Browsed by
Category: Religious Education Posts

St Patrick’s Day Excursion!

St Patrick’s Day Excursion!

On the 17th of March, ten Year 6 students attended the St Patrick’s Day Mass at the St Patrick’s Cathedral with Mr Harvie. It was a good opportunity to meet up with lots of other catholic schools around Melbourne. We also had a chance to explore the huge cathedral after mass including all the different chapels throughout the  building. Many people choose a pray in one of the chapels for a particular cause such as the Holy Souls chapel. The statues of saints in the Cathedral were also very detailed and really helped to make the chapel so special.

We also had the special honour of getting to meet ArchBishop Peter Comensoli. We even got to take a photo with him which we put into the newsletter. Father Mark was one of the celebrants during the Mass which was also very cool.

After mass we got to enjoy a special concert where the high school students performed together with all the other students who attended mass.  It was a really nice experience watching all the high school students perform.

Here is the link to the the website about the event.

St Patrick’s Day Event

Overall, our St. Patrick’s Day celebration was an amazing experience and we are very thankful to Mr Harvie for organising this excursion and Kylie for assisting us!

Here are some links with our thoughts about the day…..

Chantal, Zoe and Saraya’s Thoughts

 

Sean and Tyler’s Thoughts

 

Here are some photos from the day …..

 

19
Ash Wednesday (Lent)

Ash Wednesday (Lent)

Currently, we are in the Lenten season. Lent begins on Ash Wednesday (which was a couple of weeks ago) and on this day we celebrated Ash Wednesday Mass in the Community Space. During our Ash Wednesday Mass each person had ashes placed on their foreheads in the shape of a cross to help us remember Jesus during this special time.

Lent is the time leading up to Easter where all Christians decide to make changes to their lives as a way to turn back to God. Christians try to turn back to God in three main ways …..

  1. Prayer – through trying to pray to God regularly.
  2. Almsgiving (giving to the poor – at HT we do this by donating to Caritas)
  3. Fasting – by giving up certain foods such as red meat on days such as Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.

By doing these things we are preparing for the special celebration at the end of the Lent called Easter.

The new Liturgy Leaders helped set up and play the Mass slideshow. This was the Liturgy Leaders first Mass for the year so they were really brave to do something like this.

Here are some of the slides from our recent Ash Wednesday Mass ….

10
🎄Christmas Carols Night🎄

🎄Christmas Carols Night🎄

Carols night was an amazing, fun experience for everyone with lots of singing and dancing. It was a perfect event to get the whole of the Holy Trinity and St. Mary’s community into the holiday Christmas spirit. It was an event we have been waiting for a long time and with COVID affecting the past two years we have not been able to gather for concerts. Not only was this the first school carols night for our Prep students but also for our year one and two students. Our carols night took place on the basketball court instead of the oval due to the ongoing rain we had been having throughout the week.

Each year level did an amazing job with their performance and everyone’s Christmas outfits were fabulous.  It was a nice way to farewell our year 6s and the departing staff and students.

Thank you to Seniora Formichelli for all her hard work with helping us to prepare for the evening and to her family for helping to set up all the sound equipment so that everyone could get into the spirit of the night.

30
Socktober!!

Socktober!!

Socktober : FAQs

What is World Mission Month?

October marks World Mission Month which celebrities the global work of the Church who support those in need around the world. As a Catholic school we are responding the call of Pope Francis, to be a witness of love in the world.

Pope Francis, in his 2022 World Mission Sunday message, invites everyone to answer the call to be missionary, sharing that “Mission is carried out together, not individually…”.

Mission in action is never confined to a single person or to the present moment, but extends through communities, across generations, and eternally.

Catholic Mission – Reach Out! Give Life!

The Year 5 students have spent time in class learning about mission. 

The Catholic Mission agency contributes funding and provides project support to critical church-run initiatives in Africa, Asia, Oceania and South America, as well as remote dioceses within Australia.

Year 5 Fundraising effort

After learning all about mission the students have planned and organised a fundraiser to acknowledge and support the work of Catholic Mission.  The fundraiser encourages the students and our school community to think not only of what they will do to help, but why they will do it.

Our Year 5 students have demonstrated teamwork, fairness, compassion and effort when planning and preparing the fundraiser. There will be three activities which students can participate in. The activities are a “silly sock” design competition, a soccer goal shootout competition and of course wearing “Silly Socks“! All activities are happening on Friday 4th November.

