This Sunday we celebrate ‘The Ascension’

Nearly two thousand years ago, a “genuine” group of people was looking upward as their friend and leader, Jesus, was ascended into heaven. This visible ascension brought to an end the early ministry of Christ. Over a period of forty days since the Resurrection, Jesus had shown Himself to be very much alive to a substantial number of people under different circumstances. He was seen by Mary Magdalene in the garden on the morning of the Resurrection John 20:14, by Peter later on the same day Luke 24:34, by the two disciples on their way to Emmaus Luke 24:13-33, by the ten disciples without Thomas John 20:19-24, by the eleven disciples with Thomas present John 20:26-29, by the seven disciples by the Tiberius Sea John 21:1-24, by 500 believers in Galilee 1Cor. 15: 6, by the disciples prior to His Ascension.

 Had Jesus arisen and gone immediately to be with His Father, it would have been easy for the authorities to claim that the body of Jesus had been stolen from the tomb. Now, the authorities had to deal with the reality of Jesus’ person and the witness of a large group of people. Besides this, the disciples needed a new vision and hope and these appearances, along with the coming of the Spirit after the Ascension, gave the disciples a strength that was indestructible. The ascended Christ empowered the disciples with gifts by which the mind of God was revealed and later preserved in the sacred literature of the New Testament or the Christian Scriptures. The legacy that Jesus left us is the Church.

 Ascension day is a good time to have a think about how we are using our gifts of the Spirit that we received on our Pentecost Day, our Confirmation, to make a difference to the lives of the people we know. Jesus tells us that we should, “Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature.” Mark 16:15 The Ascension of Jesus tells us that it’s now our turn “to be Christ” to the people of our time.

“Lord, we ask that the people in our lives experience Your kindness and compassion through us, Your disciples of our time. Amen.”

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Dear Parents

Mother’s Day Stall

Thank you to the many mother’s who volunteered their time to run our Mother’s Day Stall. On behalf of the community of St Patrick’s I would especially like to thank Kelly Pucillo and Danielle Lukarovski for their preparation, and Kelly for setting up and manning the stall on the day with her helpers, Bonnie Meta, Laura Calleja and Merima Usljebrka. A special thank you also to Mrs Kapsimallis who potted many plants for the stall.

Uniform :

The boys and girls are now in their full winter uniform- ties must be worn. During sport days children are permitted to wear their summer sport uniform however have jacket and track pants in case of weather change.

 Please note the following :

To encourage full compliance with the Uniform Code, parents are asked to support the following directives:

• hats are to be worn at all times when outdoors. No hat, No Play
• girl’s hair to be neat and tidy shoulder length and longer hair to be tied back/up 
• hair to be its natural colour
• boy’s hair to be off the face and not grow beyond collar but tied up
• hairstyles to be moderate with no extremes
• nail polish not to be worn
• sneakers are not to be considered as school shoes 
• shoes should be cleaned and polished
• All sports socks should be white ankle length - ie: above the ankle
• Winter shirts tucked into pants except during games at Recess and Lunch times
• Notes must be supplied explaining non-compliance with Uniform Code
• Jewellery regulations:

Girls may wear:

A signet ring

Single pair simple stud or sleeper earrings

A watch

Chain with religious medal or cross

 Boys may wear:

A watch

A chain with a religious medal or cross

Naplan

Years 3 & 5 this week and next week are sitting the Naplan tests.

Some important things to be aware of with NAPLAN:

• It is only one form of assessment done on one day
• It does not assess all aspects of literacy and numeracy
• Teachers gather a range of other assessment data during the course of the year