21 June 2021

Principal’s Reflection

And then, it was over! That was a bit of the feeling as the curtain closed on ‘Footloose the Musical on Saturday night. Months of preparation, hundreds of hours of rehearsal and practice, four sold out and very popular shows is now behind the cast, crew, staff and very satisfied patrons.

It was hugely successful and the staff, cast and crew Footloose @ Shalom, should be very proud. I am very confident that the memory and experience for the 70 young people and staff who gave so much to this event will live on with them for years to come. It was a great event for the College. And life will move on to the next thing – just maybe not quite as spectacular. Last week we also had a significant phase in our School Renewal process partaking in the National School Improvement Tool (NSIT) process. Four external consultants took a very close look at the teaching and learning processes at Shalom and benchmarked the College in nine domains against schools across the country. The feedback from our visitors was incredibly positive. This process will give us some things to work on but it certainly strongly affirmed the learning journey the College has been on. Along with all of that, it was a busy week in sport with our Open Girls’ Netball team successful in the regional final of the Vicki Wilson cup and our Year 10 & Open Rugby League boys travelling to St Brendan’s to play the next round of the Aaron Payne Cup. Teachers were also burning midnight oils to get Semester Reports completed and finalizing a lot of data for the Qld Curriculum Authority. Schools are very busy places but there are so many good and great things happening. We have a lot to be proud of at Shalom as a school community. None of those things could happen without the level of parent support we enjoy and the tremendous dedication of so many staff.

Inter-House Athletics is on Thursday and Friday. Please support your child’s participation in this important College activity. This is a part of choosing Shalom.

QISSRL & QISSN Carnivals take place in the first week of the Semester break. The Netball will be played at the Qld Netball Centre at Mt Gravatt and the Rugby League is hosted this year by Iona College in Brisbane. Every best wish to the young women and men and their coaching staff who have been working so hard to prepare for these very significant carnivals. We missed last year’s event because of Covid and the last QISSN & QISSRL Carnivals were hosted by Shalom in 2019 (we all thought it was the best run carnivals ever!)

NSIT Feedback – just a few of the commendations from the draft report just received –

• A peaceful, respectful and calm learning environment was observed throughout the college day, both in class and during breaks. Students, parents and teachers expressed a strong sense of pride in belonging to the Shalom College community.
• Catholic social teaching is lived in authentic ways in the call to family, community, and participation, and a preferential option for the poor.
• The high levels of confidence of senior students in knowing what they are expected to learn and the standards they were expected to demonstrate is testament to well-organised, dedicated teachers who have embraced the professional learning required to implement new QCE system. It is also a clear indication of successful strategic resourcing by the College Leadership Team who prioritised support for such knowledge building and professional development.

Mr Dan McMahon
Principal
McmahonD@shalomcollege.com

Newsletter Articles

Student Welfare and Information

In Term 3 in our Personal Development Education sessions Years 7 & 8 will undertake the Daniel Morcombe Child Safety Curriculum. This program aims to support schools and teachers in the promotion of safety for all students.

These lessons will include information on personal safety and awareness, cyber-safety and mobile phone safety.

The curriculum aims to develop student knowledge and skills to RECOGNISE, REACT and REPORT unsafe situations.

Years 11 & 12 will have guest speakers in their Personal Development sessions in Term 3.

We are grateful to the following presenters for giving up their valuable time to address our students.

Britt Duncan, Hayden Kroon and Glen Cameron from Queensland Police Service.

Nicole Blakely from Q Health Sexual Assault Clinic Bundaberg.

Fire Emergency Services.

More information on the content of their presentations will be sent out early next term.

As we bring Term 2 to a close we will be holding our Inter House Athletics carnival this Thursday and Friday. For the first time, all students will be able to dress up – each House has selected a theme and students are asked to come dressed in that theme. There will be the traditional events but many novelty events have been added as well. It would seem that the greater the participation, the higher the chance of winning the overall carnival.

The Athletics Carnival are compulsory for all students unless genuinely ill. We expect a great turnout.

It has been a very busy term, as they all are now, and I do hope that our students get a little ‘down time’ to rejuvenate.

Good luck to our Confraternity RL Team playing in Brisbane at Iona College & QISSN Netball Teams playing at the Qld Netball Centre at Mt Gravatt in the first week of the holidays.

