From the Religious Education Coordinator
In our Church ……
The Feast of St Luke the Evangelist (18th October)
Luke was an Evangelist, the writer of the third Gospel. He never met Christ in person, but in his Gospel, he says that he came to know about Jesus by talking to eyewitnesses to the events of Jesus’ life, death, and Resurrection. Hearing those stories helped Luke to become a believer, and he wrote his Gospel so that others would come to know and love Jesus.
Luke was a doctor and he travelled with Saint Paul on his second missionary journey. In fact, Paul calls Luke his “beloved physician” (Colossians 4:14). Because he cared for the bodily needs of others, Luke is the patron saint of doctors. He is also the patron saint of artists because it is believed that he painted a famous portrait of Mary, our Blessed Mother.
In his Gospel, Luke helps us to know how concerned Jesus was for the sick, the poor, and anyone in need of help, mercy, and forgiveness. Luke tells us that Jesus came to save all people. Through Luke’s Gospel, we learn how compassionate and caring Jesus was. Some of the most famous stories Jesus told are found in Luke’s Gospel: The Good Samaritan (Luke 10:29-37) and the Lost Son (Luke 15:11-42).
The symbol for Luke’s Gospel is an ox, an animal that was often sacrificed as an offering to God in ancient times. In his writings about Jesus, Luke reminds us of the great sacrifice Jesus made to save all people through his death on the cross and his Resurrection.
Luke is also the author of the Acts of the Apostles. In Acts, we learn about the coming of the Holy Spirit; the work of the Apostles, especially Saint Paul; and how the Church grew in the world. He was the one person who was said to have remained with Saint Paul during his imprisonment and until his death.
We celebrate Saint Luke’s service to the Church each year on October 18. We remember that his Gospel continues to help us know and love Jesus. Luke’s Gospel also reminds us to look for ways to imitate Jesus by reaching out to help our brothers and sisters in need.
Adapted from: http://saintsresource.com/luke-the-evangelist
Prayer to St. Luke
Most wonderful St. Luke
you are animated by
the Heavenly Spirit of Love.
In faithfully detailing
the humanity of Jesus,
you also showed His Divinity
and His genuine compassion
for all human beings.
May the Holy Spirit,
instructor of the faithful,
help me to understand
Christ’s words
and faithfully apply them
in my life.
Amen.
St Luke…pray for us.
In our Community….
CAPE YORK IMMERSION
Over the September school holidays, a group of 26 students from Year 10 and 11, along with Ms Dito, Ms Colreavy, and Ms Spurr went on an Indigenous Immersion trip to Cape York with the organisation Red Earth. 
Red Earth is an Australian organisation that provides students with the opportunity to stay at Indigenous homelands to learn about their culture, history, and language. It allows students to immerse themselves in the oldest living culture, connect with Traditional Owners, and participate in thought-provoking and eye-opening experiences.
Throughout the nine days the group travelled to two homelands. The first location was Panamuunji with Traditional Owners Tim and Elaine, where we went on bush walks, learnt about bush tucker and medicine with Tim, swam in the creek, and had language and painting lessons with Elaine. Whilst in Panamuunji, the group also completed a community project where we built steps down to the creek, and extended the outdoor kitchen area for future Red Earth groups to use.
After stopping by Hope Vale art centre, we set off on a six hour bus trip to the second homeland, Melsonby, where we set up our tents and were greeted with a Welcome to Country smoking ceremony, which welcomed us onto the homeland and protected us during our stay. Whilst in Melsonby, we went on bush walks to visit sacred sites with 100 000 year old rock art where we learnt about the brown snake, which is the totem of the Balnggarrawarra group. We went fishing, made bracelets and painted, created a Humpy, which is a traditional shelter, made bangles out of leaves, and prepared a Kup-murri, which is an underground oven feast made for special occasions in Indigenous culture. Our final night in Melsonby finished around the campfire where Uncle Bulla showed the group how to throw a spear, and Joe played and gifted us with a didgeridoo which he made during our stay.
We ended our trip in Cairns, snorkelling at the Great Barrier Reef, with a marine biologist and culture guide leading our group, incorporating aspects of both Indigenous and marine life into our tour.
We are incredibly grateful for this once in a lifetime opportunity, and have made memories we will treasure forever. We learnt to survive without our phones for nine days, which allowed us to take part in Bama time, and fully immerse ourselves in the experience. One thing that will always stick with us is the idea that if “you look after the land, the land looks after you”.
Nhaama Gurrgu – See you next time!
