St Vincent de Paul Can Drive Appeal:

Please keep the donations coming in. Remember to mark donations with your child’s House Colour: - White = ‘WH’, Navy = ‘N’, Gold = ‘G’ and Maroon = ‘M’.

Diocesan Assembly:

A huge thank you to our community for getting involved with our Adelaide Diocesan Assembly questions. It’s easy to feel unheard or to feel like maybe your opinion doesn’t matter, but at Catholic Education SA we welcome your voice understanding that you help shape the future of our educational sector in South Australia, Church and its mission. The aim of the questions is to better understand the hopes, fears and realities of our Catholic faith and Church exploring the attitudes around Church and expectations. Getting involved is a way to make a difference in today’s Church and without your feedback and observations how can we possibly start to make progressions towards a brighter future?

• More lay persons involved in the governance of the Church and its policies and processes.
• 21^st century relevance especially toward integrating younger members.
• Excludes many.
• Teaching RE in a community that is mostly non-Catholic or non-Church going.
• Non-Catholic educators lack ‘expertise’ of Catholic traditions, charism and knowledge. RE taught at surface level.
• Sacramental Program – families using Church to suit their own agenda as candidates inevitable do not return to Church or Church services once program has ceased.
• If families are serious about initiating their child into the Catholic Faith, all Sacramental workshops for candidate, sponsor and family should be attended.

As the Adelaide Diocesan Assembly start to unpack received feedback from all stakeholders, no doubt we will receive a synopsis of their findings which will become apparent CESA wide.

Sacramental Candidates:

Our Sacramental Program has continued despite Covid, albeit much has had to be adjusted to adhere with government restrictions. Due to the diligent effort of all involved, our candidates, Jacob, Chae, Luka, Ella-Grace, Matilda, Abbey, Angelina and Liam, have reached the stage where they will be celebrating their Confirmation and Eucharist in the first couple of weeks in September. As this most significant stage in our candidates’ journey of faith draws closer, I would like to invite you all to keep these families in your thoughts and prayers as the candidates are being fully initiated into our Catholic family, the family of God.

I would personally like to take this opportunity in thanking everyone associated with the Sacramental Program: families, candidates, teachers, APRIMs, Church coordinators and Fr Pat. Please know that your support and encouragement, which has manifested in a number of rich and unique ways, has been warmly received and very much appreciated. The heartening community impact has been immeasurable.

Lunch with Leadership:

On Friday 13 August 2021 we had our first ‘Lunch with Leadership’ session with students from R-2. It was an absolute joy to sit and talk with the students that attended. Many stayed to eat and play games for the entire lunch break. Week 8 will be Years 3-7’s turn to have lunch with leadership.

Relationships in schools are crucial and vital to the well-being of everyone associated with a school. The teacher-student relationship is the most important relationship in school – it’s probably the most important anything in school. But other school relationships are also important, and together, they all contribute to a relational culture within a school.

The relationships leadership have with students help keep them connected to the life of the school. When leadership know students on a personal level, they are in a much better position to understand how school decisions might impact students. In fact, if leadership have positive relationships with students, students are going to be much more willing to approach leadership for anything. Furthermore, positive relationships with students also reinforce what the leadership values.

Father’s Day Prayer:

Father’s Day is fast approaching. So on behalf of our Catherine McAuley community, we wish all the father figures in the lives of our students a relaxing day. A day filled with much love and appreciation. Know you are special in so many ways, within your family unit, and you mean more than words could ever express.

Dear God,

Bless all the significant males in the lives of our Catherine McAuley students.

Please continue to guide them to be good role models and loving. We ask You to help them to be the father figure like You are.

Give them the grace and patience to handle any situation in a controlled loving way.

AMEN.

Mrs. Caldinez

APRIM