Our Lady of Lourdes Primary Newsletter

Term 3 Week 8 2020 : 11th September

Key Dates

Last day of Term 3Friday 25th, September
Staff Development DayMonday, 12th October
First day of Term 4Tuesday, 13th October

Gospel Reading

24th Sunday in Ordinary Time - Year A

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew

Peter went up to Jesus and said, ‘Lord, how often must I forgive my brother if he wrongs me? As often as seven times?’ Jesus answered, ‘Not seven, I tell you, but seventy-seven times.

‘And so the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who decided to settle his accounts with his servants. When the reckoning began, they brought him a man who owed ten thousand talents; but he had no means of paying, so his master gave orders that he should be sold, together with his wife and children and all his possessions, to meet the debt. At this, the servant threw himself down at his master’s feet. “Give me time,” he said “and I will pay the whole sum.” And the servant’s master felt so sorry for him that he let him go and cancelled the debt. Now as this servant went out, he happened to meet a fellow servant who owed him one hundred denarii; and he seized him by the throat and began to throttle him. “Pay what you owe me”, he said. His fellow servant fell at his feet and implored him, saying, “Give me time and I will pay you.” But the other would not agree; on the contrary, he had him thrown into prison till he should pay the debt. His fellow servants were deeply distressed when they saw what had happened, and they went to their master and reported the whole affair to him. Then the master sent for him. “You wicked servant,” he said. “I cancelled all that debt of yours when you appealed to me. Were you not bound, then, to have pity on your fellow servant just as I had pity on you?” And in his anger the master handed him over to the torturers till he should pay all his debt. And that is how my heavenly Father will deal with you unless you each forgive your brother from your heart.’

Ref:Liturgyhelp.com

Gospel Focus – How many times?

Peter asks, ‘How many times should I forgive? As many as seven times?’ Peter probably thought that he was being pretty generous. The religious law of his time required people to forgive three times, so by suggesting seven times, Peter would have thought that he was really going the extra mile. To forgive someone seven times is a pretty big call. But the number seven has great significance in scripture; it is regarded as a number of perfection. Peter is suggesting that there is an ideal number of times that one should forgive. Jesus blows this out of the water by saying, take that perfect number of times and multiply it by seventy. There is no perfect number of times to forgive.

© Greg Sunter

Sacrament of Confirmation

Congratulations to all who received the Sacrament of Confirmation this week. Confirmation completes Baptism. We are gifted with the Gifts of the Spirit, strengthened in our faith and reminded to participate fully in Jesus’ mission.

Congratulations to the children in Years 5 and 6, may you go forth in your faith, demonstrating the Gifts and Fruits of the Holy Spirit, bringing Jesus alive to all you encounter.

Year 6 - Voice of Youth Competition

‘Speaking and Listening’ is one of the main outcomes in the English Syllabus. In Stage 3, there is greater emphasis on preparing and rehearsing for spoken presentations, preparation of material and the development of skills in presentation.  Throughout the term, Year 6 prepared and rehearsed to participate in the Diocesan Voice of Youth Speaking Competition. Due to the current situation with COVID this competition did not proceed as it has in previous years. Each child in year 6 presented to their class and then 3 students from each class presented to Mr Haskins and Mrs Neylan. 

Congratulations to Halyn Kim and Matilda De Celis, as well as Antonella Bayeh who received the Social Justice Award. Halyn’s speech will now be recorded and uploaded to a Diocesan forum along with other students from the Diocese.

Merit Awards

Congratulations to the following students who received Merit Awards  this week. 

