Faith News

Faith News

Important Dates

Thursday, March 16th- First Reconciliation workshop and sacramental liturgy for Year Three students during the school day.

Friday, March 17th- Catholic Education Week Mass at St Patrick’s Cathedral for the St Brendan’s School Captains and Vice Captains. 

 Thursday, March 30th- Approaching Holy Week Mass to be led by the Year Five and Six students and teachers at 11:30 am in the church. All are welcome. 

First Reconciliation

The Sacrament of First Reconciliation will take place on Thursday, March 16th at 11:30 am at St Brendan’s Church. Thank you to the families who responded to the recent Operoo notification regarding student enrolments for this sacrament by the due date last week. First Reconciliation preparation will take place in the classroom program for students at St Brendan’s. 

Although First Reconciliation, a sacrament of healing, is essential for examining one’s conscience, it is, in comparison to First Eucharist and Confirmation, a more reverent and reflective occasion. First Reconciliation has therefore been celebrated in recent years during the school day at St Brendan’s, by only Fr Shymon, a visiting priest, the students receiving that sacrament and their classroom teachers supporting them during an otherwise usual school day. 

Students will attend a special workshop morning on March 16th, prior to receiving the sacrament that day, ensuring they are prepared and confident in approaching the sacrament. If you wish for your child in Year Three or older to receive the Sacrament of First Reconciliation and their name doesn't appear in the list below, please contact me as soon as possible. Please also keep the following students in your prayers as they prepare to receive the healing Sacrament of First Reconciliation:

Mini Vinnies Representatives: Social Justice Action Team- SJAT 2023

Congratulations to Catherine Bryant, Georgia Evans, Chace Goss & Kaity Trotter who were elected by their SJAT peers to represent St Brendan’s School on the Westernport Parish Schools social justice action projects team for 2023. These students will be presented with their badges at the assembly in Week 9, Monday, March 20th at 2:30 pm. 

Have you started your Easter shopping yet? 

For those looking to enjoy a slavery-free Easter, here is some important information out together by Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools:  

The Sweet and often Bitter truth about Easter Chocolate 

One indisputable truth. Chocolate is delicious. We know this because at Easter Australians spend millions of dollars buying hundreds of kilograms of chocolate to eat and give away. Another indisputable truth is that the cost of some chocolate is a child’s education, and sometimes his or her freedom. That’s because much of our chocolate is made using cocoa beans harvested by children, often in the West African region. So, as we move into Lent here’s a snapshot of chocolate

Chocolate tastes great. Slavery-free chocolate tastes even better. Purchase and eat slavery-free chocolate and be assured it has not been produced using the forced labour of children. Slavery-free chocolate is chocolate that is certified. Look for chocolate with one of these three logos on it – Fairtrade, Rainforest Alliance or UTZ Certified:

Fast Facts

• Australians will purchase over $200 million in chocolate this Easter. This figure comes from a 2018 report by IBISWorld which said Australia’s chocolate spend had risen by $26 million over the past five years (up to 2018).
• Much of this chocolate is produced using cocoa beans that are NOT certified slavery-free.
• Almost half of all 152 million children victims of child labour are aged 5-11 years, according to a 2017 report by the International Labour Organisation*. And a great many of these children are in the cocoa industry, picking the cocoa beans used to produce chocolate.
• It’s a fair bet that these children will not get to eat any chocolate at Easter.
• The Australian Modern Slavery Act (2018) requires that large companies report about their work to address the risk of slavery in their supply chains. This is a great start, but let’s not leave it to the big companies; we can all now ask for slavery-free goods.

https://resource-macs.com/2020/03/18/make-your-easter-slavery-free/

Caritas Project Compassion

Caritas Australia is a Catholic aid organisation, working to engage communities to advocate and act for equality and justice for all. The Caritas Project Compassion Campaign aligns perfectly with our teaching of the Catholic Social Teaching Principles and is supported by Catholic schools and churches nationally and internationally. Teachers will be using the Caritas appeal and its vast range of associated teaching and learning resources to promote the appeal and engage our students in the act of almsgiving during Lent. Almsgiving is a practice observed in the Catholic faith which involves giving to others, especially those in need. Please follow this link to donate and for more information about the 2021 Caritas Project Compassion Lenten Appeal.

World Youth Day

For more than 30 years, World Youth Day has been an opportunity for the young people of the world to go on pilgrimage. World Youth Day will take place in Lisbon, Portugal in 2023 and is open to participants between the ages of 16 and 35. More information can be found here.

Catholic Care

Many families continue to face challenges throughout these changeable and worrying times. Should families or individuals require support beyond that which can be offered within our St Brendan’s community, Catholic Care may be able to assist with financial and social services. For further information about the services offered by Catholic Care, please visit: https://www.ccam.org.au/

Catholic Baptism

For families with children who have not received the Sacrament of Catholic Baptism and are considering this sacrament for their child/ren, please contact the Western Port Parish Centre on (03) 5979 4374. Should you make Baptism arrangements with the Parish, please inform me so that this special milestone for your child can be acknowledged within the school community. Please also forward a copy of your child’s Baptism Certificate to the school so that this can be reflected in the school records.

Christian Initiation for Adults: RCIA

Have you ever considered becoming a Catholic or continuing the Catholic sacramental journey which you commenced as a child or younger adult? 

Adults who wish to begin or continue their faith journey through the reception of the Catholic sacraments are also invited to contact the Western Port Parish Centre on (03) 5979 4374.

Western Port Parish News

Please follow this link to the Western Port Parish web page, and to find out more about parish happenings.

Access to Australian Catholics Online Magazine

Families, please remember that you have FREE access to the Australian Catholics online resource. To access this fabulous resource, please click here  and use the following login details to gain access:

Email: parents@sbsomerville.catholic.edu.au 

Password: parents1

Enjoy these exciting first weeks of the new school year.

Yours in faith & harmony.

Emma Chapple

-Religious Education Leader

-Performing Arts Classroom Specialist Teacher

echapple@sbsomerville.catholic.edu.au