Dear Parents/Carers,

On Sunday, our Parish celebrated the Sacrament of Confirmation at which 72 candidates reaffirmed their faith and demonstrated a willingness to take a greater, more mature role in living a Christian faith daily. Many of the candidates were Year 6 students from our school, and it was a unique experience to witness an adult being confirmed as well. Our church's tradition believes that the Holy Spirit is conferred on the candidates, a practice that appears in the Acts of the Apostles: "Now when the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent them Peter and John, who went down and prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Spirit, for it had not yet fallen upon any of them; they had only been baptised in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they laid hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit." (Acts 8:14-17)

It is always a special occasion when Bishop Brian attends our parish. He has a particular skill in relating well to young people, having been a school teacher before his Ordination to the priesthood. He certainly made the two Masses meaningful celebrations. I would like to also acknowledge others who played significant roles in supporting the candidates with their preparation for the sacrament: Fr Peter, Miss Winarczyk, Mr Leibrandt, Miss Pogson and the parish Catechists.

One of the aims of a Primary school education is to equip students with skills across all curriculum areas so that they can become independent with their learning and apply it to a variety of experiences. Over the last few weeks a number of our students in Years 5 & 6 have been participating in one of several opportunities that allow them to utilise their skills individually, as well as to cooperate with others to solve a problem. I have seen students working hard for a 'Threatened Species Art and Writing Competition' and others demonstrating their artistic skills for the diocesan 'Christmas Art Competition.' I was also fortunate to see two groups of students participate in the annual Tournament of Minds competition, solving problems in the disciplines of the arts and STEM. The students have been enthusiastic and well engaged in their tasks and it has been a great source of pride for me to know that the growth and development of our students at Holy Family is evident in so many different ways.

I was also privileged to spend some time last week with our Year 5 students at their camp at Teen Ranch. What a joy it was to see them enjoying activities that they may not normally get to do, many of them pushing themselves out of their comfort zone and working together to ensure everyone was safe and enjoying themselves. They were very well behaved and were a credit to their parents and our school.

You are reminded of our Grandparent's Day celebration that is happening on Friday 27 September. Information was sent home last week about this. We are still needing some parents who can commit some time on the day to help with setting up the morning tea.

Wishing you a safe and happy fortnight,

Paul Moroney