Faith Matters

Dear St Francis Xavier Families,

It was lovely to see some of you at Whole School Prayer on Wednesday as we celebrated Laudato Si Week.  We took the opportunity to remind the children about the connection between Laudato Si and our school house teams.

For those of you who are new to the school or weren't aware, this is a synopsis of how the Year 6 Faith in Action Leaders shared our story with the children. 

In 2015, Pope Francis, the Leader of the Catholic Church, wrote a special letter to the world asking us to stop and think about what we are doing to the earth.

He invited everyone to start seriously considering what action must be taken to care for the planet.

He said we need to listen to scientists to help us learn what we must do to save our planet.

He also said we need to listen to the wisdom of indigenous people like the Aboriginals who have been caring for our land for thousands of years and have been trying to teach us to respect and look after it.

A few years after Laudato Si was written St Francis Xavier School decided it was time to change our house teams.  Mr Steve and the teachers thought it would be a good idea to have new names and a different approach.

The whole community was asked to make suggestions. Someone’s grandmother wrote that since our school was near the bay and the actual saint, St Francis Xavier, had a connection to the sea it would be good for one of the new teams to have a name which had something to do with water. We thought this was a great idea. At the same time our school was also becoming more involved and learning about the culture and traditions of the aboriginal people. 

The teachers remembered that in Laudato Si, Pope Francis had mentioned that we need to care for the whole of the planet which included the land, the bay, the air and sky, and the nature such as plants and animals.

We wrote to the Bunurong council, because our school is on Bunurong land, and asked what their words were for these elements and they told us:

Land is Beek, Sky/Air is Kardinia, Nature is Kurrong and Bay/water is War-reen.

This is how our school house teams were created. They stand as a reminder of the importance of respect. Respect for our world, respect for the indigenous community and respect for one another and everyone we encounter in our daily lives.

Congratulations Mackenzie

I wanted to acknowledge the wonderful effort of Mackenzie in  who decided she wanted to do something to help others. Mackenzie made and sold bracelets to our students and donated the proceeds to the Alannah and Madeline Foundation. This foundation supports, advocates and cares for children experiencing family violence and online bullying. I was so impressed I wrote to the foundation about Mackenzie's initiative and they responded with a certificate and a personal letter of thanks for her support.

It's always heartening to see our students demonstrating such great examples of kindness and consideration towards others.

God's blessings to you all,

Marion O'Brien

Education in Faith Leader