St Thomas the Apostle Catholic Primary School Cranbourne East eNewsletter

Catholic Education Week

Dear Families,

Next week, Catholic Education is recognised and celebrated across the Diocese of Sale. All schools in our diocesan ‘family’ (from Cranbourne in the west, to Orbost in the east) will be celebrating differently but we all will gather around the theme of Faith in the Future – “I have come that they may have life and have it to the full”.

This quote is taken from John’s Gospel (10:10), where Jesus is telling his audience, why He was born, to live on earth, and die for us. He died so that we may have ‘life to the full’ –including an eternal life with Him. No better package deal really.

At school, we intend to explore this theme of ‘living life to the full’ using a song. Music has the ability to speak to children in a special way. And isn’t this what we all want when we communicate with each other? To speak each other’s language is not just about speaking the same cultural language. It can mean that we need to speak an age appropriate language or body language or just plain making sure we understood each other. Hint: Love is a language that everyone understands!

Andrew McDermott
Religious Education Leader

Dear Parents,

We celebrate Catholic Education week in the Diocese of Sale and this year's theme Faith in the Future speaks to our moral purpose as educators in a Catholic tradition.

At St Thomas the Apostle we are people of Prayer who build a relationship with God where we can share our hopes and dreams, ask for support for ourselves and for others. In prayer we allow the voice of the transcendent to speak into our lives which in turn allows us to be acting to improve life for all.

We are people of Thanksgiving; celebrating those elements that make our community rich and diverse. We appreciate the special gifts that each person brings that enriches the life of the whole community. We thank God for the blessings we are given in the form of those living life to the full around us.

We are people of Reconciliation; we understand we can make poor choices which limit our lives. We understand that Jesus gives us a way of coming back into the right relationship with our community through reconciliation. This can be both the Sacrament, which is life affirming and the small acts of reconciliation which improve both our lives and the lives of others so that all can live to the full.

We are people of Service; in all ways whenever we give a little of our gifts to another, we smile, include, welcome or just acknowledge we are acting in service to the common good.

I take this occasion to thank you for committing to a Catholic education for your child. You are a blessing to our community and please know that you are loved.

Kind regards,
Kate