Mrs Elizabeth Austin-Campbell
Deputy Principal
AcampbellE@shalomcollege.com

Curriculum

Year 12 - QTAC Information Session (Zoom) 21 June, 4.30pm

The face to face session has been cancelled by QTAC it will now be via Zoom. See below for link, meeting ID and passcode.

This session is for parents of students who are interested in going to University. A representative from the Queensland Tertiary Admission Centre (QTAC) will be on Zoom to talk to students and parents about applying for higher education and ATAR information. They will also be able to answer any questions you may have with regards to the tertiary admissions process. This is a must attend for students intending to pursue a tertiary pathway.

Join Zoom Meeting

Meeting ID: 936 3994 3570
Passcode: 160009

QTAC Opening of Admissions

QTAC applications will open on Tuesday 3 August. You will start to notice website updates for the 2022 admissions year once our final Semester 2, 2021 offer round takes place on Friday 16 July.

Year 10 Personal Futures Key Dates:

Personal Futures Briefing: Monday 19 July (Period 1)
Personal Futures Day: Friday 23 July (All day)
Subject Selection Evening: Tuesday 27 July
SET Plan Interviews: 29 July – 17 August
Online WebChoices: 27 July – 20 August

Mrs Gail Norris
Assistant Principal – Curriculum
Gail_Norris@shalomcollege.com

Administration

Year 11 Unit 1 and Year 12 Unit 3 Report Cards – Published Today

Year 11 Unit 1 and Year 12 Unit 3 Report Cards were published on Parent Lounge today 21 June as advertised in the school calendar. These reports can be accessed through Parent Lounge in the Academic Reports tab. For any clarification over results issued, please contact the classroom teacher. Please note that the Year 12 grades are provisional as some assessment is still to go through the QCAA Confirmation process.

Year 7-10 report cards will be published 23 July.

Mr Brendan Maher
Assistant Principal – Administration
Brendan_Maher@shalomcollege.com

Student Drivers

Parents and Carers of Year 11 & 12 Students

If your child has obtained their Provisional Licence and wishes to drive to and from school you are required to fill out a Permission to Drive Form and return it to Student Reception for approval by Mrs Elizabeth Austin-Campbell. Once approved the details will be placed on our School Register.

Thanks to those Parents who have already completed this form for their child.

Mrs Amanda O’Mara
Executive Assistant to the Principal/ Enrolment Officer
amanda_omara@shalomcollege.com

Absentees

FOR ALL ABSENTEES

Preferred option is Email absentees@shalomcollege.com or Phone Absentee line 41558181

ALL student absentees should be notified to the office by 9am each day. If no notification has been received, an absentee text message will be sent out to parents to advise of the student’s absence.

IT Department

Please see an IT update here and if any students are experiencing issues, this information will help point them in the right direction.

Term Holiday Maintenance

With the upcoming term holidays, the IT Unit will be conducting routine maintenance to IT infrastructure. Please expect to see some outages during the first week of the holidays as we are conducting updates.

Windows 10 Updates

During the last few weeks, we have been rolling out the latest windows patches to all student devices. We have noticed a small group of devices have not received them. We would certainly like students who know they did not receive the updates to please bring their devices into IT during the upcoming holidays so we can investigate this further.

Laptop skins - Year 7, 8, 10 & 11 Notebooks

We are starting to see more of our student College notebooks without skins. Students have been advised at the start of the last two years about the need for this skin to stay on the device and to not remove it. If the skin has been removed or is peeling up, please report to the IT Unit immediately. Costs may apply for replacement skins.

Where should Students be saving files?

The College process for students is to only save files to their college Home Folder. They can use Foldr to access their home folder from any location. Foldr has an application that can be installed on all devices and a website in case there is an issue with the apps. We do not recommend saving to the local device or on usb sticks. One major reason for saving to home folders is this allows us to assist the users to with automated backups.

We have noticed students are saving documents into OneNote and therefore running into issues of lost work. OneNote is not a file management platform and therefore we recommend saving files to Foldr.

The IT unit continues working over the holidays, so if any student has any IT related issues, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

As always, we are here to assist anyone so please contact us to any IT issues you have.

