Spreading the Good News

Jesus said, “my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink.

He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood lives in me and I live in him.”

John 6:55-56

No 89 Term 4 2013

Dear SRE Teachers, Helpers and Members of the

Clergy,

As I begin to write this letter it is raining very heavily

and has been raining since early morning. There will be

a number of happy farmers in our communities. It

sounds as though the rain has fallen in the northern

area on NSW so gives hope to the many families who

have been watching their crops starting to show the

need for a good watering. Last week in Dubbo the

stock sale yards had the biggest sale of sheep and cattle

they had seen for many years. Stock from up north

being brought down for sale as there was not enough

feed. We continue to pray for rain to revitalise the dry

land out beyond Nyngan and Bourke and further west.

Vicki and I have been privileged to visit you in your

classrooms. Each of you need to be commended on the

way you prepare your lessons. We can see that you put

a lot of prayer and time into following the guidelines

from the curriculum and planning what is best for your

group. The variety of activities help to engage the

children and reinforces what you teach.

During the last two terms Vicki and I have been

introducing the Year Nine students at St Raphael’s to

the Special Religious Education (SRE) Ministry. Two

students decided to take on the role of Students

Catechist Helpers and did the Introduction, Classroom

and Child Protection training. Both girls have started at

Mulyan Public school with two SRE Teachers.

It is a time to congratulate the two Students from La

Salle whose commitment to the SRE attendance of

lessons continues. I’m sure the two SRE Teachers who

attend Lithgow Primary would endorse this comment.

Vicki and I will be attending La Salle again, in October

to present to this year’s Year 9 Students an outline of

the SRE Ministry. This outline will give students an

idea of what is involved as a Helper in the classroom

and hopefully some might like to support as Helpers in

the State school.

Included in this mail out will be the SRE Return form

for each SRE Teacher to fill in and return to me by the

end of October, 2013 please. This information is

important for the Diocese as well for the CCRESS

Conference early next year.

These brochures will be distributed to the State schools

as a means of informing Parents/Caregivers and

communities of the contribution that Special Religious

Education makes in the New South Wales State

schools. There is a need to present this information in

an accurate and concise means so families can make

good choices for their children. A brochure has been

sent to the Coordinators. If you haven’t seen one ask

your coordinator or contact me. We hope to have them

in all the schools early next term.

The Year of Faith is coming to a close. The 29th

September will be dedicated to A Day for Catechists on

the 20th

Anniversary of the Publication of the

Catechism of the Catholic Church. Catechists from all

over the world will gather in Rome for the celebration.

This is a day to remember all Catechists – Catholic

Education, and other parish ministries – RCIA,

Sacramental Programs, Children Liturgy. On the 13th

October the focus will be on Mary the Mother of Jesus,

in the Church. The 24th

November will be the closing

celebration of the Year of Faith.

The SRE Update has been included

with this newsletter.

ST RAPHAEL’S CATHOLIC

SCHOOL COWRA

LA SALLE ACADEMY

CATHOLIC SCHOOL LITHGOW

SCH;;

SRE RETURN FORM

CHRISTIAN SRE BROCHURES

YEAR OF FAITH

SRE UPDATE

The Working With Children Check (WWCC) began on

the 15th

June 2013. For all Special Religious Education

Volunteers who have face to face contact with children,

registration will be 1st January 2014 – 31

st December

2014. It cannot be lodge beforehand. No fees will be

applicable for Volunteer Special Religious Education

Teachers/Helpers. New Teacher/Helper Engagement

Forms will be sent out with this Newsletter. I suggest

you wait until about April to register. All new people need to register before they start in the schools.

www.newcheck.kids.nsw.gov.au

Any questions please email me or ring me.

0407001196

DUBBO : Sunday 30th

November

at Christian Outreach Centre,

51 Thompson St,

9.30am – 3.30pm

Presenter: Michael Farbridge 07 34571089

Online registration: www.coc.org.au

then go to events page.

Archdiocese of Sydney 2010

Some children throughout the Diocese will be

preparing to receive the Sacrament of Penance through

the Rite of Reconciliation. Through this Sacrament we

ask for and receive God’s forgiveness. For the Stages 2

& 3 it is a time to reflect on the Sacraments they have

received. It is a time to reflect on the Bible stories of

the Parable of the Lost Sheep (Luke 15:1-10), and the

Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-24) Both stories encourage

us to repentance and portrays God’s forgiveness, love

and mercy. Also this term the children are encouraged

to pray through the formal prayers, and importantly to

pray spontaneously. The last couple of weeks of the

SRE Term we prepare for the Christmas Season

through the weeks of Advent. The liturgical Cycle is

Year A. The readings are from Matthew’s Gospel.

