Mel Maria Catholic Primary School
Dear Parents and Staff
As we move into Holy Week this year, we are exposed to the radical nature of God’s forgiveness in the manner in which Jesus accepts his crucifixion and death when he says,
“Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do”.
Luke: 23 - 34
The events of Holy Week remind us of our calling to be active Christians in the way we lead our own lives. If we are harbouring hurt within us, Jesus’ actions can encourage us towards forgiveness and away from grudges and bitterness. We have all experienced hurt through the actions or words of another and this hurt we might have carried for years and deprived ourselves of the opportunity to embrace peace, hope, gratitude and joy by being ‘unforgiving’.
Jesus’ example to us on Good Friday, clearly defined for us the extent of God’s forgiveness and the encouragement for us to do likewise in our own limited human way. But Jesus’ example has an after effect as well, for on Easter Sunday he rose gloriously to a new life.
How about us this Holy Week? Is there ‘unforgiveness’ we still have to deal with, that overshadows our lives?
Stations of the Cross
As is the tradition, many families will participate in the Stations of the Cross on Good Friday. Stations are places where people wait while they are going from one place to another. A school-bus stop is like a station. People wait at train stations or bus stations or airports. Stations are also places where people take time to think about Jesus as he went to die on a cross. They are “Stations of the Cross.” They show us how much Jesus loved us.
The ‘Way of the Cross’ is a popular Catholic devotion which commemorates the Passion and death of our Lord, Jesus Christ. Most Catholic Churches will have ‘Stations of The Cross’ mounted along their walls in Chronological order. The styles used can vary from elaborate paintings to simple clay interpretations. Each of the fourteen stations depicts an important and significant event which occurred during Jesus’ Passion and death at Calvary on Good Friday. Praying the Way of the Cross- alone or with a group – is a Lenten tradition.
The ‘Way of the Cross’ is usually an ‘action prayer’. Moving from station to station and praying or meditating at each of one is usually the format used. This activity must always be underlined with respect and dignity called for by its very content.
The origins of the Stations can be traced back to Jerusalem during the early centuries after Jesus’ death and resurrection. On Good Friday, early Christians would walk the path that Jesus had walked carrying his cross. Gradually, churches were built along the way and Christian pilgrims would stop at them and pray, remembering Jesus’ last journey.
Sincere Gratitude
On behalf of the Mel Maria Catholic Primary School community, I extend heartfelt gratitude to our dedicated staff for their unwavering support and tireless dedication throughout this term. I also extend appreciation to the members of our esteemed school committees, including the School Advisory Council, the P&F Executive, the School Finance Committee, the School Uniform Committee, the Capital Development Committee, and the Public Relations Committee, for their diligent efforts and contributions.Your collective hard work and contributions have significantly enriched our school community. Thank you for your continued dedication and for going above and beyond to ensure the success and well-being of our students.
Kindergarten 2025 – Applications are Now Due
In 2025, we will have a whole new Early Childhood space for students from Pre-Kindergarten to Year Two. This is going to be very exciting for the students, teachers and parents.
Enrolments are now being taken for siblings and new students wishing to commence Kindergarten at Mel Maria Catholic Primary School in 2025. Families with children eligible for Kindergarten in 2025 are required to fill out a Kindergarten Enrolment Application Form. These can be collected from the office or found online on the school website.
Kindergarten places are limited so it is important that parents within the Maria Catholic Primary School community submit their applications as soon as possible. Forms can be obtained from the office or on the school website.
ANZAC Day is a national public holiday and is considered by many Australians to be one of the most solemn days of the year. Marches held in cities and towns nationwide by veterans from all past wars, as well as current serving members of the Australian Defence Force and Reserves, with allied veterans and the Australian Defence Force Cadets and Australian Air League and supported by members of Scouts Australia, Guides Australia, and other uniformed service groups as well as schools and community groups.
ANZAC Day marks the anniversary of the first major military action fought by Australian and New Zealand forces during the First World War. The acronym ANZAC stands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps, whose soldiers were known as Anzacs. ANZAC Day remains one of the most important national occasions of both Australia and New Zealand.
