This week I was fortunate enough to attend two days at the Assistant Principal’s Retreat at St Clement’s Retreat and Conference Centre at Galong.

It was a wonderful opportunity to come together as leaders to develop knowledge and understanding of justice from a Christian perspective and how seeking and acting with justice is foundational for discipleship and mission in Christian Leadership.

I particularly enjoyed the informative discussions on the essence of right relationships and problem solving a variety of common scenarios that occur in educational settings.

We also developed our understanding of the Prophets as social reformers and how justice lies at the heart of God. The last three sessions focused on love - justice and Jesus, how God’s grace calls us to justice and putting justice at the heart of leadership.

I thought I would share Pope Francis’ words that resonated with me. “Even in the developed world, the effects of unjust structures and actions are all too apparent. Our efforts must aim at restoring hope, righting wrongs, maintaining commitments, and thus promoting the well-being of individuals and peoples.” (2015)

My hope is that within our community and families we can continue to promote strong and positive relationships where we treat each other equitably and respectfully.

Bridgette McCann

Special wishes to those children who will celebrate their birthday this week: Peyton E, K Yellow.

Congratulations to the following students who achieved a Community Leaders Award. Well done!!   

Congratulations to the following students who achieved a Harmony Award this week.

Well done!!   

Gratitude

Working on gratitude helps us to be thankful and appreciate what we have in our lives, rather than focusing on what we don’t have or what we want. When we practise being grateful, we start to scan the world to look for positives – this only takes 21 days! Practising gratitude every day increases our levels of energy, helps us to feel happier and more focused, determined and optimistic. It even helps us have a better sleep, lowers levels of anxiety and depression and we are less likely to get sick. So many benefits – let’s all try to be grateful for the things and people in our lives every day!

Whole Family Activity:

Gratitude Scavenger Hunt

• As a family create a scavenger hunt list of things that make you happy or you are grateful for, you can make your own list or use the examples below:

• Something that makes you happy
• Something you love to smell
• Something you enjoy looking at
• Something that is your favourite colour
• Something you like in nature
• Something that is useful for you
• Each member of the family uses the list, and has to find as many things as they can.
• You can hunt for things inside or outside, or both. You can hunt for real things, or you can also do this using magazines or pictures from the internet.
• After a set amount of time hunting, come back together, have a look at what each person collected and let them explain why they are grateful for each item.

 Family Habit Builder:

Every night at dinner, have each person talk about their favourite thing about that day.

Parish Sacramental Program 2024

Sacrament of Confirmation – will be celebrated on 17, 18, and 19 September.

Registrations will open next Monday 24 June 2024 via the parish Qkr! app.

Registration for the Sacrament must be made via the Our Lady of Perpetual Help Qkr! App (NOT the school app).
If you are registering more than 1 child you will need to fully complete and pay for each separate registration in that candidate’s name.

ALSO – Please discuss with your child their Saint’s name and Sponsor as this is a requirement on the registration form.

Please also note that the school holidays fall within the registration period, so please register sooner rather than later.

No late registrations will be accepted after the closing date.

For further Information – please contact the Sacramental Program Coordinator at sc.belconnennorth@cg.org.au or check the parish website at www.cg.org.au/belconnennorth