Catholic Life and Reflection
What Students are Learning About
Year 4 Geo Science Excursion
On Monday Year 4 visited GeoScience Australia to learn more about the Earth’s Surface as well as minerals that are found within the Earth’s layers. The students were able to touch 3.8 million year old moon rock and even create an earthquake. It was an informative and interesting excursion and was `the best excursion they had ever been on’.
Today I asked three students from 4M what that excursion had to do with God? Mariam answered “He created the world, so rocks and earth and things” Lewis said “You know that story about God creating everything? Well rocks were part of that” and finally Fiesta “Geoscience taught me about how it is important to remember to be on God’s earth and to respect it”
These students understand that the creation story is just that, a story that expresses ancient understanding of God’s role in the world. What they also understand that the role of our creator is in all aspects of our world and we have to take care of it.
Well done Year 4!
Catholic Life and Reflection
I am blessed. I know this. The life I get to live here in Australia; the ease of travel, abundance of food, the opportunities. I do not take this for granted. I don’t mean that my life is all wine and roses but I work hard to maintain a sense of hope.
Next year Pope Francis has declared a jubilee year “Pilgrims of Hope”. I will share more about this in the coming months but right now this is bouncing around in my head and heart. What does it mean? Who are we as hope filled people? How do we maintain hope when life can be so harsh and heartbreaking?
When things are difficult I often want to “get away” and take time out of my everyday life. Although this is good and provides a short respite, I know that I have to do things in my daily life that will help me navigate the complexities.
What I try to do is pray. While I am waiting in the car for my youngest to finish piano, before I go to sleep or while I am enjoying my first cup of tea in the morning and everyone else is still asleep. I want it to punctuate my day. I close my eyes, take a slow breath and talk to God from my heart.
Prayer and hope are intricately connected. When we take time to pray we open ourselves up the true desires of our heart, where hope is stored.
Pope Francis has asked us to spend the rest of this year praying for hope, being pilgrims of hope, carrying it with us, walking along side it and others. It is what we, our community and our world need right now.
God bless,
Stephanie Stewart
Religious Education Coordinator