CEO Christchurch NZ

This term is focused on Luke’s Gospel Chapters 17 –

23, asking Jesus to increase our faith. This requires a

close personal relationship with God. The path of the

Gospel encourages and leads us to a spirituality with

God through faith. Faith helps to build trust. Jesus tells

the stories recorded in Luke’s gospel to show us that

every day activities, if we are committed and recognise

our relationship with God, will develop our faith for

which we give thanks and praise.

As for the Colal program the Advent readings are from

Matthew’s Gospel.

CEP Connect Works Cycle C2 2011

The reference is “Living in God’s Kingdom.” The

Gospel stories come from 1 & 2 Timothy, Matthew,

Luke, Ephesians and 2 Corinthians. The Children will

be involved in reading the Bible, prayer, giving thanks

and being joyful. While looking at how Kingdom Kids

live we ask “How might knowing that Jesus is God,

and will rule as King forever, affect the way we live?”

p151

SAFE CHURCH

AWARENESS WORKSHOPS

IMPLEMENTATION OF THE NEW

WORKING WITH CHILDREN CHECK

(WWCC

TERM FOUR OVERVIEW

OF CURRICULUMS

CHRIST OUR LIGHT AND LIFE

(COLAL)

SUNDAY SCRIPTURES ALIVE

CONNECT

Burst Christian Resources 2011

Mega Theme – God’s People. Listening and

responding to God. How we as children can make a

difference - Miriam. How we do great things with God

– David. The story of Josiah – 2 Chronicles 33 – 34.

The Christmas Story

TERM 4 2013

Tuesday 8th

October 2013

to

Friday 20th

December 2013

TERM 1 2014

Tuesday 28th

January 2014 Eastern Division

Tuesday 4th

February 2014 Western Division

to

Friday 11th

April 2014

EASTER 2014

Good Friday 18th

April

Easter Sunday 20th

April

TERM 2

commences 28th

April 2014

I have lent or misplaced a copy of “JUST

IMAGINE 1” Creative ways of presenting

Scripture. CD ROM from Mount joy

Enterprises. Written by Rina Wintour. It has

my name on the front of it.

I have been given a number of Bibles for

use in the schools. If you would like some

for your class use in Stage 3, Years 5 & 6 let

me know. Phone: 0407001196

NOVEMBER

1st All Saints

2nd

All Souls

21st Presentation of the Bl Virgin Mary

22nd

St Cecilia

24th

Christ the King

30th

St Andrew, Apostle

DECEMBER

1st 1

st Sunday of Advent

3rd

St Francis Xavier

8th

2nd

Sunday of Advent

9th

The Immaculate Conception

15th

3rd

Sunday of Advent

22nd

4th

Sunday of Advent

25th

Christmas Day

26th

St Stephen

27th

St James, Apostle & Evangelist

28th

The Holy Innocents

29th

Holy Family

JANUARY 2014

1st Solemnity of Mary, Holy Mother of

God

5th

The Epiphany

12th

The Baptism of the Lord

19th

2nd

Sunday of Ordinary Time

21st St Agnes

24th

St Francis de Sales

25th

Conversion of St Paul, the Apostle

26th

Australia Day

28th

St Thomas Aquinas

31st St John Bosco

GODSPACE

TERM DATES

LENT TO OR MISPLACED

BIBLES

CHURCH CALENDARS DATES

A multi-media lending library operated by

the Catholic Education Office, Diocese of Bathurst.

Tel: (02) 6338 3022 - If phone diverts to voicemail, pleases DO leave a message and your call will be returned as soon as possible. Email recentre@bth.catholic.edu.au Fax: (02) 6338 3001 P O Box 725 Bathurst NSW 2795 Gilmour Street Kelso NSW 2795

ONLINE CATALOGUE: http://library.bth.catholic.edu.au/

HOURS: TERM 4 – 2013: Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday: 9 am – 12 noon & 1 pm – 5 pm Tuesdays: 2 pm – 5pm - Outside these hours by appointment. - There are odd, unscheduled times when the Centre may be closed during standard hours. It is strongly recommended to telephone the Centre in advance to ensure staff availability, especially if coming from a distance.

Presented are a sample of resources and teaching aids

pertinent to Term 4, 2013 lessons. The four programs

used in SRE as relevant are referenced after resource

information in bold using abbreviations of:

‘Christ our Light and Life’ - COLAL

‘Sunday Scripture Alive’ - SSA

‘Connect’ - CON

‘Godspace’ - GODS

Advent ABCs : a reproducible activity book [book]

written and illustrated by Janie Gustafson. 28 p.

