Education in Faith
OHR Feast Day Mass - Friday 24th November
Last Friday, we had a whole school Mass in the Church at 9.00am to celebrate the Feast of Christ the King (Sunday 26/11) which is also the Feast Day for Our Holy Redeemer Church and School. Well done to all our readers as well as the students who performed other roles in the Mass. As usual, Father Hoang was impressed with the beautiful singing throughout the Mass.
'Christmas Themed Free Day' - Friday 1st December
A message from the RE Student Leaders.
Good morning teachers, parents & students. A few weeks ago, the RE/Social Justice Team spoke at assembly and explained that the money raised from selling the zooper doopers is going to the St Vincent de Paul Society’s Christmas Appeal.
For many people, Christmas is all about family. Spending time together, sharing a meal and creating meaningful memories. But what if you couldn't provide a meal for your family, or even a home? This is the reality many Australian families face this Christmas.
Therefore we have permission from Mr Dame, that every family that does any one of three things can dress up in Christmas themed free dress this Friday (1/12). This might mean red, green and white clothes or something even fancier. Please note, this is also a swimming day, so make sure you still bring your swimming gear to school.
This is also the day of the Carols, so now you will already be dressed to perform that night.
The three different things you can do in order to be allowed to wear free dress are:
One - Bring in non-perishable food items, especially those with a Christmas theme. This will help provide food for a family to celebrate Christmas with a meal together. These can be left in your classroom.
Two - Bring in Christmas presents for school aged children whose families are not able to provide them with a Christmas gift. It would be appreciated if these presents came gift wrapped with a label stating whether it is for a boy or girl (or both) and the age or ages it is suitable for. These can be left under the Christmas Tree in the office.
Or the final option is to bring in a gold coin and we will add this money to the money we are making from selling zooper doopers. All of this money is going to the Vinnies Christmas Appeal.
We know some people have already brought in food or donated presents so you don’t have to bring anything else in and you can still wear Christmas themed clothes.
Thank you and Merry Christmas.
A snapshot of Religious Education Learning in 5/6MG
KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING
We are learning to explain the Christian concept of justice in relation to community issues.
REASONING AND RESPONDING
We are learning to interpret the Catholic Social teaching on Solidarity.
PERSONAL AND COMMUNAL ENGAGEMENT
We are learning to reflect on ways to participate responsibly and contribute ethically to the local and faith community.
As part of our unit of work on “JUSTICE, ” we have been discussing Refugees and the Catholic Social Teachings of Solidarity.
We participated in a simulation task, where we aimed to better understand the journey of a Refugee family. Students were grouped into “families” and were led through nine stages of a Refugee’s story. At each stage the families had to make decisions that represented some of the real life dilemmas that refugees face.
Afterwards the children were asked to reflect on their experience.
In this journey I felt sad, worried, and depressed. And the one word that described this whole simulation for me was depressing. (Ari K)
I really felt relieved that we survived as a family of refugees. I feel more understanding now of refugees and their experiences during those times, and how they have to sacrifice their things and maybe even loved ones. (Harrison K)
I felt sad when I had to leave my family. I felt happy when I reached the new land. I was scared and in hope that my family had survived. I felt despair when my brother's bag fell out of the window in the truck. I felt hope when we finally reached the sea. I felt scared about not knowing where we were going and not knowing if we would survive. I felt unsafe in my OWN COUNTRY! Would I ever call something home again? Should I just give up? (James G)
If I was in that position I would feel sad that I had to leave my home behind and go to an entirely different country or place. (Otto C)
It made me feel how many refugees feel when they really have to become refugees. It made me feel grateful for all of the things I own. I wonder what real refugees feel after they left their countries and had to leave belongings behind. I felt worried about what would happen to all of my family members. One word that describes the simulation is frightening. I know my Dad’s side of the family were refugees and doing this simulation made me wonder how they would've felt when they had to leave. I think Jesus might say that we should treat refugees just like us. (Nicholas D)
In this situation I would feel horrified, scared and worried that a family member might not survive, the experience of this happening would be so horrific that it would be stuck in your mind for all your life.I felt emotionally and mentally drained. It was terrifying. (Oliver R)
The journey was terrifying, but nothing compared to real refugees. I am so grateful for the wonderful country we live in, and that I never have to experience anything horrible like that. (Harriet J)
It has made me feel grateful that I am safe in my country and that I have not been through all that. Besides that, the activity was a good way to put yourself into other people's shoes. (Saige M)
When we were doing this task I felt like I was actually a refugee and I was there in the moment. I wonder how some people cope with the news that they have to leave their home and start a new life. During this task I felt scared when our bus stopped and my bag went out the window and when we got the news that the boats only took four people. If I was really in this situation I would be terrified and it would be hard for me to take only 6 things. (Hunter F)
The role playing helped me to understand how terrible the journey of being a refugee really is. It really made me think about how lucky we are in this safe country we live in. I really liked reflecting on this and walking a mile in the refugee’s shoes. (Ava S)
