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Dear Parents, Guardians and Carers,
Holy Week is a privileged time when we are called to draw near to Jesus: friendship with him is shown in times of difficulty.
(Pope Francis)
During this week all grades are participating in a walking Stations of the Cross in the school grounds as we reflect on the events of Holy Week. Thank you to our Religious Education Leader Sue Rickwood for preparing this for us.
Jesus, you take your heavy cross. It gives you pain. Help all who suffer.
The cross is too heavy and you fall. We fall often, Jesus. Help us to think of your pain.
Jesus, you and Mary suffered so much when you met each other on the road! We think of the sadness and pain that you suffered for us.
Jesus, Simon takes your cross, helps you and so becomes one with you.
Veronica has the courage to be kind to you, Jesus
Your sufferings get worse and you fall again, Jesus.
Jesus you hid your own suffering to comfort the women.
Weakness makes you fall to the ground, Jesus.
The pain is great.
Every part of your body suffers, Jesus, as they pull off your clothing.
How great is your love for every human being, Jesus! Who could ever describe or explain the agony of crucifixion? Only love could do so.
Love demands everything, Jesus. It touches the very centre of our being.
Thinking of us you gave up what we cherish most.
You breathed out your life in love, that we might live.
Mary’s body and your body are one, Jesus. Your life lives on in her body.
You overcame the powers of evil, Jesus. Your death brought us life. You want to live on in us.
Congratulations to the following students who received the Sacrament of Reconciliation last week:
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Isaiah Baxter Pearl Beckinghman Eli Brady Rose Calabro Nadine Chihota Archer Conway Isabella Conway Lorcan Doherty Blair Dunne Olivia Francolino |
Sarah Franklin Finn Hourigan Poppy Howe Sienna Hunter Tessa Jennings Grace Ketchion Nixon Krausz Alexis Lia Eva Lubawski |
Eden Marotta Clarence Mavhundu Brinlee McNeill Mack Prince Zach Seeber Courtney Thomas Liam Thomas Sophie Uren Amber Walker |
UPCOMING SCHOOL CLOSURE DAYS
On the following dates the school will be closed to students:
- Thursday 6th April
- Monday 24th April
Term One holidays will begin at 3:20pm Wednesday 5th April.
Term Two will resume on Wednesday 26th April at 9am.
Kind regards,
Jodie
On Sunday we celebrated the beginning of Holy Week with Palm Sunday. Our gospel reflection today is by Br Tony Clark FMS published by the Catholic Diocese of Sale.
Palm Sunday is one day in our liturgical year to which I look forward. It’s the entry point of the holiest of weeks in our liturgical year as Christian Catholics. First, the blessing of palms and the swaying palm branches carried in procession evokes for me our movement as the People of God, joyfully welcoming Jesus, our Messiah, among us. ‘Hosanna to the King of David!” There is usually the excitement and playfulness of children as they move in and out of people as we move into the church. There is the rich splash of colours with the green branches contrasting with red vestments of the priest. Red being the colour that usually symbolizes the shedding of blood and self-offering. Then we finally gather to listen to God’s Word. How can we not be moved as we are drawn into the high drama of Christ’s last days, his suffering and death as an innocent victim of power and the mob mentality.
This year’s Passion account comes from the Gospel of Matthew. Matthew’s presents Jesus meeting His death to fulfil His God-given destiny foreshadowed in the Scriptures and inaugurates a new age of history charged with resurrection life. Jesus is the obedient Son of God, tenaciously faithful even in the midst of abject suffering. Jesus’ trust in God, tested in the savage fury of death itself, is not in vain. Matthew portrays Jesus’ passion as an encounter with destiny, not a destiny of blind fate but one made inevitable by the strong commitments of Jesus’ mission from God and the fierce resistance of the power of death.
The climax of Matthew’s passion narrative is filled with drama. His cross carried by Simon the Cyrenian, Jesus is led to Golgotha for crucifixion. The executioners fix a placard to the cross: “This is Jesus: the King of the Jews”. They obviously intend the words to ridicule this messianic pretender as he is defeated in death. Similarly, a stream of passers-by mock Jesus’ claims to authority over the temple and taunt him by reminding him that he could apparently save others but not save himself. Even the two rebels crucified with him join in the chorus of revulsion.
In describing this terrible moment, Matthew once again reaches back to the Hebrew scriptures for his inspiration. As in Mark’s gospel, Jesus’ final prayer will be taken from Psalm 22, the great prayer of lament. In that powerful text, a faithful Jew prays in the midst of abject suffering and isolation. He is surrounded by people who ridicule his trust in God. Feeling abandoned even by God, the psalmist utters a prayer of raw faith: “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?” It is that honest, unadorned prayer that Matthew places on the lips of Jesus as the sky darkens, God’s faithful son encountering death.
Over the last month the St Michael’s Parish have been running an Art Competition about Holy Week. The entries needed to depict what we celebrate at Easter. On Sunday night at the Youth Mass the winners were announced and presented with prizes. Congratulations to our 3 St Michael’s students who won with their beautiful artwork - Evie Wyers, Amelie Harper and Rosemaria Thomas. All of the artwork is on display at the back of the church - feel free to wander in and have a look.