22
Year 6 Confirmation

Year 6 Confirmation

On Thursday (26th May) many of our year 6 students celebrated the Sacrament of Confirmation at St. Jude’s Church.  The ceremony began with carrying into the church with a special lantern that we decorated at our ‘spirit’ day. This same lantern will also be used for Graduation. When it was time for each of the candidates to be confirmed we went up to Fr. Tony who placed some oil on our forehead as a symbol of our commitment to God as our sponsor placed their hand on our right shoulder. It was special to be able to celebrate such an important milestone in our Catholic journey with our families and classmates.

Here are a few photos from our beautiful Confirmation evening …..

14
Confirmation Reflection Day

Confirmation Reflection Day

Last Friday, all the year 6 students went to St. Jude’s for our Reflection Day in preparation for making the Sacrament of Confirmation this week. It was a special day for us because we have been preparing to receive the sacrament throughout this year.  There were many different parts of the day including Fr. Mark talking to us about our chosen saints, working on our lanterns that we will use during the Confirmation ceremony and practising for the Confirmation Mass in St. Jude’s Church. We were even lucky enough to wear free dress as well as to have pizza for lunch.

Overall, our Reflection Day was fun and an important part of preparing ourselves for making the Sacrament of Confirmation this week.

Here are a few photos from our Confirmation Reflection Day.

13
Ash Wednesday Mass

Ash Wednesday Mass

On Wednesday, 2nd of March, HT and St. Mary’s celebrated Ash Wednesday by gathering together in the Community Hall for Mass.

During our Ash Wednesday Mass each person had ashes sprinkled on their heads to symbolise new life.

Ash Wednesday is the beginning of the season of Lent which is a time leading up to Easter where all Christians decide to make changes to their lives as a way to turn back to God. Christians try to turn back to God in three main ways …..

  1. Prayer – through trying to pray to God regularly.
  2. Almsgiving (giving to the poor – at HT we do this by donating to Caritas)
  3. Fasting – by giving up certain foods such as red meat on days such as Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.

By doing these things we are preparing for the special celebration at the end of the Lent called Easter.

Here are a few photos from our Ash Wednesday Mass last week …..

31
Andrew Chinn Concert

Andrew Chinn Concert

All students had an amazing day today working with Andrew Chinn in year groups throughout the day, and then finishing with a whole school concert.

Andrew is a singer songwriter of liturgical music, and we use a lot of his music for our Masses and liturgies here at school.

Many thanks to Andrew for allowing us to record the concert so that we could share it with our community. I know that many students are really excited about sharing this video with families so that they can show off their talents to you…

52
First Eucharist 2021

First Eucharist 2021

Over the last couple weekends students from year 4 and a couple from grade 5 and 6 have celebrated their first Eucharist at St Jude’s Church. Eucharist is one of the three sacraments of initiation which are important steps in the journey to becoming a full member of the Catholic Church (Baptism and Confirmation are the other two sacraments of initiation).  Eucharist is when you receive the bread (Body of Christ) from the priest reminding us of when Jesus shared the last supper with the Disciples. With such an important occasion it was natural that many students were nervous about receiving the host for the first time but were happy once they had the ceremony was completed.

Many students had their families come along to the First Eucharist Mass to support them during this very special event. Afterwards many families had a celebration to recognise this important occasion.

Here are a few photos from some of the recent first Eucharist masses.

26
Easter Picnic

Easter Picnic

At the end of last term, Holy Trinity and St. Mary’s had a very exciting Easter Picnic. It was a great opportunity for many of our families to return to our school for a community event for the first time since COVID.  Lots of fun activities took place including a crazy hat parade, a ‘guess the number of cotton balls in the container’ and an Easter egg hunt. There was plenty of great food for us including a sausage sizzle, gelati truck, donuts as well as a few Easter eggs once we completed the Easter egg hunt. It was wonderful to see so many happy faces and it showed how much our community enjoys gathering for special events like this.

Thank you to our wonderful Parents’ Association who came up with this new event and for their hard work in putting the Easter Picnic together.

Here are a few photos from the Easter Picnic.

18
End of Year School Mass

End of Year School Mass

Today (Friday 11th December) the HT and St. Mary’s community gathered as a community to remember the 2020 school year. It was the first time we had gathered together as a whole school community since term one and due to COVD regulations we celebrated this mass outside on the basketball court. It was also an opportunity for many of us to meet our new parish priest, Fr. Mark, who joined the St. Jude’s community during our second lockdown. It was a lovely opportunity to reflect on 2020 and Fr. Mark taught us about the similarities between our experiences with COVID and the major disease faced in Jesus time called leprosy.