In Week Two of next term, Wednesday, 24 April, each class will participate in a short reflection on ANZAC Day. The ‘Last Post’ . . . A Minute Silence . . . and Reveille will all form part of this reflection.
Holy Week
Christians often describe the season of Lent as a journey of sorts, with its final destination being Holy Week. The events of Holy Week recount the so-called ‘passion narratives’ in the New Testament Gospels that relate to the suffering (passio in Latin), death and burial of Jesus Christ.
Thus, Holy Week marks the last week of the Christian season of Lent – the week leading up to Easter.
Each Year level will have a different learning focus in Religious Education around Lent and Easter.
The Theme of New Life will be evident in our younger years and those themes will be integrated throughout learning and activities presented.
Palm Sunday – entrance into Jerusalem
Holy Week begins with Palm Sunday, when Christians commemorate Jesus’ ‘triumphal entry’ into Jerusalem where the Gospels tell us he was greeted with crowds waving palm branches and crying ‘Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the coming kingdom of our ancestor David! Hosanna in the highest heaven!’ (Mark 11:9-10).
Traditionally, worshipping Christians will receive palm branches or palm crosses on Palm Sunday as a tangible sign of Jesus’ ‘triumphal entry’ into Jerusalem. And in some churches, Palm Sunday is also known as the Sunday of the Passion, when one of the Gospel passion narratives is read aloud during the liturgy.
Holy Wednesday – into the darkness
Holy Week continues in many Christian traditions on ‘Holy Wednesday’ (known as ‘Spy Wednesday’ in earlier times). Holy Wednesday is often marked with a service of Tenebrae (Latin for ‘darkness’ or ‘shadows’), with the hearing of appropriate psalms and other readings while candles on a candelabrum (the ‘Tenebrae hearse’) are gradually extinguished, creating the sense of growing darkness.
This darkness symbolises the abandonment of Jesus by his disciples and anticipates the anguish and tragedy of Good Friday later in Holy Week.
What follows then are the ‘Triduum’ of Holy Week – Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday.
Each Campus will celebrate Mass on Wednesday of HOLY WEEK in the leadup to the Easter Ceremonies.
Students and families are encouraged to return CARITAS BOXES to classrooms where special prayers will be said each day during HOLY WEEK.
Supporting vs Enabling
How to tell what's helping and what's not when a child has emotional or learning challenges.
Good parenting means being supportive without being enabling. But it can often be hard to tell the difference. This is especially true when a child is struggling with a mental health or learning issue. How do you know if you are helping your child — or limiting their growth by doing too much?
Supportive parents empower kids to be more independent. They work with their kids as they learn to overcome obstacles. Being supportive means acknowledging how your child is feeling, including difficult emotions. It also includes modelling healthy coping skills for managing challenging things, and providing structure and clear expectations. Giving lots of praise for progress — even little steps — and getting kids extra help if they need it are also empowering for children.
Enabling, on the other hand, inadvertently reinforces undesired behaviours. All parents do this to some degree, because we want to protect kids from pain and difficulty. But if kids are going to grow, they need to learn to take little risks. This boosts their confidence and makes them more independent.
Being enabling includes letting your child avoid uncomfortable situations. It can also look like being inconsistent about rules because you feel bad for your child. Another thing that doesn’t help kids is protecting them from the natural consequences of their actions.
Sometimes it’s hard to see what kids can and can’t handle. A depressed teen might have the energy to do something one day and not be able to leave bed the next.
One way to evaluate if your expectations are fair is to go through a checklist of things that make kids struggle more. Have they not gotten enough sleep, food and medication? Are you being inconsistent with your expectations? Has it been a difficult week (bullying, family strife, etc.)?
Sometimes things feel impossible to kids, but they are just big challenges. It helps if parents can validate how they’re feeling but still be encouraging. You might say, “It’s normal to be nervous about something like this. How can you feel less anxious right now?” or, “I know this is difficult, but I think we can figure out how to help you manage it.”
See the following link for more information:
Supporting vs Enabling Kids With Challenges | Child Mind Institute
Christine Pittman
