Faith Matters 

Dear St Francis Xavier Families,

We have been blessed with a great start to the term and the bonus of beautiful weather. I am looking forward to another busy and productive time with many exciting events for the children.  

Last Monday I had the pleasure of working with every class and used the opportunity to elicit some feedback about faith teaching and learning in our school. I genuinely appreciated the children's honest responses, their ideas and questions. Their feedback has been shared with staff.  Our aim is to support the students to understand that our faith permeates all aspects of the day and not just specific timeslots on particular afternoons, or during prayer or when we go to mass.  

Teachers have been using the symbolism of the butterfly life cycle to speak about the joy of Jesus' resurrection and what this means for us historically and today. 

(The butterfly is a  symbol of resurrection and transformation, representing  new life and hope. Its life cycle — caterpillar (life), chrysalis (death/burial), and butterfly (resurrection)—mirrors the story of Jesus Christ.)

STAFF PROFESSIONAL LEARNING DAY

We have a school closure day on Friday the 15th May. Our focus is 'Our Living Charism: Growing Minds, Guiding Hearts and Making a Difference. The day will be facilitated by Angelo Virgona who will lead us through developing a deeper understanding of how the mission and practices of our patron saint, St Francis Xavier, impact on our school and how we action them meaningfully in contemporary society. In addition to this we will be exploring how we can share our learnings with the children and community in a worthwhile manner.

FAITH LEARNING IN YEAR 1/2

Last term the Year 1/2s explored Baptism as a welcoming sacrament of initiation. I facilitated a session sharing what happens at a baptism ceremony and showed the students some of the signs, symbols and artefacts used in the celebration such as the baptismal candle, stole and oils used for the blessings. I was very impressed by the knowledge already learnt and the children's engagement and curiosity. Miss Kayla was recently presented with the Paschal Candle from her church, which is used to light the baptism candles, and she kindly brought it in to show the children.

WHOLE SCHOOL PRAYER

There are a few changes to days and times of Whole School Prayer this term. The first Whole School Prayer  will be during the Mothers' Day Morning on Tuesday, May 5th in the classrooms as usual. The next will be on Tuesday, 26th May when the Fire Carrier Leaders will lead us in a prayerful celebration of First Nations Reconciliation Week in the Red Centre. Start time is still 8:45am.  I will continue to alert you via Audiri as to when the Whole School Prayers are occurring.

CLASS MASSES

Class masses will resume this term. Dates are:

Year 5/6 -Tuesday, 26th May 

Year 3/4 - Friday, 29th May 

Year Prep, 1/2 - Thursday, 18th June 

Mass is at 9:15am and all families are welcome to attend. If your child's class is at mass please feel free to sit with them.

Warmest wishes ad God's blessings,

Marion O'Brien

Religious Education Leader