Includes copy masters. GENERAL

Forgive Us Our Debts [DVD] (Series: Animated

Stories from the New Testament ; 3) In this animated

version of two Bible stories, Jesus teaches his disciple,

Peter, about debt and forgiveness. Peter catches a fish

with a coin inside its mouth sufficient to repay Peter's

debt. Jesus tells a parable of a man forgiven by his king

of an enormous debt who does not offer the same

mercy to his debtor, instead sending the man to prison.

"To receive forgiveness we must also forgive"--

Container. "Nest Complete Learning System". GODS

Forgiveness [DVD] (Series: Brother Francis presents)

In this presentation, Brother Francis reminds old and

young alike about the great gift of God’s forgiveness

through the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Four parts on

the DVD are: ‘The Parable of the Tax Collector’ –

animated depiction of Jesus’ teaching about

repentance; ‘How to make a good confession’; ‘God is

a Loving Father’ – a musical reminder that in His

perfect love, God only wants to help us; ‘Praise God,

I’m Forgiven’ – a visualised song celebrating the gift

of God’s mercy and forgiveness’. COLAL / SSA /

It all begins with Jesus [DVD] (The celebrating

church ; disc 1) Series: produced by Suzanne Powell ;

directed by Madeline Powell. Lesson notes. GODS

The Jesus movie [DVD] / producer, Charles Meyer ;

written & directed by Wayne Zeitner. On cover :

Experience the birth, life, death and resurrection of

Jesus Christ. Back cover : ... transports children to

Nazareth for the story of Jesus' birth, follows his life

and miracles along the shores of Lake Galilee and ends

in Jerusalem with his arrest, crucifixion and

resurrection...simple, straightforward

narrative.Animated. SSA

King David [Big Book] writer, Paul Taouk ;

illustrator, Niel [sic] Curtis. Included : God chooses

David ; David and Goliath. GODS

Listen : 2 programmes for children on the bible :

Schema : Stories Jesus told [DVD] Episodes from

the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament) and ten

Parables from the New Testament including ‘The Lost

Sheep’, ‘The Good Samaritan’ and ‘The Pharisee and

the Tax Collector’. COLAL / SSA

Parables Jesus told [Big Book] writers, Catherine

Blythe, Sue Moffat, Tricia Murray ; illustrators, Geoff

Cook ... [and others]. Contents : The Prodigal Son ;

The Sower and the seeds ; The Good Samaritan.

COLAL

Parables of the Kingdom [Big Book] writers,

Catherine Blythe ... [and others] ; illustrator, Betty

Greenhatch. Included : the mustard seed ; the yeast ;

the treasure and the pearl. CON

Prayer with young people [DVD] Contains four

programs covering prayers of praise, prayers of asking,

centering prayer and where, when, how and what do

CATHOLIC RESOURCE

CENTRE

we pray. Each part is between 10 to 13 minutes long.

COLAL

To live as Jesus did [DVD] Three programs presented

by Gaynell Cronin : The Wall (gossip) ; The Kickball

Game (swearing) ; The Candy Store (stealing).

Colourful illustrations and live action are used to

explore these themes. GODS

The vineyard and the wedding: 4 stories of God's

kingdom.[Big Book] (Storyteller series) by Dina

Strong with pictures by Allan Eitzen. Large picture

book features: 'First, Middle, Last [The Workers in the

Vineyard]'; 'The Two Sons'; 'Come to the Feast! [The

Wedding Feast ]'; and 'Ten Girls [The Wise and

Foolish Virgins]'. SSA / CON

The vineyard and the wedding storyteller's kit. [Kit]

Contents: 1 session guide, 1 game board and pieces, 4

story cards, 3 feasts and celebration cards, 2 posters.

This kit is intended for use in conjunction with the big

book 'The vineyard and the wedding : 4 stories of

God's kingdom' which is also held in Centre's lending

collection. SSA / CON

Information about the centre, resources, contact form

and more can be found at the ‘REgathering’ site.

Hours of opening and advance notice of any changes

are at http://regathering.weebly.com/

Topical information about resources and web sites for

Christian education are discussed in the blog which is

searchable by a number of subject tags is located at

http://regathering.weebly.com/resources.html

A wide range of music CDs are available related to

Jesus’ life, the Bible. Advent, Christmas and more.

The Centre holds a wide range of picture sets,

children’s Bible stories, DVDs and can suggest web

sites for classroom stories and activities using

Interactive White Boards. Contact the Centre for

assistance or resource suggestions for your SRE

lessons.

DIRECTORY

Helen C Ryan

P O Box 720

DUBBO NSW 2830

HOME: 02 6884 5848

MOBILE: 0407001196

Email: hcryan@nsw.chariot.net.au

Mrs Vicki Mair

73 Freeman Circuit

BATHURST NSW 2795

HOME: 02 6332 2835