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Dear Parents, Guardians and Community,
In the Month of the Rosary, I wish to highlight some of the Prayers used as part of the Rosary. Today I share with you the Apostle's Creed, which is said at the beginning of the Rosary.
The Apostles' Creed
I believe in God,
the Father almighty,
Creator of heaven and earth,
and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died and was buried;
he descended into hell;
on the third day he rose again from the dead;
he ascended into heaven,
and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty;
from there he will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy Catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and life everlasting.
Amen.
Our Fabulous Fair is only a few weeks away. I attended the Fair Meeting and was blown away by how much prepration has gone into this event. Please do not forget to sign up for a volunteer spot so we can all help out on the day. Our Fabulous Fair Volunteer Sign Up Sheet
A reminder of our casual clothes day this Friday. We ask if a child is wearing casuals, can they bring a family size block of chocolate that will be used during the Fair.
This week I met with Mandi Barton https://biyalab.com.au/ , a Yorta Yorta woman and Barapa Barapa, Wema Wemba and Polish heritage. What we hope to achieve is to work in partnership with Mandi to come up with an Indigenous Design for our sport's uniform, which the students would wear weekly on sport's day. From this, we aim that our students to become more culturally aware with a greater understanding of Indigenous culture so the journey of this project is as important as the end product. We have already spoken to David Marcs and the good news is that we have low stock, so it will not be a big burden to introduce the item. We will then have a transition time to make the change. We hope to have the new item up and ready by early 2023.
School Fees 2023: We hope to have our school fee structure for 2023 to families soon, we are waiting on final approval from Melbourne Archdiocesan Catholic Schools. (MACS) One increase that has been approved by the School Board is an introduction of an ICT Levy of $100 per student. This has been introduced to cover some of the increased costs in the amount of technology being used in the school. In 2023 we have also increased our leasing for an extra 50 Chromebooks. Our new leasing contract is a lease to return so that we have a system where our technology is no more than three years old. It is no doubt that schools are using more and more technology, which also comes at a cost. It is not only the devices, it is the server, the staff to manage our equipment, cabling, wifi, cloud storage.. it all adds up. The business manager and myself first starting meeting about this in 2021 to look at our technology needs now and the future so that we have the right equipment to use. Our students will be entering a world where technology skills will be expected. It is important that we prepare our students the best that we can do.
This week I am attending a meeting with Father Greg on Mission Formation. With the change of Governance, this workshop is looking at how to continue our Faith Mission when we are no longer Parish Schools.
God Bless
Anthony
St Mary's Families Supporting Each Other
Financially: Did you know that families often financially donate to support other families. This may come in the form of offering to pay for another families school fees, camp fees or other costs. We cannot give money to another family directly, however we can use that money to supplement their school fees, camp fees etc.)To support another family in our school, use our normal bank account with a reference;
ST MARY'S FAMILY SUPPORT DONATION
Bank Account BSB 083 347 Account Number: 658206494
Second Hand Uniform Shop: Many families donate old uniforms to our second hand shop. These second hand uniforms are either resold or donated to families in our school.
Book Exchange: Did you know we have a book exchange near the entry of our school? Many families use this to donate and swap books.
St Mary's Parish School Building fund (Tax Deductable) You may also choose to support the school by making a donation to the St Mary's Parish School Building Fund. All donations to this fund are tax deductable. Funds can only be spent on a set criteria which include building maintenance, repair, replacement or a new building. BSB: 083 347 Account Number: 153900034
Gospel – Luke 18:1-8
29th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Jesus told his disciples a parable about the necessity for them to pray always without becoming weary.
He said, “There was a judge in a certain town who neither feared God nor respected any human being.
And a widow in that town used to come to him and say, ‘Render a just decision for me against my adversary.’
For a long time, the judge was unwilling, but eventually, he thought, ‘While it is true that I neither fear God nor respect any human being,
because this widow keeps bothering me I shall deliver a just decision for her lest she finally come and strike me.'”
