Dear Parents and carers,

I hope you were able to spend some enjoyable time with your families over the long weekend. Week 7 across many schools in our Archdiocese is ‘Fallow Week’ or ‘Sabbath Week’. Its biblical and agricultural origins link to ancient wisdom where every seventh year the vineyards were not pruned and the fields were not sown. The seventh day in the Creation Story is when God rested, also referred to as ‘Sabbath’.  In Sabbath week we don't hold staff meetings and encourage our staff to be with their families.

The start of the Winter Season in Canberra is a time to be reflective, to wrap around ourselves and take time to mentally rest from the busy lives we lead. There is a rhythm in nature calling out to all of us to reach fullness, to learn and grow and sometimes to be still. Joan Chittister, in The Art of Life, (2012) speaks of this relationship;  

“the challenge of the mountains, the enormity of the ocean, the cry of the clouds, the stolidity of the trees- that calls us beyond ourselves and into ourselves.”

For all our families experiencing difficult times this Winter, I hope you will feel God’s comforting presence in a beautiful sunrise or the twinkling sparkle of frost on a leaf.

Thank you for your continued support.

Many blessings,

Judy Egan

Principal