Prayer for Mothers

Good and Gentle God,

we pray in gratitude for our mothers and for all women who create the communities of connection, love and support that we all benefit from.

You, who became human through a woman, grant to all mothers the courage they need to face the uncertain future that life with children always brings.

Grant them the grace and wisdom to support their children and the children of others to make this world a better place for all.

Allow their hearts to be open to all and sustained but the love they receive in return.

Amen

As Week Two draws to a close we reflect on the care and love provided to all of us from the significant women in our lives. To some of us, this is our biological mother; to others this is the significant other female in their lives; stepmother, carer, Grandmother, older female family friend you look up to (mine was an old teacher of mine when I was in Primary School).

On Sunday we celebrate you all. May your day be filled with love, peace and reflection on the great things you have done for all of us.

Here is a hint to all those Fathers and partners....*as subtle as a sledgehammer* .... May it also be filled with partners and children completing all of the household chores and handmade cards.

Thank you to all of those parents, grandparents and special friends who made it in to the Mother's Day Breakfast on Wednesday. It was wonderful to see you all and meet more of you.

I greatly appreciate the help of Mitchell Hope, Warren Furphy, Sandy Hodgens & Todd Clark for collection of goods and cooking up a storm and of course the Year 5/6 class for their BBQ set up.

This week at St Mary of the Angels students have been focusing on the pillar of;

I am cared for and I care for others and our world.

At student briefing we discussed the need for ourselves to feel cared for and for us to reciprocate that care for others and our planet. That as stewards of the earth it is everyone's responsibilty to do their part in caring for our world.

This week we have commenced the Golden Gnome Award, where students and teachers can nominate each other for completing acts of stewardship for our environment.

For example: switching off the lights, closing doors when heaters are on, having their lunch boxes with zero single use plastic etc.. Once those nominations are in at an assembly we draw a nominee from our box and they are awarded the Golden Gnome for their classroom and receive a small sustainability prize.

You may ask why is is called a Golden Gnome Award? It is a concept that was created at my old school by my brilliant REC Mrs. Julie Cotter; her words are penned below:

"So why is this sustainability award named after gnomes?

Folklore and Fairy Tales of long ago present gnomes as small bearded

men who lived underground.

Originally, gnomes were thought to provide protection, especially to buried treasure and minerals in the ground. They are still used today to watch over crops and livestock, often tucked into the rafters of a barn or placed in the garden.

So today more and more we are asked to care for our earth

and do as the gnomes of the stories of long ago did

and watch over and protect both things under the ground

and above.

Pope Francis has written a letter addressed to every

person on this planet, asking us all to protect our

common home, the earth.

In his encyclical, Laudato Si', Pope Francis speaks

openly about the devastating effects of the ecological

crisis has on people and the planet.

This award reminds us of our calling to be stewards

and caretakers of our environment. We are asked to live in

a sustainable way to ensure future generations of people,

animals and plants can live and thrive on earth.

Please keep caring for our school and looking for

others to nominate so we can celebrate stewardship

at St Mary of the Angels."

Good Luck to all Diocesan Cross Country Students on Friday! May you try your hardest and enjoy the day, you are blessed to have these opportunities, where you can complete against other students from schools across Diocese and build memories as you do so.

The P&F and School Advisory Council meetings will be held on Wednesday the 18th of May. We ask for any agenda items to please be emailed to the school email guyadmin@arm.catholic.edu.au by Tuesday the 10th of May.

St Mary of the Angels Scoop

Strive Ever Higher

St Mary of the Angels copy · 05 May 2022

In this issue