From the Acting APRE Desk

Dear Parents and Carers,

A very happy end of term to you all, as you read our final newsletter for the year. How we got here, I’m not sure. The days just flew by while the staff and students have journeyed together through another busy year at SSPS.

We received a A HUGE thankyou from Catholic Missions for the fundraising we did during the month of October. Thank you for your support. A snippet of their email is as follows:

Dear Friends,

Thank you for your generous donation of $499.10 supporting the work of Catholic Mission and giving life to what we do. Your kindness and faithfulness inspire us, and we are ever grateful for you.

Your support makes an incredible difference to the lives of tens of thousands of children, their communities and Church leaders in Australia and around the world who are impacted through Catholic Mission programs…..

On behalf of missionaries around the world, thank you for your faith in action.

Sincerely,
Fr Brian Lucas
National Director

Last Wednesday our whole school community came together to celebrate our final End of Year Mass. Our time together was a great opportunity to stop and reflect and also to welcome and congratulate our 2023 school leaders. We wish our current Yr 6 leaders all the very best as we celebrate their Graduation on Friday 2^nd December.

This week begins the Advent season leading into Christmas. Advent is an invitation to become spiritually alert. It is the season where we cultivate an awareness of where we might see a need in someone else and fill it; we let the Holy Spirit guide us in the direction who most need our help; the poor, the lonely, the homeless, those who are battling ill health. Are we too caught up in the busyness of preparations and holidays to stop and notice the REAL reason for the season? As we approach the birth of Jesus, I hope you get a moment to serve the marginalised in our community and notice who plays the modern day roles in our lives today. Who do we see as the Holy Family in the 21^st Century? I think our Year 5H students have captured the recontextualised Bible images and stories just perfectly. Below are examples of two students’ work in 5H where they focused on what they see as the real meaning of the Birth of Christ, in the today’s world.

Abby's Recontextualised Nativity: My artwork is based in a bus stop, a modern-day location many people attend daily. I drew palm leaves on the ground symbolising Palm Sunday. I also drew a phone with the flash on (symbolising the Christmas star). Mary is wearing a blue sweater (her signature colour) and Joseph is seen wearing a shirt with a flame signifying the Holy Spirit. Instead of three wise men I drew three wise women. One is holding a bus ticket for Jesus, meaning that he can go on and share with people of the world God’s teachings and hope for us. The second woman is holding a jacket in her hand to keep Jesus warm, and the last one is holding a shopping bag with wine representing Jesus’ upcoming miracles. In the background of my artwork there are doves representing peace for the new born infant and also symbolic of the Holy Spirit. Written and illustrated by Abby Phillips 5H.

My Recontextualised Nativity, as shown below, shows Mary as an army soldier giving birth to Jesus in an army trench. Joseph is behind Mary summoning to one of the wise women. This particular woman has just been shot so she is dropping her gift. The bullet wound represents the blood that Jesus gave for us. Instead of gold she gives a pair of boots. The second wise women is also summoning the shot woman while handing Mary her gift to Jesus which instead of myrrh is a blanket to wrap around the baby Jesus. The third Wise person, this time a man, is climbing down the side of the trench carrying Jesus’ third gift. Instead of frankincense he gives a small army hat, again to protect the baby Jesus. It is night on the battlefield and instead of the shining Christmas Star they have a flood-light shining on Jesus and Mary. My scene is in an army trench, I chose this setting as I didn't want to do something normal, I wanted to do something different to show our SSPS learner qualities of Be Creative, Be Curious and Be Adventurous. I think this idea worked because every day we don't understand how lucky we are. Today, in many places around the world, there are many countries in war and the people who live there are in fear every day.  Australia is lucky as we have brave soldiers who fight for us to have the freedom and safety we do. The stars represent God and angels up in the Heaven looking out for Mary, the Baby Jesus and each and every one of us! Written and illustrated by Claudia Shoebridge 5H.

Aren’t they amazing!? And so inspirational. You can see more of the students’ work outside the office in the hallways leading to the library.

I wish you a very safe, peaceful and blessed Christmas to you and your families during the holiday season. 

Thanks for reading!

Ann-Maree Ward (Acting APRE)