Our Catholic Community
200 Years of Catholic Education - Faith in the Future
Next week, May 24-28, Catholic schools around Australia will be celebrating 200 years of Catholic Education. St Philomena's will celebrate this Friday with a K-10 Mass at 10am in the Hall, then students will participate in Historical Games between recess and lunch.
Mini Vinnies - Update
Students in Stages 2, 3, 4 and 5 are invited to take part in some exciting Mini Vinnies Initiatives. These initiatives are designed so the students can have an opportunity to live our Catholic Principles and Values as Stewards of Gods Creation and reaching out to others through the Common Good, with a Preferential Option for the Poor.
The Crochet Crew meets in the MacKillop Room during lunchtime on Wednesdays and Thursdays to crochet granny squares. These granny squares will be joined together, making unique and cosy rugs which we will donate to Vinnies for their winter appeal. No crochet experience is necessary and all material will be supplied. Crochet Crew is ideal for students in Stage 2 and above.
The Green Team have a focus on caring for our immediate environment. Green Team meet during lunch time, every Tuesday, and focus our energy and attention on one area of the school grounds, removing rubbish which may have blown into the garden beds. The Green Team is made up of students in Stage 2.
This fortnights focus was the garden beds on the K-1 playground and the gardens in front of the art and music buildings. What a FANTASTIC commitment to our environment these Green Teamers are making!
Waste Warriors was a response to the amount of rubbish we generate as a school. Most of this rubbish ends up in general landfill and a quick lunchtime audit identified that we could be recycling up to 95% of our waste! How exciting!!
An impassioned bunch of Stage 3 students are working together to make sure that our rubbish is sorted correctly and sent to be recycled.
Our aim is to have scrunchy, or soft, plastic collected and recycled - this is called RedCycle and you can recycle this at home by returning scrunchy plastics to Coles or Woolies. We will take the 10c recyclable bottles, cans and containers and donate the money to Vinnies and hard plastics and paper will be recycled as well. Green waste will be sent to the Waste Management Facility for composting. Living as Stewards of Creation will help to ensure our environment thrives. The Green Team will have planning meetings during lunchtime on Monday and will follow a roster for the week.
Enrolment for Sacrament of Confirmation
The Sacrament of Confirmation will go ahead with Bishop Kennedy at a special Mass for all eligible students in Year 5 and 6 on Sunday 6th June at 11:00am.
PLEASE contact the Parish if you have not yet nominated your child for Confirmation.
Sacramental Programs for 2021
Please note the following dates which have been identified for the Parish Sacramental Programs for 2021.
Sacrament of First Reconciliation: Thursday 9 September 2021 at 6pm
First Reconciliation is for all eligible students in Year 2 and above.
Sacrament of First Holy Communion: Sunday 7 November at 11:30am
First Holy Communion is for all eligible students in Year 3 and above.
Sacrament of Confirmation: Sunday 6 June at 11:00am
Confirmation is for all eligible students in Year 5 and 6.
Please contact St Francis Xavier Parish Centre on 6752 2886 for any additional information.
Priest Visits
This week Fr Tuan visited students in Year 3 and answered many questions the students had about the resurrection and Easter.
Fr Tuan called his nephew via video. He lives in Vietnam. Year 3 were very excited to talk to another student, who is the same age as them, but living in another country. They were a little surprised to hear that he rides his bike to Mass by himself every morning, sometimes riding in the dark to get there on time!
St Francis Xavier Parish church bulletin
Click here for a link to the latest Parish church bulletin.