The Lord said, “Pay attention to what the dishonest judge says.
Will not God then secure the rights of his chosen ones who call out to him day and night? Will he be slow to answer them?
I tell you, he will see to it that justice is done for them speedily. But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”
Congratulations
Congratulations to Lyla and Marcus who made their Confirmation on Sunday. We pray that the Holy Spirit gives them the increased ability to practice their Catholic faith in every aspect of their lives and to witness Christ in every situation
October is the Month of the Rosary
The month of October is dedicated to the holy Rosary primarily because the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary falls on October 7th. The feast day was established by Pope Saint Pius V on the anniversary of the victory at Lepanto on October 7, 1571. The naval victory was attributed to the Virgin Mary whose intercession was entreated through the recitation of the Holy Rosary.
The Church then proceeded to dedicate the entire month of October to the Holy Rosary to honour the Blessed Virgin Mary in gratitude for the protection that she gives to the Church and so that individuals, families, and communities could pray the Holy Rosary for peace in the world.
The best way to celebrate the month is, of course, to pray the Rosary.
October - Mission Month
This weekend at Mass we were fortunate to hear from Fr Greg Hogarty, from the Saint Columbian Mission. He shared images and stories about the work that is happening with the missions in Asia, the south Pacific and Latin America.
His recounts and stories were very informative and I was able to talk to parishioners who were moved by these actions and were already thinking about how we as a parish could replicate some of these actions locally.
At St Mary’s we are doing our best to support the Missions overseas by participating in Socktober.
Please keep sending in your socks.
NO SOCKS = NO SOCKBALL = NO FUN!!!
There is a box in each classroom and the teachers are already learning about how to make the sockball.
Friday 28th October.
On Friday the 28th October all children can wear their sports uniform and their house/team colours.
The children will have an opportunity to play with their sockball as a class/year level and participate in a shootout.
Please send a gold coin in with your child on the 28th. All money will be donated to the missions.
If you would like more information please jump on this link socktober.
Important dates to Remember for Term 4
Event |
Date |
Time |
Where |
Socktober Shootout |
28th Oct |
All day |
Playground |
Remembrance Day Ceremony |
11th Nov |
10:45 |
School Hall |
First Advent Liturgy Parents Welcome |
25th Nov |
3:00 |
Church |
Prep 2023 Welcome Mass |
27th Nov |
10:30 |
Church |
Seniors Mass |
2nd Dec |
11:30 |
Church - Yr 4 |
Second Advent Liturgy Parents Welcome |
2nd Dec |
3:00 |
Church |
Feast of the Immaculate Conception |
8th Dec |
9:15 |
Church |
Third Advent Liturgy Parents Welcome |
9th Dec |
3:00 |
Church |
End of Year Mass |
15th December |
TBC |
Church |
Christmas Cards
After last year's success, we will be partnering with Crazy Camel again this year to produce Christmas cards designed by the kids. This will include ordering and producing the cards directly with Crazy Camel.
Over the next few weeks, the children from Prep through to Grade 6 will be busy preparing their artwork.
Key dates - Ordering opens today, 19 October and closes on 9 November. There will be no accommodation for late orders. Once the envelope of artwork is dispatched to Crazy Camel we unfortunately won’t be able to submit anything further.
Cards will be sent home on the 7 December (all going to plan!) A flyer will be sent home with all the ordering details so please keep an eye out for this in school bags. A reminder you need to order with Crazy Camel, not CDF pay.
MacLean Reserve Roster - Next Week
Monday 24th October - Mirielle Constantine-Eid 3E
Tuesday 25th October - Dana Tosevski 4SB
Wednesday 26th October - Jacqui Trethowan 3S
Thursday 27th October - Gabrielle McRae Prep S
Friday 28th October - Christine Edwards/Walter 4SB
May thanks to our volunteers.
