Catholic Identity

END OF TERM - Easter Liturgy and Easter Bonnet Parade

On Friday the 4th of April, we invite all families to join us as we gather as a school community for our 2025 Easter Liturgy and Easter Bonnet Parade. 

Our Easter Liturgy invites us to reflect on the events of Holy Week through prayer, story and song. Our liturgy will take place at 9am in our school oval which will follow with our school Easter Bonnet Parade. Families are invited to bring a chair or picnic rug.

Thank you to our Year 5s who will be leading our liturgy as storytellers, narrators and actors and to all classes who have been working hard rehearsing their songs and dances for our liturgy. 

ST PATRICK'S DAY

On Monday the 17th of March, our school paused together in prayer, reflecting on St. Patrick and how he helped spread the Christian faith in Ireland. Thank you to our Social Justice Leaders, Lucinda Auditore and Ryland Harper for leading us in an old Irish blessing for our prayer.

Catholic Education Week / St Patrick's Mass

This year, we celebrate  Catholic Education Week from Sunday 16 March to Sunday 23 March. Catholic Education Week is an opportunity for all Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Melbourne to celebrate their Catholic identity, the pivotal role they play within their local community and the strength of the sector. 

The theme is 'Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you (Is 60: 1)'.

Our Year 6 Friendship Leaders, School Captains and Social Justice Leaders joined Ms. Sam Sullivan and Mrs. Sarah Clarkson at the Mass of St Patrick this Friday 21 March at St Patrick’s Cathedral. The Mass provides the religious centrepiece for the week’s events. Student representatives from every primary and secondary school in the Archdiocese of Melbourne join Archbishop Peter for a celebration of the Eucharist. Led by Celtic pipers and a procession of school banners, the Mass recognises the charism of the Catholic education community in a ceremony that honours the commitment to our shared tradition. We look forward in sharing more about the day with you in our next newsletter. 

Gospel Reading - Family Connection (From Loyola Press)

Luke 13:1-9  Jesus preaches a lesson on repentance.

We may be unfamiliar with fig trees, but we might know about the growth of spring flowers. Perhaps we have looked at a dry, brown flower bulb and wondered how this produces the colorful tulip or daffodil blossom that we expect to bloom in the spring. Perhaps we've even thought about the patience and hope that are required to plant flower bulbs in October. We don't have to be gardeners, however, to know about patience and hopefulness. As parents, we practice these virtues each day with our children. We may become frustrated and even angered by their willfulness and lack of cooperation. Yet we continue to offer our attention and guidance in hope that one day our efforts will bear fruit. 

Today's parable suggests that God is like that with us, working with us in patience and in hope that one day we will show evidence that such work is not in vain. As parents, we know God's kindness when we find evidence for our hope for our children. Does God find such glimmers of hope as he works with us?

Gather your family and show an image of a spring flower in bloom. 

Recall that in Autumn, this flower was a dry bulb. Talk about the hopefulness and patience shown by those who plant flower bulbs in the fall in the hope that they will bloom in the spring. 

Read aloud today's Gospel, Luke 13:1-9. Compare the parable of the barren fig tree to your discussion about spring flowers. Consider the patience and hopefulness that God has with us as he works with us, calling us to return to him when we sin. Offer prayers of thanks and praise to God for his patience and hopefulness towards us. Conclude by praying together today's Psalm, Psalm 103.

Bless the Lord, O My Soul: A Psalm 103 Prayer

Almighty God,

My heart overflows with gratitude for Your boundless compassion and unfailing love.

Your goodness knows no bounds, and Your mercy endures forever. 

Thank You for Your steadfast presence in my life.

“Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all His benefits.” 

Help me, Lord, to remember Your countless blessings and to offer You praise from the depths of my soul. You are worthy of all honor and adoration. I am humbled by Your forgiveness, for “as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.” 

Thank You for Your grace that washes over me, 

cleansing me from sin and restoring me to fellowship with You.

You are a compassionate and loving Father, “as a father has compassion on His children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him.” May I rest in Your tender care, knowing that Your love surrounds me and Your arms are always open to receive me.

Your faithfulness spans generations, “from everlasting to everlasting the Lord’s love is with those who fear Him.” 

Thank You for Your enduring presence throughout history and in my life today. 

Your love is my anchor in the storms of life.

In Jesus’ name, I pray.

Amen.