Religious Education News 

Dear St Mary’s community,

Our community is preparing for our student graduations with Year 6’s preparing for their new schools and our Year 5’s are being passed on the baton of leadership. I urge you please to pray for our students at this time and encourage the whole school community to celebrate our year 6’s achievements in our upcoming Masses to end the school year.

Some sad news, the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre was broken into a few weeks ago and all their food and bathroom supplies raided, ruined or stolen. They urgently need our help please see information below:

We rely heavily on donations to be able to provide food and essential items for people coming to the ASRC Foodbank.

Essential food items are our priority, and sticking to the list ensures that our community’s needs are met, and we make the most out of your donation.  We would love your donations of:

Tuna in oil, of any size

Tinned vegetables (tomatoes, peas, carrots, corn kernels)

Dried/tinned legumes (beans, chickpeas, red or yellow lentils)

Coconut cream or milk

Pasta

Basmati rice

Vegetable or olive oil (750ml – 1L)

Tomato paste

Asian sauces (soy sauce, chilli sauce, fish sauce, oyster sauce)

Spices (cumin, turmeric, chilli flakes, coriander, garam masala etc.)

Honey, peanut butter, jam or tahini

Instant coffee / black tea bags

Sweet / savoury biscuits

Dried fruit and nuts

Dishwashing liquid

Laundry liquid/powder (1L/1kg)

Deodorant/razors

Shampoo

Toothbrush/Toothpaste

To respect the dignity of the people accessing the ASRC Foodbank and also to comply with Victorian health regulations, we cannot accept items that are past their use-by date or have damaged or open packaging. 

Due to the food preferences of the communities we are supporting at the ASRCFoodbank, some foods are not needed, including:

   – Baked beans

   – Tinned spaghetti

   – Powdered mashed potatoes

Our school will have some tubs organised to place items into. You can place items up until 13 December 2024 as the Asylum Seeker Support Group at St Mary’s and St Colman’s Churches will come and collect the items to take to the ASRC Foodbank. Thank you for your generosity.

Our school is working on different ways to give and to love one another this Advent Season which starts in just a couple of weeks! They are writing letters to East Timor, to the families at St Vincent De Paul and to the local Baptism families.

Lastly, this weekend is the feast of Christ the King. Catholics believe that Jesus is the King of the Universe - and that, with Jesus working in us, we can get to Heaven to be part of the kingdom.

IMPORTANT DATES IN TERM 4

6 December 2024 - Votive Mass of Immaculate Conception (Our School’s feast day) Whole School Mass

10 December 2024 - Christmas Carols Event Whole School

12 December 2024 - Graduation Mass Year 6

17 December 2024 - End of Year Whole School Mass