RE News with Laura Matchett
RE News with Laura Matchett
The Jubilee Prayer
Father in heaven,
may the faith you have given us
in your son, Jesus Christ, our brother,
and the flame of charity enkindled
in our hearts by the Holy Spirit,
reawaken in us the blessed hope
for the coming of your Kingdom.
May your grace transform us
into tireless cultivators of the seeds of the Gospel.
May those seeds transform from within both humanity and the whole cosmos
in the sure expectation
of a new heaven and a new earth,
when, with the powers of Evil vanquished,
your glory will shine eternally.
May the grace of the Jubilee
reawaken in us, Pilgrims of Hope,
a yearning for the treasures of heaven.
May that same grace spread
the joy and peace of our Redeemer
throughout the earth.
To you our God, eternally blessed,
be glory and praise for ever.
Amen
Thank You
I’d like to thank everyone in our community for such a warm welcome back from my parental leave. I am excited to return to my REC role as well as teaching Year 1 this year. I would especially like to extend my appreciation and heartfelt thanks to Emma Donaghue for stepping into the REC role in my absence. Emma worked incredibly hard throughout her time here, and I’m particularly grateful to her for establishing our hygiene station which I will be continuing with this year.
SPAR - Parents and Friends Prayer Group
Tomorrow evening at our welcome picnic I will be launching a new initiative at SJV this year, the SPAR Parents and Friends prayer group. SPAR stands for Stop Pray and Reflect and my hope is that it will give parents and friends of our school community the opportunity to pray together regularly. It is open to everyone regardless of faith background, practising or non-practising Catholics, those who pray regularly, those who haven’t prayed in a while, anyone considering becoming Catholic, anyone curious about how we pray here at school, or anyone who would like 10 minutes of peace and calm in their week! You don’t need to attend each week, it will always be open to anyone who wants to come along.
The group will meet on Thursday mornings in the area between the canteen and the hall, starting at 8:45 am for 10 minutes. Parents and friends with younger children are welcome to bring them along, where Year 6 students will be available to supervise them in the hall. The focus of the prayer group will be on reflections of the upcoming Sunday’s Gospel, Christian meditation, and key events and feast days in the Catholic faith. Participation is entirely optional—no one will be asked to share or speak unless they feel comfortable doing so.
I encourage you to consider giving this a try this year. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to me. lauramatchettt@cg.catholic.edu.au with any questions.
I hope to see you there!
A reflection hour for parents and candidates who would like their child to make their first Reconciliation this year, is on next Tuesday 11th February at St John Vianney’s Church at 6:15pm. Registrations for Reconciliation will close shortly and can be made through the Parish’s Qkr! App. Please contact the Parish via email: SacramentalOLA@cg.org.au or by phone: 6288 1979 with any questions about the evening or registration.
Sacraments 2025
Families of students who are eligible to make one of the Sacraments (Reconciliation, First Eucharist or Confirmation) this year are encouraged to visit the Parish website: https:/stjvwestoncreekblogspot.com/ for information and registration details for each of the Sacraments.
Eligibility for each Sacrament is as follows:
Reconciliation - open to students who have been baptised Catholic and who are in Year 3 or above.
First Eucharist - open to baptised Catholic students who have made their Reconciliation and are in Year 4 or above.
Confirmation - open to baptised Catholic students who have received their First Eucharist and who are in Year 6 or above.
It is possible to receive more than one Sacrament in the same year, however, the Sacraments usually need to made in order (i.e. Reconciliation, followed by First Eucharist, then Confirmation). These questions and other general enquiries about the Sacramental program are best directed to the Parish Office via email: SacramentalOLA@cgorgg.au
School Masses
As a school, we regularly attend the Wednesday morning 9:30 am Mass at St John Vianney’s Church. The choir sings at this Mass and sometimes our students have a role in other parts of the celebration. Parents and friends of our school are welcome to join us alongside parishioners at this Mass. Dates the school will be attending Mass this term are as follows:
Wednesday 12th February: Opening School Mass at 9:30am
Wednesday 5th March: Ash Wednesday Mass at 9:30am
Tuesday 25th March: Our Lady of the Annunciation Feast Day Mass (with St Jude’s),TBC