When I reflect on this I actually felt like I was in the world of a lot of people that are refugees. It taught us that we are so lucky to have most things and don't have wars in our country. (Emma L)
My thoughts on the refugee simulation are that I have never realised how hard it is for refugees to go through all of this and having to experience all this suffering and loss. I am really grateful that we live in such an amazing country where things like this don't happen and I have learnt a lot about what refugees truly are. (Poppy T)
Today on our journey to the unknown it felt overwhelming, knowing that if we were actually in this position in real life how scary and unsafe it would be. This experience has made me feel grateful for how lucky we are to have a safe and happy life. (Ted S)
As I was doing this with my group it made me realise how sad it would be and how scared those people would be to have to leave their home and go to another place to live. (James N)
A feeling I was experiencing during this task is anger. I felt angry because I don't think that it is right that all these people are looking very hard for somewhere to be safe. I don't like this because I feel that where you are born should be your forever home and you should feel safe and protected from all sorts of danger. If the place you are born is not safe then countries that are more wealthy than the third world countries should put more effort into helping all people at risk. (Hugo H)
One word that came to me was shock because I never thought it would be this bad. It was terrible, struggling to help your family. I always thought that my grandparents had it easy to get here until doing this simulation. It makes me so grateful that I live in a safe environment that has no wars or persecution, environmental degradation and poverty. (Art T)
It was a very powerful exercise that helped me understand more about refugees. It was very lifelike, and well done, but of course it was hard to feel the absolute terror of leaving your home country. This simulation made me actually reflect on how much pressure there must be on refugees, with the struggle and facing the absolute extremes of this planet. (William G)
The refugee simulation activity we did was very interesting and it opened my eyes to what many people have to go through and how scary and tough it is. There were lots of challenges and decisions that our family had to face. I am very grateful for this refugee activity because it showed me the challenges families have to face, not just leaving their country but for many other things. (Julian C)
Doing that activity really made me think about what it would feel like to leave your country and lose family members and pets or even a prized possession. It really made me think that I am such a very, very lucky person. It was really sad to think that this happens in the world. It made me put myself in other people's shoes and imagine what would happen. (Thomas B)
During the activity we did on refugees I felt really grateful that I most likely will never have to go through that and sad for all the people that have. I hope that one day nobody will have to go through what so many people have, and that we can all live peacefully together without war or violence. At my grandparents' shop, we hire many refugees to work, so I basically grew up hearing about wars, and having to leave your country. I am so grateful that my family has been able to help in that small way. Making a few lives better is something that is invaluable to the people it has helped. (Eleanor J)
I felt grateful that I live in a safe and happy place where I can feel open to talk about anything and where I can live a joyful and independent life. I saw that a lot of people have to leave their country due to conflict or war, and how they have to leave a lot behind. I couldn't imagine that happening to me, and for that I am so thankful that I live in a non conflicted country. (Tom W)
If I was to describe how the activity was, I would say it was really good to learn about what the refugees go through and just how many refugees there is around the world. Caritas has done a good job with this task to help students learn more about refugees and grow their learning experiences by doing the activity. (Matisse M)
Our journey started off in our house when a war started and we all had to pack our backpack with only 6 items. We were riding in a truck and my bag fell out of the truck so everyone in my family had to give me 1 item each. (Alicia W)
Today on my journey to the unknown I was reflecting and pretending to be a 14 year old girl during a war. This girl suffered losing everything she had packed and her old dog companion out the back of a truck. This is really upsetting to think about but is only the start of her scary journey. If I were this girl I would feel upset and tired. I think a word that explains this is HARD. (Betty J)
This was a really nerve-wracking experience that opened our eyes to how many people are experiencing this in our world. Some words that really describe the experience are anxiety, sadness and loneliness. (Lars R)
We also listened to and discussed what Pope Francis had to say about Refugees.
Click here to see some photos of us completing the simulation.
Sunday Gospel
The liturgy of the Catholic Church provides a framework for reflection which is used by Catholics throughout the world. Each week in the Newsletter, you will find the Sunday Gospel as well as some discussion questions to have with your child/ren.
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark
Jesus said to his disciples: ‘Be on your guard, stay awake, because you never know when the time will come. It is like a man travelling abroad: he has gone from home, and left his servants in charge, each with his own task; and he has told the doorkeeper to stay awake. So stay awake, because you do not know when the master of the house is coming, evening, midnight, cockcrow, dawn; if he comes unexpectedly, he must not find you asleep. And what I say to you I say to all: Stay awake!’
The Gospel of the Lord
Discussion Questions
1. What are some things you look forward to?
2. How do you get ready to prepare for them?
3. Today we begin Advent – what are we preparing for in Advent?
4. Jesus asks us to watch out and be ready as we make our preparations to celebrate Christmas. How can we make Advent a time of preparation this week?