Liturgy Captain News

St. Vinnie's Winter Appeal Reminder

Just a reminder that all food donations for our Vinnies Winter Appeal are due tomorrow (Friday 20th June). We are asking for any non-perishable food donations to help those in need. Some suggestions include: pasta, rice, packets of noodles, crackers, canned or tinned foods etc., 

Please bring your donations to your child’s classroom for them to be collected. Your donations are greatly appreciated and will make a huge difference. The more donations we collect, the more people we get to help this winter. 

Year 5/6 Interfaith Excursion

Bridging beliefs – Year 5/6 explore faith, respect, and community on an interfaith journey.

In Religion this term, the Year 5/6s have been learning about different religions, specifically Hinduism, Buddhism and Islam, and what God means to the followers of these different faiths. During our excursion on Tuesday we had the opportunity to visit 3 different places of worship in our local area. 

We were lucky enough to have Anita from the ‘Interfaith Network’ who was our main tour guide on the day. 

Hinduism

Our first stop was a Hindu temple called the ‘Shir Shiva Visnu Temple.’ This is where we met Thurai who took us on a guided tour of the temple. Before we entered the temple, we had to remove our shoes as a sign of respect. We were told how Hindu's pray and how they worship their Gods. After the tour, we were allowed to ask questions. Throughout our tour we saw lots of people come in and out of the temple to pray and enjoy some quiet, reflective time to themselves. 

Hindus have one main God, Brahman and can choose one God that represents them. Did you know there are 330 million Hindu Gods and Goddesses? Thurai also told us that the cloths were taken off the statues EVERY day and washed with milk which is said to be purifying.

Buddhism

Our next stop was to a Buddhist temple called ‘Hoa Nghiem Buddhist Temple’ in Springvale.  Our speaker, Viet, told us about their God Buddha and how they believe in karma and reincarnation (rebirth). They taught us all about the artefacts and symbols of the Temple. He also spoke to us about how they make offerings to Buddha such as fruit and flowers as a sign of respect. 

Islam  

Our last stop was the Turkish Islamic Cultural Centre in Keysborough. We learnt about the Mosque, a place where muslim people pray and worship. We looked at what structures are inside a mosque and what their translated meanings meant. We also learnt about the Qu’ran which is their equivalent to the bible. It has 604 pages and some Muslims have memorised it in its entirety. There were many detailed illustrations on the ceiling and on the walls of the mosque. We later learnt that it took 3 Turkish artists over 2 months to hand paint all of the drawings, symbols and other decorations. The illustrations were of important significance to Muslims as they made reference to scriptures, gods and special symbols. The Imam that met with us also taught Yr 5/6 at the school next door.

We are really grateful to all our presenters who took time out of their day to speak to us. We were able to walk away with more knowledge and insight into the 3 world religions we had studied this term. So on behalf of students, thank you to our Yr 5/6 teachers for organising this valuable experience for us!