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Heavenly Father, Creator of all things, We stand before You, with hearts full and spirits high, Grateful for the blessings You bestow upon us every day. From the vastness of our sunburnt land to the glistening waters that surround, We see Your majesty in every sunrise over the bushland, And feel Your presence in every evening's peaceful dusk.
We thank You for the diverse beauty of Australia, From the red deserts of the Outback to the verdant rainforests of the tropics,
For the sprawling cities and quiet country towns, For our unique wildlife, from kangaroos to kookaburras, that call this land home.
Lord, we also give thanks for our diverse culture and rich heritage, For the First Nations people who have stewarded this land for millennia,
For the many who have come from distant shores, seeking a new beginning, All of whom have contributed to the vibrant tapestry of our nation.
Thank you for our mateship, the bond that ties us together as Aussies, For the resilience and strength You've gifted us, to overcome challenges and adversities,
From droughts to bushfires, from floods to global events, We find strength in unity, knowing You are by our side.
Father, bless and protect this Great Southern Land, Guide our leaders, our communities, and all who dwell here. As we give thanks for our daily bread and the bounties of this land, May we also be a beacon of hope, generosity, and love to those in need.
In the name of Your beloved Son, Jesus Christ, With the intercession of Mary, Help of Christians, patroness of Australia, We offer this prayer of gratitude and ask for Your continued grace.
Amen.
Prayers
We continue to pray for our staff who have undergone treatment for illnesses recently. We keep our dear colleagues in our prayers and thoughts and pray for all in our community who are unwell at this time.
Sunday’s Gospel of Matthew shared with us a pertinent reminder of God's invitation to all of us.
He doesn't force Himself upon anyone. God offers humanity His friendship, and we are free to accept or not. Even in times when we may not do or respond to others as we should, our invitation is always renewed. Let us all be reminded of the importance of forgiveness, renewal and understanding of each other.
Thank you
Words fall simply short of the enormous gratitude I have for our staff at St Anthony’s. The lead up to the musical has been another absolute testament to the camaraderie we share as a staff. Last week, our Year 5 and 6 students performed four magnificent performances across the days and evenings last Thursday and Friday, which couldn’t have happened without the support of our staff and amazing parent community. Congratulations to all involved in showcasing just how truly important Performing Arts are at St Anthonys and a testament to the hardwork and grit our students and staff continue to demonstrate at St Anthony’s. As mentioned in my thank you’s last week, my grateful thanks to our super dooper Year 5 and 6 teacher’s, our sounding and lighting and recording gentleman- Mark, Brennan and Robin, Karen Carmody for her creation and making of the Musical t-shirts, Bernie’s daughter Morgan and husband Patrick for all their support and our amazing STA families. Our 2023 Musical has been such a wonderful success and I am incredibly grateful to each of you.
Looking for ways to help your child with anxiety? You’re not alone. Catholic care are kindly offering dedicated on-line parent group sessions to help you understand anxiety and gain some useful tips and strategies. Information sessions are free of charge for parents of students in the Catholic Education system and will run over 3 consecutive weeks, starting week 5 of term 4. Optional times are:
Wednesdays 11.30am – 12.30pm
Thursdays 4-5pm
Please nominate your preference as well as whether you could be available for both as only the most popular time may run depending on numbers. I strongly encourage you to attend if you would like to find out more about how you can best support a child with anxiety.
Anxiety can present in many ways. Sometimes obvious, sometimes not. Common presentations to the school counsellor include:
Worries about friendships and what others think of them.
Worries about school stress, getting things wrong or getting in trouble.
Worries about being separated from parents, sleepovers with friends, going to sleep on their own or staying in their bed if they wake in the night.
Sometimes children have specific worries like fearing dogs, or storms, or loud noises, or being sick, or monsters!
Or maybe you can’t put your finger on what makes your child anxious, you just know their worries seem bigger, or more frequent, than what you would expect for their age.
Whatever the reasons, come along and gain some tips on how to help your kids.
If following the information sessions, you are still concerned about how to help your child, we will provide you with further resources and avenues for treatment.
Send your expression of interest to donna.spillman@mccg.org.au and include your child’s age, the school they attend, and which session times you would be able to attend.
