Mission and Religious Education

MRE Newsletter Term 1 Week 6

Mission and Religious Education

C2S (Called to Shine) Committee News 

Our C2S (Called to Shine) Committee of volunteer students and staff members meets each Monday to lead charitable works and ecological initiatives at St Michael’s encompassing the work of St Vincent de Paul / Mini Vinnies, Caritas Australia / Project Compassion, Catholic Mission / Socktober, Catholic Earthcare / Laudato Si’, / HOPe Kitchen/Bear Cottage and other charitable works.

OurC2S Committee have been very busy this week organising the Big Water Walk for Project Compassion and talking about growing veggies for HoPE Kitchen.

Big Water Walk - Project Compassion Fundraiser

On Wednesday 18 March we will hold our annual fundraiser for Project Compassion, the main fundraising event for Caritas Australia during the Liturgical Season of Lent which calls us all to unite against poverty. This year we are partaking in The Big Water Walk in solidarity with those people who have to walk long distances each day to access clean water for drinking, cooking and bathing. 

We are walking from St Michael’s School to Manilla Weir carrying our water bottles. All students are asked to get at least one person to sponsor them to walk to and from the Weir and each sponsor is asked to give a $1 in sponsorship. All money raised will go to Caritas Australia’s Project Compassion campaign.  Sponsorship sheets going home with each student today Friday 6 March, 2026.

HOPE (HEART OF PEACE) 

HOPe is the Diocese of Armidale’s charitable outreach arm offering free, healthy meals and fellowship to anyone in need. We are going to donate veggies grown in our school gardens to this worthy cause. C2S Committee members also discussed donating some of the produce grown at home. This initiative is in the establishment phase in the Manilla Parish and we will keep you updated with further details. 

Clean Up Australia Day

Last Friday 27 February we had Clean Up St Michael’s Day, which we hold each year on the Friday before Clean Up Australia Day. Each class was given a particular area of our school grounds to clean. A big thank you to our wonderful students and staff for your enthusiasm and making a positive impact on our environment. We were very surprised to see tiny pieces of rubbish hiding in the grass and how far some rubbish had blown around our school!

Important Feast Days Coming Up

St Patrick’s Day

On Tuesday 17 March we celebrate St Patrick’s Day. St Patrick is the Patron Saint of Ireland. St Patrick day has always had a special place in the heart of Australians, as many of the early European settlers and religious came from Ireland and subsequently many Australians have an Irish ancestry.

St Joseph’s Day

On Thursday 19 March we celebrate St Joseph’s Day. St Joseph is the husband of Mary and the foster father of Jesus and therefore holds a special place in our faith story.

Next School Mass - Friday 13 March

Friday 13 March is our fortnightly Mass at 9.30am. Everyone welcome

Holy Week Liturgies - Thursday 2 April

On Thursday 2 April we will celebrate Holy Week with each class leading a liturgy. Further details to follow.

Confirmation

This year eligible students in Years 5 and 6 will be confirmed by Bishop Peter Murphy. Please note the change of date due to a clash with the Manilla Show. Bishop Murphy will speak to the children being confirmed on Friday 24 July and the Sacrament of Confirmation will be celebrated on Saturday 25 July. Parents and carers may like to contact their child’s sponsor now to ‘save the date’.

Connecting With Our Parish

Parish Priest: Reverend Father Damien Locke, Parish Priest

Phone: 02 6785 1094 

Email: manillaparish@armidale.catholic.org.au

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StMichaelsParishManilla

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 followed by morning tea

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

Manilla Parish Confession/Reconciliation/Penance Times 

30 minutes prior to weekend Masses or by appointment at any time with Fr Damien. 

Lenten Reflection Group 2026

The Lenten Reflection Group will be held each Wednesday afternoon from 18 February-25 March from 4-5pm in St Michael’s Primary School. All are most welcome to attend.

Working Bee

St Michael’s Parish Organisation will have a working bee in/around the church at 8.30am on Saturday 21 March.

Stations of The Cross During Lent 

Stations of the Cross will be prayed in the church on 27 Feb: 10.30am; 6 Mar: 10am; 13 Mar: 9.30am and 27 Mar: 10.30am 

If You Would Like To Be Involved In The Life Of The Parish

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 Damien (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