From the Religious Education Coordinator

In our Church ……

All Saints Day and All Souls Day

The Solemnity of All Saints Day and the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed

This week we celebrate two very important dates in the Catholic liturgical calendar: All Saints Day and All Souls Day.  November 1st celebrates All Saints Day, the day dedicated to the saints of the Church.  Based in the ancient practice of remembering a martyr’s death, usually at the place of martyrdom, All Saints Day reminds us of those people in the history of Christianity who have sought to emulate the example of Christ and in doing so have provided strong models of faithfulness and loving service and sacrifice for others to follow.  While celebrated since the 7th Century, it was Pope Gregory III in the mid 8th Century who formally pronounced November 1st as the Feast of All Saints.  This Feast is also celebrated in Eastern Catholic Churches and some Protestant Churches.  The following day, November 2nd the Church celebrates All Souls Day, the day dedicated to all those who have died.  While praying for the dead is another ancient practice of the Church, it wasn’t until the end of the 10th Century that it became a widespread ritual. 

Cultural practices have influenced the practice of these days.  For example, in the Philippines the festival of Undas is celebrated with the cleaning the tombs, the lighting up candles, the offering of flowers, and prayers for the souls of the departed.  In Mexico the Day of the Dead, an affirmation of life in which song and dance, parades and parties are symbolic of love for the departed.

In memory of all those who gone before us, let us pray:

Praying The Rosary

Throughout October, students and staff have been invited to pray the Rosary led by the Liturgy Captains. This has been taking place in the College Rose Garden.

The Catholic Church dedicates the month of October to the Holy Rosary. Pope John XXIII said that:

The best way to celebrate the month is to pray the Rosary. Why pray the Rosary?

1. It allows you to meditate and reflect on key events of Jesus’ ministry through Scripture.
2. It helps us grow in holiness, asking for Mary’s intercession in growing in virtue.
3. It weakens the devil, with Mary protecting us from his evil works and temptations.
4. This beautiful prayer helps slow down our busy lives, with Mary offering us the blessing of true peace.
5. It is a great way to pray for others, especially those people who have asked you to pray for them and you may have forgotten…
6. When you might not have the words to pray or don’t know how to pray, the Rosary can be the words that we might not have at the time.
7. Have you read the 15 Promises of the Rosary, given to St Dominic from the Blessed Virgin Mary?

Thank you to our dedicated Liturgy Captains and staff members for providing these opportunities for our community:

• Ms Samantha Ison
• Mr Daniel El-Hage
• Ms. Jenny Vu
• Cleo Wockner
• Melodie Brown
• Isabella Cicciari
• Gabrielle Foster
• Isabel Dooley
• Kaia Wilkowska

In our Community….

Mary’s House Fundraiser Walk 

Mary’s House is a community-funded refuge on the lower north shore of Sydney accepting clients of all cultures and denominations from all around Australia. Mary’s House is symbolic of the community’s commitment to say no to domestic violence, to reduce risk of harm from domestic violence and save lives. The refuge offers respite when clients are at their most vulnerable which clients often remark “gives them time to breathe”.

Mary’s House Refuge supports up to five families, accepting women and their children escaping domestic violence and is able to connect to external services to secure the safety and welfare of pets. It’s a beautiful and functional home, especially appointed to provide safety as well as a sense of belonging.

Mary’s House annual walk is a fundraising event to support the mission to aid women and their children escaping domestic and family violence.

We would like to congratulate Heidi Simpson from Year 10 and her mother, Ms Hall, for attending the day by completing the 10km walk. Together they raised $615 for Mary’s House which is a wonderful achievement. Thank for being participating in this special cause.

We would also like to thank our Marist Sisters’ staff: Ms Christine Iannello, Ms Janene Stitt and Ms Abi-Khattar for walking the 10kms and being part of this special day. Here is what they had to say:

If you would like to make a donation to Mary’s House, click on the link below:

https://maryshousewinterappeal.raisely.com/ 

Cambodia Immersion Fundraiser  

Our Marist Sisters’ students who attended the Cambodia immersion this year have held a Cambodia Fundraising Week this week to gather much-needed support for the communities visited during their time there, namely the Marist Centre of Hope and La Valla Disability Centre.

La Valla: https://www.maristcambodia.org/lavalla-school

Marist Centre of Hope: https://champagnat.org/en/albuns/marist-center-of-hope-pailin-3/

With the help of Ms Carolyn Criss and Mr Ryan Leonard and other Year 11 students, the fundraising consisted of: A lolly bag sale, Bake sale, Red and blue ribbons sale and finishing with Teacher Karaoke. A huge congratulations to the Cambodia Immersion 2023 group for all your hard work and effort in giving back to the Cambodia Community.

MSCW Christmas Appeal 2023

For this year’s Christmas Appeal, the MSCW community is supporting two organisations including St Vincent de Paul and Baabayn Aboriginal Corporation. The focus of the Vinnies Appeal is the continuing impacts of the cost-of-living crisis in Australia, including rental and housing affordability. Baabayn is located in the Blacktown area that works with the Aboriginal community, providing many young people with support to services that help them heal from the past and nurture their sense of confidence and pride in the future. 

