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Reflection
Jesus was offered three shortcuts for his ministry. Firstly, exceptional powers to satisfy his own needs (bread out of stones). Secondly, when he needed to take risks, angels to keep him safe. Thirdly, when he wanted to change the world, absolute political power.
These were the Temptations of Christ, but also for us. If you or I are tempted to sin, we will find the marks of this threefold pattern. We want the whole world to change to satisfy us, or we want to take stupid risks and come out unscathed, or we want to exercise total power over others.
How can we try to follow Jesus without the shortcuts of the fantasy world which the Devil may offer? Note that Jesus resisted each temptation with: ‘It is written’. The forty days of Lent are a perfect opportunity to read what ‘is written’ in the Gospels about the episodes and pattern of the life of Jesus Christ.
We could pause for a moment to find what is written and to imitate what we find. That is how the Devil is defeated.
© Fr Michael Tate;
Dear Families,
I am writing this newsletter tired from a day of rafting and climbing high ropes with our Grade 6 students. As you may have guessed, I am on camp and enjoying the overnight experience of camping under the stars. Grade 6 camp is a wonderful opportunity for our children to step out of their comfort zone and show leadership through working collaboratively as a team. This morning we built rafts to float down the river, and the cooperation between the children was amazing. Everyone worked together as a team and yes, the rafts did float! Then this afternoon the number of children who, with just a little encouragement, not only completed the beginner’s high rope course, they continued to challenge themselves to successfully complete harder levels. I too, with Mr Healey, joined many of them on the red course - the most challenging course we could do on the day. The attitude and encouragement shown by all our students has just been wonderful to see.
I ask that you please keep the Van der Matten family in your prayers this week as they tragically lost their grandfather in an accident on Wednesday.
A reminder that being safe on our roads is all of our responsibility. Again, this week I have been informed that some cars are stopping over the crossing on Campbell Street, making it very difficult for pedestrians to be seen. Please follow the road rules to help keep our children safe.
If you have a child at St Patrick’s College, you may have read a note about the dangers of children using Tik Tok. If you don’t know what Tik Tok is it is a video stream where people upload and watch short videos about anything. Like Mr Daley, I too have a concern about our students using social media apps like Tik Tok, as when I viewed it there seems to be a lot of content that is not suited for children. I am aware that many students at St Thomas More’s use Tik Tok, some as young as 6, and this concerns me. According to Tik Tok, it is supposed to be for 13+. As parents, we are responsible for the content our children view, therefore I suggest that you take the time to talk with your children about what they do online, and to view what they are viewing. Age recommendations are there for a reason, use them to ensure your child is safe online.
Izzy Alexander will be participating in the World’s Greatest Shave. Please see her message below.
Hi there!
I'm on a mission to shave the world from blood cancer…
Will you be my shave-sidekick and sponsor me for World’s Greatest Shave this year?
Your donation will go towards giving Aussie families facing blood cancer the emotional and practical support they need, plus fund vital research. Every day another 41 Australians are diagnosed with a blood cancer. Although research is improving survival, sadly an Australian loses their life to blood cancer every 36 hours.
Will you help by sponsoring me?
Just click here to sponsor me today:
http://my.leukaemiafoundation.org.au/isabellaalexander.
Thank You!
Isabella Alexander
Have a great week.
God Bless,
Shayne Kidd
More's Win at the Swimming Carnival
MORE’S WIN AT THE SWIMMING CARNIVAL
YAY More!!! Congratulations More House on the win at the St. Thomas More’s 2020 Swimming Carnival.
We would also like to give a huge congratulations to Chisholm and Tenison for their participation in this swimming carnival, you all did an amazing job.
It was a warm day and so we enjoyed being at the swimming pool. We would like to give a HUGE thank-you to all the parent helpers for giving up their time and also the teachers.
We all had fun and the results were very close!
By Alannah Rae And Noah Spiteri
This week our yr 6 students led the PBS (Positive Behaviour Support) School walkthrough. The yr 6 students explained and demonstrated to the younger classes how to use different areas of our school, for example, walk down the steps. This helps everyone to know the expectations of behaviour in the school that help to make our school a safe and happy place.
Shrove Tuesday - Pancake Tuesday
Last Tuesday was Shrove Tuesday. The P and F generously donated time and money to provide every student with a pancake!
We also had parent volunteers come along to help out. The pancakes were a big hit!
We are offering art experiences on Fridays during the second break. Students have voiced their opinion on what they would like to do and working with clay was a top pick! Some of the children were keen to paint their creations over the weekend we would love to see a photo of the finished result. This week we are painting messages on the inside of our shelter with ochre, maybe a little messy but lots of fun!