Principal's Message

Dear St John's Community,

The Catholic community this week mourns the passing of His Holiness Pope Francis, who died on Monday aged 88. Just one day earlier, he offered his final public blessing on Easter Sunday in Saint Peter’s Square.

Under his guidance as Pope, Catholic educators across the world have been encouraged to lead with care, understanding and hope in nurturing the faith and lives of young people and sharing the joy of the Gospel message.

From all the many and varied messages of and about him we have seen this week I like this one the most.

In a world that sees refugees and immigrants as a threat, disregards the victims of war, damages the environment, rewards self-interest and often cheapens religious faith, he has wept with those mistreated, pleaded their cause and preached a Gospel of joy. He has faced all the things that cloud our lives, done what he could to change them, and remained full of hope despite everything. For that we shall miss and grieve him. (Fr Andrew Hamilton SJ)

Prayer for Pope Francis

Loving God, 

today, we grieve for our beloved Pope Francis. We know you join us in our grief, 

that you too weep at the death of your dear friend and companion as Jesus did at the tomb of Lazarus.

Welcome our beloved Pope Francis into your waiting arms. 

Envelop him in your eternal love. 

Comfort us in our mourning as we strive to continue to follow his Gospel example to encounter Christ in all people and in all places.

We thank you for the gift of Pope  Francis. Through his life and teaching, you showed us how to love and serve one another, 

how to hear the cries of the poor and the cries of the earth and to respond in compassionate love.

Pope Francis, pray for us. 

Mary, Mother of Sorrows, comfort us. 

Amen.

ANZAC DAY

Everyone is called on to mark ANZAC Day with prayer, gratitude, and a commitment to peace. It is a time to honour those who served, remember the cost of war, and reflect on how we can build a more just world. 

I ask everyone to honour the sacrifices of the brave men and women who have served this country, not only with remembrance, but with a renewed dedication to justice and compassion

Easter Raffle

Congratulations to all the winners in the Easter Raffle at the end of last term. I was hoping someone would forget to pick up their prize but sadly they all went! 

Alleluia Day 

"Alleluia" is a word from Hebrew which means; "Praise the Lord". It's a joyful exclamation of praise we use extensively in our Catholic worship. In the Roman Catholic tradition we don't use the word "Alleluia" during Lent. We finally use it again during the Easter vigil mass which marks the celebration of Jesus' resurrection. We've not been able to celebrate this previously as Easter usually falls on the first week of the holidays. It was wonderful to be able to do it this year.

St John's Footy Tips

A lot changed over the school holidays! Watch out! I told you I'd be chasing everyone and I've managed to climb a few places and I'm catching up!  

Operoo Account & nForma App

Please make sure you set up your child's account on Operoo so all our correspondence and permission forms, etc, can get to you.

Please make sure you have downloaded the nForma App and set up your account. You need to use the same email address you used for the school to set up the account so you can access your child's information. All parent-teacher meetings will be managed and booked through the nForma App. 

SAM4SCHOOLS

Those of you with Working with Children Checks may receive emails from SAM4SCHOOLS in the next few weeks as we transfer your details to the new checking system.

Enjoy the long weekend. Then we'll be ready for the long slog to the end of Term 2.

Kind regards,

Derek Bruitzman

Principal

Jokes of the week: 

Q. When is a car not a car?

A. When it turns into a driveway!

Q: What kind of car does Yoda drive? 

A. A Toyoda

Q: What do you get when dinosaurs crash their cars?

A: Tyrannosaurus wrecks

Fun facts of the week:

It would take you about 18 months to walk all the way along The Great Wall of China. (It’s over 8046 kilometres long)

Lobsters are almost immortal. They produce an enzyme that repairs their cells and helps their DNA to replicate indefinitely. (Unless we eat them of course...)

Armadillos are bulletproof. (This is NOT an invitation to test this fact!)