Mission and Religious Education

Mission and Religious Education

Holy Week and Easter Sunday Liturgies

This Year we will be celebrating our Holy week Liturgies on Friday 11 April and Easter Sunday on Friday 2 May. 

Holy Week commemorates and celebrates the last week of Jesus’ life on Earth. Holy Week commences on Palm Sunday when we remember Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem when people waved palm branches and greeted him as a king. Lent finishes just before Mass on Holy Thursday and then we commence the Paschal Triduum. The Paschal Triduum is the three days commemorating Jesus’ Passion, Death and Resurrection and commences with the Mass on Holy Thursday and concludes with the evening Prayer on Easter Sunday. On Holy Thursday we remember Jesus’ last supper with his disciples. At this supper Jesus washed his disciples feet as a sign that they and we, should love and serve one another. He instituted the blessed Eucharist which we remember and commemorate at every Mass when he blessed and broke the bread and shared it saying ‘Take and eat, this is my body’ and blessed and shared the cup of wine saying ‘Take and drink, this is my blood’. After Supper Jesus went into the Garden of Gethsemane to pray where he was arrested. On Good Friday we remember that Jesus was arrested, sentenced to death, made to carry his cross, was crucified, died and his body was laid in a tomb. Holy Saturday is a time to keep watch and wait while Jesus lays in the tomb and concludes Holy Week. On Easter Sunday we commence the liturgical season of Easter and celebrate Jesus rising to new life and conquering death so that we too may rise to new life. Easter Eggs are given as a symbol of new life.

This year we will celebrate our Holy Week and Easter Sunday Liturgies in the Church on Friday 11 April commencing at 9.30am. Everyone is welcome to join us as we remember and celebrate the important events that took place in the life of Jesus and are central to our faith.

Palm Sunday: Kindergarten and Year 1 will lead us in this happy celebration.

Holy Thursday: Stage 2 (Years 3 and 4) will lead us in this important celebration.

Good Friday and Holy Saturday: Stage 3 (Years 5 and 6) will lead us in this more sombre commemoration.

Please note the change of date for our Easter Sunday celebration led by Year 2. This joyful liturgy will be celebrated on Friday 2 May at 9.30am. Everyone is very welcome to join us in our celebrations.

Easter Hat Parade and Picnic Lunch

After our Holy Week Liturgies on Friday 11 April students will return to school and prepare for their Easter Hat Parade. All families are invited to pack a picnic lunch to enjoy with your family in the school grounds. 

C2S (Called to Shine) Committee News

Our C2S Committee is a team of volunteer students in Years 2-6 who work with Assistant Principals Cathy Shepherd and myself for ecological justice in our world. The Committee meets at the start of lunch each Monday and gives an authentic student voice to addressing social and ecological issues in our school and world. The C2S Committee leads charitable works and ecological initiatives at St Michael’s.

Week 9 Meeting - Monday 24 March

At our Week 9 meeting the C2S Committee members discussed our Legendary Day on Friday 11 April, to raise money for Caritas Australia’s Project Compassion and ways tp encourage everyone to give generously. We decided to change Environmental Legends jobs to run from Thursday to Thursday, so that new job people can be announced at the Assembly on Friday morning.

Week 10 Meeting - Monday 31 March

At our Week 10 meeting the C2S Committee members discussed a follow up to the new approach of announcing Environmental Legends jobs at Friday Assembly and the Committee agreed this approach worked well. We also discussed continuing to promote Project Compassion and Legendary Day.

Legendary Day - Giving in Solidarity - Friday 11 April

‘Legendary Day’ is our Fundraising Day for Caritas Australia’s Project Compassion. On this day we are able to show our solidarity with the poor through prayer and fundraising. Students are invited to dress up as their favourite legend - it may be a famous person, a character or someone they know and give generously to Project Compassion. As Friday is also Canteen Day, we ask your assistance in explaining to your child/children how much money is their donation to Caritas and how much is for canteen, as they sometimes get confused. Thank you for your assistance.