ClassStudents NameClassStudents NameClassStudents Name
KM

Harriet Starkey

Zoey Hurst

Vincent Hajgato

Nicholas Pratt

1H

Charlotte Brooks

Jean-Christophe Hoang

Akash Jangra

Trasa King

Amy Lines

2P

Lucy Polley

Sarah Deehan

George Zaidan

Marcus Pintabona

James Gibbons

KO

Olivia Bazouni

Lucia Anthony

Jacob Ede

Evie McLellan

Sophia Barjel

1M

Oliver Morgan 

Aston Haddad 

Tarini SoliKesavakumar

Taitoa Bryers

2Y

Maksym Onis 

Adam Korpal 

Matthew Kenna

Josephine Navarro

3D

Emily Chiha

Mathew Edwards

Georgia Haddad

Rhea Murarikar

Joel Obuobisa-Nyampong

4G

Candace Sturdy

Elijah Zackey

Eamon King 

Sarah Kenna

5C

Thomas Drazenovic

Julian Haddad

Murray Rankin

Charli Thackeray

Arran Urquhart

3S

Tiana Habib

Wanda Essey

Sienna Johnsson

Maya Jangra

Cooper Thacker

4L

Ruby Smith

Maeve Nolan

Christian Hallal

Luis Mantoufeh

5F

Ryan McQuaid

Annabella Navarro

Elyssia Alha

Sophie Norris

Harley Soriano

6B

Siella Wardle 

Matthew Wybrow

Izabella Zalloua

Tahlia Moodley

6M

Euan Filipino

Harrison Qummou

Olivia Higgins

Callum Goracz

Merit Award Photos

National Child Protection Week: Putting Children First

We all play a part in keeping children and young people safe and ensuring they can live and learn in a safe environment. This National Child Protection Week (6 to 12 September 2020), we pledge commitment to listening to the voices of children and young people and remaining vigilant to their safety and wellbeing.

In support of the National Child Protection Week theme, “Putting Children First”, and in line with the National Catholic Safeguarding Standards, Catholic Education Diocese of Parramatta (CEDP) is committed to the establishment and implementation of child safe systems, policies and procedures. 

The aim is to have in place practices that are proactive and preventative in nature, providing children and young people with school environments where they are safe, informed, participate, and where the adult community, working together with children and young people, work towards making this happen. 

Recently, CEDP have moved from what was primarily Child Protection to Safeguarding, which requires us to do things differently, enabling a greater level of proactivity, children's voice and building all-round knowledge for what is safe behaviour when working with students and children. The CEDP Safeguarding team's role is to support the implementation of the Standards, to manage concerns raised about employees, Working With Children Checks (WWCC), and to provide training, education and support to the CEDP community. 

By providing the community with the knowledge, support and procedures to keep children and young people safe we are equipping everyone with the tools and skills needed to be ambassadors of child safety! Throughout 2020, CEDP's Safeguarding Team have been working on many projects to align with the National Catholic Safeguarding Standards. 

Check out www.parra.catholic.edu.au/About-Us/Building-Child-Safe-Communities - after all, what's more important than the knowledge to help keep children and young people safe!

Letter from Very Rev Chris de Souza Vicar General Episcopal Vicar for Education & Formation for circulation

Please find attached an additional letter from Very Rev Chris de Souza Vicar General Episcopal Vicar for Education & Formation for circulation. 
Download

Uniforms

Students are to commence wearing their summer uniform Week 1, Term 4. We will monitor the weather and determine if this needs to happen sooner.

Uniform orders can be placed with Ozfashions via the Qkr app. 

If you have any questions please email Elle elle@ozfashions.com.au 

 

School Fees

Instalment 3 school fee statement has now been issued.  Please email the office if you have not received this statement. 

Those families who are not directly financially impacted by Covid-19 we appreciate your continued support in paying your fees.

 Please click on the following link for Covid-19 school fee relief if required 

https://www.parra.catholic.edu.au/feerelief

Social Skills

The SkoolBag app is the easiest way keep up with school events, last minute notices, newsletters and all school communications.

The Skoolbag app is available from both the App Store and Google Play Store. Skoolbag app can be installed on any iOS(iPad or iPhone) or Android device. Remember to subscribe to your child's year group so that you will receive messages relevant to their year. Instructions on how to download the Skoolbag App are available  via this link


P&F News

Father's Day Raffle Winners

Thank you to all the P&F and volunteers who organised the Father's Day online stall and raffle. Your hard work and effort is appreciated. 

Congratulations to following Father's Day raffle winners. 

Thank you for your support.

1stBBQRuby Skinner 4G10thRebel HamperRuby Skinner 4G
2ndWatchDaniel Deiri KM11thVisa HamperKyla Single 3S
3rdCoolerJay Malik KM12thSpice HamperChantelle Soto 4L
4thActive VoucherEvie McLellan KO13thM&M HamperEamon King 4G
5th Meat VoucherElysse Alam 1M14thM&M Hamper Sarah Williamson 3D
6th Meat VoucherArthur Essey  5C15thM&M HamperOwen Evans 1M
7th Cookie boxAndrew Qummou 5C16thCelebrations Hamper Lucy Polley 2P
8thCookie boxCooper Thacker 3S17thLolly Hamper Alexis Saab 2P
9thRebel HamperNatal Gardiner 5F

Parish News

Invitation Catechesis for Adults Our Lady of Lourdes 2020