It has been a busy start to Term 2! There is always lots happening the RE space.

Pope Francis – May he rest in peace

Firstly, we acknowledge the sad passing of Pope Francis on Easter Monday, aged 88. Pope Francis was an inspirational leader in the Catholic Church. May we remember his good works and his dedication to his faith. We pray for our Catholic Church leaders as they sit in the conclave to decide our next Pope.

Term 2 Liturgies

Last week, St Bede’s gathered on Wednesday to celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus with a liturgy led by Kindergarten. We are very proud of our students for their beautiful retelling and singing. St Bede’s gathered again on Thursday for an ANZAC Day Liturgy led by Year 3. We thank Year 3 for their reverent prayer celebration to remember all service men and women, past and present. We thank them for their sacrifice. A big thank you to the families who attended these events.

CSYMI ‘Journey with Jesus’ Retreat

On Monday, Year 5 and 6 participated in a ‘Journey with Jesus’ retreat at school. The day was led by Mr Luke Maher from Catholic Education. The day was a high-impact student formation experience that dove into core concepts of the Catholic Faith and invited the students into a personal response. The retreat was based on the underlying Gospel message of love, salvation, and forgiveness. The CSYMI program is curriculum aligned and is currently being rolled out in most CE schools in our Archdiocese. The response from students was extremely positive.

Sacramental Program

Our Sacramental Program begins this week. We have 11 Year 3 students participating in Reconciliation. They will participate in 4 preparation sessions, held on a Thursday afternoon from 3:15-4:15pm in the Library. They will receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation on Saturday 31 May at the 5pm Mass. We are thankful to Mrs Sue Anderson for preparing the students this year. Please keep these students in your prayers.

Mother’s Day Celebrations

This week, we celebrate Mother’s Day as a school. The staff will be cooking a breakfast of bacon and egg rolls, with tea and coffee available, from 8:15 am on Friday 9 May. Following this, mothers, grandmothers and special motherly figures will be celebrated in a prayer liturgy in the Hall at 9 am. This will be led by Kinder and Year 6. We hope to see you there!

St Bede’s Parish Children’s Mass – This Saturday 10 May

The St Bede's Parish is holding a Children's Mass on Saturday 10 May at 5pm. It will be to celebrate our blessed mother, Mary and Mother's Day. Our first Children's Mass was a great success last term. We thank our families for coming along and participating in such large numbers and would love to see you all again.

We would like to hear from you if your child/ren are interested in volunteering to be a reader - First Reading, Second Reading, Prayers of the Faithful. All readings will be provided in advance to practise. We are also looking for volunteers to be Altar Servers - open to both boys and girls who have made their First Communion. Training and mentoring will be provided. All children will be invited to take part in the Offertory Procession and to sing with the guitars for the Communion and Recessional Hymns. There will also be a Children's Liturgy session in the front porch while Father delivers the Gospel and Homily.

Please contact Miss Cooper (shaye.cooper@cg.catholic.edu.au) or Mrs Ann Tracey (0450 680 337) ASAP if your child/ren would like to volunteer for any of these roles.

St Bede’s Parish Mass

This term, St Bede’s School will continue to attend weekly Parish Mass. Weekday Mass is held every Thursday at 10:15 am in the St Bede’s Church. Each week two classes will attend – see roster below. Students will assist in Mass with the readings and offertory. Families are welcome to attend!

Week 3 – Year 1 & 2

Week 4 – Whole school for St Bede’s Feast Day

Week 5 – Year 3 & 4

Week 6 – Kinder & Year 5/6

Week 7 – Year 1 & 2

Week 8 – Year 3 & 4

St Bede’s Feast Day

The Feast Day of our school saint – St Bede – is recognised on the 25th May. The school will celebrate St Bede’s Feast Day with a prayer liturgy on Thursday 22 May. This will be held at the St Bede’s Church at 10:15am. Each year, a student from each year level receives a ‘St Bede’s Award’. This award recognises students who demonstrate Christian leadership and dedication to their studies – much like St Bede did. The awards will be presented at our St Bede’s Feast Day Liturgy. Stay tuned for more information!

Yours in faith,
Shaye Cooper

Religious Education Coordinator (Acting)