What's coming up and when:

As we approach the final week of Term One, I want to extend my heartfelt thanks to our families for making the start of the 2025 school year so positive. It has been a busy and rewarding term, filled with learning, growth, and memorable moments across all year levels.

Our students have settled in wonderfully, and I am grateful for the ongoing support and enthusiasm of our parent community. A special thank you to our dedicated staff, whose commitment and care have helped create a strong and confident start for every class.

Easter Season

During the first week of the holidays, we will enter the solemn and sacred journey of Holy Week. As a Catholic school we are dedicated to the Liturgical life of the Church and to understanding how we live the message of Jesus. This is most important at Easter.

How Do Catholics Celebrate Holy Week?

Four special ceremonies commemorate the events of Christ’s Passion from His entrance into Jerusalem, when palm branches were placed in His path, through His arrest on Holy Thursday and Crucifixion on Good Friday, to Holy Saturday, the day that Christ’s body lay in the tomb.

The summit of the Liturgical Year is the Easter Triduum—from the evening of Holy Thursday to the evening of Easter Sunday. Though chronologically three days, they are liturgically one day unfolding for us the unity of Christ’s Paschal Mystery.

The single celebration of the Triduum marks the end of the Lenten season, and leads to the Mass of the Resurrection of the Lord at the Easter Vigil.

The liturgical services that take place during the Triduum are:

• Mass of the Lord’s Supper
• Good Friday of the Lord’s Passion
• Mass of the Resurrection of the Lord

As a school, next week we will mark this important time with liturgies that reflect the significance of Jesus’ final days. I warmly encourage families to continue their prayerful reflection and, where possible, take part in the Holy Week and Easter celebrations.

Sacrament of Reconciliation

This week, we extend our heartfelt congratulations to the children who have made or are preparing to make their Sacrament of Reconciliation. This is a significant step in their faith journey, and we commend them for their commitment to deepening their relationship with God.

As a school community, we offer our support and prayers, asking for God’s grace to guide and strengthen them during this special time. May they continue to grow in faith, love, and understanding as they embrace the blessings of this Sacrament.

Policies - Personal Communication Devices

• Schools mobile devices and school work devices must be used in line with Student Acceptable Use of Devices Policy and Agreement. 
• Mobile devices may be temporarily confiscated if students do not abide by the School-Based Practice regarding devices.
• Schools are not responsible for mobile devices lost or damaged at school.

Introducing our new School Counsellor

I would like to introduce our new school Counsellor Courtenay Gaze, I have placed her Bio below and if you feel that your child would benefit from counselling due to a challenging issue they are facing, please use the link provided.

My name is Courtenay Gaze and I have just joined the Marymead Catholic Care Student and Family Counselling team, and will be working at St John Vianney’s on Wednesdays.

I am a Social Worker by training and I have previously worked at headspace Canberra, Eating Disorders Victoria and The Department of Social Services.

As the school counsellor, please feel free to touch base with any questions or concerns relating to the counselling service at your school.  If you would like to refer your young person for support please use the following link:

https://catholiccare.force.com/housing/s/school-referral-form

I am looking forward to working with your students at St John Vianney’s to help them better understand themselves and reach their full potential.

Research Opportunity - Children's Mental Health

• What’s involved? A small number of your students (1-3 boys and 1-3 girls per age group: 5-7, 8-9, 10-11 years) can participate in an interactive, child-friendly interview.
• How can the school help? You can either share the opportunity with all families (via email/newsletter) or seek a few student volunteers from classes.
• When? Interviews are running in Canberra/surrounds this week (24–28 March) and again from 21 April–2 May.
• How can parents sign up? Simply share the attached Family Information Pack and consent form link: https://anu.au1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_diLUZ48opIU1VdA.

Prayer for Openness to the Spirit in our Lives

Spirit of God, grant us the LOVE which filled the heart of Blessed Edmund,
inspiring him to give all to you.
Spirit of God, grant us the JOY of Blessed Edmund
who found his happiness in seeing and serving you in poor and excluded people.
Spirit of God, grant us the PEACE of Blessed Edmund
who trusted in you and your providence through countless difficulties.
Spirit of God, grant us the PATIENCE of Blessed Edmund
who held to being a person of faith even when misunderstood and opposed.
Spirit of God, grant us the KINDNESS of Blessed Edmund
who always had time for the smallest and weakest.
Spirit of God, grant us the GOODNESS of Blessed Edmund
whose broad vision saw ways all around to spread the goodness of the kingdom.
Spirit of God, grant us the GENTLENESS of Blessed Edmund
who brought the gentleness of Christ to all his relationships.
Spirit of God, grant us the FAITHFULNESS of Blessed Edmund
who did not give in to discouragement.
Spirit of God, grant us the SELF CONTROL of Blessed Edmund
who prayed constantly that your will would be done in him.

Source: http://edmundrice.net/edmund-rice/e-r-prayers/161-prayer-for-ern 

Easter Prayer Celebrations

We warmly welcome parents and friends of SJV to join us during week 10 for our Holy Week Prayer Celebrations. All celebrations will be held in the hall.

Project Compassion

Our Youth Ministry team has been doing a wonderful job fundraising for this year’s Project Compassion campaign. Last week, we held a Zooper Dooper fundraiser which was incredibly popular, and we thank you for your support and generosity of this event. We are now turning our attention to the baby photo guessing competition. Think you might know who some of these staff members are? Come and have a guess at the front office or on Monday or Friday mornings before school. Students will have the opportunity to guess during the first break up until Wednesday 9th April. Parents, staff and students are all welcome to have a guess for 50 cents each, and you can have as many guesses as you like. All correct answers will go into a draw to win an Easter basket, and if there are no correct answers, every guess will have a chance to win.

This year’s theme is Unite Against Poverty this Lent. There are many Project Compassion boxes around the school, including in each classroom, and every student is encouraged to donate some money to this worthy cause. Project Compassion is Caritas Australia’s major fundraiser for the year, and much of the work they do in developing communities around the world, depends on our generosity. Even a donation as small as 50c a week during Lent can make a huge difference to our school’s overall total. Our classroom teachers will continue to promote Project Compassion throughout Lent, and we encourage our students to embrace this as the almsgiving part of their Lenten journey. We understand that times are difficult financially for many families at the moment, so please give what you can.

Reconciliation 2025

Congratulations to the students who received the Sacrament of Reconciliation for the first time this week. We would like to thank the Parish Sacramental team for their work in coordinating the program, as well as Father Loi and Father Rafael for their support of our students, particularly in hearing their first confessions with such warmth and compassion. We also acknowledge the work, support and love of the families of our students in supporting them to take this step in their Sacramental journey. It is a privilege to walk alongside you, to help guide your children to grow in their faith.

Sacraments 2025

Registrations for First Eucharist and Confirmation are currently open. First Eucharist registrations will close on May 15th 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://stjjvwestoncreek.blogspot.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@cg.org.au