Amy Davis and Mia Bartram, Year 11
2024 RED EARTH EXPERIENCE
The College is pleased to be working with Red Earth again in 2024 to offer the current Year 9 and 10 students the opportunity to participate in the Cape York immersion. Students will hear from Sam from Red Earth about this opportunity during Community Time in Week 3, and a Parent Information zoom will be held on Monday 30th October at 6pm. More information to come.
In our MARIST COMMUNITY…
MARIST CONNECT
Year 11 students attended the Marist Connect evening on Tuesday this week. Facilitated by the Marist Youth Ministry team, this event is a great way of bringing senior students from Marist schools together. Reflecting on Pope Francis’ Laudato Si, students made sustainable Christmas gifts and cards out of recycled materials to give to their families and friends.
Marist Connect is held once every term, the focus of the evening is around a topical theme (justice, environment, discipleship, Marist spirituality), starting with a prayer and meal together.These evenings are a fantastic way of strengthening relationships and Marist ties among our senior students.
Ms Jenny Vu
Youth Ministry Coordinator
In our Curriculum
SYDNEY CATHOLIC SCHOOLS RELIGIOUS EDUCATION TEST
On Tuesday, 10th October, every Year 8 and Year 10 student completed the Sydney Catholic Schools Religious Education (RE) Test. Every year, schools throughout the Archdiocese of Sydney, as well as dioceses throughout NSW complete this test. This test consists of 50 multiple choice questions designed to assess their skills and ability learnt through topics in Stage 4 (Year 7 and Year 8) and Stage 5 (Year 9 and Year 10). This year marks a significant milestone with the RE Test being delivered through an online platform.
We extend our gratitude to the dedicated teachers who have supported our students in Religious Education. The knowledge and wisdom they impart are invaluable in nurturing the faith and understanding of our community. We encourage our students to continue their exploration of faith and embrace the values that embody “Goodness Above All” in words and actions.
YEAR 7 CURRICULUM
Every Year 7 class is currently finishing their study on Stewardship: A Way of Life. This topic is frameworked on Ephesians 6:15; “15 As shoes for your feet put on whatever will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace.” In this topic, students have been learning to appreciate God’s creative presence and activity in the world, understand that human beings participate in, contribute to and are responsible for God’s creation and explore and identify ways by which people may be stewards of creation.
Students have been studying this by completing a variety of classroom activities such as understanding the nature of creation as expressed throughout the Old Testament through Scripture deconstruction, understanding the purposefulness of God’s creation through a film study of ‘The Lorax’ and understanding how Pope Francis has defined contemporary Christian environmental sustainability by unpacking the Papal Encyclical ‘Laudato Si.’
Our Year 7 students submitted their Assessment Task 2 The Stewardship: A Way of Life in which they created a TEDTalk as a ‘Steward of Creation’ to demonstrate their understanding of the role that humans have in caring for the environment. Students were required to submit
A transcript and a recorded video based on the on the following topics:
- CORE: “We are “stewards” not “masters” of the earth” by Pope Francis, 2014
- EXTENSION: “Our duty towards nature and the Creator, are an essential part of our faith.” by Pope John Paul II, 1990
In responding to the aforementioned topics, students responded to the following questions focused on Why are we stewards? What have we done and What can we do?
Thank you Year 7 for a fantastic start to your second Semester in high school and to the Year 7 Religious Education teaching team for their dedication:
- Ms. Irena Jajcevic
- Ms. Carly La Rossa
- Ms. Ellie Bonus
- Ms. Giulia Laurenzi
- Mr. Federico Manica
- Ms. Caroline Morizzi
- Ms. Rachael Colreavy
Student Sample
“Our duty towards nature and the Creator are an essential part of our faith.” These words were spoken by Pope John Paul II 1990 calling out to Christians. The topic of this talk is to address the role of stewards in God’s world. How can we help? What have we done? Our duty in creation is to nurture it. The garden of Eden story shows that God wants his stewards to work with his creation. He said to Adam and Eve “Work it and take care of it.” This quote is a foundation. He said it to Adam. But consider Adam as the rest of humanity as well. God wants all humans to work it and take care of it. A quote from Laudato Si “What kind of world do we want to leave to those that come after us, to children who are now growing up?” The world was created for all humans and all generations, that is what the quote is signifying.
Ms Samantha Ison
Assistant Religion Education Coordinator
Friday 27th October: Year 7 Grandparents Visit
Friday 3rd November: Year 9 and 10 Youth Afternoon at Marist College Eastwood
Friday 10th November: Year 10 Reflection Day- Compulsory Event for Year 10
Mrs Caroline Morizzi, Religious Education Coordinator
This article on College life meets The Archbishop’s Charter for Catholic Schools – Charter #1, #2
