St Anne's College Newsletter (il giornale)

Catholic Identity

Take Time to Reflect and Contemplate

It is important during these times of crisis that we reflect and take some time to absorb what is going on around us. As a Catholic community we turn to our faith and to prayer to support us during this time of reflection and contemplation. We will be sharing some examples of prayer through the School of Wonder and School of Innovation so your children are able to continue to have access to prayer on a daily and weekly basis. 

 

Easter

Easter this year looked so different to what many of us are used to. Along with countless other Christians, many felt a huge sense of loss in not being able to partake in the Eucharist at this time. There has been great sadness in not being able to experience Holy Week and Easter as we have always done. Unable to physically attend Mass for special services around the significant days of Easter was a challenge for many. We were fortunate enough to be able to access some services via Zoom at our St Mel's Parish church,  but it all seemed so different to the norm. 

 

Contemplation and reflection during this sacred time will give us sustenance, and it allows us to concentrate more deeply on how Jesus’ passion, death and resurrection shapes our faith and life. Easter Sunday is the oldest of the Church’s feast days and the resurrection of Jesus Christ is the pinnacle of the liturgical year. When we celebrate Easter Sunday, we are united by the hope that there is more to life than what we are now experiencing; the hope that we can, through the powerful event of Christ’s resurrection, positively impact our lives even in times of despair. It can bring light into the darkness. In this present time of hardship and sadness, it has been wonderful and heart fulfilling to see many moments of hope across the globe. So regardless of how Easter may have looked for you and your family this year, it's important not to forget that Christ is our hope and this is alive and well in the world today. 

 

CARITAS

This year the theme for CARITAS was 'Go Further, Together!' A big thank you to those families who were able to donate towards St Anne's College Project Compassion Campaign. Your generosity will work for the freedom of those living in poverty, challenge unjust structures, and empower people to work for a sustainable way of life. Due to the school holidays being brought forward and the impact that COVID-19 had on us having to cancel our fundraiser events, we were unable to raise as many funds as we'd hoped. If you would like to make a donation online via the Caritas website at lent.caritas.org.au before it closes on May 1st, you're more than welcome to. 

 

Setting up a space to pray within your home

Within our learning spaces we have multiple prayer spaces available for our students to engage with, and they are often a part of the process of setting up and maintaining these spaces. During this time of distance learning, it would be a wonderful idea to set up a prayer space that you can gather around to pray each week. You may choose to do this individually or together as a family. 

 

This doesn't have to be anything extraordinary, but this space may include items like:

* A candle

* A cross of some kind (you may like to make some out of twigs you find out in the garden)

* A Bible if you have one

* Items from nature (fallen leaves, flowers, gumnuts, pinecones etc.)

* A family photo or a photo of loved ones

* A cloth or scarf of some kind that you can sit everything on

 

We would love for you to share any photos of your home prayer tables with us over the coming weeks! Please share these with your Pastoral Group Leaders and we will share them in the next edition of il giornale. 

 

I would like to share with you this video of the story of Easter shown through the use of sand art. It is a beautiful depiction of the story that can be shared with people of all ages. Take care, stay connected and stay safe!

 

- Ebony Anderson, Catholic Identity Leader 

 

Easter Sand Animation Part IV - Resurrection, Ascension - Luke 24 - Sand Bible https://youtu.be/0ozgKxpgYh0

Vision Statements

At St Anne’s College we strive to:

  • Develop a relationship with God that supports and nurtures our personal faith.
  • Create relationships that are collaborative and in partnership with students, staff, parents, parish and the wider community.
  • Empower individuals to grow in confidence and a willingness to explore their world: spiritually, academically, socially, emotionally and physically.
  • Implement a curriculum that is contemporary, focuses on the needs of the individual and celebrates the joys of new learning.

Sandpiper

If you would like to read a copy of our diocesan newspaper please use the following link

https://www.sandhurst.catholic.org.au/sandpiper/latest/14?sfns=mo