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Category: COMMUNITY NEWS

St John’s celebrates

‘We are many; We are one’ is St John’s Baradine school theme for 2023.  On our first day back to school, Monday, 6 February students joined together for a prayer liturgy.  Each class received a candle and a banner which they took to their respective classrooms.  The theme will be incorporated into the daily school prayer and a constant reminder that we are one school community and one with the family of God. It was a lovely way to start our year.

Margaret McKinnon
Principal/REC
St John’s Catholic Primary School

Roses and Daffodils!

A message from Mr Chris Stevens Beautiful Gardens’ Lunch Club Coordinator, Wellington

We are very proud to announce that St Mary’s has won an award in the Rotary Town Garden Competition. We were nominated for and won the “Best School Garden Created and Cared for (wholly or partly) by Children”. The garden beds around the staff car park, hall and canteen began from bare earth (and weeds) in 2019. Throughout 2022 each Wednesday students came to weed, plant, water, remove rubbish, dig, mulch and more. All the plants came from family donations, cuttings and gifts, as well as plenty of tools to help us on our way.

We moved onto other gardens in the school, but continue to weed and remove rubbish from these beds. Today, we have a beautiful garden to enjoy from the fruits of their labour. Thanks to our groundsman, Jonno Walters for alerting us about the competition and encouraging us to enter. And a big thank you to the many, many students who have got their hands dirty over the past few years. Congratulations on your award.

You can see our journey with many photos at this website link

Holy Family welcomes Fr Diep

Holy Family Catholic Primary School student School Captains welcome Fr Diep

Fr Diep recently visited Holy Family School Kelso to meet and chat with staff and the School Captains. Fr Diep will soon be joining the school community to celebrate a whole school Mass and his introduction to the school has been welcomed.

“Fr Diep’s visit and the celebration of the forthcoming School Mass, are valued connections between the school and our Cathedral Parish. Fr Diep really enjoyed chatting with staff and students and we all learnt about his home country of Vietnam as well. We look forward to an ongoing connection with Fr Diep,’ said school Principal, Kevin Arrow.

State Library of NSW visits Cathedral School

Recently the Year 5 and 6 students at Cathedral school attended the Far Out! Treasures to the Bush presentation by the State Library of NSW. The students learnt about migration to Australia through the lives of four historical figures and the amazing artifacts linked to each person. History was brought to life by the talented presenters as we dressed up in costumes, pretended to be passengers in first class, second class and steerage, sent messages with flags, traveled to the goldfields and saw Ludwig Leichardt discover the Leichhardt grasshopper. It was incredible to view the real artifacts we had been learning about – ex convict Mary Reibey’s land grant from Governor Macquarie, Arthur Wilcox Manning’s Journal about his voyage on the Earl Grey from Plymouth to Sydney, explorer Ludwig Leichardt’s telescope and a miner’s right belonging to George Johnston. Many thanks to the State Library of NSW for bringing this fantastic experience to our region.

Merryn Sadler Teacher-Librarian

RU OK Day in Baradine

Students could wear yellow to school today along with grining a gold coin donation to support RU OK Day. “Asking if you are okay can make a big difference. We’re all in this together” is the message being taught in our classroom at St John’s Catholic Primary School.

St John’s Primary School, Dubbo

SJP recently explored the very foundations of our school and the charisms left by the Mercy Sisters and the De La Salle Brothers through an immersive journey back in time. These orders were founded by Catherine McAuley and St John Baptist De La Salle, respectively, many years ago, so it was nice to revisit the very beginnings of how these orders were established and what the Catholic schools in Dubbo used to look like prior to 1969, the year St John’s Primary School began.

Through Liturgy, prayer, classroom craft, ‘old-school’ playground games and the kind support of former De La Salle and Mercy student alumni who spoke to each of our grades about their experiences and memories of their Catholic schooling in Dubbo, our staff and students learnt a lot! A huge thank you to John Taylor, Doug Butcherine, Pauline Walkom and Kerry Ryan for taking the time to teach our students about their experiences of school many years ago.

Mackillop’s got talent raises funds for St Vincent de Paul

Mackillop’s got talent raises funds for St Vincent de Paul

A dancing robot, singing teachers, cow jokes and a Beatles medley were just some of the talents that Mackillop showcased on Friday, August 26.

Members of the Year 11 leadership committee at Mackillop College organised and hosted their first major event; Mackillop’s got talent, in order to raise money for St Vincent de Paul.

The fundraiser included a bake sale, a mufti day, and the Mackillop’s got talent event, which encouraged students to step out of their comfort zones and perform various acts in front of the school.