Mr Matthew Mills
IT Manager
millsm@shalomcollege.com

Footloose

The Performing Arts Department would like to thank all those who attended and supported our College Musical ‘Footloose’ over the weekend.

Four sold out performances and over 1,500 audience members made this show a great success.

We’d like to thank all those involved in making this possible – staff, parents and students.

Everybody Cut Footloose!

During the Shalom College musical ‘Footloose’ performances the school’s St Vincent de Paul group conducted some fundraising in the canteen and with a raffle. Thank you to everyone who purchased items in the canteen or raffle tickets, and to those who generously donated our prizes. At the Saturday evening performance, the raffle was drawn. The following were our lucky winners:

Maria McMahon
Donna Haberman
Michelle Moller
Mr/Mrs Lucht

Ms Cassie Hoiberg
Performing Arts Learning Area Coordinator
Cassandra_Hoiberg@shalomcollege.com

Pathways

Holiday Harvest Jobs

In collaboration with Bundaberg Fruit and Vegetable Growers, there a number of casual holiday harvest positions on offer with regional farming businesses for local Bundaberg students who are interested in agriculture. Duties will include harvesting and packing produce, pruning and maintenance.

Students are required to submit applications with urgency, including resume and cover letters, via email. Please see the attached for full details on how to apply.

Year 10 QTAC Guide

The Year 10 students are starting to explore their future options and we are beginning to receive more questions about their pathways and how that ties in with their school subjects. The Qld Tertiary Admissions Centre have released the Year 10 Guide which is full of information for Year 10 students. The guide covers career planning and pathways, curriculum information and tertiary study areas, pre-requite subjects for university courses and the broad range of study areas.

Work Experience

Work experience is a great opportunity for students to explore their passion and understand what is expected in the workplace, while developing skills outside the classroom. It is also an opportunity to understand what they may need to do to prepare for the future. If students are intending on taking part in Work Experience in the upcoming school holidays, please ensure your completed, signed paperwork is returned to the Pathways Office no later than Tuesday 22 June. Please see the Student Work Experience Booklet attached for further information and instructions on engaging in work experience.

Bond University Indigenous Scholarships

Bond University offers a range of full and part scholarships, bursaries and grants to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students. In 2020, 12 scholarships were awarded to Indigenous students due to the generous support of corporate partners, through funds raised at the Indigenous Gala and through a significant contribution by the University. Applications for Indigenous scholarships are currently open and close 6 September 2021.

For more information:

TSXPO – Tertiary Studies Expo – Brisbane 17 & 18 July

The Brisbane TSXPO is a great opportunity to research universities and further study institutes. This event will be held on 17 & 18 July at the Royal International Convention Centre, Brisbane Showgrounds from 10am – 4pm on both days.

Shalom will be running a bus to this event on Saturday, 17 July to be held at the Royal International Convention Centre, Brisbane Showgrounds.

We are now calling for expressions of interest to attend this excursion. Please note that there will need to be a minimum quota of students reached for this excursion to go ahead and the maximum seats available will be 42. The cost of the excursion is $35 per student and $25 per parent. Register your interest here: Please note that expressions of interest close Tuesday, 22 June.

See the link for further information about the TSXPO.

The Pathways Team
Mrs Liza O’Donnell, Mrs Kathy Laing & Mrs Julia Fox
Liza_ODonnell@shalomcollege.com
LaingK@shalomcollege.com
Julia_Fox@shalomcollege.com

Quiet Achiever

Year 12 Student Milee Flanders is an amazing asset to her PC class. Milee is so friendly to all the students, always willing to help others when needed and has beautiful manners. I think she is a great role model to others. Recently Milee sat and helped other students with tricky homework.

Adams –JPG
Mr Joe O’Driscoll
Adams House Coordinator
ODriscoJ@shalomcollege.com

Review of Performance Music

The students participating in performance music include all the orchestral string, woodwind, brass and percussion students, and the vocal students. Each week they continue their musical learning attending a specialist lesson in their chosen area of musical study. All of these students summarize and connect their specialist lesson with weekly ensemble skills rehearsals. The students synthesize their learning with studies in public performance each term. These three levels of learning are complimentary, supportive and necessary for musical growth.

