Dear Families,
Term 4 is shaping up to be just as busy as all the other terms! I don’t know why we think it will be different.
Sacrament Program
This commences next Monday at 3.30 – 4.15pm in the church. There will be a creche for siblings in the transportable. If you have not yet registered your interest, please let Bianca Cotton (parishassociate@nativityparish.com.au) or Sharyn Black (sblack@nativity.catholic.edu.au) know. The Reconciliation workshops will run for 3 consecutive Mondays.
End of Year Thanksgiving Mass
This will be held on Tuesday 5 December at 6.30pm. It is expected that all students will attend, and we warmly invite families to be a part of the celebration. During the Mass we will bless and farewell our Year 6 students. More information will follow closer to the date.
Camp
Our Year 3 and 4 students had a wonderful camp experience last week at Woodhouse, participating in lots of fun activities. It was lovely to be able to be a part of it and chat with students in a setting outside of school. Evie enjoyed cooking pasta on the trangia, Kenji, Hudson and Bob enjoyed Challenge Hill especially the rope crossing over the creek and Lomatia loved sleeping in the dorm with her friends. Apparently Ruben was able to catch up on some sleep on the second night because he “didn’t get much the first night.”
Along with the planned activities, camp gave our students the chance to practise their independent living skills as well as time to put our school values of belonging, compassion, justice, courage, forgiveness, and gratitude, into action. We sometimes forget that children need time to practise including others in the group, learning how to build others up with encouragement, how to be patient and accepting of people who cannot do things or do them differently. It can also surprise children that someone who struggles with learning can be a real whiz when it comes to climbing or putting a go-cart together. It was heart-warming to see and hear kindness as well as witness the blooming leadership skills. I am sure that the Year 5 and 6 students will have as much fun at their Yankalilla-based camp this week.
As the busyness of this term increases (and it will), remember to care for yourself. May I leave you with this prayer from Rev. Austin Fleming:
Lord, it’s likely that sometime today someone will
push my buttons
challenge my goodwill
misread my intentions
tick me off
try my patience
rattle my cage
judge me in haste
test my kindness
or do all of the above.
Give me the grace that I’ll need at such times
to respond with patience
to trust and accept
to listen carefully
to reach out in peace
to be fair and just
to anticipate goodness
in all my words and deeds
I know this is a lot to ask, Lord but I need your help
to do for others as I’d have them do for me…
Amen
Blessings to you all,
Sharyn Black
Assistant Principal Religious Identity and Mission
