Catholic Identity

Sacramental Program 2024/2025 

Please continue to keep our Sacramental Candidates in your prayers as they journey closer to receiving the Sacraments of Confirmation and First Eucharist on Pentecost Sunday, June 8th. This is a sacred and significant time in the lives of these young members of our faith community, as they deepen their relationship with Christ and the Church.

Throughout next week, our Sacramental children will be visiting each of our pastoral groups to share their personal reflections on their preparation, the saint names they have chosen as spiritual guides, and the meaning behind their choices. As a symbol of their journey and a reminder of our communal prayerful support, they will also present each group with a special prayer card. These will be placed on classroom prayer tables, serving as a tangible sign to keep our candidates in daily prayer.

We give thanks for the faith, courage, and joy our candidates have shown, and we ask that as a community, we continue to surround them with love and prayer as Pentecost approaches.

We're looking forward to our next cluster group at St. Anne's on Thursday, 8th May. 

"Go forth and set the world on fire"

St Ignatius of Loyola

Easter ~ He is Risen 

Alleluia! Christ is Risen!

What a joyful and hope-filled way to begin our first week back with students. On Monday, we gathered in prayer led beautifully by our Year One and Year Two students. 

Our Early Years Learning Community invited the whole school into a sacred space of reflection and wonder. With gentle reverence, classes entered a quiet, prayerful environment filled with thoughtful depictions of Christ’s resurrection. Through drawings, artworks, LEGO creations, and natural materials, our learners shared the story of Easter in ways that were creative, symbolic, and deeply moving.

This powerful start to the term reminds us that we are called to live as people of the Resurrection, carrying Christ’s light into the world through acts of goodness, hope, and love. As we walk together this term, may we continue to be inspired by the risen Christ to be a community of joy, courage, and compassion.

He is Risen, Alleluia!

Caritas' Project Compassion Completion 

Actions speak louder than words, let your words teach and your actions speak” 

Saint Anthony of  Padua 

Remembering Pope Francis

This week, we have been remembering Pope Francis with love and prayer. As the leader of our Church, Pope Francis showed us how to care for others, to be kind and forgiving, and to look after God’s creation. He reminded us that every person is loved by God and that we are all part of one big family.

At school, we have taken time to pray for him and to say thank you to God for all the ways Pope Francis helped us grow in faith. May he rest in peace and continue to inspire us to live like Jesus, with hearts full of love and joy.

ANZAC Day

On ANZAC Day, our Year 6 Leaders, Sofia and Nate, represented St. Mel's School Community with pride and reverence as they placed a wreath at the 11am service at the Shepparton Cenotaph. We thank them for honouring the service and sacrifice of our veterans on behalf of us all.

ANZAC Day, observed on April 25th each year, marks the anniversary of the landing of Australian and New Zealand troops at Gallipoli in 1915. It is a solemn day of remembrance for all who have served and died in war, conflict, and peacekeeping operations. At St. Mel’s, we value this opportunity to reflect on the courage, sacrifice, and spirit of the ANZAC's, and to teach our students about the importance of peace, gratitude, and community.

Peace Run

On Tuesday, we were blessed to welcome some inspiring participants from the 2025 Peace Run, a remarkable 15,000km torch relay that travels around Australia promoting peace, friendship and understanding.

The Peace Run, founded in 1987 by Sri Chinmoy, has visited over 165 nations and countless communities around the globe, carrying its powerful message of unity and hope. We were privileged to be one of the first stops on this leg of the journey, before the team continued on to Mooroopna and later Bendigo, visiting St Peter’s Primary School, North Bendigo, and St Liborius Primary School, Eaglehawk.

In the spirit of community and togetherness, our school community gathered in the hall to welcome the Peace Run team as they entered with the iconic Peace Torch. The runners shared their mission to bring peace to the world, offered stories about how they find peace in their own lives, and invited our students to reflect on how we too can be peacemakers in our daily actions. Through games, music, and joyful interactions, the message of peace came to life in a tangible and inspiring way.

Our students were all able to gently touch or hold the Peace Torch as we gathered, a symbolic and moving gesture of connection to this global movement. This visit beautifully connects with our celebration of Harmony Day in Term One and reflects the richness of our multi-cultural and multi-faith community. As a Catholic school, we are grounded in Christ’s message of love and peace, and it is events like these that help our students understand their role in building a more compassionate and united world.

A true highlight of the visit was when the runners shared that Pope Francis himself launched the Peace Run in Europe last year. In a powerful and symbolic gesture, he held the Peace Torch and passed it to the runners as they began their journey.

Let us continue to walk and run in peace.

Catholic Education Week ~ 

Catholic Education Week is a special opportunity for all Catholic schools across our diocese to celebrate our Catholic Identity—something we are so proud of and is at the centre of all we do. It is a time to reflect, give thanks, and renew our commitment to the values and mission that shape our learning, relationships, and service.

This year, our diocese embraces the theme "Pilgrims of Hope", inspired by the words of Pope Francis:“Be joyful, be courageous, be pilgrims of hope!”

As a school community, we walk together in faith, guided by hope and inspired to make a difference. Throughout the week, we will take part in liturgies, acts of kindness, reflections, and creative activities that bring this theme to life. These moments allow us to deepen our faith, strengthen our connection with one another, and respond to the call to be beacons of hope in our world.

We will also participate in Sandhurst Switches off;

Sandhurst Switches Off ~ 

In Sandhurst, we invite you to participate in Sandhurst Switches Off. All Catholic schools and Catholic Education Offices will be encouraged to turn off their lights and any other electronic devices for part of the day or a whole day. This action is symbolic of our commitment to the preservation of God’s fragile creation. It is also symbolic of our solidarity with those who are suffering due to climate change.

Let us reimagine our partnership with all of creation.

‘If we approach nature and the environment without this openness to awe and wonder, if we no longer speak the language of fraternity and beauty in our relationship with the world, our attitude will be that of masters, consumers, ruthless exploiters, unable to set limits on their immediate needs.’ Laudate Si, Pope Francis

This is a beautiful and timely way for us as a Catholic community to honour Pope Francis' legacy, not just in words, but in meaningful action. As we continue to reflect on the life of Pope Francis following his passing, we are especially mindful of his deep and passionate call for the care of our common home. His encyclical Laudato Si’ reminded the world that caring for the environment is a moral and spiritual responsibility.

Open our HEARTS up to the world & be COMPASSIONATE! 

Pope Francis

Have a wonderful weekend and a blessed and joyful Easter. Enjoy the time with your families, fill your cups doing all the things that bring you the most joy,

Danae Napier

Deputy Principal / Religious Education Leader

Did you know ~