Learning in Faith 

Catholic Education Week 2025

‘Arise, shine for your light has come’ ~ Isaiah 60:1

This week at school we celebrate Catholic Education Week. 

Catholic Education Week is an opportunity for all Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Melbourne to celebrate their Catholic identity. This year’s theme draws from the motto of the Holy Year, the Year of Jubilee, and the Australian Catholic Youth Festival’s theme – ‘Pilgrims of Hope’. 

You will find our very own St Mary's 'Rainbow of Hope' in the school foyer. Each of the students were asked to consider how they will be a sign of Hope to others, we then linked all the ideas together to create a paper chain rainbow.

Our Grade Six students, with their teacher Mrs Aldag will be attending the Mass of St Patrick for Schools this Friday 21 March at St Patrick’s Cathedral, East Melbourne. 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 special celebration. Following Mass the students will attend the concert at Treasury Gardens for primary school students, where entertainment is provided and various bands will be performing for the students to enjoy.

Second Week of Lent

(Week beginning Monday 17 March)

Toefuata'iga - (Toy-foo-ah-tah-ing-ah) is a 13-year-old primary school student from Samoa. Samoa may be a country surrounded by water, but access to clean drinking water is scarce in some areas, with many families facing extreme hardship as a result.

Toefuata’iga’s school community struggled without reliable access to clean water, which impacted students’ education and hygiene. Teachers often had to leave the school to fetch water from nearby homes, disrupting lessons and adding strain to the community. When the water ran out at the school, students were sent home which meant they missed out on valuable learning time.

Thanks to the support of Caritas Australia in partnership with Caritas Samoa, Toefuata’iga’s school now has a 10,000 L water tank through a Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) program. Teachers and students are now able to focus on education and improved hygiene. 

“Now that we have the water tank, things are so much better, we can stay at school all day, and I get to spend more time learning and playing with my friends. I’m happy that we don’t have to go home early anymore.” – said Toefuata'iga.

This transformative story is just one example of how Caritas Australia’s Project Compassion creates waves of change around the world. Watch Toefuata'iga’s story below;

 You can support Project Compassion 2025 through the donation boxes in each of our classrooms. Our Mini Vinnie's Leaders will also be placing a Project Compassion box at the Canteen each Tuesday during Lent. If you have any change left over from the Canteen that you would like to donate (and you have received parental permission) you are welcome to place it in the donation box provided.

Thank you for standing with us, as we Unite Against Poverty this Lent. 

Sacrament of Reconciliation