Dear St John's Community,

Easter is almost upon us and as always I hear and see the hesitation amongst people in the community regarding the secular celebrations of Easter verses the Religious components of Easter (especially with us being a Catholic School). It's very easy to follow along with the secular celebrations; they're fun, easy to contend with and don't require much thought or effort. It's like the delicious toppings on a sundae or the lollies on top of the cake, though in this case, it's easter eggs, chocolate and easter egg hunts. Fun and lighthearted.

There is nothing wrong with enjoying the fun-loving elements of Easter.

The religious aspect for many is much harder, it does require some commitment, it also requires us to realise that the only reason we have this season is to remind us of a hugely significant event in the world that occurred over 2000 years ago and that still impacts almost everyone in the world today.

The Easter Story is a powerful one that has had several iterations. The most ancient connections lie in celebrations of the harvest time where buns with crosses on them were cooked and eaten in honour of an ancient god of harvests and crops called Eostre. The symbol of Eostre was also the rabbit.

The Catholic tradition of Easter was more closely linked to the Jewish Passover feast which also took place around the same time as the pagan rituals to Eostre. By the 8th Century, Christianity was sweeping the known world and quickly overtook the pagan traditions. The time became known as In Albis in Latin and Eostarum in High German before eventually changing to modern English as Easter.

In religious tradition, through the Jewish Passover and Christian Lent, Christians fasted and so the day of the Resurrection (celebrated around the Jewish Passover Feast), was the day when Catholics could eat eggs again.

During the 1700's, when a number of German families migrated to America, they brought with them their traditions of rabbits leaving eggs for the children. Chocolate Easter Eggs didn't arrive until after 1873 but very quickly became popular, especially when Cadbury came up with a way to use cocoa butter to make eggs in 1875.

For Catholics, Easter is the most significant day in the Christian calendar. We celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ which marks the birth of eternal hope. For us, "Easter" literally means "the feast of fresh flowers," and it is the greatest and most important feast in the Church. We celebrate it with pride and jubilation for several reasons:

The Resurrection of Christ is the basis of our Christian Faith. It is the greatest of the miracles, for it proves that Jesus is God. That is why St Paul writes: “If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain; and your Faith is in vain” (I Cor 15:14). “Jesus is Lord, He is risen” (Rom 10:9), was the central theme of what the Apostles taught in their ministries
Easter is the guarantee of our own resurrection. Jesus assured Martha at the tomb of Lazarus: “I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me will live even though he dies…” (Jn 11:25-26).)
Easter is a feast that gives us hope and encouragement in this world of pain, sorrows and tears. It reminds us that life is worth living. It also gives us strength to fight against temptations and freedom from unnecessary worries and fears.
Easter gives meaning to our prayers: It supports our belief in the Real Presence of the Risen Jesus in and around us, in His Church, in the Blessed Sacrament, and in Heaven, hearing our prayers, and so gives meaning to our personal as well as our communal prayers.

This weekend, we are called to remember that the teachings of Easter are not just for Holy Week. They are a reminder of how we should live our lives every day. By forgiving others, loving one another, having faith, spreading the Good News, and embracing hope, we can live out the teachings of Jesus and make a positive impact in the world.

Please take a moment to remember the sacrifice Jesus made for us and the hope his resurrection brings. Let us live our lives with faith, knowing that God is with us always.

Staff News

I want to thank Miss Sage Cannon for her efforts in supporting the children this term and wish her all the best with the next step in her career. Miss Cannon has made the decision to move into Tafe Education. In the short time she was here, she made a very positive impact on the children and we wish her all the best.

A Prayer for our Reconciliation & Communion Candidates

Congratulations to the children who received the Sacrament of First Reconciliation last week in readiness for their First Holy Communion. We continue to keep them and their families in our prayers.

Dear God,

Bless the children of St John's who have received the Sacrament of Reconciliation and now prepare for their First Holy Communion.

May this time of preparation be the step towards a life-long love of the Eucharist. Give them a hunger for your sacred food and the confidence to turn to you for comfort, guidance, and wisdom as they grow into full discipleship.

Amen

Easter Raffle

We drew the winners of the Easter Raffle on Tuesday. There were 8 very generous prizes and I was very disappointed that none of the winners wanted to share them with me...(Probably a good thing though, in hindsight!)

Congratulations to all the prize winners and a huge thank you to Kate and Nadia for organising the raffle.

Production 2024

If you've heard the rumours...they're true! We are gearing up for a School Production this year which will be presented in the John Paul College Ngargee Theatre in Term 4. Read all about it!

Auditions will start next term and you'll begin hearing lots more about it!.

nForma - nPortal Changes

In the last fortnight, the school has upgraded its nForma portal with some of the new features being developed by the company itself. The new portal which parents will be able to access next term provides us with a number of new features.

Sending notices directly to parents through the portal
sending medical and first aid notices directly to parents through the portal
monitoring attendance
booking parent-teacher meetings, etc

For our parents, when you access the portal next term, you will also have the capacity to receive all that information in one place and it will be recorded against your child's history for easy reference by you at any time. You will also see your children's attendance information and soon you will be able to notify us using the portal about leaves of absence on a day or period of time as well.

Over time this will continue to be upgraded with new features and likely very soon it will all link to an App that you can have on your device to make things even easier.

More information to come on this next term.

Have a safe and happy holiday.

Here's hoping your Easter is egg-cellent!

Kind regards,

Derek Bruitzman

Principal

Something funny!

Q: How did Easter bunny get the Easter job?

A: He had the most eggs-perience

Q: What did the kids do on Easter morning when they couldn't find their eggs?

A: They demanded an eggsplanation!

Q: Why did the Easter egg hide?

A: It was a little chicken...

Mr B's Fun Facts & Trivia

If you visited one beach in Australia every day it would take you 29 years to visit them all...
The first cat to circumnavigate Australia was called 'Trim'. He did it in 1801-1803 with his master, Mathew Flinders.
The Great Ocean Road is the World's biggest War Memorial. It was built by WW1 soldiers in memory of their mates who died in the war.
An emu can run at speeds around 45km/h

John Paul College Enrolment