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- Reflection
- Principal's Message
- The who's who of our Term 3 SRC
- Athletics carnival
- Student support at STM
- Young Australian Writers Competition results
- Emergency practice
- Uniform shop closed for stocktake
- Camp Quality visit cancelled
- Free autism workshop
- Upcoming Colour Explosion School Run 4 Fun
- The circus is coming to town
- Parish Bulletin
Re-Joice!
The Lost Sheep (Luke 15:1-32)
A reflection on the Gospel from the 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)
Written by Mr Casimir Douglas
“Or what woman having ten silver coins, if she loses one of them, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it?” (Luke 15:8)
On the weekend of Sunday 11th September (23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time), at Mass for the cycle of readings for Year C from the Gospel of Luke, we hear the entirety of Chapter 15 which is composed of three different parables. However, whilst Luke’s Jesus tells three different parables in this discourse, they are all centred on the same message: God’s boundless love, forgiveness, and grace. But there are nuances in each story that make an examination of each of the ‘Three Parables’, as they are known as a collective, worthy of separate and discrete treatment and exploration. The second reflection of this three week cycle covers the Parable of the Lost Coin.
The Three Parables all convey, exclaim, and reflect this critical truth: that we come to know something by losing, missing, and yearning for it. And in the parable of the Lost Coin, Luke’s Jesus offers his most profound imagery as to the scope of this truth; found in the mundane imagery of a simple silver coin.
We are fortunate that we live in an affluent society where if we were to drop, misplace, lose a 10-cent coin, we would not exert significant energy or invest significant concern in finding it. It is after all, just a 10-cent coin. Many of us, myself included, have seen a 10-cent coin on the footpath and not stopped to pick up. After all, who uses 10 cent coin at the shops in our modern digital economy? But this nonchalance toward the smallest demarcation of coin is not consigned just to contemporary Western culture, it existed even in 1st Century Palestine. The silver coin that Jesus refers to in his parable, is the coin of lowest value in their economy. This would have been well understood by the audience of Jesus in this discourse, and by Luke’s intended audience of readers.
That a woman would light a lamp and waste precious oil, sweep the entire house, and search every nook and cranny of her abode until she found the silver coin, would have a been a comical image to those listening to Christ. It is an outrageous, preposterous, and unrealistic scenario that Jesus paints. However, that is the point. This Parable of the Lost Coin then, in keeping with the Lost Sheep and Prodigal Son, goes on to explain that when the woman finds the single silver coin, that she would then summon all her friends and family to celebrate. When teaching students about the Three Parables this is my favourite example to discuss with the students: who in their right mind would turn their house upside down and spend all day cleaning and searching for a 10-cent coin, and when they find it, call all their friends and family to come and celebrate with them? Simply ridiculous! Our minds cannot conceive of such an incomprehensible act.
But that is the point: God’s gifts of love, forgiveness and grace are outrageously, preposterously, unrealistically, and ridiculously boundless. Our minds cannot conceive of such an incomprehensible act. And furthermore, Christ’s message in this passage is that through this process of loss and return, we come to know ourselves, each other, and God more intimately, and that there is no boundary that God’s love cannot cross to reach us.
All that from a simple silver coin.
Friday 16th September, 2022
James Tissot, France, 1984
Dear Parents and Carers,
SALUTATION
Grace to you and peace.
STM TV: EPISODE 8
STM TV is our school's weekly episodic YouTube show designed to share the key learning experiences of nominated students each week to engage our parents and the broader community in the learning journey of our school.
Please find below the episode for Term 3 - Week 8, 2022, which explores paying respect to Queen Elizabeth II, My Country by Dorothea Mackellar, Holes by Louis Sachar, the Deloraine Drama Fesitval, the Tournament of Minds, diagraphs, and the symbols for the Sacrament of Baptism! We hope you enjoy it!
BE THE LIGHT!
This week, at the end of second break each day, the speakers at our school have blared out the song Be the Light by David Enever. Our focus Gospel Value for the month of September is INTEGRITY. Our Gospel Values: Head, Heart & Hands Framework emphasises for students that they know they need to be honest, be brave, and be safe to genuinely live a life of integrity. The song Be the Light is about being the light, the hope, and the strength that you wish to see in the world; which requires summoning all the honesty and bravery that one can muster!
At our Prayer Assembly in the Piazza this Monday (12th September) morning, I had the opportunity to play and sing this sing with the students. The video can be found below!
PRINCIPAL'S MORNING TEA
At our Friday afternoon Assembly last week, several students received a Gospel Value Award for demonstrating the value of INTEGRITY. These students attended a special Principal’s Morning Tea in Josephite Hall this Tuesday (13th September).
Myself and the students were treated to a smorgasbord of fruit, and freshly baked scones and muffins, and we each shared what we are grateful for in our lives, which for this group of award nominees included family, friends, pets, trees, school and sport! They also shared their hobbies, interests and dreams, including dancing, netball, gaming consoles, football, board games, swimming, musical instruments, and basketball!
SCHOOL DISCO!
