Religious Education
What are the Core Catholic Principles and Values?
The Catholic Church's core value is spreading the message of salvation through Jesus Christ to all people in all contexts. In the Armidale system of Catholic schools this is expressed in the mission: to proclaim, witness and serve Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
The core Catholic values which are to be explicitly taught in every subject can be broadly categorised under four principles, firstly the Principle of the Primacy of God, secondly, the Principle of the Sanctity of Life, thirdly the Principle of Fidelity in Relationship and the Principle of the Common Good. From these four overarching principles key values can then be identified. These have been expressed in such a way so that they can easily be expanded upon. They deliberately avoid reducing the core values to single words which can become meaningless.
The core values can also be viewed as those that concern God, those that concern self and those that concern the building of a just world, but at the heart of each value is the call to build the Kingdom of God here and now so that each person can come to know and love God.
These principles and values are to be explicitly taught in each unit of work across the Diocese. Every principle and value will not be covered in every subject area, for clearly some subject areas will lend themselves more naturally to certain principles and values rather than others. Nevertheless, over a stage of learning all the principles and values will be addressed at a level that takes the context of each school community into consideration and allows each student to grow in their understanding of these principles and values so that they can develop a meaningful framework on which to build their future lives.
Taken from Catholic Principles and Values for the New NSW Syllabuses- Catholic Schools Office Diocese of Armidale.
Confirmation Parent Information Session
The Confirmation Enrolment Session will be held tonight at 6pm in the Cathedral. All students in Year 6 who will be making their Sacrament of Confirmation will need at least one parent or guardian present at this session. If for any reason you can’t attend this session please contact the Parish Office (6772 2218) to collect the paperwork and pay the $15 fee.
The program will consist of four Confirmation Lessons and will be held on the following Sundays: 24/3, 31/3, 7/4, 5/5 from 9.10am-9.50am, with Sunday 12/5 being used as a catchup if any previous lessons are missed, or otherwise, by appointment. Please note there are three sessions before the holidays, and one session after the holidays. These sessions are after 8am Mass and prior to 10am Mass so you can choose which Mass to attend in preparation for Confirmation. Mass attendance is an important part of Confirmation preparation and ongoing faith development. Attendance is compulsory for the Confirmation preparation. If unable to attend a session, we require an apology. Please contact the Parish Office.
The Retreat Day will be held on Tuesday 21st May from 9am-3pm with the practice on Thursday 23rd May 3:30-4:30pm at the Cathedral. All children must attend this practice at the Cathedral.
The Confirmation Mass will be on 26th May.
Confirmation Lesson 1
The first Confirmation lesson will be held this Sunday 24th March at 9:10am inside the Cathedral and the second lesson on March 31st. If you cannot attend either please contact the Parish Office.
Family Mass
You’re invited to St Mary’s Catholic Primary School & Parish Family Mass Sunday 31st March 2019 at 10:00am Saints Mary & Joseph Cathedral.
At the conclusion of Mass we will have a Morning Tea. Each family is asked to please bring a small plate to share.
If there is any Year 5 or 6 Catholic Students who would like to read at this Mass or any student in Year 3-6 who would like to sing in the choir, please give your name to Mrs Scully.
Twilight Prayer
Mrs Anne Finlayson from the Catholic Schools Office Spirituality Team will be running a Twilight Prayer session on Tuesday 26th March from 3:30-5pm. Parents and friends are welcome to join in this guided prayer session. Could you please RSVP to the School Office if you wish to attend.
Mini Vinnies
Congratulations to our 2019 Mini Vinnies Leaders. I look forward to working closely with you all this year. This group and particularly our newly elected Leaders are a special group that have already put many suggestions forward and really want to make change to our society. It is so invigorating and hopeful to work with such motivated and well minded students. Keep up the fabulous work!
President- Freya Giles
Vice President- Lang Toakley
Secretary- Mia Lincoln
Treasurer- Bridgett Diefenbach
Spiritual Advisor- Poppy McKay
Mini Vinnies Firefighter Cards
A huge Thank you to all the students who made a card to thank the many fire fighters who battled flames around the Tingha region not long ago. These cards will be delivered to the Armidale Fire Station in the coming days.
Condolences
Our sincere Condolences to Mrs Reinke and her family who lost her Grandmother earlier this week. We will keep you in our thoughts and prayers Mrs Reinke!
Our Condolences also go to Mr O’Kane from our Mini Vinnies group who tragically lost his Mother earlier this month. You have been in our Prayers Mr O’Kane and we will continue to pray for you and your family. The Mini Vinnies gathering and badges have been put on hold due to this unforeseeable tragedy.
Mini Vinnies Water Challenge
Our Mini Vinnies group have been discussing ways that we can contribute more to Project Compassion in 2019. We have been particularly moved by the story of Thandolwayo. As a 12 year old girl she walks seven kilometres each day to collect contaminated water for her family.
Our Mini Vinnies group is challenging each family to save 5 litres of water every day in the lead up to our Water Challenge day. By showing solidarity with children in the developing world, you’ll learn an important lesson about water. But even more importantly, you’ll be helping raise money to help improve access to clean water for children around the world.
HOW IT WORKS.... SAVE WATER!
Families can save up to 5 litres of water every day by making some simple changes to their routine:
1. Take shorter showers
2. Don’t leave the tap running when you clean your teeth
3. Use the half-flush on your toilet
At the School Cross Country event on Friday 29th March students can participate in the Water Challenge run/walk. All students that participate in the event will be identified by a face painted water drop on their cheek. They will also need to fill in their sponsorship form and bring it back to school by the 5th April 2019.
Lenten Assembly
We warmly welcome our Grandparents, Parents and Friends to our Lenten Assembly on Friday 12th April at 11:45am in our School Hall. At our Lenten Assembly students in Kindergarten to Year 6 will participate in a prayer service based on the Stations of the Cross. This Assembly will prepare us spiritually for the death of our Lord on Good Friday.