Faith Matters

Dear St Francis Xavier Families,

This week we celebrated the Feast of Mary's Assumption.  The Year 3 - 6 students attended the 9:15am parish mass and represented our school admirably. Several parishioners approached me after the service to indicate how lovely it was to see the children in church again.  Our Junior school students also celebrated Mary with a special prayer service in the afternoon.

The Legion of Mary group presented our students with rosary beads, and a miraculous medal both which had been blessed by Fr Jude.  They have also given us a pamphlet on how to pray the Rosary which we have sent home.  We encourage our children to embrace and appreciate a variety of prayer forms ranging from our traditional Catholic prayers to those which include song and meditation.

HOW BIG IS YOUR HEART PROJECT

We have been thrilled with your response to the How Big is Your Heart Project organised by our Year 5/6s.  The students were involved in an initiative in support of St Joseph's School in Woodburn. The school suffered major devastation as a result of the recent floods.  Our Year 5/6s worked in teams to promote this cause throughout the school and thanks to your generosity raised $438 which was more than double what we anticipated. Four of our students, Andrew, Tomo, Liam and Hayley will represent SFX on Friday as they make their way to St Macartan's in Mornington to share the process and experience with other local Catholic schools. In addition to the organisational and creative skills our 5/6s have utilised when facilitating this project it has been another wonderful opportunity to reinforce our awareness and compassion with regard to looking after others and not expecting anything in return.

STAFF FAITH FORMATION DAY

On Tuesday, the staff shared a most appreciated opportunity to reflect on our own faith journeys and contemplate the impact of God in our lives.  We were led by a consultant who really challenged us to consider the 'God within ourselves' and examine how we personally reflect this, see it and live it in our daily lives. There were many beautiful moments of prayer, dialogue and reflection and we hope to adapt and utilise some of what we experienced with our students.

Yours in Faith,

Marion O'Brien

Education in Faith Leader