Filter Content
Dear Parents, Guardians and Community,
I hope everyone had a nice long weekend and got a chance to have a break. This week at school is officially Catholic Education Week. Myself and the School Captains will be attending the St Patrick's day Mass at the Cathedral representing the school.
Catholic Education Week 13–20 March 2022
This year, all Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Melbourne will celebrate Catholic Education Week 2022 from 13 to 20 March. The theme for Catholic Education Week 2022 is ‘The Way of the Gospel’. This theme is based on Archbishop Peter A Comensoli’s 2021 Pastoral Letter.
There are 335 Catholic primary and secondary schools across Melbourne, enrolling more than 150,000 students and employing approximately 17,000 staff. Catholic schools provide a high-quality education in a faith-centred environment. This annual event is held to promote the special ethos of Catholic schools and to highlight the great things that take place in Catholic schools every day.
Other details for Catholic Education Week.
- The Mass of St Patrick for Schools on Thursday 17 March at 10.00 am in St Patrick’s Cathedral. The Catholic Education Week https://catholiceducationweek.com/ will live stream the Mass for those unable to attend.
- The Creative Arts Exhibition will be held from Tuesday 15 March to Saturday 19 March at the Catholic Leadership Centre. To book a ticket to experience the extraordinary art on display from our talented young people.
- The Patrick Oration - St Patrick’s Day will again feature Archbishop Peter’s Patrick Oration. In his oration last year, Archbishop Peter discussed the importance of renewing our parish life through missionary discipleship, a theme he would develop in more depth in Take the Way of the Gospel. The oration will be televised on community channel C31 from 7.30 pm on Thursday 17 March. It will also be live streamed on the Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne YouTube channel.
Feast Of St Joseph: The school will be Celebrating the Feast Of St Joseph's next Friday morning. The Sister's of St Joseph's led the school for 99 years and play an important part in the history of the school. Traditionally the local Sisters of St Joseph's are invited to morning tea with the staff.
Athletic's Carnival: Next Tuesday is our Athletic's Carnival. Early forecasts look good, however there might be a bit of rain about. Jordan Lovett has spent many hours preparing for this event and we thank him for his work. The students really look forward to these days and have a lot of fun.
Away next week. Next week I am away from Wednesday to Friday attending the Victorian Association of Catholic Primary Principal's conference. The theme for this year is, 'Hope, For Now and whatever lies ahead." The main speakers for the conference are Dr Jason Fox (Leadership and Motivation), Simon Griffiths (Who gives a crap... toilet paper) Kath Koschel (Kindness Factory) Tim and Judy Sharp (Laser Beak Boy.. the story of a boy diagnosed with severe Autism who went on to become one of Australia's best known Artists.) Catriona Wallace (Advanced Technology) Steve Sammartino (Future Thinking) and Craig Reucassel (The Chaser and Climate Challenge) So there is a real mixture of speakers that I am really looking forward to.
God Bless and Stay Safe
Anthony
Faith News - School and Parish Connections
Lent - Prayer of Fasting
Loving God
help us this Lent to become more spiritually aware and awake by de cluttering .
Help us to remove those obstacles in our lives that are stunting our growth and preventing us to blossom into the fullness of your love.
We ask these prayers through Christ our Lord,
Amen.
Project Compassion
‘Working together for justice and dignity. Walking together in hope. Building together a thriving future for all.’
Caritas Australia is an international aid and development agency of the Australian Catholic Church
They strive to seek social justice and dignity for every person
They work with local communities in Australia and overseas, listening to concerns and assessing the needs of communities
With help, compassion and our support, Caritas hopes to work towards a world where all people may thrive!
