Mission and Religious Education

MRE Newsletter Term 3 Week 2

Mission and Religious Education

Masses for Term 3

This term we will be going to Mass on the following days:

9.30am Friday 8 August the Feast Day of St Mary of the Cross MacKillop, led by Stage 2 (Years 3 and 4) students. 

11.00am Friday 15 August the Feast Day of the Assumption of Mary. This is a Holy Day of Obligation, led by students K-6.

9.30am Friday 22 August the Feast of the Queenship of Mary, led by Stage 3 (Years 5 and 6) students.

9.30am Friday 19 September led by Early Stage 1 and  Stage 1 (Kindergarten, Years 1 and 2) students.

St Mary of the Cross MacKillop

St Mary of the Cross MacKillop is Australia’s first Saint and a Patron Saint of Australia. Mary had a passion for helping others. Mary saw how children in Australia, particularly the poor, needed an education and with Father Julian Tennison Woods started the Sisters of St Joseph and their work was foundational for Catholic Education in Australia. The Sisters of St Joseph started teaching children in Manilla in 1904 in the original Church and we have benefited greatly from their legacy. A quote from Mary MacKillop that we try to emulate is “Never see a need without doing something about it.”

The Assumption

On the Feast of the Assumption we celebrate Mary, the mother of Jesus, being assumed into Heaven - body and soul. The importance of Mary in our faith story is celebrated on this day which is a Holy Day of Obligation. A Holy Day of Obligation is one when Catholics are obliged to go to Mass. In Australia the Holy Days of Obligation are The Assumption, Christmas Day and each Sunday.

Year 6 RE Test

Each Year, students in Year 6 sit the Diocesan Year 6 RE Test. The test consists of 40 multiple choice questions that the students answer online. Data from the Year 6 RE Test is used to inform future RE programming and focus areas. The RE Test window is Weeks 4 Monday 11 - Friday 15 August.

Australian Catholics

The Spring Edition of the Australian Catholics Magazine is going home today. One copy for each family. 

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.

Our first meeting for this term will be on Monday 4 August, we are looking forward to recommencing our meetings for Semester 2.

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.

Working With The C2S Committee

Together with the C2S Committee we are reviewing current practices and looking to develop new ways to promote care for our earth.

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 Weeks 3 and 4, ‘Courage’. In Religion our learning is focused on the lives of Mary and the saints, all of whom showed great courage in their lives to stand up for what is good and right.

Connecting With Our Parish

Weekend Mass Times

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

Manilla Parish Mass Times 

1st Sunday of the month - Sunday 8.30am

2nd, 3rd & 4th Sunday of the month - Saturday 5.00pm (5.30pm DST)

Attunga Mass Times 

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

If You Would Like To Be Involved

We encourage all of our families to be involved in the life of the Parish. There are many ways to be involved including:

• Altar Serving for those who have made their first Holy Communion
• Reading at Mass
• Taking up the Offertory Procession
• Visitations
• Odd Jobs

If you would like to be more involved in the life of our parish please contact Father Curran (02) 67851094 for further details.

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

Armidale Catholic Schools 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