It was the first time this event was able to take place since 2019, before the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mackillop College’s assistant principal Mrs Whelan was extremely proud of her students, their talents and their capacity to organise such a successful event, and was very happy with the results on the day.

“Our year 11 council has done a great job,” Mrs Whelan said.

“I think it went great. It’s wonderful for the girls to be able to stand on the stage and perform in front of their peers and the support they receive is always wonderful at Mackillop.”

article courtesy of the Western Advocate

Baradine news

Congratulations to all students at St John’s Catholic Primary School, Baradine who recently received the sacrament of confirmation. 6pm Saturday night Mass was celebrated by Bishop Michael McKenna. Fr Francis Muhenda con-celebrated Mass with the Bishop. Mass was followed by a parish party to acknowledge and celebrate the students involved.

The Solemnity of the Assumption

On Monday we came together as a faith community to celebrate this very special day of obligation as Catholics. In Mary we see an ordinary woman who becomes extraordinary by virtue of her faith in what God makes possible in her life. This Feast is an opportunity to celebrate the heavenly rewards of a loving discipleship.
Thank you to everyone that was part of the Mass, including those involved in a special ministry.
It was wonderful to be in the Cathedral as a whole school, joined by members of our parish!
Ashley Boylan | REC

St Michael’s Primary School Dunedoo

Celebrations!
Congratulations to those students who received the Sacrament of Confirmation with other members of our parish. Bishop Michael McKenna confirmed 6 of our students and afterwards joined other candidates and parishioners in a morning tea in our hall. It was also a very special day for Mitch who received the Eucharist for the first time.
Families celebrated! Schoolmates celebrated! Parishioners celebrated! Thank you to those who celebrated with our students on the day.

St Johns Primary Baradine

Our Year 6 students hit the ground running on their recent excursion to Canberra.  On Day 1 they had a taste of culture at the National Gallery and then got to experience some of the facilities at the Australian Institute of Sport. Highlights on Day 2 included a tour of Parliament House and getting to meet our Federal Member of Parliament, Mark Coulton. Later, the children met the Governor-General, David Hurley, and got to look inside Government House. Evie got to sit in Mrs Hurley’s chair at the dining table!

They are now on their way home.

St Joseph’s Oberon

Congratulations to those students who represented our school at the Eastern Region Athletics Carnival on Wednesday in Bathurst. All students tried their absolute best and showed wonderful sportsmanship. Thank you to all parents and carers who transported and supported our students and to the teachers who also came and assisted on the day.

Special mention to Ashleigh, Jason, Max, Harry and Tobias who have qualified to attend the next carnival to be held in Dubbo on the 19 August.

St Raphael’s Cowra

Our school leaders respectfully represented our school, laying wreaths during the Cowra Breakout Anniversary services today.

Congratulations

Congratulations to the seven children who recently received the Sacrament of First Holy Communion at the 5pm Mass at St Michael’s Manildra.
Congratulations also to Mason who received a special blessing at Mass. Fr Antony celebrated the Mass which was followed by a BBQ in the school grounds. Thank you to Lucy, a former student of St Joseph’s Manildra, for making the spectacular cake and to the P and F for organising the BBQ. It was a fabulous combined school and parish event with over 100 in attendance.
Jacky Parmeter
Principal

Serving our Cathedral Parish

We were recently lucky enough to have our School Chaplain visit our Year 4, 5 & 6 classes to talk about the exciting opportunity of becoming an altar server within our faith community. Fr Diep talked about his own experiences in this ministry when he was a child and how he hoped that by our students taking up this important role in our parish that they could help strengthen the connection with God in themselves and others. Exisiting Altar Servers from our school shared their own positive experiences and reflections as well. Please remember that any remaining Expression of Interest Forms are due by Tuesday this week.
Ashley Boylan | Religious Education Coordinator

The Spelling Bee Celebrates 10 Years!

Last week students, families and teachers from across the Diocese came together for the annual Spelling Bee Championships, hosted again with great thanks by St Mary’s Catholic School Wellington. This year was particularly special, marking the 10th anniversary of the Spelling Bee, which continues to be a thrilling event for all and a challenging opportunity for students to showcase their knowledge of letter/sound representations, word origins, memory and much more through the rigour of spelling. The two days had audience members on the edge of their seats as the best spellers from across the diocese proudly displayed their talents.
We commend all our students’ support for one another as they acted as wonderful ambassadors for their schools. Congratulations to the stage winners, we are already looking forward to next year!