Resignation of Chair of School Board
My grateful thanks to Eugene Lehmensich who has been the chair of our school board since 2021. Eugene has been instrumental in representing our families in our board meetings and has made significant contributions to St Anthony’s over the years. Eugene, thank you for your time, energy and commitment to our school. You have been very much valued and appreciated. We welcome and thank Alan Taylor for accepting the role of our new school Board chair.
School Community Council
Conversations are currently being shared with the school Board and P&F about Catholic Education’s direction of a School community council for St Anthony’s. The model of a community council is currently being used in the majority of Catholic Schools in our system and is looking to be rolled out in all 56 Catholic schools in our Archdiocese in 2024.
More information will be shared in the coming weeks on what this will look like for St Anthony’s Parish Primary School.
Boorowa touch and netball carnival
Thank you to our staff who are accompanying some of our year 2-6 students to Boorowa this Friday.
The bus will leave sharply at 6am from STA. Please arrive at school by 5.45am. The estimated time of the return will be around 5pm at STA. More information and confirmed time of return will be shared via compass and Facebook.
Looking forward to some warmer weather soon, have a great week.
Erin
Liam C & Jack's S U11 Rams Div 1 rugby league team? Former St Anthony's boys, Jack McMahon and Harry Phillips are also in the team.
They finished 3rd on the ladder and surprised the opposition to get to the grand final. In the GF, they were down 24 - 12 at half time and came back strong to draw at 36 - 36 as joint Premiers. Unfortunately they weren't allowed extra time but an amazing effort to come back.
A big congratulations to Rylan N who has been offered a spot in the U11's Coerver Football Performance Academy at the University of Canberra.
This involves 80 hours of intense training from September to January 2024 with the opportunity to also gain a spot to travel overseas with the academy in 2024. This is Rylan's 3rd consecutive year successfully gaining a spot in the academy, he loves it so much.
A reminder to make sure that your child's uniform is marked clearly with their name. We try to get lost property back to students but if labels have been washed off or clothing is not marked at all it is very difficult.
Thank you!
Dress as your favourite Saint and celebrate All Saints at St Christopher’s Cathedral! There will be activities for all the family and a costume procession. Sunday 29 October after the 11am Mass at the Haydon Hall (55 Franklin Street, Forrest). Please register for free tickets at https://www.trybooking.com/CLLJJ
Parish Office Manager – Inner North Parishes
People are invited to apply for the position Parish Office Manager, Inner North Parishes (encompassing Campbell, Canberra Central, O’Connor & Watson). This is a full-time position (subject to review in 12 months)
Essential Requirements:
- An understanding of and support for the Catholic Church and its teachings
- Excellent verbal and written, interpersonal and communication skills
- Computer literacy in MS Suite and database skills, (in particular PACS database)
- Act with tact & discretion, maintaining high levels of confidentiality, honesty, integrity, reliability and punctuality Please email Deborah.foote@cg.org.au
for a detailed copy of the duty statement and selection criteria. Applications addressing the Selection Criteria with attached resume to Fr Anthony Riosa, SSS, anthony.riosa@cam.org.au must be received by Friday 3 November 2023.
Now that the weather is starting to cool down, please ensure that your children’s names are on their jumpers, as well as on hats, lunch boxes and drink bottles.
Jumpers, hats, lunch boxes, fruit boxes and drink bottles found around the school property are put in the Lost Property bins in the Library. Those with identifiable names are returned to their owners in the classrooms.
Jumpers without names (including those that are not clearly identifiable) are taken to the Clothing Pool for re-sale (12 to 15 jackets a fortnight). The Clothing Pool cannot re-sell hats.
Drink bottles and lunch containers are put on display in the window of the Library and, if not claimed within a week, are put in the rubbish.
Due to the same 'first or last name' possibly being used by more than one family, a first name Initial and last name would be very helpful in identifying the correct student to return items.
Thank you.
LAST CHANCE TO BOOK INTO CANBERRA KIDS WOODWORK AFTER SCHOOL CLASSES!
Two Sheds Workshop will be closing in February next year. So Term 4 is the last chance
To book into after school classes. Come and build some awesome projects with
Two Sheds Workshop, Wanniassa. Workshops for kids 7yrs+, no experience needed.
Afterschool classes booking now. Spots Available Wednesday and Thursday.
Check out the range here: https://enrolmy.com/two-sheds-workshop#