Religious Education & Pastoral Care
Mrs Deb McDouall
Religious Education Coordinator
Class masses
Today (Friday) we gathered as a school to celebrate the mass led by our wonderful Year 3 and 4 students. It is wonderful to see how the students contribute so beautifully through their participation and leadership. Thank you to Mrs Phillips for helping to prepare this mass.
Our next school mass will be THURSDAY, 15 August at 11.30am. This is a change of date due to the feast of the Assumption (Mary going to Heaven) falling on the Thursday. The mass will be led by our students in Years K/1/2. Please remember that everyone is most welcome to come along and join with us in celebrating mass together.
Mini Vinnies
It is with great pleasure that I can announce our Mini Vinnies team for Semester Two. These students have put their names forward to help work to make our school better by focusing on our motto "In all things, Charity". Students will receive their badges at mass on the 15 August.
| President | Ruby |
| Vice Presidents | Grace Ava-Jane |
| Secretaries & Publicity | Christina Myla |
| Treasurers | Courtney Angel-Lee |
| Leaders | Nevaeh Kevin |
| Spirituality & Wellbeing | Chastity |
| Captains | Courtney Felix Christina Joshua Parker |
Confirmation
Confirmation falls every second year at St John's Barraba and the date is set by the chancery office in Armidale. This year we will celebrate this sacrament on Sunday, 22 September which will be at the end of week 9 of THIS term. This will involve students in Years 5 and 6 who have made their First Holy Communion. Further information will go out to parents next week.
St Mary of the Cross MacKillop
Our school here in Barraba was started by the Josephites i.e. the Sisters of St Joseph way back in 1910. Our house teams here are named in honour of our first three principals here: Sr Imelda Gleeson (1910-1912), Sr Magdalene Daly (1913) and Sr Anastacia Hughes (1914-1915). To commemorate the presence of these Sisters at our school and in our wider community for almost 80 years and to acknowledge our special link to the Josephites, each year we celebrate the feast of St Mary of the Cross MacKillop, Australian saint and the founder of the Sisters of St Joseph. This year we will have a liturgy at school on Thursday 8 August. Keep your eyes out on social media for more details (time TBC).
Fr Curran
This coming August marks a very special occasion where Fr John Curran will celebrate his golden jubilee of priesthood; fifty years in the job! To mark this occasion we have two events:
- Sunday 25 August: Mass at St John's Barraba followed by a special luncheon at the Playhouse Hotel.
- Friday 30 August: Whole School Community Mass at 10.00am followed by a special cake!
We would love to see as many people there as possible.
Answering Questions
I have come across a great resource that explains a lot of questions about the Catholic faith, mass, sacraments and prayers. It is organised in a way that you can find answers quickly and the explanations are concise, clear and easy to read. If you want to discuss anything or have any further questions please don't hesitate to reach out!