Religious Education News 

Dear St Mary’s community,

We hope all the Mothers and special women in our lives had a Happy Mother’s Day, thank you to all the students, parents, grandparents and special friends who made this event extra special. It was wonderful to see students serving at the Mass on Friday for the first time.

We are approaching the end of Easter and beginning a time where the Post-Resurrection life is revealed. On the weekend we celebrated the Ascension of the Lord into Heaven. Next weekend we will celebrate Pentecost - the day when the Holy Spirit transformed the lives of the Apostles, the day of calling to go out and share the Gospel with the world - spreading Christianity around the world. The week after this is the Feast of the Most Holy Trinity which celebrates the three persons of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit - we recognise God as three persons but also one God. We then kick off June with the Feast of Corpus Christi - the Most Holy Body and Blood of the Lord, the acknowledgement that we are fed on the journey along the way. This time of celebration is one of great recognition and calling and challenges us to ask ourselves - how are we being called?

Social Justice Project - Letters to East Timor

Heather works with students in Remexio, Timor-Leste to help the community in East Timor to rebuild after difficult times. She will be coming to St Mary’s to speak at an assembly soon about how we can get involved in a letter-writing project to help these students learn better English reading and writing skills. We look forward to hearing from her next week.

Liturgy Group

Last week we saw the Liturgy group in action for the first time. For students who have already received their first communion we are looking to form a very simple liturgy group who could do things such as - join the procession taking up the crucifix and candles, as well as lead prayer initiatives within the school to support our Year 6 Faith and Social Justice leaders in their work. If your child would like to take part in this group please talk with Pia and Olive in Year 6 who will help to organise this group. 

May is the Month of Mary

In May we celebrate our Mother Mary and especially pray to her for her intercessory prayers for our needs. Mary is our patron and we believe that she especially cares to put our needs to God when we talk with her. I encourage you to pray as families the Hail Mary prayer and to learn this ritual together imploring for her care. A reminder about the upcoming movie night at the Parish Hall this Friday 17 May 6.30pm. Please join in watching the dramatisation about the life of Mary.

Heart Speaks to the Heart - A Response to the Patrick Oration.

During the week, I joined a gathering of Principals, RELs, and MACS staff to learn more deeply the message of the Archbishop’s Patrick Oration. The speakers at this event talked about Nick Cave’s book Faith, Hope and Carnage which centres around questions of faith, art, music, freedom, grief and love. Themes which stemmed from the evening included; being bold, authentic, shining light on excellence, sharing beauty and being unashamed to share our faith. 

In our Catholic School, we honour each person's unique journey of faith. We believe in nurturing individual gifts and talents, encouraging all to share their light and find God’s love in others. We see light shine in the friendships that are built in our school community; the beauty in the compassion found in the day to day interactions, the respectful rapport which makes our school a safe place to be and the integrity to speak boldly to share that which is truly important.

With "Finding the Light Within" as our motto, our mission of teaching through the lens of the Catholic faith is to nurture our community to shine radiantly. Our parents and friends support us in creating a collaborative and beautiful environment. Our students boldly share and create, whether in the classroom, the yard, in social justice initiatives or at special occasions such as our upcoming art show. Our staff foster positive and fulfilling relationships and are passionate about student growth as lifelong learners. Our whole community gathers in worship together at Mass. All of this echoes the bold legacy of Nano Nagle and the Presentation Sisters whose mission to find the light within is enacted and informed by faith, hope and love. 

As a family I encourage you to discuss together your unique gifts, what beauty you contribute to the world and how this fosters deeper love and connection in your home, with others and with God.

Important Dates Upcoming:

Friday 24 May 2024 9.15am Mass with Year 1 and 2

Friday 31 May 2024 9.15am Mass with Year 4

Sunday 2 June 2024 10.30am First Eucharist Year 4 Corpus Christi SUNDAY Year B

Friday 7 June 2024 9.15am Sacred Heart Mass with the Whole School

Friday 21 June 2024 9.15am Mass with 5/6M and 5/6D