REC Update – W6 – T4

Farewell Mrs Duggan – Celebrations
In the coming weeks we will be saying farewell to our tireless leader, Mrs Duggan, and at her request we will be doing so by celebrating with a Whole School Mass. Current restrictions mandate that regrettably we are unable to welcome parents to this Mass. This Mass will be held on Tuesday 30 November. Should the weather be inclement the back up date will be Thursday 2 December. In order to include members of the wider community we will be live streaming the Mass via the school Facebook page.

St Vincent de Paul Winter Appeal - 2021
We are beginning to accept donations for the 2021 St Vincent de Paul Christmas Appeal. If you can please consider donating anything that might be considered a ‘treat’ during Christmas - cordial, lollies, tinned fruit, long life custard, pancake mix, biscuits etc - that would be greatly appreciated.
Rhonda Maher - our St Vincent de Paul contact and parishioner at St Patrick’s Parish  will be working with other St Vincent de Paul volunteers to share the Christmas Appeal donations with those who need them most in our local community. 
Send your donations in with your child/ren, who will then place them in a ‘gift sack’ in theirclassrooms. If your donation is too heavy for your child to carry then please drop them in at the office and we will arrange to have them carried to the classrooms. We are accepting donations until Monday December 13th. 
Lastly, many thanks to the children in Mini Vinnies who designed some great posters to advertise this important initiative. Nice job girls and boys! 
Once again, we are very grateful for your generosity.

Remembrance Day
Today (November 11 th ) is Remembrance Day. Please see below some excerpts that our Year 6 leaders read during the Remembrance Day Liturgy:
Today is Remembrance Day. Every Year on November the 11 th we stop and think about all the people who have fought in a war, who have died fighting in a war or who have lost loved ones due to war.
This year marks 103 years since World War One ended. On November the 11 th 1918 when our church was being built and children were being taught here at St Patrick’s, the bloodshed and destruction of World War One finally came to an end and the guns fell silent on the Western front.
Peace had finally arrived. At home in Australia, large crowds gathered in capital cities to celebrate the end of the war.
We show our respect to those who have died in wars and armed conflict and the brave men and women involved in wars around the world today, may they be protected by God and may they be guided in their decisions and actions by the Holy Spirit. We wear Red Poppies to show our respect. The Red Poppies are a symbol of the fallen soldiers who died on the battlefields in Northern France. After World War One red poppies came up out of the bare earth where soldiers had died. It was once said that the red symbolized the blood of the fallen soldiers. The Red Poppy is now a symbol to remember all people who have fought in wars aroundthe world.

Let us pray. Loving God, you call us to be people of peace. We acknowledge those who have given their lives in times of war and conflict, and we ask that we never forget the sacrifice they have made. Help us to make the world a better place, by living in harmony, peace and unity. May we treat others as we would like to be treated.We make our prayer in Jesus’ name…
Amen

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning

We will remember them.
Lest We Forget

All the best,

Mr Sam Mattas - Religious Education Coordinator