Dear Parents and Carers

Hope that you have enjoyed a sensational couple of weeks.

This week we celebrated Refugee Week with the theme ‘Celebrating the Year of Welcome. The theme has a number of important points about this week that include:

• It raises awareness of the issues affecting refugees. The theme aims to highlight aspects of the refugee experience and help the broader community to understand what it is like to be a refugee.
• It helps to make Refugee Week a national celebration. The theme provides a focal point for events across Australia, uniting separate activities into a single nationwide celebration.
• It promotes harmony and togetherness. The theme unites individuals, communities and organisations from many different backgrounds behind a common cause. The common theme is a reminder that, regardless of our differences, we all share a common humanity.
• It broadens the impact of Refugee Week. The theme provides a common, cohesive message which can be promoted across the country, helping to maximise the effectiveness of awareness-raising activities.

12^th Sunday Ordinary Time A

‘Do not be afraid’ is one of the most commonly repeated sentences in the Bible. In one form or another, the command to ‘be not afraid’ or ‘fear not’ appears several hundred times throughout the Old and New Testaments. The message to not be afraid is as much for the original intended audience of the Gospel as it was for the Apostles. The community for whom this Gospel was written were on the verge of being ‘squeezed out’ and forced into secret. The passage reminds them to have courage and to have the courage of their convictions; to shout from the house-tops their message, not whisper it in darkness. It is a reminder of the abundant love of God who cares for them and sees all their efforts to continue to live out the message and ministry of Jesus. It is equally a message for us, today. We are called to continue the spread of the Gospel message; continuing the work of those early Christian communities, the Twelve and Jesus himself.

13^th Sunday Ordinary Time A

What must it have been like to be one of those disciples of Jesus? Having followed their Rabbi, or teacher, for some time, he sends them out to ‘have a go’ at doing what he has been doing: preaching; proclaiming the good news; healing; curing lepers and casting out demons. The focus of a disciple is to be like their Rabbi. This is their first real test of being a disciple … seeking to go out into the world without Jesus and do the things that they’ve seen their Rabbi do; to be like their Rabbi! Let us be the best missionary disciple we can possibly be this week!

Friday 19 June – Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

This feast day emphasises God’s love and mercy. In fact, that love and mercy is so intense that the symbol of the sacred heart is a human heart encircled with a crown of thorns, crowned with a cross, and radiating flames: this is how much Christ loves us.

Sunday Mass

In these restrictive times, we can still attend our regular Mass. The Parish Mass (with Fr Patrick inside St Joseph’s Parish Church) will be uploaded to the website at 5pm each Saturday. Gather the family and go to www.saintjosephsbulli.com and set your own time to view the weekend Mass. The Mass will stay on the website for the whole week.

Don’t forget Sunday Masses with Bishop Brian and Priests from around the Diocese are available online at www.dow.org.au or diocese’s Facebook page.

UPDATES:

• Church can only take 40 registered worshippers.
• It is essential that you register for each Mass you would like to attend (weekday and weekend Masses) through the office on 42843000 Mondays to Thursdays 9.30am to 3.00pm.
• No bookings will be taken after Thursday at 3.00pm. Please ring if you cannot attend!!!
• All registers will be cleared and you will have to rebook each week. This is to be fair and equitable to all who wish to attend Masses.
• Monitors will be in attendance at church to check names of those registered.
• Reconciliation, Baptisms and Weddings are by appointment only.

Sacramental Programs for St Columbkille’s

Earlier this year we scheduled and sent out enrolment forms for the Sacraments of Confirmation, Reconciliation and Holy Communion. 

Unfortunately, due to the current circumstances, the directives from the Government and Diocese of Wollongong have meant that these have been postponed until restrictions have been lifted.

If you have filled out the enrolment forms, please send them into the parish office either by mail or email. That way we can create a data base, so as to contact parents and carers as soon as we are advised to go ahead with the Sacramental preparation classes and new dates are set. Parish details are:

St Joseph’s Church Bulli: PO Box 304, Woonona. NSW. 2517 or email bulli@dow.org.au

Thank you to those families who have already returned their forms.

Catholic Youth Ministry Wollongong Live Online!

