OUR FAITH

PRAYER

Lord Jesus, I give you my hands to do your work. I give you my feet to go your way. I give you my eyes to see as you do. I give you my tongue to speak your words. I give you my mind that you may think in me. I give you my spirit that you may pray in me. Above all, I give you my heart that you may love in me your Father and all mankind. I give you my whole self that you may grow in me, so that it is you, Lord Jesus, who live and work and pray in me. Amen                   

We pray ...

We pray for... our school community, especially our new Kindergarten students and those students and families who are new to our school; for all those who have completed their schooling and are now beginning a new chapter in their adult life; all those who have lost loved ones especially the Elliott family (Mrs Emma Elliott and Pip KW) on the passing of their grandfather and for desperately needed rain.

Welcome

Welcome to the 2019 School year! We warmly welcome all of our new families and hope you will enjoy your time in our St Nicholas school and parish community.

Opening School Mass Yrs 1 - 6

Our School Mass for the year will be held tomorrow Friday 8th February (Week 2) at St Nicholas School Undercroft beginning at 9.30am. Our new School Captains and Colour House Captains will be formally commissioned at this Mass. All parents, grandparents and friends are welcome to join us for this Mass. Our new Kindergarten children will not be attending this Mass and will instead enjoy a calm and quiet morning with their teachers.  ALL STUDENTS IN YEARS 1 TO 6 WILL NEED TO WEAR THEIR FULL SUMMER UNIFORM.

Family Masses

Our Family Masses have become an important part of our School culture over the past few years and these are usually held on the first Sunday of every month of the school term. Therefore our first Family Masses for this term will be held on Sunday 3rd March (with Kindergarten and Yr 6 hosting) and Sunday 7th April (with Yr 1 and Yr 5 hosting) at St Nicholas Church at 9.30a.m. These Masses are an opportunity for our School community to come together with our Parish Community to celebrate the Liturgy of the Word and to share a ‘cuppa ‘and morning tea after the Mass. Each grade will be allocated a Mass throughout the year where the families in that grade will be responsible for different parts of the liturgy and providing morning tea.

Pastoral Care

As a School Community we often include the needs, sorrows and joys of our families in our prayers. This is done through class prayer, whole school prayer on assemblies and intentions mentioned in our weekly newsletters. If you experience the loss of a loved one, the anxiety of someone suffering ill-health or the joy of a new addition to your family, please let us know here at school so efforts can be made to include these intentions in our prayers.

Our Pastoral Care is vital in our commitment to show care, support and compassion for those families or individuals who may be experiencing difficulty or suffering through grief, loss or other personal issues. Simple support from others such as the cooking of meals, babysitting children and other chores such as ironing and shopping are some practical ways the load can be lightened. If you or your family are in need in any way throughout the year and would like support, please do not hesitate to contact Mrs Dunst or Mrs McSweeney.

SACRAMENTS FOR 2019

This year our Year 3 and Year 6 students will be involved in Sacramental Programs for Reconciliation, First Eucharist and Confirmation respectively. These are important events in the life of our students, School and Parish and we look forward to sharing these occasions with our children. For new students enrolling at St Nicholas in 2019, if there is a Sacrament that they have missed receiving please contact Mrs Dunst as soon as possible.

First Reconciliation (Year 3 students) - Wednesday 19th June 2019

First Eucharist (Year 3 students) - Weekend of 22nd/23rd June 2019

Confirmation (Year 6 students) - Weekend of 21st/22nd September 2019

School Age Baptism

This year Fr Chris is offering School Age Baptisms (children from Kindergarten: 5yrs old – Year 6: 11yrs old). There is a baptism Information and Preparation Session which parents (without exception) will need to attend on Wednesday 13th March at 6pm at the Parish Meeting Room. You will need to make contact with Fr Chris asap and express your interest (presbytery phone number is 67662228). 

Children's Liturgy Group Members Needed

The St Nicholas Parish Children's Liturgy Group is looking for new members.  The Children's Liturgy Group is responsible for taking some of the younger members of our parish to the Meeting Room at the back of the church during the first part of the Mass. Becoming a member would involve the commitment to attend and either facilitate or assist at the children's liturgy on 2-3 occasions each term. The Children's Liturgy session itself only takes around 20 minutes and there is a set format that is followed each time with set prayers, a reading and some activities, so there is no need to put in lots of prior preparation. If this is something you are interested in volunteering to do or would like to know more please contact Steph Hetherington on 0439 498 402 or email steph@hethos.org