Free Dress Day
On Friday 21st October the children are invited to come dressed in their civilian clothes for the day. The cost for participating will be a family-sized chocolate bar, which will be collected by teachers and used at the school fair for the Choc Toss stall.
175th Anniversary Books
To celebrate St Mary’s 175th anniversary, a book titled “Home and Place” was commissioned to celebrate the unique history of St Mary’s School Williamstown. We have found a couple of boxes of these books, and they can now be purchased from the office for $5 a copy, a saving of 90%. These would make great keep-sakes for year 6 students graduating this year, or as a special gift for an ex-student.
The next 2nd hand uniform shop has been postponed until after the Fair, but will be back on Wednesday 16th November, from 8:30-9:30am in the hall. Uniforms can still be ordered at any time by emailing Sherrine and Meagan at uniformspf@smwilliamstown.catholic.edu.au
What’s happening in the 4th Term?
This is just a snapshot of what the P&F Association has planned for the fourth term.
Date |
What’s happening |
Friday 21st October (all day) |
Free-Dress Day (Bring a chocolate bar) |
Wednesday 9th November |
Christmas Card orders close |
Sunday 13th November (All day) |
St Mary’s Fabulous Family Fair (School grounds) |
Wednesday 16th November (8.30am - 9.30am) |
2nd Hand Uniform Sales (School Hall) |
Monday 28th November (7pm - 8.30pm) |
P&F Meeting (TBA) |
Wednesday 30th November (8.30am - 9.30am) |
2nd Hand Uniform Sales (School Hall) |
St Mary's Fabulous Family Fair
Volunteer Sign Ups
We need your help to fill all our volunteer shifts on the day of the Fair but also on Friday and Saturday leading up to the big day.
Thanks to everyone who has already signed up as a volunteer. We have filled approximately 30% of the shifts for the big day.
To spread the load and make it easier for us all to be able to volunteer we have created two hour shifts across Sunday 13th November.
Please complete the online sign up form.
Stall Champions
If you need to organise a time with the Stall Coordinator Louise Dorinko please reach out as soon as possible.
Rides
Pre-sales of ride wristbands are now available on CDF Pay. A great way to keep the kids entertained all day is purchasing a ride wristband which entitles them to keep on riding as much as they want.
All day ticket rides are $30, this is a discounted rate for pre-purchased wristbands. All day tickets will be available on the day for $35.
Pre-purchased wristbands can be collected from the Rides Stall from 10am Sunday 13th November.
Showbags special pre-sale!
A Fair classic is the glorious showbag, coming back to 2022 but this year we have some exciting news. This year St Mary’s Fabulous Family Fair will be the first to trial a pre-sale system where kids can choose from a much wider range of showbags and then collect them on the day.
Simply use the QR code below to access the website with the full range, complete your order by Monday 12th November 5.00pm and you can collect your showbags from the showbag stall on Sunday at your convenience.
Avoid the rush and don’t miss out on a bag you are desperate to get your hands on.
Graduations, Year 12 final day, Year 9 Camps next week and Year 7 2023 Parent Information Night this week, it really never stops in a vibrant school like Emmanuel. Last week it was very exciting to welcome more than 100 families and students from Years 9 & 10 at each campus along to the Information Night for the 2023 NASA Space Camp trip. The trip looks like a fantastic adventure, full of once in a lifetime experiences and connecting students and STEM through real-life experiences.
Please note that offers for students to commence in Year 7, 2024 will be distributed via email this coming Friday – 21 October. If you are expecting or hoping for an offer, please ensure you check your junk folders as well as sometimes filters send the emails straight there.
Or next College experience opportunity is the Twilight Talk & Tour event being held at St Paul’s Campus. Bookings are essential and can be made by visiting the Tours & Events tab on the right-hand side of the homepage of the College website, www.ecmelb.catholic.edu.au
Details of the event are as follows:
St Paul’s Campus - Tuesday 15 November - Commencing at 6.00 pm