Junior School News 

• From the Head of the Junior School 
• From the Junior Resource Centre

From the Head of the Junior School

PRAYER

THE MASK

Holy God, you see me and you hear me.

Through my mask, you see if I smile or if I scowl.

Through my mask, you hear me if I whisper a brief prayer or mutter a muffled curse.

My friends don’t see or hear or know; nor do my family; nor my colleagues.

But you do.

This mask takes away power – the power of clear communication 

but also the possibility to infect. But it also grants a freedom to be with.

My smiles, my thoughts, my mumbles, though – 

these I know, but they are a greater mystery to others now.

But not to you, Lord. You see past my mask, you hear through it, you know.

But your mask, Lord, what about your mask? 

Who can see through your mask? Hear through it?

I cannot.

I cannot see if you smile or if you scowl.

I cannot hear if you whisper an answer to my prayer or brush off my curse.

I cannot sense if you are pleased with me or if you are waiting for me to do much better.

Can we all take off our masks, Lord? Put them away?

When the disease that moves us to mask our faces for safety fades away, will our eyes and our ears be stronger, better able to see and to hear the smiles and the frowns, the cries and the whispers of those who fill our lives? Who make our lives worth living?

Will we see, Lord, that what we think of as your mask is really also our own, our inability to find you in the rush of our lives, our failure to see you in all the wonders you show us, our incapacity to hear your gentle voice in the tumult that surrounds us.

Can we know, Lord, that we put on many masks so we can cope, avoid, pretend, be acceptable? (What scar did the Phantom’s mask hide? “Who was that masked man?”)

Help us, Lord, to move beyond our masks. You are here for us to see and to hear. Help us. Let us take off our masks.

 - By Fr. Edward Schmidt S.J.

Last Friday Mr Ure’s class, 6 Gold, presented the prayer for Assembly. Congratulations to all the boys on their efforts so far.  We can’t recognise everybody every week but it is important that the boys take pride in their efforts and a conversation with your son and positive affirmations at home would be very much appreciated.  Similarly it is also important to encourage your son to get outside and play or exercise.  As announced today, lockdown will continue for four more weeks to Saturday 28 August, so it is important that we achieve a balance between work/screen time and exercise.  Your son’s wellbeing should be top priority so if you have any concerns please email their teacher.  Take care.

CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR MERIT AWARD WINNERS.

Ethan Hartley, Graham Halgreen, Sean Cleary, Isaac Sharpe, Liam Spatola, Kamran Nadeem, Lachlan Monico, Francesco Mazzaferro, Daniel Down, Leo Hecimovic, Jake Kiem, Thomas Rochford, Joshua Perry, Oscar Byrne, Callum Basili, Matthew Castorina, Ben Fieldus, Tobias Wilson, Anton Castorina, Jared Fernandes, Simon Ellis, Emilio Circosta, James Borg, Oliver P, Toby Wilson, Alex Burke and Samuel Koudsy.

Well done Gents!

AUTHOR TALK - Today

We were very pleased to have had an online author talk with Oliver Phommavanh today for both Years 5 and 6.  Thanks Mrs Martin.

A THOUGHT TO PONDER

Thanking you for your support.

Mr Tim Long - Head of the Junior School 

From the Junior Resource Centre

"Happee Birthdae Harry”

Friday 31 July is Harry Potter’s birthday, the wizard born from the pen of J. K. Rowling. The writer has indicated the precise date of birth: July 31 (moreover the same day on which she was born) 1980. In order to celebrate, I encourage you all to read or re-read the Harry Potter series. When the first book of the saga, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, came out in 1997, JK Rowling certainly could not even have imagined that she had just created a worldwide phenomenon. The seven books and eight films dedicated to the wizard have excited more than one generation. 

NSW Premier’s Reading Challenge.

Great news! PRC deadlines have been extended another 2 weeks due to restrictions of students not having the same access as when attending school. 

(Was 20-8-2021, now 3-9-2021).

https://online.det.nsw.edu.au/prc/home.html

Virtual Author talk with Oliver Phommavanh

We had a successful virtual Author visit today: the amazing Oliver Phommavanh. He was interesting, fun and very engaging with our students online. He shared with us his brainstorming ideas to help inspire our young writers. We had 226 attendees - students and teachers engaging online! Woo hoo! 

Oliver is one of our favourite authors. Year 5 read his book Thai-riffic in Term 2. What better way to celebrate with a review of his latest book Brain Freeze?

I love middle-grade short stories. This compilation was everything and more!

The characters were fun and genuine. I loved the fact that you didn’t need a whole lot of backstory, as their actions spoke for themselves! The twelve stories were so perfectly written, they were short, they were sweet, they were everything! The stories packed a big emotional punch, punctuated by his trademark humour.

If you would like to purchase a signed book by Oliver Phommavanh please see the attached form for more information.

Mrs Martin’s Book Trail: The Unexplainable Disappearance of Mars Patel by Sheela Chari.

Based on the serialized mystery podcast of the same name, this novel follows the adventures of 11-year-old Manu “Mars” Patel and his buddies as they attempt to find Aurora Gershowitz and Jonas Hopkins, two of their missing friends. Well worth a read or better still, during lockdown listen to the podcast. Excellent for 8–12-year-old.

   Mrs Elena Martin – Teacher Librarian