Dear Father of all,

Help us to see the world through your eyes, without dividing lines,

To see just land and water, mountains, trees and skies.

Help us to lay aside our class and skin, our background and race,

To know our shared humanity, to see a brother or sister in every face.

Help us to wear forgiveness, to lay down our pride and pain,

To seek first to understand, Lord may peace and reconciliation reign.

Help us to feel your compassion so we can freely forgive.

May we weave new threads of grace and cause seeds of hope to live.

Help us to play our own small part, with acts of kindness and of care.

May we arise as your children and seek out what is just and fair.

Cause us to make new bonds of trust with neighbours near and far,

And so to fashion a world where peace comes to Earth in this hour.

Amen

Dear Parents and Carers,

Regardless of how much attention you might give the Olympic and Paralympic Games, there can be no denying the good that international events like these accomplish by bringing people together from diverse nations and cultures. Countries that are in conflict with one another back home lay that aside in peaceful competition, reminding us of our common humanity. The hopes contained in the prayer above seem achievable when we experience an event like the Olympics.

As Christians, we can learn a lot from this mindset. After all, we believe each person is made in the image of God. The Olympics are a good reminder that we should acknowledge God’s love for every human and that the competitors should be valued for who they are as individuals rather than whatever nation they might be representing.

Last Friday we were able to give the children a little taste of what the athletes are experiencing with our Olympathon. I would like to sincerely thank the P & F for this initiative, and their planning and organisation that ensured its success. It was a wonderful community event that brought together students, staff and families in a spirit of peace and joy. 

Annual Parish Celebration

Our parish has once again organised their Annual Parish Celebration to be held on Sunday 25 August. It will commence with Mass at 10.00am in the Church (this year it will not be held under the COLA due to the building works. Following Mass, food stalls will be set up in the Parish carpark, along with entertainment in the Parish Hall. 

Paul Moroney
Principal

STUDENT DISMISSAL

Just a reminder that student pickup is scheduled between 3:00pm-3:30pm every school day. This term there have been several students brought to the office after 3:30pm. We understand that on rare occasions circumstances might prevent this from occurring. However, as a matter of courtesy we ask parents and carers to ensure children are picked up before 3:30pm. By doing this it ensures the students are not anxious about not being picked up and the office can close at the time it is supposed to.

If it is a challenge to pick up your children during the scheduled pick up time, after school care (ASPIRE) would be a viable option.

We appreciate your consideration of this for a safe and efficient dismissal process of all our students. Should you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact the school office.

TERM 3 CLASS CAPTAINS

Congratulations to the children below who have been selected as Class Captains for this term. We look forward to providing opportunities in which they can demonstrate their leadership skills in coming weeks.

Our Class Captains for Term 3 received their badge from Mr Moroney and recited the ‘Class Captain Pledge’ at Monday morning's assembly. We are confident that our student leaders will demonstrate our Good Samaritan values and ‘Walk in Peace and Joy.’

OLYMPATHON

On Friday, 2 August, the students were engaged in a range of wonderful experiences and achievements at our recent Olympathon Day. The event was a tremendous success, filled with energy, enthusiasm, and a remarkable display of athleticism by our students. Our Olympathon Day featured a variety of exciting activities that showcased the diverse talents of our students.

The Opening Ceremony kicked off the day. Each class paraded around the COLA area, promoting their nominated country and shared some fun facts. The cauldron was then lit and the games began- archery, javelin, standing broad jump, sprints, karate, gymnastics, soccer, footy toss, egg and spoon race to name just a few!

We are incredibly proud of the sportsmanship and determination demonstrated by our students. The Olympathon Day was about celebrating participation, effort and the joy of sports.

The success of Olympathon Day would not have been possible without the dedication and hard work of our P & F, staff, volunteers and most importantly, our enthusiastic students. We extend our heartfelt thanks to everyone who contributed to making this day so memorable. 

We also sincerely thank all the families for sponsoring the children as part of raising funds for the P & F and ultimately our school.

Thank you for your continued support. We look forward to more such events that bring our community together and celebrate the talents of our students.

FEAST OF ST MARY MACKILLOP

On Thursday, 8 August, we celebrate the feast day for St Mary MacKillop. She has certainly played a significant role in over 200 years of Catholic Education.

Thank you to the Year 3 students and teachers for organising a special liturgy for our school community at Monday morning’s assembly. They highlighted the wonderful model St Mary of the Cross is for us all. All the students did an excellent job participating in different parts of the liturgy.

Sculpture of St Mary MacKillop in Mary MacKillop Plaza, St Francis Xavier Cathedral, 

Adelaide, South Australia. Sculpture by Judith Rolevink, 2009. S10324

St Mary of the Cross MacKillop (1842–1909), our first Australian saint, had a passion to ensure that education was available to poor children right across the Australian countryside. She went to extraordinary means and endured many difficulties to pursue the calling and have her sisters travel to where the greatest need existed. She exhibited courage, trust, openness and raw faith in her deliberations and actions. 

On 15th August 1867, Sister Mary MacKillop took her first Vows as a Religious nun and the title “of the Cross” a call to a lifetime of courage and desire to serve Jesus in very practical ways. She faced many trials and tribulations setting up groups of sisters in and near Adelaide (including Penola), Sydney, Bathurst and Brisbane, travelling widely and writing volumes of letters of support and encouragement available to us today. Mary was canonised on the 17th October 2010 by Pope Benedict XVI. 

Please pause for a moment next Tuesday and offer your prayers to Australia’s first saint.

Whatever troubles may be before you, accept them bravely, remembering

 Whom you are trying to follow. 

Do not be afraid. 

Love one another, bear with one another, and let charity guide you all your life. 

God will reward you as only He can.

- St Mary of the Cross

Happy Birthday to the following students and staff who are celebrating their birthday this week and over the school holidays : 4th August - 10th August

The new book club is open, orders are due in by the 12th August 2024

One of our Year 6 students, Liliana, has a younger sister with a developmental disorder and receives support from Jeans for Genes. The date of this initiative coincided with our Olympathon Day, so Liliana has organised to run a jelly bean guessing competition for the children at school this week - $1 per guess. You may also wish to donate via the links in the flyer below.