Religious Education News
As you know, the Diocesan theme this year is Fully Alive!
So far, we have looked at the themes being Created and Known by God, Being in and Building Relationships and Growing in Commitment. Our final of the four themes for Fully Alive is Living Within the World.
When you get a moment of quiet this week, you may like to take some time to contemplate the following reflection;
Our theme, Fully Alive, reminds us of the invitation given to each one of us to see the holy in ourselves, in others, and in our world: to see as God does. Pope Francis in his exhortation Rejoice and Be Glad (2018) says this of Jesus:“ He gives us two faces, or better yet, one alone: the face of God reflected in so many other faces.
For in every one of our brothers and sisters, especially the least, the most vulnerable, the defenceless and those in need, God’s very image is found. Indeed, with the scraps of this frail humanity, the Lord will shape his work of art.” (n.61). We pray today that we may recognise that each of us is truly God’s work of art. This is true for everyone; nobody is excluded from God’s love, joy, care, and welcome.
God is with us and for us. Being fully alive in our lives requires attentiveness, love, growth, as well as celebrating our unique gifts. In addition, we must bring the best of who we are and do what we can do in service for our Church, school community and our world. As Pope Francis expressed in his address at World Youth Day in 2016: “That is the secret, dear friends, and all of us are called to share in it. God expects something from you. God wants something from you. God hopes in you. God comes to break down all our fences. He comes to open the doors of our lives, our dreams, our ways of seeing things. God comes to break open everything that keeps you closed in. He is encouraging you to dream. He wants to make you see that, with you, the world can be different. For the fact is, unless you offer the best of yourselves, the world will never be different.” Every day, we are called to experience a down-to-earth holiness that challenges us to be who God created us to be, and to help others do the same.
How will you make the world different this week?
St. Joseph’s Day
Our St. Joseph’s Day celebrations were fabulous and enjoyed immensely by all the students. We began the day with a liturgy lead by our wonderful Year 2 students.
The pizza lunch was delicious!
I have no doubt the children shared stories of the fun they had participating in St. Joseph-inspired activities for the afternoon.
Since St Joseph was a carpenter, we tried our hand at creative building in the library with paddle pop sticks, toothpicks and playdoh. The creativity was amazing, St. Kevin’s certainly has some future engineers in their midst!
On the bottom playground we had tool (plastic, of course!) relay races There were lots of laughs at this event!
The children then moved to the hall where there were a variety of options for building including blocks and Lego.
One of the most special stations of the day came next, collaborative painting. Every child in the school contributed to our paintings, adding their colourful fingerprints to a cross and adding their brush strokes to an image of St. Joseph with Mary and baby Jesus. These paintings will be proudly on display in our hall, make sure you check them out when you are able to join us next!
Finally, the children took part in running races inspired by St. Joseph as the earthly dad he was to Jesus. The team spirit at this activity was inspirational as the children cheered each other on as they wrapped a baby doll in a blanket and carefully ran through obstacles carrying the baby, until reaching a manger in which to carefully place ‘baby Jesus’.
Overall, it was a wonderful day with the children deepening their knowledge of St. Joseph who is particularly important to our school. We were founded by the sisters of St. Joseph and we hold the Jospehite Pillars close to our hearts...more on these pillars next term! I think the children are already looking forward to St. Joseph’s Day 2023!
Wellbeing Together Framework Launch
Last week I had the privilege of attending the launch of the Wellbeing Together Framework at St. Pius X high school, along with our school captains; Mackenzie Nicholas and Charlie Wood. Mackenzie and Charlie were wonderful in their representation of our beautiful school, and they showed great maturity and exemplary manners during the service.
The Wellbeing Framework is the culmination of 2 years of research and development by a team of people across the Diocese.
Student Voice was of the utmost importance along the journey and has resulted in a student-centred framework with 3 focus areas: I feel (safe, supported & included), I am (creative, connected and engaged) and I can (learn, lead and thrive). It is broadly acknowledged that wellbeing and learning go hand in hand; we cannot learn unless we are in a state of wellbeing and we can’t have wellbeing without learning. At St. Kevin’s, we will be considering these elements in our planning of wellbeing activities and within all our school processes and planning as the year progresses.
Holy Week
Holy Week is the most special part of our Catholic Church’s year. During Holy week we remember when Jesus rode into town, hailed as a King by the people on Palm Sunday. We will celebrate Palm Sunday with a whole school liturgy led by Kindergarten, Year One and Year Two on Monday 4th April at 9.15am. We’d love you to join us if you are able!
Only a matter of days later, the people turned on Jesus and He knew death was imminent. On Holy Thursday, we remember when Jesus showed us how to treat others by washing the feet of His disciples. At the Last Supper, Jesus also broke bread and shared wine with His friends, giving us the words we still use today ‘do this in memory of me.’ Good Friday, our saddest day in the Church’s calendar, is the day Jesus was put to death on the cross. Holy Thursday and Good Friday will be acknowledged with a special whole school liturgy on our last day of school – Friday 8th April at 1.30pm. All welcome to join us.
During the school holidays, we will celebrate Easter Sunday, when Jesus rose from the dead and came back to life to lead the disciples in their mission. Upon returning to school, the children will experience this beautiful event through a liturgy hosted by Year 5/6 on Friday 29th April at 2pm.
Advance notice for your calendar (check School Website events calendar)
ANZAC Day – The children will gather for a prayer service lead by Year 3 at 10.40am on our first day back at school next term – Wednesday 27th April.
Mother's Day is going to be here before we know it! Please pop our Mother's Day event in your calendar – 1pm Friday 6th April. Kindergarten will lead us in a beautiful liturgy which will be followed by a High Tea at 1.30pm. All are welcome to join us!
May God’s Spirit be with you all each day and may you all have a blessed Term 1 holiday with your families.
Mrs Jasmina Boudan
Religious Education Coordinator