This Sunday marks the end of the Easter season. Christians celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit, and with it, the birth of the Church, the Body of Christ here on earth.

The story of Pentecost begins with Jesus’ disciples huddled together in a room, too frightened to speak, too frightened to go into the world and with little idea about what to do next. However, when the Holy Spirit comes upon them, they are transformed, imbued with the gifts of courage, love and peace. They are able to go into the world and with confidence speak about Jesus; the way he loved others and the way he wants us to love. It was a message all could understand, no matter their background.

The same Spirit is with us today, guiding and protecting us as we go about building our communities (home, school, parish, local and global), and opening our hearts to ourselves, each other and those beyond our immediate neighbourhood. The Holy Spirit is a Spirit of unity. It is the work of the Spirit to make one community of peace in a world that is rich in its diversity but where too often people live in conflict and divided from one another. Just as the disciples went out into the streets and began to speak of Jesus, we are called to welcome others, to be Jesus’ presence in our world, to listen to each other, and to speak with courage about Jesus’ call to love.

When the day of Pentecost came, all the believers were gathered together in one place. Suddenly there was a noise from the sky which sounded like a strong wind blowing, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then they saw what looked like tongues of fire which spread out and touched each person there. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to talk in other languages, as the Spirit enabled them to speak.

Acts 2: 1 – 4

Feast Day

Last week, students and staff enjoyed an awesome Feast Day. The day began with mass and some lively activities in pastoral care. In the afternoon, we enjoyed the Feast Day carnival. Everyone was in fine spirits and it was great to spend time together, just having fun!

Thank you to Fr Gerard Keith from Resurrection Parish for celebrating mass with us, and to the students and staff who prepared our liturgy: the choir, the liturgy team, readers, servers and those who led the gathering rite.

Thank you also to the staff and students who organized the pastoral care activities, helped with setting up the carnival and assisted in cleaning up at the end of the day.

Feast Day is the work of many hands. Thank you to the parents who helped out with the BBQ: Azhar Al-Shorji and Hadeel Polus. Thank you to former student Luke Corson, his partner Stephanie and Chris Strachan's daughter Hannah.

Thank you to the Student Leaders on an outstanding job in organizing this year’s Feast Day carnival.

Year 10 Performance Evening

Congratulations to all involved in the Year 10 Performance Evening on Thursday. Students worked in bands, ensembles and as soloists to present a varied program that was very well received. The night was a chance for some very talented vocalists, actors, musicians and music production students to display their work.

Students also performed excerpts from the Little Shop of Horrors, the 2021 musical that was cancelled due to COVID. It was great to get a glimpse of all the work that had gone into the set and the production, and for students who had worked so hard to perform some of the scenes.

Thank you to all the families, staff and friends who came to support students on the night and to all involved in the night, particularly Ms Emma Baldacchinco and Mr Clarence Marshall.

Reconciliation Week

The energetic Social Justice leaders have been very busy over the last few weeks, firstly with Laudato Si week, followed by Feast Day and this week, Reconciliation Week.

Below is a reflection by Amadeus Wejak (Year 10 Social Justice Captain) which gives a very good explanation of Reconciliation Week.

Reconciliation week starts each year on the 27th of May until the 3rd of June, marking the days when Indigenous and Torres Strait Islander peoples were acknowledged as citizens of Australia, and legally given the title as the Traditional Custodians of the land.

The traditional owners of where we live are the Wurundjeri people from the Kulin Nation. They lived in areas around bodies of water such as the Yarra river and the Maribyrnong River for tens of thousands of years before us.

The name Wurundjeri comes from the words 'Wurun,' meaning Manna Gum, a species of tree and 'Djeri,' which is a grub found near them. The Wurundjeri people speak the Woi Wurrung dialect. A greeting word for hello or welcome in Woi Wurrung is Wominjeka.

Let us pray

Lead us on Great Spirit
As we gather at this special place
Located on land where ancestors of long ago
Gathered for work, play and praise.
Enable us to walk together in trust from the hurt of the past
Into the full day which has dawned in Jesus Christ.
Amen.

Social Justice Captain Amadeus Yr 10

Newsletter

The newsletter is published fortnightly and available online on Day 10 (Friday Week 2).

Newsletter Days for Term 1 2022:           

Fridays:               17 June