Thanks for Fr. Mark, Mr. Harvie and all the staff and students for helping to make today’s mass such a special celebration.

Here are a few photos taken during today’s celebration.

7
Eucharist – Chalice & Host Activity

Eucharist – Chalice & Host Activity

Last week the Grade 3 students got creative for their Eucharist activity. They were asked to create a 3D chalice and host using what they could find around their house. The Grade 3’s could use items they already had available or could create their own using anything they liked including, cloths, leaves, dry pasta, playdough, paper, etc.

Mrs Wahrenberger and Miss McGing were so proud of the effort that was put in and wanted to share some of these creations with everyone.

15
Anzac Day Celebration

Anzac Day Celebration

Hi everyone.

This weekend we are celebrating Anzac Day (25 April). Anzac Day is a time when we take some time to remember the people who have served our country. Here is a slide show that we would like to take the time to explore with your family.

Happy Anzac Day everyone!

Ash Wednesday Mass

Ash Wednesday Mass

Last Wednesday 26th February Holy Trinity and St. Mary’s celebrated Ash Wednesday by gathering together in the Community Hall for Mass. During this celebration Fr. Longinus and the other teachers placed Ashes on the foreheads of all students as a symbol of a new start.

Ash Wednesday is the beginning of the season of Lent which is a time leading up to Easter where all Christians decide to make changes to their lives as a way to turn back to God. Christians do this in three main ways …..

  1. Prayer – through trying to pray to God regularly.
  2. Almsgiving (giving to the poor – at HT we do this by donating to Caritas)
  3. Fasting – by giving up certain foods such as red meat on days such as Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.

By doing these things we are preparing for the special celebration at the end of Lent called Easter.

Here are a few photos from our Ash Wednesday Mass last week …..

 

Year 1/2 Mission Prayer Service

Year 1/2 Mission Prayer Service

This afternoon, the Year 1’s and 2’s had a Prayer Service celebrating Mission month. Mission month celebrates being a community and doing good things together. Thank you to all the parents that came to celebrate with us, as well as all the students that did readings.

 

2019 Sacrament of Eucharist

2019 Sacrament of Eucharist

On Sunday September 8th and Sunday September 15th the Year 3 students, Tonny (from Year 4) and several Parish Catechist students celebrated their First Eucharist Sacrament with their families.

Liam – On  Sunday September 15th most year 3 students and Tonny went to celebrate the sacrament ofFirst Eucharist. First we all sat down. Shortly after that the mass started. Father started to do some prayers. Then there was some readings. After that Miss McGing tapped my shoulder so I went up to receive the host and wine. Then I went back to my seat. Then the mass finished. That night I had a family dinner. 

Mia – I received my First Holy Communion on the 15th of September. Receiving the eucharist is fun because you become one step closer to God. I learned that your parents put your hands on your shoulder. We made a banner and decorated it. I did the First Reading of the mass. Each Monday the Year 3’s were getting together and got ready for the sacrament by learning about it’s importance.

Isabelle C – We all prepared for this very important and special Sacrament of Initiation for weeks and weeks. We made banners and tried the bread and wine for the first time during our Family Faith Night. Then we celebrated the Sacrament at two Sunday Masses. I participated in the first Mass and my family was very proud of me. In fact they brought the family to a restaurant and we had lots of fun.

Mya – On Sunday the 8th of September I celebrated my First Eucharist. To prepare we had hometasks. The first task that we had was about Godparents and Baptism. About the mass I learned that on the day your parents put their hands on your shoulders. I had a reading in the mas. A Lot of people from my family were there which made it feel more special. I only had the host and didn’t have the wine. The sacrament was really fun and I can’t wait for more.

Isaac –  On Sunday September the 8th, I had my First Eucharist. To prepare for the sacrament we had homework about Godparents and baptism, Connections between Baptism and Eucharist, Sacraments of Initiation and we even created our own Eucharist banner. On Monday’s we would get together and do work about the sacrament of the Eucharist.

Bailee – On Sunday, 15th September Year 3s celebrated their First Eucharist. When we preparing for the Sacrament we got some homework such as why do we have godparents?. In the past few weeks I have learnt to bow before receiving the host, kneel and pray after receiving the wine and to say “Amen” when Father says “Body of Christ”.

Abbey – On Sunday 8th September I received my First Eucharist. The Year 3s prepared with home tasks like why we have godparents and what is a Sacrament of Initiation. We also created First Eucharist banners. We had a workshop night too. We learned about the story of Feeding the Five Thousand and had a taste of the bread and wine. When it was time for my First Eucharist my mum and dad came with me. I received the bread and the wine.