Specialist Lessons

Specialist lessons in music generally occur during the academic lessons scheduled in the regular college timetable. Achieving the skill set required for the student’s chosen instrument can take many years of study, with students usually commencing in the early years of primary school. This long-term commitment to a personal area of study and self-improvement is an unusual phenomenon and should be honored and respected. Successful music students learn to maintain an organized approach, communicating with both their class teacher and music specialist, in order to accomplish all required tasks. The student’s efficient use of their Record Book and SIA is a crucial factor in achieving academic success and specialist music lesson attendance.

Weekly Ensemble Class Rehearsal

Weekly ensemble class rehearsal commences at 7:30am - a time when most of the college community is considering when to get out of bed! The ensemble rehearsal provides a fertile learning environment where students can flex their specialist lesson learning. The learning is promoted through carefully selected musical compositions that enhance, reinforce and illustrate how musical skills can be understood. The weekly ensemble classes begin at the commencement of the year and occur every week of the college calendar.

Performances

Synthesis of personal specialist learning and group ensemble skills occurs during the regular concerts. It is only with a watchful audience, under the hot lights on the concert stage where the true musician tests their learning. The performance is the first step in this synthesis. The second step is the student’s post-concert self-reflection and analysis, providing for insightful exploration where learning, effort and engagement can be weighed and valued. The performance of the student and ensemble is evaluated laying the groundwork for future learning to be proposed.

Shalom College promotes a student’s holistic education. We see this in performance music where the young musician engages in the three parts of learning: the specialist music lesson, the ensemble class, and the public performances. These three parts make student’s learning practical, progressive and holistic.

Mr Ian King
Instrumental Music Teacher
KingI@shalomcollege.com

Noosa Film Academy Day

Ms Lancaster’s Year 11 Film, Television and New Media and TV class had a special visit from Noosa Film Academy on Monday 7 June and learned a range of techniques from the amazing Andrea and Greg Huglin to construct a short film in a one-day period.

At the beginning of the workshop we watched a video on Greg’s experience in the film industry which was great for us to see.

After this, we were given an umbrella and had to quickly brainstorm ideas that included this object. For us, it resulted in a romantic comedy concept.

The umbrella was firstly introduced in the opening scene and it was established that the object had magical love properties. Our class completely improvised the rest of the short film from shot to shot.

Each film student got the experience of being in the main shot, and for some it challenged them to move out of their comfort zone. This exercise was guided by Greg and Andrea, giving the class advice on positioning of framing and basic on-set knowledge.

By the end of the day our class was beyond excited to see the finished product. Greg put together the clips on the big screen and we got to see his live editing skills! We couldn’t keep the smiles off our faces after seeing our short film results, and it was particularly exciting to see them on the big screen at the Moncrieff Theatre this past Saturday night. What a brilliant experience it was!

Nina Hilton
Year 11 Film Student

Zen Zen Zo’s Visit

Having Nicole Reilly from Zen Zen Zo to come to Shalom and teach us about the ways of physical theatre was an amazing experience. There is so much to talk about when it comes to physical theatre, and all the different aspects of it that Nicole taught the Year 11 and 12 classes.

One thing that stood out to me specifically was the use of spacing during a play. Spacing in performances itself is pretty explanatory; it’s just were the actors are placed. But one thing that Nicole taught us is that spacing can be so much more then just that. We learnt such things as depending on how far someone is to another person or how close, it can establish a relationship between characters, whether they are strangers, acquaintances, friends or people that want to kill each other. The way spacing is also used in physical theatre can really make the audience feel connected too. I say this because Nicole had us all sit down in a line and shut our eyes while she chose two people to stand up and stand were Nicole asked. Once I opened up my eyes, I was surprised to see one of the volunteers standing directly in front of me and the second volunteer directly in front of another person! Imagine the shock we felt by opening our eyes and seeing two people just far away enough that they’re not touching us. I was able to see how just the positioning of an actor in a performance can make the audience feel connected and invested from the second the performance starts. That is just one of many things we learnt from Zen Zen Zo’s Nicole Reilly and we are very grateful she was able to share her knowledge with us.

