Week 1, Term 2 2021 - 20th April 2021
Principal's Reflection
“and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us”
This short phrase given by Jesus in Matthew’s Gospel, easily rolls off our tongue as we pray the ‘Our Father’. However, when you stop to really digest its meaning, we are struck with a truly powerful and complex challenge.
Forgiveness - whether it is sought or given - is an act that takes tremendous strength, humility and love. A little story to illustrate this point.
Over the school holidays, the news reported on the sentencing of the man who, when high on drugs and heavily intoxicated, drove his vehicle onto the footpath and struck a family of children walking to the ice cream shop. In the aftermath of this terrible accident, four children were killed; Angelina, Sienna and Antony Abdullah and their cousin, Veronica Sakr (pictured).
What you may remember from February last year was the outpouring of grief from the family and wider community at the senseless loss of these children. As part of a close-knit community in Western Sydney, their deaths were felt acutely by many.
However, it was the courage and testimony from Daniel and Leila Abdullah that resonated around the country. In their moment of excruciating grief, they spoke about their deep Christian faith and that they had chosen to forgive the driver. Forgiveness, they said, was an important part of coming to terms with their grief and suffering. They still feel sorrow and pain (and in many ways always will), but forgiving the driver has enabled them to dispel their anger, hatred and bitterness. Ms Abdullah said,
“Forgiveness frees up your emotions. It brings healing
to a hurting soul and allows you to have peace in your heart.”
To watch Daniel and Leila talk about this, click here.
In the months after this terrible tragedy, the Abdullah family founded a website, i4give.com as a remembrance of the four angels that were tragically lost on the 1st February 2020.
i4give declares the 1st February is a national day of forgiveness, urging people to find someone you can forgive or ask for forgiveness.
Their website is a wonderful tribute to their lovely children and also offers several resources about how to forgive and the benefits of forgiveness. One resource outlines the 10 steps to help you forgive. They are;
The 10 Steps to help you forgive:
- Decide to start the process of forgiveness.
- When aware of judgments, replace them with a fact.
- Stop obsessing about the person or occurrence if there is absolutely nothing that can be done to change the situation: think about what can be changed and change that. Go inside of the psyche.
- To forgive does not mean to forget. Forgiveness is a respite from the active state of blame.
- Write a letter about the situation to safely externalize the anger/rage/sadness.
- Acknowledge the anger/rage/sadness around the situation: it allows for less fusion.
- De-fuse by being in the moment of the mind. Stay present by counting or wear a rubber band on your wrist and snap it to refocus and to change the thought.
- Affirm a new positive intention and act on it.
- Connect with others who have healed in similar ways.
- Take an inventory about what is unforgiven: Imagine the outcome if there was an apology: This is a form of soothing the self.
This Wednesday, many of our Year 4 students will participate in their first Sacrament of Reconciliation, an important ritual of our Catholic faith. This sacrament recognises the importance of seeking, and being granted, forgiveness for our sins. This is a defining feature of the Christian faith – that we have a God who loves us and forgives us.
Forgiveness is tough - but so, so important. We all make mistakes and hurt ourselves, hurt others and hurt God. So, please take a moment to consider when you are called upon to ask for, and offer, forgiveness.
“Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other,
just as in Christ God forgave you” - Ephesians 4:32
All the very best,
Wes Rose
Principal
Sources:
https://www.i4give.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Tools-for-Forgiveness.pdf
https://www.i4give.com/#!/about
From our Principal - Mr Wes Rose
P&F Meeting Tonight
I invite all interested parents to attend our next P&F meeting, being held tonight from 6:30pm in the staffroom.
ANZAC Day March
All staff and students are invited to commemorate ANZAC day by marching with St Mary’s school in the town parade. Attending students are asked to wear their formal school uniform and assemble in The Dome carpark (corner of River St and Gregory St) at 8am on Sunday. The march will commence at 8:35am, and students will parade from the assembly area to the cenotaph in Alfred St. Students can be collected from the corner of Alfred St and Macalister St, on the Mackay Central SS side. It would be wonderful if we can once again have a large contingent of students and staff to show our support on this special day of commemoration.
Public Holiday
Please note that next Monday, 26th April is a public holiday.
Sacrament of Reconciliation
I congratulate the students who are making their Sacrament of Reconciliation this Wednesday at 6pm at St Mary’s church. To learn more about this Sacrament, watch the video below.