Staff Professional Development Day - Monday 28 April

Each year staff have one professional development day focused on Mission, Spirituality and Religious Education. This year our Professional Development Day is Monday 28 April, the first day of Term 2 and will be led by members of Armidale Catholic Schools Spirituality Team. The focus for our day is ‘Prayer’. Please note this is a pupil free day.

Environmental Legends and Little Doves

Our Environmental Legends are a team of volunteer students in Years 3-6 who work with the Little Doves, a team of volunteer students in K-2 and myself to lead environmental and sustainability initiatives within our school. Our work in this area is in response to Pope Francis’ call to action in Laudato Si’ to Care for the Earth Our Common Home and to hear and respond to the Cry of the Earth and the Cry of the Poor.

Zucchinis

We have been very excited to watch our zucchinis growing in our gardens and look forward to tasting them. 

Legends of the Light Shine

Our Legends of the Light Shine Program is a program that runs across our school, led by students in Stage 3. This program focuses on Christian living, recognising and promoting Christian virtues and positive attributes.

This Fortnight’s Legends of the Light Shine Focus

Today we introduced our new Legends of the Light Shine focus for Week 11 and Week 1 of Term 2. Our new focus is ‘Solidarity’, which is a way of showing love for God and our neighbour and saying and showing ‘I am with you’, as we work for the common good. Today we focused on the story of Toefuata’iga and how Caritas Australia helped her and her community have access to clean water. Students focused on the human right and need for clean water by filtering muddy water and participating in a Water Walk in solidarity with the many people in our world who walk each day for clean water. The average walking time for these people is 30 minutes. Developing our students’ understanding of the importance of working together for the fair distribution of goods and services, supports them to recognise the importance of recognising and protecting the dignity of others in our daily lives. 

Connecting With Our Parish

Weekend Mass Times

We encourage all of our families to celebrate Sunday Mass with our parish.

Manilla Parish Mass Times (Daylight Saving Time)

1st Sunday of the month - Sunday 8.30am

2nd, 3rd & 4th Sunday of the month - Saturday 5.30pm

Attunga Mass Times 

2nd, 4th & 5th Sunday of the month - Sunday 12 noon

Lent Stations of the Cross

The Stations of the Cross are prayed in St Michael’s Parish each Friday of Lent at 6pm. Everyone is welcome.

Holy Week and Easter 

Palm Sunday - Saturday 12 April, 5pm

Good Friday - Friday 18 April, 3pm

Holy Saturday - Saturday 19 April, 9pm

Easter Sunday - Barraba 20 April, 9am

Everyone is welcome.

New Bishop

The Reverend Dr Peter Murphy from Wagga Wagga, will be ordained as the Bishop of Armidale on Thursday 8 May at 6.30pm, in Saint Mary and Saint Joseph Cathedral, Armidale. Staff from St Michael's Manilla will attend this celebration.

Living Well, Learning Well 

Living Well Learning Well is a student support framework for Catholic Schools in the Armidale Diocese. The framework is based on a universal and unconditional positive regard for children and young people and supports faith, learning, wellbeing and positive behaviour domains.

St Michael’s School Rules For Living

St Michael’s School Rules For Living encompass those in the Living Well Learning Well Framework.

Parents As Partners

St Michael’s works in partnership with the families in our school to achieve a high standard of education for the students in our care. Please be aware that the SchoolTV tab on our St Michael’s School Website provides parents and families with lots of wellbeing resources to support you with many of the challenging aspects of parenting.

Armidale Catholic Schools also work with Realtalk to offer families free premium access to resources to help navigate difficult areas children face, particularly in the digital world, from a catholic perspective in an increasingly complex world. SIGN UP FOR FREE ACCESS HERE

“Let Your Light Shine” support others to let their light shine and remember “We Shine Brighter Together”

Jacquelene Cronin

Assistant Principal - Mission