Welcome back to Term 3! I am very excited to be taking up the position of Religious Education Coordinator for the next 10 weeks while Stephanie Stewart is on leave. I have already been privileged to meet so many wonderful students and discover what a fantastic staff St John the Apostle Primary School is blessed with!

The staff started our week with a reflection on last Sunday’s Gospel reading, about Mary and Martha (Luke 10:38-42). This reading is likely familiar to many of us, it reflects on the way that two women welcome Jesus into their home. Martha spends all her time getting ready to receive an important guest, while Mary sits and listens to Jesus. Martha finds this frustrating and asks Jesus to make Mary help. Instead, Jesus discusses the importance of reflection and focus on the “few things [that] are needed—or indeed only one”.

For both teachers at the start of a term, and many families, it is very easy to get caught up in all the many distractions and tasks that life throws at us. And some of them are, of course, very important, but equally important is taking time to focus on the things that bring us closer to those we love.

This term in Religious Education, students across the school are continuing their Communities of Collaboration in RE units. These units are built by teachers from across the Archdiocese working together, and focus on how we live, work and grow together as followers of Jesus, drawing on scripture and Catholic traditions to deepen our understanding of community and mission.

Our mission focus for this term is on supporting Global School Partners, an organisation that builds relationships between Australian and Kenyan schools. This is a wonderful organisation that provides a wide range of life-changing support to schools in Kenya. I look forward to sharing more information about our efforts to raise money for our partner school, St George's Academy

We are looking forward to celebrating the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Week 4 with a special school Mass. All families are warmly invited to join us for this important feast day, with more details to come in the next few weeks.

I hope that you and your family have had a wonderful Week 1!

Kind regards,

Christopher Evans

Religious Education Coordinator (Acting)