Dear Parents, Guardians and Carers,

It has been a busy, yet highly successful Term 1 at St Patrick’s. Each of the classrooms have established their routines and there is a great feel as you enter each of the rooms. The students have thoroughly engaged in their learning and there is a calm, busyness in each of the rooms. Throughout the term, the teachers have focused on providing expert teacher practice, especially in the areas of Literacy and Numeracy. This consistent, daily approach is really supporting student learning growth and we are seeing this in our assessment results. The students should all be really proud of their efforts this term and deserve a well-earned rest.

Holy Week/Easter

This week, our students presented a Stations of the Cross play. The Stations of the Cross, recount Jesus last week on Earth, before his death and resurrection.

Tomorrow, as a Catholic community, we celebrate Good Friday. On Good Friday, we commemorate the crucifixion of Jesus. According to the gospels, Jesus was betrayed by Judas on the night of the Last Supper, commemorated on Holy Thursday. Jesus was arrested and sent to Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor of the province. Pontius Pilate questioned Jesus but found no reason to condemn Him. Instead, he suggested Jewish leaders deal with Jesus according to their own law. But under Roman law, they could not execute Jesus, so they appealed to Pilate to issue the order to kill Jesus.

Pilate appealed to King Herod, who found no guilt in Jesus and sent Him back to Pilate once again. Pilate declared Jesus to be innocent, and washed his hands to show that he wanted nothing to do with Jesus, but the crowds were enraged. To prevent a riot and to protect his station, Pilate reluctantly agreed to execute Jesus and sentenced him to crucifixion. Jesus was convicted of proclaiming himself to be the King of the Jews. Jesus was nailed to the cross and crucified between two thieves. Following the incredible events of the day, the body of Christ was removed from the cross and laid in a tomb.

Easter is the celebration of Christ's resurrection from the dead. It is celebrated on Sunday, and marks the end of Holy Week. As we know from the Gospels, Jesus Christ rose from the dead on the third day following his crucifixion, which would be Sunday. His resurrection marks the triumph of good over evil, sin and death. It is the singular event which proves that those who trust in God and accept Christ will be raised from the dead.

An Easter Prayer

Christ the Lord is risen

And as all the world rejoices,

Singing of his glory

With such joyful hearts and voices,

May you find that Easter brings you

Peace and faith and hope anew,

And may these blessings fill your heart

With joy the whole year through.

Catholic Social Teaching

The Catholic Church has a history of social teaching that goes back centuries and provides a compelling challenge for living responsibly and building a just society.

The following are several of the key themes that are at the heart of our Catholic social tradition.

• Life and Dignity of the Human Person
• Call to Family, Community, and Participation
• Rights and Responsibilities
• Preferential Option for the Poor
• The Dignity of Work and the Rights of Workers
• Solidarity
• Care for God’s Creation

At St Patrick’s, our Year 6 Mission Leaders, led by Mrs Kuizenga, have had a keen eye on Catholic Social Teaching throughout the season of Lent. During this time, we have learnt a lot about people from Australia and countries throughout the world that aren’t as lucky as we are, through Caritas Australia. Recently, our Mission Leaders have helped coordinate fundraising events, such as a colouring competition, guess the number of lollies in the jar competition and the selling of icy poles, to raise money for Caritas Australia. Caritas Australia is a charity organisation that is working to eradicate poverty and injustice. I would like to thank Mrs Kuizenga, the Mission Leaders and all those students and families that supported these fundraising efforts.

Your donations will have a huge impact on the lives of others.

I hope that you all have a happy and safe Easter and I look forward to seeing you next term.

Kind regards,

Joel