Catholic Identity

Creator God, we follow in the footsteps of Jesus, as we walk together on your path of love, hope and faith.

Thank you for the gifts of our school, 

our environment, our families and friends.

May our school be a place of learning, care, welcome and celebration.

Mary our Mother, pray for us.

St Mary of the Cross, pray for us. 

Amen

This year’s theme for C.E.Sandhurst schools is

“Let the words you speak always be full of grace.”

As we continue to spread the Good News, we are called to be people of dialogue, 

using our words as instruments of love.

We will encourage those in our care to speak kindly to one another in the classroom, the playground, on the bus, in the car and at home.

Easter commemorates the joyful celebration of Christ’s resurrection and continues for the fifty days from Easter Sunday to Pentecost. During this season, and every season of the Church’s year, prayer can nurture our relationship in faith with God and one another. Prayer Life is integral to the life of all ourcommunities in Sandhurst Catholic Education and also has the potential to nourish our spiritual growth.It provides the context and the resources for us to celebrate our lives and identities asmembers of our Catholic school community. Prayer life and liturgy create a sense of purpose and identity reflecting the uniqueness our communities whilst formulating an understanding of our shared humanity. It links us with the Church throughout the world and call us to share the good news      

                                                   Lent and Easter Prayer Services

In term one, the Gr F/ 1/2's Prayer Service was on Palm Sunday, the Sunday before Easter. Christ's entry into Jerusalem is celebrated in many Christian churches by processions in which branches of palms are carried. The Gr 3/4 prayer service was combined with Holy Thursday, in which the central observance of Holy Thursday is the ritual re-enactment of the Last Supper at Mass. Here are the F/ 1/ 2 students in action:

The Gr 3 /4 students led the Prayer Service on Good Friday - the day before Easter Sunday. This day the Crucifixion of Christ is commemorated in the Christian Church, and it is traditionally a day of fasting and penance.

On Monday, Gr 5/ 6 AB led the last of the Prayer Services at St Mary’s. This particular time in the church’s calendar, of Lent and Easter, to remember and celebrate the Life, Death and Resurrection of Jesus - the Paschal Mystery. Gr 5/ 6 students read well and performed a liturgical dance celebrating the resurrection of Jesus and how he overcame death by rising from the dead on Easter Sunday.

                                                          Project Compassion

Thank you to everyone who donated money for the various fundraisers held in our school community for Caritas over the last few months. We had three fundraisers during March and April. There was the PJ day led by Gr 5 /6 AB, a come dressed in costume starting with P for Project Compassion led by Gr 3/4 BS and the F/ 1 / 2 TP holding a cupcake and fruit juice stall on the day of the Cross Country. 

With your generosity and encouragement, we raised $303, which will go to Caritas Australia, which helps people in need here in Australia and overseas in countries like Nepal, Vietnam and Zimbabwe.

As a staff, we were amazed at the effort and detail put into the students' costumes, and we thank you again for all your efforts to raise this much-needed money for others in our World. The students looked beautiful and enjoyed the day dressed up.

Easter

We now have white clothes on the prayer tables for all of April and May, symbolising purity, holiness, virtue, respect and reverence in this most special time after Easter Sunday, when Jesus has now risen from the dead, is alive and in Heaven.

Draw Us Forth

Draw us forth, God of all creation.

Draw us forward and away from limited certainty       

into the immense world of your love.

Give us the capacity to even for a moment 

taste the richness of the feast you give us.

Give us the peace to live with the uncertainty 

with questions,

with doubts. 

Help us to experience the resurrection anew 

with open wonder and an increasing ability

to see you in the people of Easter.

• Author Unknown