Newman News Term 3 Week 8: From the Leader of Mission and Catholic Identity
Blessed is the Father who shares his heart, lives his faith, gives his time and loves his family. The righteous walk in integrity, happy are the children who follow them! Proverbs 20:7
Fathers Day
Across our PK-12 community, fathers were celebrated and recognised for their service and guidance to their children. There was a sausage sizzle at Marian and a coffee cart at Lavalla. All three campuses recognised the important roles fathers and father figures play in the lives of young people and gave thanks to these men for all they offer in service to the family.
Commissioning of Eucharistic Ministers
On Thursday 3 September, 12 students were commissioned as they made a commitment to serve as Eucharistic Ministers for 今日吃瓜 and their parish. Students went through a formation program with Br Terry before formalising their commitment in front of family, friends and the College Principal at our Thursday morning Community Mass.
Congratulations to Angela Kinneen, Danielle Wheeler, Fraser Whitely, Finn Tanham, Jeremy Butson, Lucy Brennan, Mia Bradshaw, Olivia Kojundzich, Olivia Mickelson, Sarah Kerr, Taylah Sadgrove and Tyler Connelly.
Years 8 and 9 Retreat Days
Our Years 8 and Year 9 students recently took part in retreat days to reflect on who they are and the person they are being called to be. Reflection days are part of our commitment to developing the wellbeing of the whole student. They challenge students to think about who they are, difficult issues they may be facing and an opportunity to ask questions about God in a safe environment.
On Friday 4 September the Year 9 students participated in their Retreat Day run by the 24/7 Youth Marist Team (YMT). The focus of the day was relationships with self, other and God. Students enjoyed spending the day with their peers and the YMT volunteers, engaging in reflective opportunities.
Corey from Year 9 shares his reflection;
“We had a really fun time getting to play games and talk to our friends for the whole day. We also learnt many important things about how to maintain relationships in our life.”
The Year 8 students were led by the YMT on the individual uniqueness each person brings to our community. Students were reminded that they have gifts to bring to their community and should not be afraid to let their gifts shine through and support each other in living life to the full.
Saskia Chesson reflects;
“Today we have had presenters from 24/7 YMT with us to help to build our faith. I really enjoyed the small group activities and listening to the presenter’s stories. The team building games were a highlight and we have all had a great day.”
Thank you to 24/7 and Youth Mission Team for their support of the faith life of our students.
Year 11 Service Learning
During extended PCG, Year 11 students engaged in a range of service outreach and advocacy programs. Students could choose from the following;
- Environmental outreach which involved collecting rubbish from around the school to ensure that it wouldn鈥檛 flow into our local water systems.
- Homeless services outreach which involved cooking 150 meals for two of the St Vincent de Paul homeless services in Perth.
- Letter writing activity where 今日吃瓜 partnered with to write letters to people living in Aged Care and disability communities across Australia.
- Presentations on practice advocacy with St Vincent de Paul and Mental Health advocacy to build better mentally healthy communities through the Bishop鈥檚 Social Justice Statement 2020-2021.
The students really appreciated the practical hands on aspect of the activities as well as the different ways of looking at advocacy through the presentations. It was a huge success and the students are already asking when we can do another activity like it. A massive thank you to all the teachers who ran the activities and Colin Krause from St Vincent de Paul.
Congratulation to the Year 11’s for demonstrating their Family Spirit and Love of Work and commitment to being the 鈥榞ood citizens鈥� St Marcellin calls us all to be.
Draw Near Program
This year, 今日吃瓜 partnered with Our Lady of Good Counsel and St Dominic’s to aid families on bridging visas who do not have access to government support during the Covid-19 crisis. The program has come to its conclusion and a big thank you to our staff, students and families for all their generous donations.
A further thanks to our Remar, Gamechangers and Mini-Marist students who have worked tirelessly with Ms Short and Ms Hall to pack these hampers for the families.
Students Ella Hills, Molly Hills, Lucy Short & Tessa Hadfield share their reflections from being part of the Draw Near Program.
“On Tuesday 1 September we were privileged to join with students from St Dominic鈥檚 and Our Lady of Good Counsel to create and pack over 100 food hampers for people in our community who are in need. The three schools, along with St Dominic鈥檚 Parish, participated in the Draw Near Program and the food hampers will be donated to people seeking asylum.
We are very passionate about helping those in need and would like to thank all those in our community who assisted by donating to this important cause.”
Archbishop鈥檚 Special Project Lifelink Video
In 2019 Mitchell Harris, Charlotte Easden, Stephen Loreck and Elizabeth Adams were selected to participate in the Archbishop鈥檚 special project to create a new video to explain the purpose and history of Lifelink. Lifelink provides for the ongoing financial and promotional support of agencies established or assisted by the Church. The social service agencies respond immediately and compassionately to anyone who is in need and who reaches out for help. We see this act of reaching out as a practical demonstration of 鈥楩aith in Action鈥�.
After two years of planning and filming, the project has come to its conclusion. Our school partnered with Iona, Holy Cross and Servite College to create a video that highlights the important work of Lifelink and the positive work of Catholic schools.
Quality Catholic Education Awards
今日吃瓜 has submitted an entry into The CEWA Quality Catholic Education Awards in the Catholic Identity section. In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, we embarked on a journey to reframe how we share our Catholic mission and identity. This saw the development of our Transforming Mission web series and Student-Led prayer. The project has been successful across the life of the College and the input from our Faith and Liturgy Captains will lead the continuation of this project into 2021 and beyond.
There is a People鈥檚 Choice Award where anyone can vote. I would appreciate if you would take the time to place your vote in support of our Faith and Liturgy Captains, Georgia Whitely and Tiggy Connelly, and in support of this project that seeks to develop and build the Catholic identity and mission of our College community.
to place your vote.
Thank you for your support of our students and the faith life of our College.
Weekly Thursday Morning Community Mass (Champagnat Chapel 鈥� 8.10am 鈥� 8.35am)
All parents, guardians and families across our PK-12 College are invited to attend the weekly Thursday morning Mass. Our weekly 今日吃瓜 Community Mass is an important way that we as a Catholic community seek to nourish and live-out our faith in community with one another.