This past Friday evening (9th September), Josephite Hall played host to the annual School Disco! Our students danced, sang, laughed, and adorned themselves in glowing merchandise. The school was lit with the luminous glow of flourescent paraphernalia, and filled with the best beats and ballads that DJ Dan could blast!
As always, the evening was fun and characterised by the energy, enthusiasm, excitement and glow of our students! I wish to express my sincere gratitude for all the staff and volunteers who contributed to the organisation of the event. I also wish to thank the Parents & Friends Committee (P&F) for their provision of the the glow merchandise that brought so much joy and novelty to the occasion. All the proceeds of the sales from the flourescent items go to our P&F funds to contribute to projects that enhance the environment, culture, and learning of the school community. I also thank again the staff for their engagement and excitement in joining and supervising our students on this night of frivolity!
My highlight of the evening was to see all our students excited, engaged, socialising and dancing in a safe, fun, and supportive environment. The School Disco is a genuine community event, and this is evidenced in the number of parents in attendance, and also in the relationship building and interpersonal connections that occurred as a result. I'm looking forward to next year already!
DELORAINE DRAMA FESTIVAL
This Thursday evening (15th September) our Drama Club students performed in the Deloraine Drama Festival under the tutelage and guidance of Mrs Angela Edwards at the Meander Valley Performing Arts Centre. Participating in this event empowers our students to develop their performance skills, including voice projection, character development, facial expression, stage use, as well as confidence in being on stage in front of an audience.
Although both excited and nervous, the students performed with great energy and enthusiasm, and represented themselves, their teachers, their families, and their school proudly. The students were well rehearsed, confident, and enjoyed themselves on stage. I look forward to continuing to see their development in this space, and express my sincere gratitude to all the parents who attended to support their children, and to Mrs Angela Edwards for her organisation and coordination of this performance, her commitment to her students, and quite simply the gift that she is to our community.
ATHLETICS CARNIVAL PREVIEW
Next Wednesday (21st September), our school's Athletics Carnival is being held at the St Leonard's Athletics Track. It is a marquee event in the sporting and cultural life of the school. It presents an opportunity for those students who excel in this sporting enterprise to have their gifts celebrated by the community, and also an opportunity for all students to express their commitment and belonging to their House group in willing their peers victory.
I look forward not just to the individual performances of athletes striving and records breaking, but also to the colour, the fun, the atmosphere, and joy. I wish to thank in advance all the staff for their organisation and encouragement of the students, to the parent volunteers for their generous gift of their time, and to Mr Nick Stacey his coordination and leadership of the Athletics Carnival.
FINAL GREETING
May the grace of Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
God bless,
Mr Casimir Douglas
Principal
Below is our timetable for our upcoming Athletics Carnival which will be held on Wednesday, 21 September 2022, at St Leonards Sports Centre.
Grade 3 to 6 will leave school at 8.50am to allow the carnival to commence at 9.20am. Prep to Grade 2 will arrive at the track at 11:30am to start their events. Children can be taken to the track or collected from the track directly, but please advise your teacher. All details can be found on the Compass app under Events. If you have not yet given consent for your child to participate, please consent via the Compass app by Monday, 19 September 2022.
Please note that there will be NO lunch orders on Athletic's Carnival day, Wednesday, 21 September 2022.
Young Australian Writers Competition results
As you may have seen in the newsletter this term, a group of Grade Six students chose to be part of a writing extension group, in which they had to write a piece on Mental Health, for the Mental Health Foundation Australia, "Young Australian Writers" Competition. The theme was resilience.
We are delighted to announce that one of our students has received an award! A huge congratulations to Maeve Kok-Conners, who received First Place in the Upper Primary, Tasmania section! Maeve's story, entitled "A Blade of Grass" was a very moving and beautifully crafted piece of writing, and we are very proud of her! Congratulations Maeve!
Below is Maeve's story.
During Term 4, whilst at recess or lunch, we will hold an unannounced emergency practice with staff & students to test our response to a potential scenario that staff identify a threat warranting the school to go into lockdown (opposite to evacuation).
Like fire evacuation drills, we recognised the worth of testing this process.
We have plans to make this practice as least disruptive as possible.
If you have queries, please call our Safety Officer, Simon Natoli on 0400 105 476
Uniform shop closed for stocktake
Please note that Midford will be carrying out a stocktake at their Launceston store from Tuesday, 27th September until Friday, 30th September 2022.
The store will be re-opening on Sturday, 1st October 2022 at 9am.
Due to the 22nd September 2022 being declared a National Day of Mourning, Camp Quality will not be able to visit. We hope to get them back in 2023.
We have 10 student circus tickets that have been donated by Weber Bros Entertainment. The tickets are valid until Saturday, 8th October 2022 for a student between the age of 2 to 14 years old.
If you are intending to take your family to the circus and would like to go into a lucky draw for your child to receive a free ticket to attend, please complete the google form by clicking the link.
Please note that this is not a school-organised event.
We will randomly draw family names on Wednesday, 28th September 2022.