Dear Parents and Carers,

This last fortnight we have been blessed to have two wonderful community events. The first being our annual Grandparents' Day and the second our very first, 100 Days of Prep celebration. Strong schools are built on strong connections. School community events are so much more than dates on a calendar, they are opportunities to bring our community together.

During our Grandparents' Day, it was a true delight to see generations gather, connect and celebrate together, reminding us that education is a shared journey.

Grandparents: You’re a little bit parent, a little bit teacher, and a little bit best friend.

Just as St. Anne and St. Joachim nurtured Mary in a home rooted in faith and grace, we give heartfelt thanks to all our Mother Teresa grandparents for the sacrifice, guidance and endless love they weave into our children's lives every single day.

In 2021, Pope Francis established the World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly, celebrated each year on the fourth Sunday of July, close to the Feast of Saints Joachim and Anne. He wanted the Church to recognise the invaluable contribution grandparents and older people make to families, parishes and society. Pope Francis reminds us that grandparents are the custodians of memory and faith, passing on stories, traditions and values that help shape future generations. Their love, wisdom and experience strengthen family bonds and remind us that every stage of life is a precious gift from God.

Thank you to every grandparent and special person who joined us to celebrate. Your presence brought warmth, joy and a wonderful sense of community to our school. The smiles on our students' faces said it all. We hope you enjoyed sharing this special day with your grandchildren and creating memories that will be treasured for years to come.

100 days of Prep

Our 100 Days of Prep celebration was an absolute delight! It was so wonderful to see our littlest learners transform for the day into little "old people" - complete with grey wigs, cardigans, and walking sticks, showing us just how wise and "OLD" they have become after 100 days of learning, growing, and laughing together!

Reaching this milestone is such a significant moment in their primary school journey, and the pure joy on their faces made it a day to remember. A huge thank you goes to our dedicated Prep team, and in particular to our Team Leader, Ms. Carly Zorzi, for her exceptional organisation and energy in making this incredible celebration so special for our students and families! A huge thank you to the other staff members who also got involved in the fun and enjoyed dressing up for the occasion as well.

Celebration of Arts

Over the last few weeks our students have been moving and grooving with Miss Maddie during their STOMP sessions. Just a reminder that our Celebration of the Arts afternoon will take place on August 14th from 4.00pm until 6.00pm!

During this evening, students will have the opportunity to show their parents their learning with Miss Jess in Visual Arts this year. We will also have some of our students' final art works on display and each class will present their STOMP dance.

More details in regards to this event will be published next week on Compass.

RE Symposium: Inspired by Faith

As mentioned in the last school newsletter, for the remainder of this term, each week I will be sharing some of my learnings and wonderings from the keynote speakers and workshops that I had the pleasure of attending during the MACS RE Symposium.

Professor Brother David Hall who serves as the Dean of La Salle Academy at Australian Catholic University, where he oversees the mission and identity of Catholic schools across the country, presented a key note presentation entitled "Forming a renewed humanity: RE as Content, Character and Commitment"

Brother Hall invited us, as educators to reflect not only on what we teach, but on the lives we help shape, reminding us of the importance of Catholic Education. He broke apart the concept of Religious Education in the three categories of Content, Character and Commitment. He highlighted that Content is what we teach in terms of the facts around the theology of the Religion unit. Therefore, Content can be assessed and has learning outcomes. He then spoke about Character, in terms of an RE lesson and unit of work where we are influencing students' values and virtues, and then finally that Religious Education can be seen as Commitment, as in what commitment are our students going to make, now that they have had been exposed to the content of the Religious Education learning. He stated that:

'Education is not just about the teaching of a what, it’s about the growing of a who.'

In our Catholic schools, this is shown in terms of the values we want our students to leave our schools with, and those values are Gospel values: "the values of Faith, Hope and Love that are infused by God." As the Principal of Mother Teresa, when I think about the values of Faith, Hope and Love, I think about how I want all our children to learn about Faith and to know God, the Hope to trust in God's promise, and to know God as a Loving God.

As Catholic educators, what sets us apart from our state school colleagues is that Catholic education is seen as a vocation, a calling, to teach Religion though the lens of Content, Character and Commitment, knowing that these three concepts are woven through the gospel values of Faith, Hope and Love.

Regards,

Jess

Child Safety Standard 6

Child Safe Standard 6

People working with children and young people are suitable and supported to reflect child safety and wellbeing values in practice.