Faith News

Term One

Beginning of the 2025 School Year Mass & Commitment Mass for the First Reconciliation Candidates (Year Three students and older students who have enrolled to receive The Sacrament of First Reconciliation)
THIS Thursday, February 20th- St Brendan’s Church at 11:30 am
Mass leaders: Year Five & Six staff and students. All are welcome.
Student and Parent Workshop for First Reconciliation Candidates (Year Three students and older students who enrol to receive The Sacrament of First Reconciliation)
Wednesday, February 26th- St Brendan’s Church at 5:30 pm
Parish Commitment Mass for First Reconciliation Students (Year Three students and older students who are enrolled to receive The Sacrament of First Reconciliation)
Saturday, March 1st- St Brendan’s Church, 6:00 pm
Ash Wednesday School and Parish Mass
Wednesday, March 5th - St Brendan’s Church at 9:30 am
Mass leaders: Year One & Two staff and students. All are welcome.
Parish Commitment Mass for First Reconciliation Students (Year Three students and older students who are enrolled to receive The Sacrament of First Reconciliation)
Saturday, March 15th- St Brendan’s Church, 6:00 pm
First Reconciliation Sacramental Liturgy (Year Three students and older students who are enrolled to receive The Sacrament of First Reconciliation)
Thursday, March 20th- St Brendan’s Church, 1:45 pm

Parents and carers of students enrolled to receive The Sacrament of First Reconciliation are welcome to attend.

Term Two

First Eucharist Sacramental Mass
(Year Four Children and older students who enrol.
Enrollment details to be communicated towards the end of Term One)
Saturday, June 21st, St Brendan’s Church at 6:00 pm.
Confirmation Sacramental Mass
(Year Six Children who enrol)
Enrollment details to be communicated in Term Two
Saturday, August 9th, St Brendan’s Church at 6:00 pm.

The Sacrament of First Reconciliation

First Reconciliation for Year Three students (and older students who seek this sacrament) will be the first sacrament to be celebrated through our school sacramental program at St Brendan’s. Enrollment forms and information have been posted on Operoo to all Year Three families. Families of the students who do wish to enrol to receive The Sacrament of First Reconciliation, please take note of the dates above and please complete the Operoo enrollment by THIS Tuesday, February 18th. Families of students in Year Four, Five and Six who wish to enrol, please email me directly for further details before the end of the school day on Tuesday, February 18th.

Social Justice Action Team (SJAT) News

Thank you to the Year Five and Six students who have applied for a leadership position on the Social Justice Action Team (SJAT). Students who wish to apply can still do so by accessing the application form on their Google Classroom or obtaining a hard copy form from me. Applications close this Thursday, February 20th. All applications must be forwarded to me via email, please. Badges will be presented to the selected 2025 SJAT at the whole school assembly on Monday, March 3rd.

Who Is Blessed Carlo Acutis?

This year is a very exciting year for members of the global Catholic faith community; not only has the Year of Extraordinary Jubilee recently begun, but this is also the year in which a new Saint, Blessed Carlo Acutis will be canonised. Canonisation is the official admission of a deceased person into sainthood by the Catholic Church. I was very blessed to pray for the St Brendan’s Community during my 2024 pilgrimage to Assisi, Italy at The Church of Santa Maria Maggiore; the resting palace of Blessed Carlo. More on the Year of Jubilee in a later edition. In the meantime, please take a moment to read about Blessed Carlo Acutis on the flyer attached to this newsletter, and consider the warm invitation from the Parish of St Thomas More in Mt Eliza to attend a range of parish mission events offered this week in his memory.

Catholic Baptism

For families considering The Sacrament of Catholic Baptism for their child/ren, please contact the Western Port Parish Centre on (03) 5979 4374. Should you make Baptism arrangements with the Parish, please inform me so that this special milestone for your child can be acknowledged within the school community. Please also forward a copy of your child’s Baptism Certificate to the school so that this can be reflected in the school records.

Families who wish for their children to receive any sacrament or The Rite of Reception through the parish have been requested by Fr Shymon to make timely arrangements, as adequate preparation is required. This is especially important when families wish to enrol in school sacramental preparation programs, such as First Reconciliation, First Eucharist and Confirmation. Please consider this advice in preparation for our school sacramental programs for this year.

Christian Initiation for Adults: RCIA

Have you ever considered becoming a Catholic or continuing the Catholic sacramental journey that you commenced as a child or younger adult?

RCIA stands for the “Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults”. Our RCIA team is ready to welcome any participants who would like to enquire about becoming a Catholic. The sessions for preparation will be on Thursday evenings from 7:00 pm until 8:30 pm in the Parish Centre. There is no obligation to commit to continuing if the decision is made to not proceed. Adults who wish to begin or continue their faith journey through the reception of the Catholic sacraments are invited to contact the Western Port Parish Centre on (03) 5979 4374.

Western Port Parish News

Please follow this link to the Western Port Parish web page, and to find out more about parish happenings.

Catholic Care

For further information about the services offered by Catholic Care for those in need, please visit: https://www.ccam.org.au/

Access to Australian Catholics Online Magazine

Hard copies of the Australian Catholic Magazine will be distributed to all families whose eldest children are in Years 3-6 this year. Please look out for these throughout the year and have a read over a ‘cuppa’ to discover more about happenings in Catholic schools and parishes.

ALL families have FREE access to the Australian Catholics online resource. To access this fabulous resource, please click here and use the following login details to gain access:

Email: parents@sbsomerville.catholic.edu.au

Password: acparents

Yours in faith & harmony.

Emma Chapple

-Religious Education Leader

-Performing Arts Classroom Specialist Teacher

-Director: Disney’s ‘Frozen Jr.’

echapple@sbsomerville.catholic.edu.au

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