Principal's Newsletter
Newsletter Thursday 1st August
We the staff of St Patrick’s acknowledge the traditional owners, the Kulin nations, of the land on which we learn and play.
We pay respects to the Aboriginal Elders, past and present, who are our teachers.
We thank them for taking care of children and country for countless generations.
A reading from the holy Gospel according to John
Whoever comes to me will never be hungry; whoever believes in me will never thirst.
When the people saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into boats and crossed to Capernaum to look for Jesus. When they found him on the other side, they said to him, ‘Rabbi, when did you come here?’ Jesus answered:
‘I tell you most solemnly,
you are not looking for me
because you have seen the signs
but because you had all the bread you wanted to eat.
Do not work for food that cannot last,
but work for food that endures to eternal life,
the kind of food the Son of Man is offering you,
for on him the Father, God himself, has set his seal.’
Then they said to him, ‘What must we do if we are to do the works that God wants?’ Jesus gave them this answer, ‘This is working for God: you must believe in the one he has sent.’ So they said, ‘What sign will you give to show us that we should believe in you? What work will you do? Our fathers had manna to eat in the desert; as scripture says: He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’
Jesus answered:
‘I tell you most solemnly, it was not Moses who gave you bread from heaven, it is my Father who gives you the bread from heaven, the true bread; for the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.’ ‘Sir,’ they said ‘give us that bread always.’ Jesus answered: ‘I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never be hungry; he who believes in me will never thirst.’
Dear Parents, Carers and Guardians,
This week the Gospel explains that to accept the life-giving bread of Jesus is to trust in God. It means we have the faith that God will provide all we need. It also means that by trusting in God we will be satisfied. This gospel is not about having a belly full of food; it is about having a soul filled with Jesus and his love. The use of the word ‘bread’ is a metaphor which Jesus uses to let his followers know that he will always be there for them. In Verses 30-33: The crowd asks for a sign from Jesus so they can believe. Jesus comes back with a proclamation about “My Father” and bread that gives life.
This week, I attended the Year 5 camp from the Tuesday to Wednesday. It was so encouraging to see our students experiencing new things for the first time; including visiting Sovereign Hill, panning for gold and going underground to visit a mine where they dug for gold! The weather was chilly but glorious sunshine was there in the afternoons. The students are to be congratulated on their behaviour and their attitude towards learning new things. It was a wonderful thing to hear the students speak about how they had become friendly with other students they would not normally have played with. It was also great to see our two new students, who had arrived only this term, to be accepted into the Year 5 St Patrick’s family.
There are some photos attached and next week’s newsletter will be all about the Camp from the students themselves.
Take care and God Bless,
Meg