As an annual tradition at the College, MSCW has collected Christmas presents for the children of the Baabayn community and food, toiletries and sanitary items for St Vincent de Paul. The collection of these items will occur in Week 6 and 7 and can be dropped off at Marian House. 

Please refer to the doc for more information. Your support of the MSCW Christmas Appeal this year means we can help individuals and families who are struggling with living costs to experience a bit more joy, dignity and hope.

Ms Jenny Vu, Youth Ministry Coordinator

This article on College life meets The Archbishop’s Charter for Catholic Schools – Charter #1, #2

In our MARIST COMMUNITY…

Grandparents Visit 

On Friday 27 October, our Year 7 students had the wonderful opportunity of inviting their Grandparents to the College for a Liturgy, musical performances and a beautiful morning tea. Our Liturgy celebrated grandparents and we were abe to tell them how much they mean to us. 

Throughout the Liturgy there was a focus on Pope Francis’ initiation of The World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly:

“On July 24, the Church celebrated the third World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly. Established by Pope Francis in January 2021, the day is celebrated each year on the fourth Sunday of July and shares the feasts of Mary’s parents and Jesus’ grandparents: Saints Joachim and Anne. This link to Jesus’ family tree encourages us to look at our family tree and the special link to our grandparents. The theme for this year’s World Day was “In old age they will still bear fruit” and highlights how grandparents and the elderly are a value and a gift both for society and for Church communities. In his message for the second World Day of Grandparents and the Elderly, Pope Francis said: “Old age is no time to give up and lower the sails, but a season of enduring fruitfulness: a new mission awaits us and bids us to look to the future. ‘The special sensibility that those of us who are elderly have for the concerns, thoughts and the affections that make us human should once again become the vocation of many. It would be a sign of our love for the younger generations’. I encourage you, dear grandparents and elderly persons, to take an active role.”

Our grandparents have blessed our families with the gift of life and are there to care and nurture their children and grandchildren with their many acts of goodness, kindness and love. May each of us learn from their wisdom and example how to be good and holy people. A huge thank you to all our Year 7 students who participated on the day.

In our Curriculum

Year 9 Curriculum 

Throughout Term 3 and Term 4, every Year 9 class completed their study on Biblical Writing based on 2 John 4; “I was overjoyed to find some of your children walking in the truth.” In this topic, students have learnt to explain the features and purpose of a range of literary forms used in the Old and New Testaments, classify Scripture passages according to their literary form and interpret them for their intended meaning and recognise that the Bible conveys various truths through a diversity of literary forms.

To demonstrate and apply their understanding, students completed their Assessment Task 2 Scriptural Exegesis on this topic which required students to select a Scripture passage and unpack its features as a literary form and explore its intended meaning for believers. Students completed this in response to the following question; Explain how ONE scripture communicates the mystery and truth of God.

Student Sample – Stephanie Holland:

The literary form of Luke 15:11-31 is a gospel. It is a narrative and a parable using symbolic and biblical truth to provide enriching understandings of implicit and explicit ideas through comparison. The purpose of this genre is to be a form of Jesus’s teachings to illustrate a moral compass and a way of living. In the time and place of writing, it was used as a storytelling tool for Jesus to reveal to the Hebrew people about God’s revelation. The quote, “How many of my father’s hired hands have bread enough and to spare, but here I am dying of hunger!” in Luke 15:17, draws the comparison between the life of the son leaving home and the lives of the servants back home. This forms a representation of the result of straying away from faith and the result of staying with faith. The quote, ‘Listen! For all these years I have been working like a slave for you, and I have never disobeyed your command; yet you have never given me even a young goat so that I might celebrate with my friends,” in Luke 15:29 is the older son comparing the work he has done for the father over the younger son. This symbolises that any virtuous and righteous work done in life depends on the intent of the work being done. The quote,“For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and was found!” in Luke 15:24 signifying the connection between the son being dead and lost to losing faith and being alive and found to finding faith.

Currently, our Year 9 classes have begun their new topic on the Church in Australia based on 2 John 6;

In this topic, students are learning to appreciate the ‘timeless’ nature of the Church and some of the enduring challenges which face Christians. They are learning to describe key characteristics of life in the early Christian communities and how to use a range of sources to investigate the significance of key people and events in the early Church.

To achieve this, students have begun activities from their Bloom’s Matrix based on Bloom’s Taxonomy. Bloom’s Taxonomy, is a framework that categorises cognitive skills and learning objectives into six levels; Remembering, Understanding, Applying, Analysing, Evaluating and Creating. These activities include a study on the Goulburn Strike of 1962, creating an Instagram Profile for a historical personality and creating an online museum and gallery of the Eastern Catholic Churches in Australia.

Student Samples:

Mia Borrelli	Jacinta Da Silva

Thank you Year 9 for your continued efforts in Religious Education this year! Thank to the Year 9 Religious Education team for their ongoing commitment:

• Mr Justin Hodges
• Mr Federico Manica
• Ms Irena Jajcevic
• Ms Jenny Vu

Ms Samantha Ison, Assistant Religious Education Coordinator

Friday 3 November: Year 9 and 10 Youth Afternoon at Marist College Eastwood

Friday 10 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