MJR Training
This Wednesday, our Year 6 students will participate in training to prepare them to lead MJR (Making Jesus Real) sessions. MJR sessions are mixed age groups of students from Prep to Year 5, led by a Yr 6 student. MJR sessions are always a highlight of the year for all students and will commence next Friday 30th April.
Mercy College Principal Visit
This Thursday we welcome Mrs Janelle Agius, Principal of Mercy College, who will be visiting our Year 6 students. Mrs Agius will talk about what to expect in high school and will be available to answer any questions.
New School Video
Next Tuesday 27th April, we will have a film crew visiting the school to update our school video. Our last school video was filmed in 2019, and can be viewed below.
Diocesan Consultant
This Thursday we welcome Mrs Lauren Roach to our school. Lauren is the Diocesan Early Years teacher consultant and is meeting with our graduate teacher, Miss Munro, as well as Mrs Battaia our Assistant Principal: Curriculum.
Quote of the Week
"A smart person knows what to say; a wise person knows whether to say it or not."
-unknown
Prep 2022 Enrolment Interviews Commencing Soon
Prep 2022 enrolment interviews will commence at St Mary's next Monday 10th May. An email has been sent to families requesting they book their interview with the school office by Friday 7th May. If you have not received this email, please contact the school office.
Applications are still open for Prep 2022. If you would like to apply, please complete our online enrolment form via our school website.
Please contact the school office for further information or any assistance required.
Sustainable Cutlery Logo Competition
Congratulations to Mackenzie Smith who created the winning design for our Sustainable Cutlery Logo competition! Our cutlery sets are currently in production and parents will be advised when they are available for purchase.
Thank you to all the students who participated in the competition. The standard of entries was fantastic!
Sport News
We had a very busy end to term 1. In week 9 the Southern Suburbs U12 Soccer trials were held as well as the Southern Suburbs U12 Touch Football trials. Both tough teams to make!
Congratulations to the following students on their selection in the Touch Football sides;
Harper Shields
Archer Durnsford
Fynn Shears
Kai Crisp
Matthew Davies
Evie Clarendon
Jade Williams
Emmi Burgess
Congratulations also to Aiden Baulch and Ryan Sommerfeld on their selection in the Southern Suburbs U12 boys soccer side. Aiden and Ryan progress now to the Mackay trials this term where Millie Camilleri will also join them to trial for the U12 Mackay girls side.
Cross-Country
In week 10 we had our epic prep- year 2 obstacle course as well as our 9-12 years Interhouse Cross-Country. We returned to beautiful Queens Park, dodged a couple of showers and were amazed at the participation level of our students. We had more students choose the 2km and 3km race over the 1km fun run than any other year. Well done runners!
Winners for the 2km and 3km races were:
U9 – Harper Willey and Thomas Hurley
U10 – Emmi Burgess and Thomas Louw
U11 – Riley Albert and Harper Shields
U12 – Izabella Louw and Zane Galea
Winning house for the 2021 Fiona Ahwong Interhouse Cross-Country was Illawong Blue.
Letters will be sent home this week for those in our St Mary’s cross-country team. The paperwork will have information about the Southern Suburbs Cross-Country being held at the Gooseponds on Friday the 30th of April.
But wait, there’s more!
Touch Football
The grand final of the Interschool Touch Football was also in week 10. We had 2 teams progress to the finals; our junior girls and one of senior boys, the Budgies. The girls fought hard and should be very proud of their first season together. They didn’t take home the trophy this year but I’m sure they will return next year with unfinished business. Hopefully Ms Paron’s stress levels would have returned to normal by then and they can give it another go.
The Budgies finished a fantastic season with a convincing win. Great teamwork and vision being the key to their success.
Thank you to the staff and parents who helped our teams get on the field each week.
Run Club
Run Club will resume in week 2 with Mrs Kerrisk and Mrs Dalglish. The focus this term is cross-country for those runners still competing and athletics training for others. 3:00 - 3:45.
Something to think about…..“You didn’t come this far to only come this far”
Mrs Caroline Kerrisk
HPE Teacher
Green Card Draw Winners
Congratulations to Samuel, Justin, Sienna and Jackson who were the winners of our green card draw last term. These students won themselves a pizza voucher from Ma's Pizza. Well done!
