educator News
Mrs Erin Wing|Religious Education Coordinator
Tracey Bowler | Family Educator
Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Primary School
Parish Masses
Week 3 - Wednesday, 28 October (Year 3)
Year 6 Religious Education Test
Each year, students in Years 6, 8 and 10 across Sydney Catholic Schools (SCS) participate in the Religious Education Test. The test assesses students’ knowledge, skills and understanding across the key strands of the Religious Education curriculum.
Last Wednesday, our Year 6 students at OLF completed the 50-question test. The results will be sent to schools towards the end of November.
SCS ‘The Christmas Story Art Exhibition and Competition’
Each year, Year 5 and 6 students across the Archdioceses of Sydney, Wollongong and Bathurst are invited to take part in the Christmas Art Exhibition’. This is an initiative to celebrate and explore children’s creative, artistic and reflective ability to express their understanding of the Christmas Story. This year, nine artworks were submitted for consideration. We are incredibly proud of their efforts.
Thank you to Mrs Brown and Miss Duffy who have worked with these students over the last term. Their expertise and guidance with these students has been greatly appreciated.
The students also submitted a written reflection on their artwork. It was a pleasure to work with these young artists who were able to express their thoughts so reflectively.
Year 5
Year 6
Grandparents Day Liturgy and Open Classrooms
We warmly invite all our Grandparents to celebrate a Liturgy and open classrooms on Friday 30th October.
Save the dates - Important
There is so much happening here at OLF in Term 4. Please add the following dates to your calendars .
GRANDPARENTS DAY and LITURGY plus Open Classrooms
FRIDAY 30th October see Flyer attached
OLF CHRISTMAS CONCERT: (Kindergarten - Year 6) To be held at the De La Salle Hall
Week 7 - THURSDAY 26th November at approximately 2pm (exact time to be confirmed)
END OF YEAR MASS and awards ceremony (Years K-5)
TUESDAY 8th December at 9:30am
Year 6 GRADUATION MASS (Year 6 students and family ONLY)
FRIDAY 11th December at 12pm
SPaRS in the Church
Praying the Rosary in the Month of October
Kinder - Year 4 Parents/carers are invited to a SPaR (Stop, Pray and Reflect ) in the Church to pray the Rosary in the month of October with their child. Traditionally the month of October is dedicated to praying the Rosary.
Check your child’s school bag for a class invitation!
Catholics pray the Rosary to meditate on the life of Jesus, seek Mary's intercession, and grow closer to God. It is a Christ-centered prayer that uses beads to help count the prayers as they contemplate specific events in the lives of Jesus and Mary. Praying the Rosary can be a form of communal or private prayer and is done for various reasons, including giving thanks, requesting blessings, or seeking strength. Children are encouraged to bring their own set of Rosary beads. A class set of Rosary beads will be provided and available if needed. The prayer session will take approximately 20 minutes. Parents are very welcome to meet us at the Church and actively participate in prayer.
Reconciliation Commitment Family Mass
It was great to see so many Year 3 families at the Reconciliation Commitment Family Mass last Saturday. Congratulations to the candidates. Many staff members attended and they felt very proud of each student. Congratulations too, to the parents for supporting their child in their faith journey. If you have time please read some of the prayers written by the Year 3 children which are displayed on the prayer space in the office. Truly heartfelt words of prayer!
Please pray for Year 12 Students
Dear God,
We ask for your blessing on our students undertaking
the HSC over the coming weeks.
Grant them the confidence they deserve from their years of diligent study.
Grant them the ability to comprehend questions and
effectively plan and articulate their responses.
May they be enriched by the gifts of the Holy Spirit –
Wisdom, Understanding, Fortitude and Knowledge.
May their faith and piety give them the strength to face these examinations
and the satisfaction of achieving their personal best. We pray for their families and loved ones, as they support them through this journey. May they be blessed with patience, understanding, kindness and love for the many ways
they support their children through the HSC.
We ask these things through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
What do OLF Staff Members do in their Spare Time? We volunteer!
We cook, serve meals, clean up and lend a listening ear to the people who access this free community service.
Many of our staff members give their time to assist with a community service program called One Meal.
