Dear Parents/Carers

Over the past few weeks the students have begun preparing for Advent.

They reflected upon the picture below:

They then read the story of The Annunciation, Luke 1:26-38

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you!”[But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and considered in her mind what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favour with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.

He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

And Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I have no husband?” And the angel said to her,

“The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God.

And behold, your kinswoman Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. For with God nothing will be impossible.” And Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

After reading the narrative, they read a commentary about life for women at that time. These are some of the students reflections:

Miriam

I think Mary would have felt scared that society would have frowned upon her for not being married and having a child but she must have also felt joyful to be asked, since she said yes. I think we have been interpreting text and symbols because we read the scripture and interpreted how Mary would have felt to conceive a child when she was single in those times.

Oskar

I think it would have felt empowering for Mary to be pregnant with Jesus because she was treated as an equal in the eyes of God. We have been “constantly searching, questioning, interpreting, imagining and reimagining” because we kept going back to the text and interpreting it more and more.

Xavier Pulvirenti

Others would have looked at Mary as very very lucky because it was rare for women to have a purpose - they were seen as second class citizens and even slaves at the time when Mary was a young woman.

Mary would have felt nervous because she did not want to waste this rare opportunity.

I think we have been “seeing new layers of meaning” because I didn't realise that women were second class citizens. I thought that they would have been seen as equals back then.

Our advent services will continue over the next two weeks.

Our next one will be held on Monday the 4th December will be led by Year 1/2 students - 9 am and Monday the 11th December will be led by Prep students - 9 am

These services provide the opportunity for the students to come together to celebrate the season of Advent and reflect on the meaning of this Catholic Tradition in their lives today.

Parents are very welcome to attend.

Graduation

On Thursday the 7th December, the Year 6 students will celebrate their graduation. It will begin with the students and their families attending Mass at 6pm. This is an opportunity for the students and their families to celebrate and give thanks for their time at St Bede's parish school community.

Carols

On Monday evening, the 11th December at 6pm, St Bede's families will gather as a school community to sing Christmas Carols.

End of Year Mass

Our end of year whole school mass will be held on Thursday the 14th December at

9:15 am. Once again, it is an opportunity for us to come together, as people of faith, to give thanks and celebrate life at St Bede's school community in 2023.

Have a lovely week

Bernadette

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