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Sunday, 25 July 2021, has been designated by Pope Francis as the First World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly (Ord Time 17). It coincides with the Feast of Saints Joachim and Anne, grandparents of Jesus, on July 26.
Occurring in the Year of Amoris Laetitia Family 2021-22 with the theme, ‘I am with you always’, the day draws attention to the vital role grandparents and the elderly play in our communities and in the mission of the Church.
PRAYER FOR THE FIRST WORLD DAY
for Grandparents and the Elderly
I thank You, Lord,
for the comfort of Your presence:
even in times of loneliness,
You are my hope and my confidence,
You have been my rock and my fortress since my youth!
I thank You for having given me a family
and for having blessed me with a long life.
I thank You for moments of joy and difficulty,
for the dreams that have already come true in my life and for those that are still ahead of me.
I thank You for this time of renewed fruitfulness to which You call me.
Increase, O Lord, my faith,
make me a channel of your peace,
teach me to embrace those who suffer more than me, to never stop dreaming
and to tell of your wonders to new generations.
Protect and guide Pope Francis and the Church,
that the light of the Gospel might reach the ends of the earth. Send Your Spirit, O Lord, to renew the world,
that the storm of the pandemic might be calmed,
the poor consoled and wars ended.
Sustain me in weakness
and help me to live life to the full
in each moment that You give me,
in the certainty that you are with me every day, even until the end of the age.
Amen.
Welcome back to school for term 3. I hope everyone had an enjoyable break. Whilst we have a few restrictions, we are very blessed to be outside of the remote learning zone, we hope it stays this way.
Attendance
In analysing attendance data, I have noticed that, as a school, we have had quite a large number of absences so far this year. I understand that you have to keep your children at home if they are sick but on top of that we are having students taking time off when a sibling is sick, plus there are lots of trips away, particularly to the snow at the moment.
These extra days soon mount up, with a few students now at the point of having had nearly a third of the year away from school. If this was to happen every year over the thirteen years of schooling it would put them 4 years behind their peers by the end of school with many concepts missed. This would have a major impact on their learning and hence results.
Road Safety
Could I please ask that you are particularly careful when collecting your children from the other side of the bridge in Victoria Street. We have had a few near misses of late where teachers and students have almost been run over. Please be patient and drive slowly as there are quite a number of people now taking this option for pickup and it is getting very busy.
Have a lovely week!
Kayleen Petzer
Principal
Important Dates
July
19 Activate Fire Year 6 Cancelled
28 Year 6 Mass with Bishop Brian Cancelled
August
8 Feast of Saint Mary of the Cross MacKillop
16 Religious Literacy Year 4
September
1 World Day of Creation
St Vincent de Paul Winter Appeal
Many thanks to all our families for their generous donations to the Vinnies Winter Appeal, our Mufti Day raised over $770!
These much needed funds will keep many families warm this 2inter providing warm blankets, helping with power bills and in some cases providing emergency accommodation.
Thank you for giving more than was asked, together we have made a difference to many families in Bowral.
A letter from Father Sean
Dear Parishioners,
Currently, only five of the 31 parishes in our Diocese are open. The five which are still able to celebrate Mass and offer “normal” pastoral care are ourselves, Moss Vale, Kiama, Nowra and Milton. All other parishes are part of the Greater Sydney and therefore locked down until at least 31 July, 2021.
This is cause for thanksgiving, that we are still able to enjoy the freedom of movement and ability to worship that is unavailable to many in the Catholic and wider community.
A special “shout-out” to Ingleburn. Although I have appreciated not having to travel there on Wednesdays, Thursdays and the weekends, the latest lockdown has been another blow to the momentum that had been building up there in establishing parish structures and providing consistent pastoral care. The lockdown will also seriously damage the financial position of Ingleburn and many other parishes, some of which may struggle to be viable as life returns (eventually) to normal.
So here, in the Highlands we are blessed in many ways. Thank you so much for your ongoing material support of the Parish.
Even though our Masses are being celebrated, we are certainly not back to full strength, with some understandably a little reluctant to return. If you know of anyone who is at home, I would like them to understand that we are praying for them, and keeping them informed of what is going on in the Parish. Please let us know a phone contact or email address if they would accept communication from the Parish.
August is looming very quickly and, like last year, it would appear there will be no holiday!
Wishing you a safe and healthy week.
With blessings.
Fr Sean
3 Gold experimented with charcoal in Visual Arts to create Ash Wednesday artworks.
In HSIE they have been learning about Australian celebrations and the symbols and rituals that form part of these traditions.
3 Blue created some Ash Wednesday artwork and Oil pastel Hand art.
| August | |
| 9-13 | ICAS English Competitions |
| 15 | Feast of the Assumption |
| 19 | Soccer Gala Day - Tahmoor cancelled |
| 27 | Bookweek Parade |
| 30 | Bookweek Visiting Performance |
| 30 - 3 September | ICAS Maths Competitions |
| September | |
| 3 | ATSI Cultural Day - visiting performance |
| 10 | Primary basketball gala day - Moss Vale |
| 17 | Term 3 concludes |
| October | |
| 5 (Tuesday) | Term 4 commences |
Vinnies Winter Appeal
Here is a link to the Vinnies Sleepout fundraising page. The President of Vinnies Bowral (Bruce Cowan) and Nathaniel Smith State MP for Wollondilly wil be participating in the sleepout.