Last Sunday’s Gospel…

Jesus said, “I am the bread of life.” It is only through Him that we get what we really need. I think that in this seemingly dark time we are able to learn that. How much more do we appreciate that connection with loved ones – or miss it if we can’t have it. We take opportunities to be kind and look after each other gaining for ourselves the satisfaction and reward of doing so. These are the things that Jesus wants us to learn about. He wants us to separate what we really need and work for that rather than what we think we need. So we pray that He guides us and helps us use this time for some good amidst all the many challenges. We can’t do it without Him.

From the Principal...

Our very great loss of Fr Peter has dominated our thoughts and prayers over the last few days. I have made contact with the Bishop’s office and Fr Sean to see how we can be part of Fr Peter’s Requiem Mass if possible. We are also planning our own online prayer and will let you know about both these events. It feels particularly sad that we can’t all be together physically to say thank you and send him on his way together. The work and love he has given to this community for two generations at least is remarkable. He certainly brought Jesus to us all in a very real way. This is what Bishop Brian had to say in a follow up message through our staff diocesan newsletter…

Fr Peter had an unfailing commitment to Jesus Christ and his Church, and to his role as a priest, especially his love for celebrating the Mass and other sacraments. As detailed in the parish’s 50th-anniversary celebration book: “When we watch him celebrate the Eucharist, there can be no doubt in our mind that a miracle has taken place as the bread and wine are transformed into the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. If he never did anything else but that, he would have fulfilled his vocation as a priest!”

Due to COVD-19 restrictions, there will be a private funeral for Fr Peter. Once details of the funeral have been finalised, we will provide any information as to online participation if this is a possibility.

We pray for the repose of the soul of Fr Peter Caruana and offer our condolences and prays to the Caruana family, as well as Fr Peter’s friends, parishioners, and priestly colleagues.

May he rest in peace.

Bishop Brian Mascord

To share a little light – I have had some time to look at all the wonderful work the students have been posting this week. I must say you are all doing a great job as remote teachers as well! I have listened to reading and watched presentations, seen foil sculptures and reproductions of famous portraits, families doing the sport activities all together – what a great idea, worked out Maths quizzes, engaged in a treasure hunt via Zoom, read some amazing stories, taken advantage of some of the mindfulness activities myself and prayed with classes, just to name a few. I sincerely thank you all for being so actively involved in your child’s education. I do know it is a challenge and we all very much appreciate your efforts! The experiences the teachers are planning are getting more sophisticated because the staff are actively engaging in a process of analysis of tasks and student responses to see how well an experience is teaching the students what they planned for it to teach them. We all know we are in this for a long time yet, so staff are actively engaged in making this the best quality experience possible. 

In another piece of good news, thanks to our P&F we have taken delivery of some Lego robotics kits that will enhance our STEM – Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths, teaching and learning experiences for the students, Kindergarten through to Year 6. Half of them have arrived so far. It will give the students something very exciting to look forward to when they come back to school. The kits are completely rebuildable with a variety of models which can then be programmed. So as well as the students learning about mechanical aspects such as levers, pulleys and gears and associated ratios and problem solving, they will be able to use computer coding to program the ‘robots’. We wouldn’t have been able to acquire these resources without the support of the P&F and your support in paying the P&F levy each year – thank you.

Stay safe and please keep letting us know how we can support you.

God Bless

Michelle Rolfe

Principal