In every classroom there is a project compassion box. The season of Lent gives us an opportunity to recognise how lucky we are, despite our grievances and think of others less fortunate than ourselves
During this time of Lent, please encourage your children to be compassionate and think of others in need in two simple ways
- Children could choose to give up their icypole and donate the $1.00 to project compassio
- Children could donate a weeks pocket money
This Week: Year 3 Family Mass
On Sunday 20th March, the Year 3 Students have their family Mass
The children making the Sacrament of Reconciliation will be presented at this Mass. We are hoping to see as many Year 3 families at the Mass as possible
Year 3 Reconciliation
Please make sure you have booked a time for your child to make their reconciliation. The Year 3 teachers will be checking in with families this week to confirm bookings
Feast of St Joseph - Celebrated on 18th March
This Friday we will celebrate the Feast of St Joseph
St Joseph plays an important role in our school. The Sisters of St Jospeh have had a long history affiliated with our school, going back as far as St Mary MacKillop and they still continue to work in our community and support our school. This Mass will be an opportunity to acknowledge St Joseph and recognise the work of the Josephite sisters
The Year 1 students will be leading the Mass. Parents are welcome to attend. See important dates for details.
Important dates to Remember for this Term
Event |
Date |
Time |
Where |
Feast of St Joseph |
18th March |
9:15 am |
Church |
Lenten Liturgy |
18th March |
3:00pm |
Church |
Year 3 Family Mass |
20th March |
10:30am |
Church |
Year 3 Reconciliation |
22nd March |
4:00 - 6:30pm |
Church |
Year 3 Reconciliation |
23rd March |
4:00 - 6:30pm |
Church |
Year 3 Reconciliation |
24th March |
4:00 - 6:30pm |
Church |
Lenten Liturgy |
25th March |
3:00 pm |
Church |
Year 3 Reconciliation |
25th March |
4:00 - 5:30pm |
Church |
Sacramental Dates for 2022
Reconciliation - Year 3
Tuesday 22nd March
Wednesday 23rd March
Thursday 24th March
Friday 25th March
Bookings are open, so please make sure you book in a time for your child.
Eucharist - Year 4
Saturday 21st May, 6pm
Sunday 22nd May, 8.30am & 10.30am
Confirmation - Year 6
Tuesday 26th July, 6pm
Wednesday 27th July, 6pm
Thursday 28th July, 6pm
All parents and carers with children at St Mary’s Williamstown are automatically members of the Parents’ and Friends Association, therefore we invite you to our next meeting on Monday 21st March via Zoom. For meeting access and agenda, please email secretary@smwilliamstown.catholic.edu.au before 21st March. Looking forward to seeing you (virtually) there.
Jogathon
The Jogathon is fast approaching and is on Friday 25 March. Thanks to those parents who have already made their donation via CDF Pay – this can be made at any time.
A flyer will be sent home with the eldest child this week, outlining specific class times. Remember, we encourage parents, friends, grandparents and siblings to come along and cheer on the students.
Which class will win the hot lunch supplied by TreeHaus? Which class will win the Kelly Sports prize? We will find out in Term 2.
Second Hand Uniform Pop Up Shop
The FINAL two pop-up shop dates for term 1:
Wednesday 23rd March
Wednesday 6th April (this will be a great chance to top up Winter uniform before school photo day Apr. 7)
Sales are held in the hall from 8:30-9:30am. This shop is now cashless and payment can be made by credit card/eftpos etc.
And don’t forget you can order any items from the 2nd hand shop at anytime by emailing your request to uniformspf@smwilliamstown.catholic.edu.au
Easter Raffle
Thanks to all of the families who have donated items for the Easter raffle. There are going to be some wonderful prizes this year. Reminder that Easter Raffle tickets are now on sale via CDFpay. Tickets are $2 each, 5 for $10, 12 for $20, and 25 for $40. There is no restriction on the number of tickets purchased by each family.
Items Wanted
We are looking for donations of small, clean jars without lids and without stickers. Suitable jars would be 300mL jam or honey jars, however any small, pretty jar would work. Also, we are looking for small organza bags. You might have these left-over from a party or a project. All items can be given to Tanya Dias, or left at the office for collection.
Icy Poles
Roster:
Monday March 21 - Jacqueline Pace, Julie Carey
Tuesday March 22 - Melissa Mitchell, Adele Cassar, Kimberey Simpson
Wednesday March 23 - Melissa Fenech, Tanya Westermeyer
Thursday March 24 - Sophie Carter, Paul Thompson
Friday March 25 - JOGATHON
Quench Berri Icy Poles will be on sale each lunch-time for $1 each, from Monday until the end of Term 1.