This coming Sunday we celebrate the Feast of Australia’s only saint - St Mary of the Cross, Mary MacKillop. Some suggest Mary was a woman ahead of her time, others believe just a resilient, hardworking dedicated woman who saw a need and actioned a response. “Never see a need without doing something about it.”

It feels very apt to pause and reflect on Mary’s life in the year we celebrate 200 years of Catholic education in Australia. Whilst Mary did not begin Catholic schooling in Australia her input was immeasurable. She recognised the fact that many children could not access this education for financial reasons and felt strongly that God’s love needed to be shared with all. So strongly that she begins the battle which would eventually enable many Australian children to access Catholic Education and give them a chance for a stronger relationship with their God.

To fulfill this plan, she surrounded herself with like-minded people who could assist with the workload. It was here that the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart first came to be. Many of our own Diocesan schools were begun by this same order and today we are blessed to have the continued support of these sisters in three of our schools. Mary saw a need and, with much courage, acted on it with the assistance of many others in

Mary’s journey was not trouble-free. She fought many battles along the way and her faith was continually tested as she trod a path that upset many. Throughout this time and with these challenges she showed resilience and continued to fight for what she believed was right. Mary epitomised our Diocesan core values of Hope, Integrity, Justice, and Compassion. She modelled being faith-filled for us as she lived by

“Do all you can with the means at your disposal and calmly leave the rest to God?” (1891)

Dear Parents

I hope you are well. I am very aware of pressures that some of you are experiencing at this time. So please be gentle with yourself and don’t feel that all your children’s tasks need to be completed. I am thinking of having one day a week when we will be off the screen and be involved in some activities rather than completing online work. Children, however will still need to register their attendance on that day as usual.  More information in the next few days.

Please note, that when your child has this activity day they do not need to submit work. Also, on this day your child’s classroom teacher will not be responding to work on this day as they will be engaged in planning for the next week.

I am missing seeing our families and I would like to ask if you have time that you send me some photos of your family involved in an activity together. We would like then to post them with your permission onto our facebook page.

Some wonderful news this week!

Congratulations to Mr Mattas and his wife on the birth of their first child – a little girl.

A child is a precious gift from God. May his blessings be with you and your little one today and always. 

We look forward to seeing Mr Mattas return to his class this week and thank Mrs Popovski for seamless way she has looked after the class with supervision and online learning in his absence.

Congratulations to Mrs Crotty who became a grandmother of a little girl.  This will be Mrs Crotty’s third grandchild.  

May God bless you all, go gently and stay safe!

Mrs Anne Duggan - Principal