News & Events

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Message from Mr Harrison

13.08.21

Dear Parents and Caregivers

On Sunday 8 August, we celebrated the Feast of St Mary of the Cross MacKillop, the first Australian Saint who opened our Bridge Street School in 1872. Mary MacKillop was a person of action, she loved the poor and worked hard to care for them in any way that she could. Mary MacKillop is a wonderful example us how to open our eyes and ears, our hearts and our minds to the needs of others. She shows us how to serve others with kindness, love and understanding.

This Sunday 15 August is the Feast of the Assumption of Mary. The Feast of the Assumption commemorates the glorification of Mary, chosen by God to be the mother of Jesus the Christ. We celebrate Mary’s life and passing from this world (body and soul) into the Glory of God.

William Street Mary MacKillop Liturgy

On Monday 9 August, our William Street students from Year 2 to Year 6 gathered at 9:15am in St Ignatius Church to celebrate the Feast of St Mary of the Cross MacKillop. The Liturgy of the Word was presided by Fr Paul Mullins SJ and well led by our Year 6 leaders. In his homily, Fr Paul spoke of Mary MacKillop’s ability to see a need within the community and her faith to trust that God would help the Sister’s of St Joseph to address it.

Fr Paul Mullins SJ Farewell

After the final blessing, we were privileged to have the opportunity to express our sincere gratitude to Fr Paul on behalf of the entire community, both past and present. Fr Paul has been the Norwood and St Joseph’s Memorial Parish Priest since 2010. For 12 years, Fr Paul has been a part of our prayer gatherings, faith formation, spiritual formation, Family Faith Program, Masses, Liturgies of the Word, blessings, Religious Education lessons, School Board meetings and ongoing assistance to families within the Parish. 

To show our appreciation, Year 6 Student Leaders Mary and Felix presented Fr Paul with a Thank You Book from our Preschool to Year 5/6 classes, a Waterman Pen inscribed with the words ‘In Omnibus Caritas – SJMS’ and a bottle from the Adelaide Hills Region. 

Fr Paul thanked our community saying,

“I am very touched by the gifts, comments and drawings but it is all of you, the people, that I will miss.”

Bridge Street Mary MacKillop Liturgy

On Monday 9 August, our Bridge Street students from Preschool to Year 1 gathered at 10:15am in the library, to celebrate the Feast of St Mary of the Cross MacKillop. The Liturgy of the Word was led by staff and we were well supported by our amazing young people. In the homily, we talked about how Mary placed her trust in God, Mary believed if she was kind, others would be kind to her and if she was helpful, others would also be helpful to her.

Religious Literacy Assessment Tool (ReLAT)

On Thursday 19 August our Year 4 students will complete a Religious Literacy Assessment.  ReLAT is for all students in Catholic schools and is an assessment of general religious knowledge in reference to Religious Education, prayer and religious life celebrations. In preparation for this assessment, the Year 4 students were this week given an opportunity to try a practice test so that they could familiarise themselves with their online ReLAT interface.

Sacrament of Reconciliation Update

We are now three weeks into our Sacrament of Reconciliation program, with only two weeks to go!

The Parish Faith Formation team have asked that I pass on their congratulations to our candidates and their families for the excellent homework responses they have received thus far. The team were also appreciative of the scanned copies of Baptismal certificates our families have been forwarding. If your child has been registered for their First Reconciliation and you have not been receiving ‘Family Faith’ emails, please contact the Parish directly on 8332 0600, ring the front office at school or send an email to mharrison@sjms.catholic.edu.au. If I can be of any support including photocopies of homework sheets or Baptismal certificates please do not hesitate to email.

The Sacrament of Reconciliation will be held on Thursday 26 August at St Ignatius Church at 7pm. Families are able to invite up to 6 people. A face-to-face meeting and rehearsal, is currently planned for Tuesday 24 August (Week 6). This meeting will start in the Parish Hall at 7pm and then progress into the Church for a practice. I will follow up with our students on the Thursday 26 August for a final practice.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

Matthew Harrison 

Acting APRIM