Dear Parents and Carers,

Over the last week we celebrated National Reconciliation Week. It is a time for all Australians to learn about our shared histories, cultures and achievements and to contribute to building a reconciled Australia. Every year it is celebrated between May 27 and June 3. May 27 is the anniversary of the 1967 referendum in which more than 90% of Australians voted “Yes” to count Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the census. June 3 marks the historic Mabo decision in the high Court of Australia recognizing native title, the recognition that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ rights over their lands did survive British colonization. In this together, the theme for National Reconciliation Week (NRW) 2020, encourages all Australians to reflect on the part they play – whether big or small – on our journey towards reconciliation.

This unity of purpose creates a shared sense of belonging and identity; and this identity must value and include the histories, cultures and rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. 

PENTECOST SUNDAY

Last Sunday we celebrated the feast of Pentecost. The word “Pentecost” means fiftieth and is held fifty days after Easter. At Pentecost we recall how the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples and gave them the courage to proclaim the gospel of the risen Christ.  They went out and began preaching without fear to all people. Pentecost Sunday is regarded as the Church’s birthday, as it was the start of people converting to Christianity.

 

RETURN TO SCHOOL

It has been wonderful to welcome the students back full-time to school. The buzz and happy smiles around the classrooms and playground have certainly been noticed as the children are so excited to see all their friends again. It has also been a relief to re-start face-face teaching and the teachers are now preparing for the Interim  Student Reports which will be sent home at the end of Week 8. Once again I would like to thank all parents, staff and students for working so hard to support each other and to survive the challenges that we have all had to endure.

SEMESTER ONE REPORTS

As mentioned above, our teachers have commenced planning and writing the Interim Student Reports which will go home in Week 8. This will be followed by Parent/Teacher Conversations (a quick ten minute interview/chat) sometime in either Weeks 9 or 10. The reports will reflect the learning engagement undertaken during classroom and remote learning over the course of Term 1 and mid -Term 2, 2020. The Key Learning Areas of Religious Education, English and Mathematics have been a key focus for many of the classroom and remote learning lessons delivered during Terms 1 and 2. Previously schools have reported to parents twice per year and report on student progress and achievement against a five point scale. Due to the current circumstances and the need for schools to have taught remotely, valid assessment of student learning has been challenging. Therefore, a Diocesan decision has been made to focus on reporting on student engagement in learning in the three Key Learning Areas for the period of Term 1 up until the middle of Term 2.

MORNING DROP OFF AND ARRIVAL TIMES

IMPORTANT

I would like to thank the many parents who are using the morning drop off zone in Wilson Street. A letter went out on Compass last week asking everyone to follow a few simple directions, which would greatly assist in the smooth running of the drop off zone. I have already noticed that most people are doing the right thing and all students are being kept safe and well. Two further actions that would help, include all children getting out on the footpath side so that they are not stepping onto the road and if possible parents staggering their arrival time. At the moment most cars are coming in the ten minutes between 8.15 and 8.25am and this is causing some traffic build up back to the harbour. It would help enormously if more parents dropped their children off between 8-8.10am. I have asked the police to regularly monitor this area as there are still some parents who are getting out of their vehicles, which apart from banking up traffic is very much against the law.

Since returning from the recent period of remote learning, we are finding that many students are arriving at school ten to fifteen minutes after the second bell, which rings at 8.30am. From now on the school gates into the playground will be locked at this time and any late arrivals have to be accompanied by a parent to sign in at the school office. This will mean that anyone using the drop off zone in Wilson Street cannot park their vehicle there or use the bus zone in Wentworth Street outside the school. These indiscretions carry a hefty fine and rangers and police are doing regular patrols around schools. Parents, where possible are also asked to stagger the pick up of students between 2.30 and 2.50pm so that there are not so many people on site at 2.30pm trying to collect children from classrooms and leave at once. I would like to thank everyone for their anticipated attention and positive response to these logistical issues.

LIGHTING THE WAY TOGETHER

At the commencement of the 2020 school year the Catholic Education Office developed a parent-school partnership framework aimed at supporting the partnership between parents/carers and the school so that together we can create:

• identifiably Catholic communities
• effective schools which improve outcomes for students.

In choosing a Catholic school in the Diocese of Wollongong, parents/carers enter into a partnership with the school, where the responsibility for their child’s learning, wellbeing and faith development is shared between them and the school community. The framework is centred around five principles and when schools and parents/carers work together it is expected that both parties will uphold these principles. Each of the five principles will be explained in detail over the next few newsletters.

KINDERGARTEN 2021 INTERVIEWS

I am continuing to conduct interviews for prospective Kindergarten 2021 children and their families via Zoom. When they are complete, I will meet with the Parish Enrolment Committee which consists of myself, Father Joe and Mr Peter Dempsey, Principal of Nazareth Catholic Primary School. Letters of offer will then be sent home during the last week of term.     

Jn 3:16-18

Jesus tells Nicodemus of the Father’s Love

LIVE STREAMING OF WEEKDAY MASSES 

via the parish Facebook page by Fr Joe

Weekday Mass at 7:00am

YOU CAN FIND THE ALL SAINTS PARISH BULLETIN ONLINE

On the All Saints parish website: www.allsaintscatholic.org.au 

Click on the link at the bottom of the page where it says Bulletin.PDF

Gospel

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John

God sent his Son to save the world through him

Jesus said to Nicodemus,

‘God loved the world so much

that he gave his only Son,

so that everyone who believes in him may not be lost

but may have eternal life.

For God sent his Son into the world

not to condemn the world,

but so that through him the world might be saved.

No one who believes in him will be condemned;

but whoever refuses to believe is condemned already,

because he has refused to believe

in the name of God’s only Son.’

This is the Gospel of the Lord.

The 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

National Sorry Day

National Sorry Day 2020 fell this year on Tuesday 26 May and is a day when we pause to remember the Stolen Generations of Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.  

It led us into the Week of Prayer for Reconciliation and National Reconciliation Week which was held between 27th May and 3rd June.   

The theme for National Reconciliation Week 2020 was In This Together.  

Reconciliation Week is a time for all Australians to learn about our shared histories, cultures and achievements, and to explore how each of us can contribute to achieving reconciliation in Australia.

For the Catholic Church in Australia, the week offered us a time to be fully the Church that Jesus wants us to be - a Church in which Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples make their own unique contribution and that contribution is joyfully received by others.

In 2020 Reconciliation Australia marked twenty years of  shaping Australia’s journey towards a more just, equitable and reconciled nation.

Much has happened since the early days of the people’s movement for reconciliation, including greater acknowledgement of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander rights to land and sea; understanding of the impact of government policies and frontier conflicts; and an embracing of stories of Indigenous success and contribution.

2020 also marks the twentieth anniversary of the reconciliation walks of 2000, when people came together to walk on bridges and roads across the nation and show their support for a more reconciled Australia.

As always, we stand on the shoulders of those who came before us, and Australians now benefit from the efforts and contributions of people committed to reconciliation in the past.

Today we work together to further that national journey towards a fully reconciled country.

Reconciliation is a journey for all Australians – as individuals, families, communities, organisations and importantly as a nation. At the heart of this journey are relationships between the broader Australian community and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

We strive towards a more just, equitable nation by championing unity and mutual respect as we come together and connect with one another.

On this journey, Australians are all In This Together; every one of us has a role to play when it comes to reconciliation, and in playing our part we collectively build relationships and communities that value Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, histories and cultures.

World Environment Day

This Friday 5 June is World Environment Day, which is a United Nations-led event that is celebrated each year.

Since it began in 1972, it has grown to become a global platform for public outreach that is widely celebrated across the globe.

World Environment Day is a day for everyone around the world to take ownership of their environment and to actively engage in the protection of our earth.

It is a day that strives to raise awareness and encourage action for the environment, offering an opportunity to reflect on accomplishments and renew our resolve in overcoming the environmental challenges facing the world today.

This year’s theme is all about nature and celebrating Biodiversity.

The foods we eat, the air we breathe,

the water we drink

and the climate that makes our planet habitable all come from nature.

Yet, these are exceptional times in which nature is sending us a message:

To care for ourselves we must care for nature. 

It’s time to wake up. To take notice. To raise our voices.

It’s time to build back better for People and Planet.

This World Environment Day, it’s Time for Nature.

Julie Hopkins

Acting Religious Education Coordinator

GOLD AWARDS