Dear Families,

Our Lady Help of Christians Feast Day Liturgy

“Love your neighbour as yourself"

(Matthew 22:39, Mark 12:31, Luke 10:27)

We celebrated Our Lady Help of Christians Feast Day with a beautiful liturgy in the Community Centre on Tuesday. We learned about Mary’s influence on the Australian Church and how she was an inspiration for social justice causes at the time, which of course remains today. During the liturgy, our students were very reverent and it was delightful to hear many join in singing the hymns.

We also promoted our St Vincent de Paul Winter Appeal and I thank all of you who have contributed so far. Our support of this appeal is one way we can teach our children that our faith helps guide our actions. The Catholic Social Teaching principles of ‘Life and Dignity of the Human Person’ and ‘Preferential Option for the Poor’ become a living reality for our community when we engage and contribute to such efforts.

This short video helped explain to the students how their donations go to support some of those in our community that need it most. The collection will continue until the end of term.

Alex leading the way for OLHC to Support PSWA Victoria

Today we held a short assembly for our fundraiser for PWSA (Prader-Willi Syndrome Association) Victoria’s 15 for 15 Challenge.

After our Acknowledgement to Country, Alex (Yr 3/4A) shared a short slideshow about himself and PWS. He did a wonderful job inspiring all of us to learn more about PWS and contribute to the 15 for 15 Challenge.

We saw a fantastic display of orange from all the children and staff. Each class stood up to share their assortment of orange and everyone brought a $2 gold coin donation which will assist to support further research into PWS. We have shared a few images of the assembly below and I encourage all of you to consider contributing to PWSA Victoria. Money raised will assist the Department of Paediatrics at Monash University to develop a desperately needed state-wide, evidence-based model of care for children with Prader-Willi Syndrome.

Canteen Week

This week was Canteen Week! At assembly on Monday, two of our school leaders presented Denise with a Certificate of Appreciation along with some beautiful words about how kind, caring and popular Denise is with our students (and staff).

Sadly for our school community, Denise informed us all that she will be finishing up her role at the end of the term. This will allow her to extend her work and take on greater responsibility with the Edmund Rice Centre, Amberley, work for which she has a great passion. So whilst we will be sad to see her go, we are excited for her to have this opportunity. We will farewell Denise at an assembly at the end of the Term.

Italian Day

This is a reminder that we have our Italian Day coming up next Wednesday and we are looking forward to enjoying the sea of red, white and green as well as all the activities planned for the day. Please see the relevant sections of the newsletter for further details.

National Reconciliation Week

Yesterday was Sorry Day and today marks the start of National Reconciliation Week. Our FIRE Carriers attended a Sorry Day Ceremony at Alistair Knox park yesterday. Please read about their experience below / here.

Students who attended said they felt ‘enlightened’, ‘proud’ and ‘spiritual’.

This year National Reconciliation Australia challenges all Australians to Be Brave and Make Change, so that we can create a more just, equitable and reconciled Australia.

To find out how you can get involved: https://nrw.reconciliation.org.au/

Prayers for Uvalde, Texas victims and families

I know we are all shocked and horrified by the tragic events that unfolded at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. We are blessed to live in a relatively safe part of the world and we pray for all concerned. Please know that security and safety is the highest of priorities at our school.

Hopefully young children are not subjected to details, but with wide media coverage it may be that some are exposed to stories about the tragedy. If any in your household express concern or anxiousness and need support, please don’t hesitate to let your child’s teacher or a leadership team member know.

Timely resources to assist:

Mental Health UK - Talking to your children about scary world stories

ABC: Important things to remember about upsetting news

Australian Council on Children and Media Fact Sheet

Warm regards

Patrick Green

Please refer to our School google calendar for events throughout the year.

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