This is a creative, powerful show about faith in the life of young people. It is a new initiative featuring talks, worship music, fun games, guest speakers and testimonies. This is a great way for young people to not only build on their faith but also build friendships. To be involved simply follow the “CYMW” Facebook page or Instagram at “wollongongnetteam”.

Mrs Joanne Herring - Religious Education Coordinator 

Congratulations to the following students:

Principal's Awards

1B - Roma Aimasso, Finn Conway, Sophia Martinus, Halle Petch, Alyssa Tatton, Lachlan Walsh

2B - Jasmine Bertacco, Nixon Breakspear, Rebecca Cowell, Nate Elliott, Harrison Esteves, Khloe Jorgenson, Talon Mayo, Eden Saweris, Madison Stone

2G - Hudson Bennett, Milla Briscoe-Hough, Taavi Cooke, Chloe Copson, Ben Franco, Harper Harrison, Felix Ibrahim, Ari King, Rosalie Larkin, Abby Mannion, Ethan Oliver, Ciara Pons, Ivy Powell, Darcy Shaw, Abbie Stenos, Eoin Vaughan

3B - Indigo Marmont, Juliet Ritz, Olivia Ryan, Amelia Stewart, John Tadros

3G - Rhys Nightingale

4B - Sibella Bartzos, Wintah Breakspear, William Jones Murphy, Bailey Mitchell, Zac Rosengren, Riley Smith

Mary MacKillop Awards

1B - Indie Humphries

1G - Theia Vincent

2B - Sophie Coughlan, Madison Stone

3B - Claude Vincent

3G - Alyssa Bishop

4B - Tobias Fielding

4G - Emily Spiers

School Medallion

Term 2 will conclude on Friday 3 July with Term 3 beginning on Monday 20 July.  

We wish everyone a safe, enjoyable and peaceful school break. 

Thank you to the families who have chosen to use morning drop off and afternoon carline pick up.  

Just a reminder that the laneway is STRICTLY A NO STOPPING ZONE therefore parents and carers should not park in the laneway prior to afternoon dismissal.

Parents/carers are not to arrive before 3pm.

All children are supervised and safe. Arriving at this time greatly reduces the congestion and inconvenience caused to our local residents and neighbours.

Please ensure that the following guidelines are adhered to for the safety of all:

• Children must only be dropped off or picked up in the clearly mark designated area only.
• Children must enter and exit from the driver side of the car only where possible
• Please be aware and mindful of students being picked-up by their parents outside of carlines
• Family names are to be clearly displayed in the front of all cars. The sunvisor is the best place.
• Overtaking a stationary vehicle is not permitted

Should you require a name plate, please contact the School Office and one will be made for you. Thank you for your onging support and patience in ensuring the safety of our school community.

The St Columbkille's Instagram and Facebook accounts have been posting photos of our students and staff enjoying their learning experiences. The accounts will continue to feature photos of our celebrations, news and events. I encourage you to follow our account - @stcolumbkilles.corrimal to view our posts thus far and so you can look out for future posts.  Our Instagram posts are also reflected in our Facebook page, so if you prefer, follow us on Facebook. Our Facebook page is also accessable via the link on the left hand side of this Newsletter.  

If you haven't already done so, I strongly encourage you to download the Compass App. Within the Compass App you will find the St Columbkille's Parent Calendar which can be viewed from the homepage or by selecting the calendar icon in the menu. The Parent Calendar can also be viewed in our Schoolzine newsletters. It is located on the lefthand side of the page.  

Links to both the latest version of our newsletter and social media posts can also be located via our school website. 

The SZapp (Schoolzine) App linked to our Schoolzine Newsletter is available to download from the App and Play Store. Downloading the App will provide you with another form of communication. In addition to the latest and archieved newsletters, the App includes links to our school website, our social media pages, school calendar and more, plus it also contains contact us facitlities.   

Simply download the App from the App or Play Store to your device, select the region, enter and select our school name and login using an exisitng email address.  

The newsletter and alerts will continue to be sent via Compass. The SZapp will just provide information via a different forum, which you may find easier to use.    

The Parent-School Partnership Framework is available in six additional languages to help support you and your family. 

The Framework is available in Vietnamese, Hindi, Nepali, Malayalam, Tagalog and Arabic. They are all available for download from the below link: