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DON'T TAKE PRAYER FOR GRANTED
I woke on the morning of the 12th of September 2001 to hear on the news that there had been terrorist attacks in America. I turned on the television and watched as replays of the collapse of the towers were shown over and over again. As I was watching my mind was planning what I would need to do when I arrived at school. As Principal I had to prepare for staff and students coming to school shocked and fearful as a result of what they had seen. My plan was to do exactly what I was already doing with my own children at home. Reassure them, answer their questions and pray and this is exactly what I, along with my staff did at school.
When I got home that night I got a call from a colleague who had moved out of Catholic Education to teach in the government system the year before. We discussed what had happened in each of our schools. When I described the prayers we had shared when we gathered all the students together my colleague began to cry. She explained that it was the prayer she missed. She knew exactly what we would have been doing and she couldn't do that in her school.
When one of our teachers shared this video with me this week I was reminded that in this incredibly challenging time we are blessed because in the worst of times we are never alone. We have each other and we have our God who when we turn to him will give us the peace we need. Take eight minutes out of your day, sit down and share this video prayer together. Give thanks for each other, for our God and for this country that we call home.
You need to turn the volume up quite high.
THE BLESSING AUSTRALIA - Churches UNITE to sing The Blessing over Australia
FEEDBACK THANKYOU
As we constantly strive to make the learning from home experience as engaging and as effective as possible I welcome the feedback that is being provided to teachers or via feedback@spbentleigheast.catholic.edu.au
I do request that if something is working well or a change we have made has improved your child’s learning or engagement that you also grab a minute and provide that feedback as well either directly to the teacher or to the feedback email above.
STUDENT VIEW OF COVID
GRANDPARENTS / SPECIAL PERSON ACTIVITIES
Yesterday was the Feast Day of St Anne and St Joachim, Jesus’ grandparents. It is around this time of the year that we would normally celebrate grandparents and special person’s day at St Peter’s. As this is not happening this term due to COVID-19 here are some ideas from Catholic Care for students and their grandparents to work on during this period of isolation.
Long-distance activities for grandparents and grandchildren
Try some of these activities* below with your grandchildren or share them with others to use!
- Each keep a gratitude journal and share excerpts from time to time.
- Plan an imaginary trip together, using online resources such as travel documentaries, photos, maps. This can be adapted to the age of the child, getting more detail from transport and accommodation booking sites as appropriate.
- Pray together, using symbols such as candles, water, seeds, and the cross. The Family Week 2020 Home Prayer Service could be shared via your video chat app.
- Watch a TV show together and comment on it.
- Send coded messages through the mail or email for grandchildren / grandparents to decode.
- Record a story to be played for the children at their bedtime. Or read one over video chat (consider Bible stories and authentic stories of broadly-defined “saints”).
- Send your grandkids or grandparents “open when” letters. Mark some milestones during the coming weeks or months and write a letter for each of those times. Send them all at once and have a specific open date (and/or time). You can call them after they open each letter and tell them how much you love them.
- Organise a home-based scavenger hunt – the findings can be revealed over video chat.
- Swap jokes – see who can get the most laughs!
- Imagination quiz – “Would you rather…?”
PARENTS AND FRIENDS MEETING
Our next Parents and Friends Meeting will be via Google meet at 7:00pm on Monday the 3rd of August. To join this google meet you need to use this link meet.google.com/mmb-bxqn-dbf
There will be noone on site for this meeting. As it is from your own home masks are not required and a glass of wine is allowed!!