School Tours for prospective parents will be held on Tuesday 25 March at Our Lady of Mount Carmel school at 9.30am and 7.30pm and on Wednesday 26 March at St Anne’s School at 9.30am and 7.30pm.
CATHOLIC EDUCATION WEEK
16-22 March
Our three Catholic Schools in Sunbury: OLMC, St Anne’s and Salesian have worked together to outline our vision for Catholic Education at primary and secondary levels.
There has been advertisements in the local papers. Last Tuesday afternoon and evening, very good numbers of parents attended the 2015 Enrolment Information sessions where the three principals spoke: Noelene Hussey, Paul Hogan and Mark Brockhus. Applications for Enrolment for Prep at our two primary schools are now being received at the school offices until Friday 28 March at 4pm. The enrolment applications for year 7 at Salesian have already been received– 226 leaving only six vacancies at this stage.
To celebrate Catholic Education Week, staff and student leaders from our three schools are celebrating at the 6pm mass next Saturday at St Anne’s Church.
ST VINCENT DE PAUL SOCIETY: MINI VINNIES IN SUNBURY
This year, the Society of St Vincent de Paul will celebrate 50th Anniversary of its establishment in our parish. The Society is showing new growth, especially in our three Catholic schools. A conference of Mini-Vinnie’s has been set up at OLMC school with 38 members. Last Monday the Social Justice Group of St Anne’s school prepared 60 bags of sweets for the 126 guests at the Monday dinner run by Rotary. There is a Vinnie’s Conference at Salesian College.
PREP 2015 INFORMATION
Information sessions will be held for families looking to enroll children for Prep 2015 (Foundation Year).
Sessions will be on Tuesday 11 March at 2pm or 7.30pm in the Parish Centre, 101 Riddell Rd, Sunbury
KINDER KINDA PROGRAM
Our Parish and both of our Primary Schools are very happy to announce the Kinder Kinda Program starting on 29 April in the Parish Centre each Tuesday morning during school term. The Kinder Kinda program runs from 9.15am to 10.15am. Mums stay with their kids for the session, so everyone learns lots of stuff. We met with Natalie from Victoria University on Wednesday morning to discuss how this program can help the families and children of our parish. Natalie introduced the program by explaining that children- from babies to preschoolers- and their parent/ grandparent can attend the weekly sessions free of charge. The young teachers in training from Victoria University will organize the fun sessions and lead the families with educational play. The parish and schools see this as a great beginning for families:
- Youngsters access early childhood learning play for development of literacy and numeracy and motor skills
- Parents/ Grandparents get to meet other parents/ grandparents and feel part of the community
- Parents/ Grandparents will learn skills to help their children with early social and educational development
- Young teachers from Victoria University will learn how to teach youngsters and develop fun and engaging activities with age appropriate games.
We hope that you will support the program by letting relatives know as it is a really great community project which will strengthen the community support to all families.
34 other communities are already running the program with great success.
PREPARATION FOR SACRAMENTS
Parents of children in Year 3 or older attending schools OTHER THAN Our Lady of Mt. Carmel or St. Anne’s are invited to an INFORMATION and REGISTRATION session this coming Tuesday, 4 March at either 2.00pm or 7.30pm in the Parish Centre at which we will make arrangements for preparation to celebrate First Reconciliation later this year and First Communion in 2015. If you wish to be involved but are unable to attend one of these sessions, please contact the Parish Office on 9744 1060.
SALESIAN COLLEGE OPEN DAY
Salesians will be running their open day on Friday February 14 from 9am to 11am. Applications for Year 7 2015 close on February 28.
CHILDREN’S LITURGY
Children’s Liturgy will start up again from the 9 February. Please encourage the children to attend the 10.30am Mass to be part of Children’s Liturgy of the Word which is directly related to children’s faith journey. Children’s Liturgy is held every Sunday at 10.30am Mass during school term.