Jack Meissner
Year 11 Drama Student

Year 11 and 12 Tourism Trip

After our excursions were brought to a halt last year due to Covid-19, last Tuesday, the Year Eleven and Twelve Tourism classes were excited to leave school at 5am for an excursion to the Sunshine Coast. We stopped at the TreeTop Challenge, which is an example of niche tourism, specifically adventure tourism. After going through the range of different high ropes courses, we headed to the Noosa Surf Club. Here, we had some delicious lunch with ocean views. This was followed by an interesting talk from Jasmin, who works for Noosa Tourism. We learnt about the innovative ways Noosa is improving its sustainability while continuing to attract a large number of tourists. We then had the option to swim at the beach or wander around the shops on Hastings Street before heading to our accommodation at Flashpackers. We finished the day with dinner back on Hastings St.

We had a great start to the next day, with a picturesque walk along Noosa Heads, the perfect way to begin the day and take in the incredible Noosa Biosphere. After packing up, we headed to the Eumundi Markets where we listened to Michelle, the executive director talk about how her team implements marketing strategies and sustainability. We had plenty of time to explore the artisan markets.

Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the Tourism trip, and we all learnt so much about niche tourism, sustainability and marketing. Thanks to Miss Lancaster, Mr Braund, Mrs McKeown, Mrs Norris and Mr Aplin for making this trip possible.

Claudia Thomson
Year 12 Tourism Student

Year 12 Aquatic Practices – Grunskes Excursion

Year 12 Aquatic Practices students are progressing through their unit ‘Ocean to Plate’ where they are investigating how seafood in Queensland and globally is caught or produced. As part of the unit, students went on an excursion to Grunskes by the River. Many thanks to Sian from Grunskes for showing us around the business. Students gained an insight to trawler operations, experienced the massive freezers at Grunskes (at -29°C!!), watched staff shucking scallops and filleting reef fish, and learned about the importance of quality, sustainable seafood and the regulations a business needs to meet as part of the seafood industry in Queensland. As part of the experience, students returned to Shalom where they had a range of ‘tasters’ of different types of seafood – oysters, prawns, scallops, Moreton Bay bug, sand crab, smoked mullet, and fresh coral trout. The Grunskes excursion certainly expanded the students’ knowledge and appreciation of seafood! Again, thanks to Sian and the crew at Grunskes for allowing us an insight to their operations.

Checking out local caught mullet and mullet roe.

Inspecting one of the huge storage freezers at Grunskes.

Mr Troy Braund
Aquatic Practices Teacher
Troy_Braund@shalomcollege.com

Read Write Wonder

A place for English teachers to respond to texts they have encountered during the previous week.

Staff member: Louise Hume

Text: Municipal Gum and Stolen Car

Text Type: Poem and Short story

Currently in year 11 English, we are exploring Australian poetry and short stories. This week we were fortunate enough to unpack one of my favourite poem and short story combinations.

Oodgeroo Noonuccal is an Australian poet who fought passionately for human rights, using her mastery of language and poetry as a weapon against prejudice and discrimination. Noonuccal sheds light on the great inequalities experienced by our First Nations people, forcing readers to acknowledge the wrongs of our nation’s history and feel empathy for those oppressed due to colonization. This is particularly evident in her poem, Municipal Gum.

The symbolism of the municipal gum in the city street being imprisoned by “the hard bitumen around your feet” is a beautiful image to capture the feeling of displacement. The juxtaposition of the native gum tree in the city street forces the reader to reflect on the effects of colonization on the indigenous Australians. This image always resonates with me and is echoed in the short story Stolen Car by Archie Weller.

Weller’s story highlights the violence, danger and loss of identity a young impressionable farm kid experiences upon his first visit to the city. “But the tree and he are the same, out of place in this brick and bitumen world…Where is the soil that spawned their ancestors? Only bitumen and cement here now.”

The all- consuming and monstrous city is personified early in the story to signal to readers the adverse affects city living (symbolic of colonization and lack of connection with land) has on our indigenous population. “Buildings scar the purple, pregnant sky…the claws of the city rip open the clouds. Blood pours from the wound and night comes slipping over the too truthfully cruel city.”

Despite both texts being written over 30 years ago, the devastating effects of displacement and dispossession of our First Nations people are still rampant within our modern society. Hopefully, with more exposure to texts such as these, which aim to create understanding and empathy, the future of Australia will truly value the ancient roots of our municipal gum tree.