James – The Grade 3 Level and Tonny prepared for Eucharist by doing some home tasks and completing a slide presentation. We spent Monday afternoon together working hard to learn about Eucharist and the Mass. I was nervous when I got there because I had a long reading. I was happy when I made my Eucharist.

Jacob – The Grade 3 Level and Tonny from Grade 4 celebrated their First Eucharist with family members. We made a Eucharist banner to display in the church. All of us did a slide presentation. My family came to my First Eucharist. When we had the bread and wine we had to put our writing hand under our other hand.

Leonardo – On Sunday  8th of September it was my First Eucharist. I learned how to receive communion. 3 Blue and 3 Yellow and Tonny from 4 Blue learned about Eucharist on Monday afternoons. I recieved the host and the wine.

Poppy – On my First Communion we had to listen to Father and went to Father and before we take the bread and the wine and went back to our seats and we make a prayer. Then we sang song sounds and that was done. We went to the restaurant to have a meal together. I learned to bow before getting the bread. 

Chloe – On the 8th of September, I made my First Eucharist. My family came to the Eucharist. I thought it was a very exciting day. I liked experiencing my First Eucharist. When you get the host and wine you go back and kneel  down. 

Isabelle W – First we prepared for our Eucharist. I learnt how to walk up to receive the host and wine. We prepared by learning about the Sacrament and practicing. On the day, when it was my turn, my parents put their hands on my shoulders. I had to bow before I received the host. I held my hands out, my left on top and my right underneath. The priest put the host in my hand, then I picked it up. I put the host in my mouth and made the sign of the cross. Then I had the wine. 

Ava – On Sunday 8th September, I made my First Eucharist. I have learned lots about Eucharist that I put my left hand underneath my right hand when receiving the host. My family came to celebrate and I made a banner that was hung up in the church for all the Eucharist masses.

Finnley – On Sunday September the 8th, most of the people from the Year 3 level and Tonny from 4 Blue were making their first Eucharist. Before that we practised singing the songs, practised how to receive the bread and wine. We also got to practice at mass and even got Eucharist home tasks. Until the day arrived. Mass went on for a long time. 

Charlotte – On the 8th I had a wonderful time making my first eucharist. I got to go up and receive a blessed host and sip the blessed wine. I felt a bit nervous at first but then got really excited and was ready to receive Jesus.

Ella D – On Sunday 8th September I made my First Eucharist. During class 3 Yellow joined 3 Blue, learned about Eucharist and practiced for it. We learned about the connection between Baptism and Eucharist. Now that I have made my Eucharist I feel more Holy and Catholic and now I am really welcomed into God’s Life.”

Elliott – On Sunday the 8th, I had my First Eucharist. When it was my turn, I felt very excited that I was making my first Eucharist. I remembered to make the sign of the cross and I had the wine, the blood of Jesus. We made First Eucharist banners that were hung in St Jude’s church which were displayed so everyone who goes into the church knows who was making their Eucharist. After I had a photo with my banner before we left the church.

Tia – On Monday after sport, 3 Blue and 3 Yellow started to learn all about eucharist. We learned that the second person before receiving eucharist has to bow. Also in our spare time we had to create a Eucharist banner. 

Ella G – Every Monday in Term 3, after lunch, 3 Yellow and 3 Blue learnt about the Sacraments of Initiation, though we focused mainly on Eucharist

Angel – When we prepared for the Eucharist we learned about how to receive the body and blood of Christ. We had home tasks about Baptism and Eucharist. We also learned about the sacraments of Initiation. The sacraments are Baptism, Eucharist and Confirmation. Every Monday afternoon we would come together and prepare. In Mass there are 4 parts . The introductory rights, the liturgy of the word, The Liturgy of the EuchArist and the Concluding rites.

Curtis – On the day you need to have your dominant hand at the bottom and make a bowl shape. You need to bow when you are second in line. Then after receiving the bread you step to the side and do the sign of the cross, return to your seat and say a prayer.

Abigail – In class we have been learning how to receive the Sacrament of Eucharist. Some people received on Sunday 8th and others received on Sunday 15th of September. We completed two home tasks and completed a few practice runs to prepare. Everyone was dressed really nicely for this special time. Some people read and did a really good job. When we received, our parents came up with us. At the end of the Mass we all met our parents and family and went home.