At the end of last week information was sent home to the families of our Grade 6 children about the Sacrament of Confirmation.
Preparation for the 2023 Confirmation Sacrament will begin with a Parent / Child Information Meeting on the 17th May at 6pm in the St Michael’s Church.
Registration forms are due back at the Parish Office by Friday 28th April. If your child is in Grade 6 and you have not yet received your information please contact me via email srickwood@stmtraralgon.catholic.edu.au .
Regards
Sue Rickwood
Each week students from each class are awarded Student of the Week certificates. These children are nominated for the example they have been within the school based on the School Wide Expectation focus for that week. The weekly focus will be from Wednesday until Tuesday the following week. Awards will be presented to students at assembly on Friday.
In Week 11 the School Wide Expectation focus was Resilience:
I view mistakes as a learning opportunity.
I persist through challenges and difficulties in my learning.
The award winners for Week 11 are:
| Evie Ploegmakers | Ivy Lambourn | Abbey Waite |
| Jordy Van Unen | Ollie Martyn | Matthew Xiao |
| Harvey Anderson | Maddex Fue | Isla Hollands |
| Ashton Giersch | Axel Foster | |
| Jacob Constantinou | Dustin Heller |
Latrobe Valley Division and Gippsland Region Swimming Carnivals
On Wednesday 8 March, 14 students from St Michael's competed in the Latrobe Valley Division Swimming Carnival at the Gippsland Regional Aquatic Centre, Traralgon. Every student placed in the top 3 of every event they competed in - an absolutely fabulous effort!
Almost all students progressed to the Gippsland Region Swimming Carnival, held on Thursday 16 March at Sale Aqua Energy Outdoor Pool. It was a windy but very sunny day for all swimmers, including the 13 from St Michael's. Well done to all on a fantastic carnival and congratulations to Chloe Szkwarek & Blake Warne who won both of their events and will compete at the State Swimming Finals at MSAC on Friday 28 April - good luck!
Latrobe Valley Division Individual Tennis
The Latrobe Valley Division Individual Tennis Competition was held on Thursday 13th April and five students (pictured) competed against 37 boys and 25 girls from schools around the Latrobe Valley. We recognise the effort and hard work of our other three students who competed on the day. They were highly competitive and should be proud of their achievements. We would like to congratulate Candice who placed first in the girls division and Ekhai was runner's up in the boys division and wish them the best of luck at the Regional Finals, which are being held on Wednesday 26th April. We are sure they will do St Michael’s proud!
Traralgon District Athletics Carnival
It was a proud moment for St Michael’s Primary School this week when 70 students competed in the Traralgon District Athletics. On Tuesday 28 March 2023, students from Grade 3 to Grade 6 participated in a range of track and field events, determined to show off their athletic skills. The day was filled with enthusiasm and energy, as students from all grades cheered each other on. Our athletes put in their best efforts, and many returned with ribbons. Every single student represented St Michael’s with respect, good sportsmanship and dedication. The Traralgon District Athletics was a great opportunity for our students to gain skills in competing in a team environment, as well as to develop their physical abilities and self-confidence. We would like to thank staff and parents who helped on the day and came to cheer on our athletes. We would also like to congratulate the 26 students who placed either first or second in at least one event, to progress to the Latrobe Valley Division Athletics which is being held in September. Well done to all!
St Michael's is once again participating in the Wonder Recycling Rewards Program. Our school is collecting bread and muffin bags to redeem for sports equipment. Could you please keep your bags and place them into the green bin outside of the hall. Bread bags should be as free from crumbs as they can be to keep the recycling process free from contamination (there is no need to wash them). Any questions can be forwarded to Mrs Dortmans or Miss Petesic. Thank you for your support!
Victorian Premiers’ Reading Challenge
The Victorian Premiers’ Reading Challenge is now open and (insert school name) is excited to be participating. The PRC application offers a range of exciting features including:
- access to a library catalogue (including book images and blurbs)
- a modern user-friendly interface
- rewarding students with badges as challenge milestones are achieved
- the option for students to mark books as a favourite, give them a star rating or complete a book review
The Challenge is open to all Victorian children from birth to Year 10 in recognition of the importance of reading for literacy development. It is not a competition; but a personal challenge for children to read a set number of books by 8 September 2023.
Children from Prep to Year 2 are encouraged to read or ‘experience’ 30 books with their parents and teachers. Children from Year 3 to Year 10 are challenged to read 15 books.
All children who meet the Challenge will receive a certificate of achievement signed by the Victorian Premier and former Premiers.
To read the Premier’s letter to parents, view the booklist and for more information about the Victorian Premiers’ Reading Challenge, visit: https://www.vic.gov.au/premiers-reading-challenge
Deborah Gilmour in the school library is able to help with any enquires.
To participate in the challenge please click on the link below:
