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God of love,
in our hearts you place courage.
We beg you to stay close to our sisters and brothers whose lives have been devastated by recent fires across our land; may they make wise decisions and receive immediate support.
We implore you to keep first responders safe; may their generosity and skill be a blessing for all.
We mourn the loss of life, livelihoods, animals, ecosystems, property and dreams.
With resurrection hope, may our hearts be broken open in love, may our faith be strengthened and may we give generously.
May our land and her people be relieved of suffering at this time.
We make this and all our prayers in Jesus name …
Amen
This week we explore the truth that all subjects in a Catholic school have a deep and rich ‘values dimension’.
The documents state ‘In the Catholic school’s educational project there is no separation between time for learning and time for formation, between acquiring notions and growing in wisdom. The various school subjects do not present only knowledge to be attained, but also values to be acquired and truths to be discovered…Demands an atmosphere characterised by the search for truth in which competent, convinced and coherent educators, teachers of learning and of life, may be a reflection as imperfect as they are, but still vivid, of the one teacher. In this perspective, in the Christian educational project all subjects collaborate, each with its own specific content, to the formation of mature personalities’. (The Catholic School on the threshold of the Third Millennium, 14)
All knowledge taught in the Catholic school is taught in the context of helping each young person to develop into the person Jesus created them to be.
To learn more, please click here.
SCHOOL APPOINTMENT
On behalf of Father Paul Gooley we would like to announce the following appointment:
Kate de Bressac has been appointed to the position of Acting Assistant Principal - Learning & Teaching at St Agnes' Primary School, Port Macquarie commencing 25 November 2019 through to the end of the 2020 school year. Kate is currently Leader of Additional Needs at St Agnes' Primary.
We congratulate Kate on her appointment.
Proclaim Lismore Festa Christi
This overnight retreat for Year 8 students from parish schools across the diocese is held in the North and South each November. An integral part of the Student Discipleship Continuum, this instalment focuses on Catholic Social Teachings using outdoor activities to encourage a focus on the Common Good and group activities to highlight the dignity of the human person and our focus as Catholics on preferential treatment for the poor.
The below video was compiled at the southern Festa Christi retreat held at the Bonville Camping and Conference Centre on 7-8 November.
Read LessSt Mary's Primary, Grafton - Writers Festival
A day for celebrating every student as an author and illustrator filled with inspiration and creativity.
Visiting authors Samantha Turnbull, author of children's podcast Fierce Girls (ABC 2018), and the children's book series The Anti-Princess Club, (Allen & Unwin 2015) and Tristan Bancks (author of the Tom Weekly series, Two Wolves, The Fall and Detention) set the tone for the day, engaging students from Kindergarten to Year 6 with tales of where they draw their inspiration to write and what this process looks like. This affirmed many of the students and their journey from draft to published and inspired a possible whole school writing project about a possum.
Students were immersed in the creativity of writing throughout the day. They were able to choose from a variety of workshops led by such talented authors as Dannika Patterson author of Jacaranda Magic and Sea Spray 17, to using a digital platform book creator as inspired by Lesleigh Altmann.
The fun didn’t stop there, as in the afternoon a range of inspiring stimulus prompts set up all around the school, engaged the students and their parents to hone the craft of writing.
Congratulations St Mary’s Primary School on an inspiring and engaging day that allowed the joy of writing to shine from every angle. What a way to leap into Grafton's Jacaranda Festival. Well done St Mary’s students and all who contributed to the day, it was certainly worth writing about.
Graduate to Proficient Teacher Formation Program 2019
All teaching staff involved (including mentors and school contact person) in this year's Graduate to Proficient Teacher Formation Program are requested to complete a survey seeking feedback on your experience by the end of week 6: Formation Program - Early Career Teachers Survey
Catholic Schools NSW Sport - Change of Entity
The following attachment concerns the new entity Catholic Schools NSW Sport (CSNSW Sport), formerly known as Catholic Schools Sports Services (CSSS), and brings to your attention details around their new trading details and bank account changes. Please alert your school finance department of these changes.
Media Release: Vocational Traineeships to be Free From January 2020
(Ref: 212/19)
The Minister for Skills and Tertiary Education, Geoff Lee and Minister for Education and Early Childhood Learning, Sarah Mitchell are calling on employers to take on more trainees following the launch of a new $54.3 million NSW Government Budget initiative to make government-subsidised traineeships fee-free. Traineeships, through the NSW Smart and Skilled vocational education and training (VET) system, will join apprenticeships in being fee-free from 1 January 2020. Mr Lee said the NSW Government would be picking up the tab for the fees on all new traineeships, including school-based traineeships. Read the full media release here.
Media contacts:
- Carmel Melouney - Minister Lee: 0428 491 333
- Mike Fairbairn - Minister Mitchell: 0417 785 910