Ms Louise Hume
English Learning Area Coordinator
Louise_Hume@shalomcollege.com

Tennis

Our Shalom tennis teams attended the Queensland Secondary Schools Teams Tennis event on Thursday and Friday of last week in Rockhampton.

We had some great success with the girls team consisting of Matilda Gourlay, Frances Corpe, Katie Maher and Caya Akasaka Marshall defeating Toowoomba Grammar in the final to take out the gold medal and defend their title as Queensland Country Champions they won last year.

The boys team of Zain Ali, Lachlan Campbell, Taj Wilson and Nicholas Whitelum also played some inspirational tennis to take out the bronze medal in the Country Championship - an excellent result for such a young team. Lachlan Campbell also took out the male Sportsmanship Award.

Thanks very much to Simone Wilson who was the Manager for the boys team for her help and fantastic companionship over the two days.

Shalom Tennis Teams

Mr Brendan Maher
Tennis Coach
maherb@shalomcollege.com

Hockey

Queensland Selection

Tully Dorgan

Congratulations to Tully Dorgan on his selection in the QLD Hockey Team, being recognised for his wonderful performance after competing recently at the 12 Years and under State Hockey Championships. Tully along with, Connor Castelli and Freya Cook represented Wide Bay in Toowoomba last week. All displayed great determination and sportsmanship throughout the carnival.

The boys finished 5th while the girls finished 8th overall.

Tully Dorgan, Connor Castelli and Freya Cook

Benjamin Smith and Hailey Kendall also represented Wide Bay as umpires for the tournament, both proving they are very capable young umpires.

Benjamin Smith and Hailey Kendall

Mr Peter Robinson
High Performance Program
Peter_Robinson@shalomcollege.com

Uniform Shop Opening Hours

MONDAY to THURSDAY - 8:00am – 12:00pm

FRIDAY – CLOSED

Mrs Leanne Barker
Uniform Shop Co-ordinator
barkerl@shalomcollege.com
Phone : 41 558 121

Term Dates for 2021

Term 1: Wednesday 27th January - Thursday 1st April (10 weeks)
Term 2: Monday 19th April - Friday 25th June (10 weeks)
Term 3: Monday 12th July - Friday 17th September (10 weeks)
Term 4: Tuesday 5th October - Friday 3th December (9 weeks)

Parent and Carer Tuckshop Volunteers

At the start of each school year we ask parents to indicate their availability for volunteering in the College tuckshop.

Life is busy and forever changing, so for this reason we have set up a booking system that will not only accommodate our very much appreciated regular volunteers, but also families who may not be able to commit on a regular basis and who may have a day here or there throughout the year to come along and lend a hand and support our students. The beauty of this system is that you can select your day and manage your booking, so if something comes up, you can quickly and easily go online to reschedule or cancel. Your booking will generate a confirmation email with links to manage your booking, it can be synched with your calendar and an SMS is sent the day before as a reminder. Of course, we are also here to help - simply contact Shalom College on 41 55 8111.

For those of you who are regular volunteers your shifts have already been added to the schedule for this year and you should have received an e-mail for each booked shift.

Shifts last from 2 to 3 hours (school drop off to around 11.30 am).

No experience required!

No experience required!

Tuckshop

Breakfast

Breakfast is now available in the tuckshop for purchase each morning 8:00am – 8:30am.

Items include

Bacon & Egg Muffins - $3.50
Ham & Cheese Croissant - $3.50
Porridge & Cereal - $3 (self-service option with milk and bowl & cutlery are supplied)
Fresh Fruit - $1 (seasonal fruits such as; Bananas, Apples, Mandarins etc.)

Plus, the already available items of Yoghurt Pots, Up n Go drinks & Flavoured Milk

Students who train before school need to consider utilising the breakfast menu to replenish energy lost during their training sessions, however must be dressed appropriately before entering the tuckshop and must not be late for class.

Shalom Sunday Markets

Shalom Markets will continue to operate (with restrictions) until further notice!