Xavier – I learnt that after you receive the bread and wine you kneel and pray. Before you receive the host you need to bow. I also learnt that the Last Supper is connected to the Eucharist. In the Last Supper Jesus knew he was going to die and celebrated a meal with his disciples.

Ben – On Monday afternoon’s the Grade 3’s have been learning about Eucharist. I have learned that there are 4 parts of the mass. We gather, We listen, We Come and We leave. We did tasks at home too. 

Rebecca – In class we learned lots on Eucharist to participate. Although I wasn’t participating in the sacrament of Eucharist I still took part in practicing. We practiced holding the chalice and taking the host (the body of Christ). The wine (the blood of Christ) and praying straight after we had the blood and body of Christ. In practice we tried bowing before we were called up to have the wine and host. I found it interesting that Catholics believe the bread and wine is actually the body and blood of Christ. 

Jordan – In Term 3, on Mondays, the Year 3s and Tonny from Year 4 were preparing for the sacrament of eucharist. After lunch we practices For our Sunday Mass by practicing receiving the bread and wine. At Mass the students were wearing white and black. When the song about bread and wine played all of the First Eucharist students went to the middle aisle to receive their First Eucharist. Some were not drinking the wine because the parents choose not to let them.

Nathan – On Sunday 8th and 15th of September the year 3’s had Eucharist. Mrs Wahrenberger and Miss McGing gave us homework about why we have Godparents, what are the sacraments of Initiation and how Eucharist is connected to a family meal. We also had to make communion banners and they looked really good. All of that helped us a lot to make our First Eucharist.

Divyani – Eucharist is a Sacrament of Initiation. The teachers gave us home tasks to complete. We practiced how to hold and drink the wine from the chalice and how to receive the bread. Tonny (from Grade 4) was receiving his Eucharist too. We compared Baptism and Eucharist. We learnt about the parts of the Mass. I learnt that we had to bow before we receive the Eucharist.

Zeke – Each Monday in Term 3 the year 3 level and Tonny have been learning about the Sacrament of Eucharist. Eucharist is one of the three Sacraments of Initiation. We have had to complete a slide presentation about Eucharist and complete activities such as self reflections. I really enjoyed practicing for the Mass.

Tonny – On Sunday September the 8th I made my First Eucharist with the Year 3’s. We went to St Jude’s church. We learned about how we receive the body and blood. Every Monday we learned about the Sacrament of the Eucharist to practice.

Year 6 Confirmation

Year 6 Confirmation

In Week 1 of this term our Year 6 celebrated a special milestone in our lives by receiving the sacrament of Confirmation.

We had been preparing for Confirmation since last term with researching a special saint as well as learning about the Gifts and Fruits of the Holy Spirit. On Thursday the 18th July all the Year 6s students went to St Jude’s Parish to prepare for this special day by having a Spirit day.  During this day we completed a series of activities aimed at preparing us for our Confirmation as well as practising for the ceremony at St. Jude’s Church. Monsignor Ireland also came to visit us during the day and spoke to us about the importance of Confirmation as well as easing our nerves leading up to the day. We were lucky enough to have pizzas for lunch and play down ball and basketball during our break times.

We celebrated our Confirmation with the Year 6’s from St. Jude’s on Saturday 20 July where we all had  a lantern and stole. When we received our Confirmation Monsignor Ireland blessed each of the candidates and called them by their chosen saint name. Overall, it was a very special day and we will treasure this special event for the rest of our lives.

Here are some photos of the occasion ……

1
St Vincent De Paul Donations and Feast of the Sacred Heart Mass

St Vincent De Paul Donations and Feast of the Sacred Heart Mass

Over the past few weeks we have been collecting items such as canned and packaged food that does not go off, toiletries, blankets and other items for the people in our community who are not as lucky as we are. The outcome was that we had almost two cars boots full of goods for St. Vincent de Paul. At Mass today we celebrated the Feast of the ‘Sacred Heart’ where we brought up some of these donations during the offertory procession. Fr Longinus taught us about how this feast is a celebration of love we have in our community and how God loves us. The donations we have raised for the poor demonstrates how much we display our school motto of ‘Love One Another’ for those in need. Great stuff everyone on your fantastic fundraising!

 

Holy Week Prayer

Holy Week Prayer

On Thursday the 4th of April Holy Trinity gathered together in the Community Space to have a prayer to remember Holy Week and the sacrifice that took place when Jesus gave his life for us. Mr. Harvie talked about what a special time it is in Holy Week and we had readings explaining what happened on each day. As you probably already know Holy Week takes place during the school holidays and is the time leading up to Easter.