Dear Parents and Families,

A very warm welcome back to Term 4 at St Mary’s. We are looking forward to seeing everyone back at school very soon.

Mission Week
Mission Week is in Week 5 this term and will be held on a class by class basis. Each class will decide on different activities that can be held in order to raise funds for the country of Thailand.

Caritas shares the mission of the Catholic Church to serve the poor and to promote charity and justice throughout the world. Caritas seeks a world where the voices of the poor are heard and acted upon.

Some of the activities that will be held at school are “Sockball”, where the children make a soccer ball out of old socks or any old materials (this is what the children in Thailand use for a soccer ball) that they can find at home and play a competitive soccer game at school. Other activities may include a competition making puppets out of old socks or making an imovie. All these activities will incur an entry fee. The class teachers will send details home before Week 5.

“Aspire not to do more but to be more.” Oscar Romero

Religion in Stage 1
October is the Month of the Rosary, and this term Years 1 and 2 are learning about the different decades of the Rosary and its importance when praying. The students will make their own Rosary beads and engage in other learning activities on their return to school.

First Eucharist Retreat
All students in Year 4 will participate in their Eucharist retreat day on Friday 12
November in the PAC. They will engage in a variety of activities in relation to the Sacrament of the Eucharist. The students who are making their First Eucharist will celebrate this Sacrament on Sunday 14 November at the 10am Mass.

Christmas Shoebox Appeal
Later this term we hope to contribute to the Christmas Shoebox Appeal for children in Third World countries who never receive a Christmas Gift. If you are able to help with this, simple gifts will be greatly appreciated (eg from the Reject Shop). Families might like to begin collecting small gifts soon.

St Vincent de Paul Appeal
At the end of the year St Vincent de Paul ask us to assist them with their Christmas Appeal by donating food items such as Christmas biscuits, drinks, lollies and other suitable items. If each child could bring one or two items to school before the end of the term that would be wonderful. Thank you.

Our Prayers
We pray especially for the Ivanoff Family as Natalie’s mother died very suddenly during the holidays (Bella-Rose in Year 5). Our prayers also go to the Price Family (Jake Year 4, Felicity year 3 and Matilda in Year 1) as Luke’s grandmother died in Canberra Hospital this week.

We send our deepest sympathy and special prayers to these families.

Heavenly Father, we praise you for sending us your son Jesus, that in
him we have freedom, forgiveness and eternal life. As the coronavirus
continues to spread throughout our world, we pray you will be at
work everywhere, particularly in those locations hit hardest. In this
difficult time we pray that people all over the world will hear the
news of Jesus, and come to a saving faith in him.

Have a safe and happy week.

In all things may God be glorified