• Fresh food stalls fruit, vegetable & local food products
• BBQ and tuckshop are operating, social distancing practices are in place
• Social distancing to include gaps between stalls (all outdoors)

SHALOM MARKETS 6AM TO 12PM EVERY SUNDAY!

Markets Tuckshop Roster

New volunteers are DESPERATELY required for the Markets Tuckshop or BBQ, if you have any queries please contact Leanne via email – barkerl@shalomcollege.com

Markets BBQ Roster

Community Notice Board

F45 - 2 Free Weeks Training

Christmas in July

Day Camp

Drivers College

Qld Government Autism Hub

The Autism Hub are offering a range of professional development sessions online.

Love Bites

Youth Support

Headspace

Link to Survey below

Find Out More below

Youth Champions Team

The Catholic Parish of Bundaberg

Office Hours: 9:00 - 1:00 Monday to Friday
Parish Office: Rossolini Place Level 1, 66 Woongarra St
Ph: 07 4151 6666 PO Box 79 Bundaberg QLD 4670
Email: sbundaberg@rok.catholic.net.au
AFTER HOURS: Anointing of the sick for medical emergencies
phone 4151 6666 and follow the prompt
UNDER THE PATRONAGE OF MARY MOTHER OF CHURCH

Current Parish Bulletin

Letter from the Bishop

Parish News and Updates

FOCUS by: Ann Sheehan

Liturgy & Sacramental Co-Ordinator

“I was a stranger and you welcomed me.” (Matt 25: 35)

Some of us may remember the morning we came to Mass at Holy Rosary church to find an obviously homeless man, dressed in rags, sleeping on the front portico. Mass-goers gave him a wide berth. Coincidentally the priest for that morning hadn’t turned up for Mass. This was Father’s problem. Where was he!? At one minute to the hour, the “homeless man” woke up and walked down the aisle of the church. Fr Chris, dressed in rags, had arrived. A very short homily was needed that day.

How welcomed does a person feel who does not look like us, sound like us, dress like us, or act like us? Imagine you are the stranger at Mass this Sunday. What did you experience?

Our parish vision statement proclaims that we “welcome and share God’s love respectfully, with all people” in our churches and communities. Hospitality is one of the goals that your Liturgy Team is looking at as part of the vision for the parish. How do we make hospitality our special care, as St. Paul asks?

The first and simplest step is to smile! I love this saying: “If Jesus is in your heart, please notify your face!” Catholics are sometimes described by our evangelical friends as “the frozen chosen.” Look around you. Is there peace and joy evident on the faces of your fellow worshippers? Is everyone singing, tapping their feet in time with the hymn, or, heaven-forbid, even swaying to the music? Pope Francis, in Evangelii Guadium, tells us that “an evangeliser must never look like someone who has come back from a funeral.” (EG#10) Where is the joy on our faces let alone in our hearts? “This is the day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad!” (Psalm 118:24)

Just a few thoughts: how do I welcome children who sit around me? What is my reaction to a crying baby? Where do I always sit? Do I know the name of the person who has sat in front of me or behind me for years and whom I have never met? Did someone welcome you at the door of the church as you entered? Do I shuffle along so that others may sit at the end of the seat? Is the church clean? Can everyone hear and see what is being said or sung? The liturgical ministers, including the priest presider, have an enormous task to make the liturgy welcoming to all.

Pope Francis points out that “when we gather as a Church, we are responding to an invitation to a party, and a party is always a joyful experience.” If it’s a good party, we never disrespect the host and leave early. We compliment the host on the experience.

Next Thursday morning and afternoon there is a gathering in the parish office of current Gatekeepers and Welcomers, those who, before Covid, stood at the doors and handed out bulletins and welcomed people to Mass. If hospitality is your special care, please join us. See the inside notice for details.

Smile!

"Enjoy reading this year's edition of the 'Good News Magazine: 2020 New Vision', a look at the year that was and how we adapted to a new way of doing thins."

Please click on the link to access the digital copy of the magazine.

Catholic Youth Groups

Triple P

The State Government is funding free access to Triple P, which is the world’s most evidence-based parenting program and has helped more than four million children and their parents around the world develop closer, more positive relationships.

Please click on this link, which will take you to the website where you can access information relevant to your situation.

This link will remain in our Newsletter with Triple P sending us regular updates and helpful tips.