One Meal is a 100% volunteer-run organisation, dedicated to meeting the needs of our community’s most vulnerable. Established in 2016, One Meal Sutherland provides hot meals, dessert, fruit and take home breakfast packs at a sit-down meal. Our OLF staff help out on a scheduled Thursday from 5pm - 6.30pm at the Cronulla branch at the Girl Guides Hall in Nicholson Parade Gunnamatta Park. It is a very rewarding experience!
If you would like to volunteer click on this link.
Fatima Friends
Term 4 Schedule
Week 2: Sporty fun with Year 5 friends
Week 3: No Fatima Friends this week (Grandparent's Liturgy)
Week 4: Music time!
Week 5: No Fatima Friends this week
Week 6: Game time with Year 5
Week 7: No Fatima Friends this week (Swimming Carnival)
Week 8: Our final session for the year! Think story, pinata and play
Advent Prayer Group - OLF Church
You are invited to attend a Friday morning Advent Prayer group organised by Kay Macadam, a parishioner, on the following dates - 27th Nov, 4th Dec, 11th Dec and 18th Dec at 10.30am - 11.30am in the OLF Chapel. I hope to attend - come with me!
Please click on the link to register.
Emotional Literacy
Emotional Intelligence, sometimes abbreviated to ‘EQ’, is widely recognised as important for human flourishing. Some psychologists would argue that it’s the most important of the intelligences because it influences and regulates our ability to develop and exercise all the others.
Emotional Intelligence is tremendously significant to our individual motivation and well-being as well as for our human relationships. It includes the ability to identify and appropriately express emotions, the ability to manage and self-regulate emotions, and the ability to empathise with others’ emotional state.
While people will be gifted to different degrees with Emotional Intelligence (EQ), like all intelligences, we can only experience the maximum potential benefits if we train that intelligence and learn the necessary skills. This is what Emotional Literacy is all about – developing the skills that allow our natural Emotional Intelligence to flourish and enrich our lives. It’s a key skill in developing healthy relationships and experiencing life as a gift in all its wonder and challenges.
Emotional Literacy brings the following benefits:
promotes self-awareness and positive self-esteem (‘I know and understand myself and my needs and I am comfortable with who I am’)
fosters self-control (‘I choose how I will respond to strong emotions’)
develops resilience and optimism – important character traits known to be influential for healthy, well-adjusted individuals (‘I can see the positive side in every situation, good and bad alike’)
facilitates healthy communication with others and the appropriate expression of desires and needs (‘I can express myself clearly and respectfully’)
promotes empathetic understanding towards others which helps prevent bullying and other destructive behaviours (‘I can understand how others are feeling’).
Emotional Literacy Ritual: My Day
‘My Day’ is a daily reflection tool inspired by the spiritual exercises of St Ignatius. By reflecting on the best and worst of the day, children learn to assimilate their experiences into their developing understanding of themselves and the world in which they live.
This simple practice is a window into your child’s emotional life. When children start school, a large part of their world is out of a parent’s sight and reach. Things happen at school, both wonderful and upsetting. Yet by the time a child gets home, the moment has passed.
‘My Day’ helps parents keep in touch with the high and low points of their child’s daily life and so promote the development of their child’s Emotional Literacy. To maximise the impact of My Day, make this a family ‘night prayer’ ritual – give thanks to God for both the good and bad in life and ask the Holy Spirit for help where needed.
Ask your child/ren about their day:
a. What was the best thing that happened to you today?
b. What was the worst thing that happened to you today?
Give thanks to God for both the good and the bad in your life. Ask the Holy Spirit for help.
- Say a Joey Rosary (Our Father, 3 Hail Marys, Glory Be).
Resilience is a Discipline
St Paul said in his letter to the Thessalonians: “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you”. (1 Thes: 5:16-18). In other words: be grateful for both the pleasant AND challenging things in our life.
Learning how to identify the good within the things that cause us pain or discomfort is essential for spiritual growth and emotional resilience. One of the most practical places to start is with a daily reflection like My Day. It’s simple to do, but has profound impact on our children’s development and our relationship with them.
Wishing you fun in the sun and a grateful heart.
Mrs Erin Wing I Religious Education Coordinator
Tracey Bowler I Family & Faith Educator