2014 YEAR OF GROWTH
This year our parish theme is Year of Growth. On the weekend of 15 & 16 February and 22 & 23 February, we will have our Parish Expo. In the foyer of St Anne’s church will be A3 pages with descriptions of the various ministries. Currently the number of parishioners in ministries is really good, but we are looking for new people to help out as well. It will mean our parish will continue to grow and for everyone to feel part of a vibrant and great community. We encourage you all to become part of at least one ministry and try it for just one year. If you like it, continue for another year but if you prefer to explore something else, you can! You can sign up on the A3 pages in the foyer, or be part of the Sign up weekend on 22 & 23 February and 1 & 2 March– Just before Lent! We will ask people at Mass to sign up for a ministry, then will contact them to advise of training for their chosen ministry. It is an opportunity to share our talents with others and receive the talents of others.
YEAR 6 GRADUATES
126 students from our two schools graduated at two Masses last Monday and Tuesday evenings. The celebrations continued in the Parish Centre with musical and computer presentations during supper.
SCHOOL THANKSGIVNG MASSES
Mass will be celebrated at 10am on Tuesday at OLMC Church and on Wednesday at St Anne’s church. All welcome to give God thanks for the blessings in the school year.
FUTURE CATHOLIC EDUCATION IN OUR PARISH
As our parish is to increase significantly over the coming years, the Principals of our present three schools (OLMC, St Anne’s and Salesian) and the coordinators of teaching and learning and myself as Parish Priest have met on three occasions for 12 hours to create a vision for the future of Catholic Education at both primary and secondary levels. We need to be proactive in accommodating the growth of students. The facilitators of the vision making have been very impressed by the cooperation between our three schools. We finalized the vision and set targets last Tuesday. The first initiative is a meeting of teachers involved in numeracy for Years 5 to 8 at all three schools on 10 December.
WELCOME BACK SALESIAN COLLEGE RUPERTSWOOD PAST PUPILS
You are invited to a Past Pupils’ Open Day on Saturday 30th November 2013, 10am–12noon.Wander the grounds, take a farm tour and enjoy a complimentary morning tea together.
Please RVSP to Lisa Cole, Alumni Relations Manager by 15 November 2013. LCole@scr.vic.edu.au or 9744-0000
WELCOME TO YEAR 1/2 SCHOOL FAMILIES
At 10.30am Mass this weekend, the children in Years 1 & 2 attending St Anne’s Primary School and Our Lady of Mount Carmel schools, will be attending Mass. We give thanks for the gifts these families bring our parish community.
BAPTISM OF SCHOOL AGE CHILDREN
A number of school age children will be baptised at the 10.30am Mass on Sunday 24 November, the Feast of Christ the King. If you have children who wish to be baptised at that time please contact the Parish Office on 97441060 or Richard Hallett on 0421471073 as soon as possible. Preparation will start at 4pm at St Anne’s Church on Wednesday 6 November.
Prayer For Yr 12s
God our Father, We pray for the students of Year 12, 2013. We especially pray for the well-being of all the students of Year 12 in our local community who now begin the process of journeying towards a new chapter in their lives. As they commence a period of examinations or finalising their commitments to their work places and certificates, we who have been fortunate enough to know them, ask for your guidance and support and your love and goodness be extended to all members of the class of 2013 over the coming final days, weeks and months ahead, as they make important decisions about their futures. As a parish community, we ask that the class of 2013 be blessed with the wisdom to make wise choices and clarity of vision to see the pathway that may lie before them. We ask that the class of 2013 be blessed with the success and rewards that comes with effort and commitment.
We pray that our Year 12s may never fail to realise that the intentions of many who place their trust in God to watch over and guide them, are not mere words but genuine heartfelt desires that they will always be happy and well.
We pray for Year 12s, that amidst all their fears about the future and the worry and stress of exams, that the peace and surety that can come from confidence in their friendship with Christ will comfort them. And we pray that the Lord be always at their side and may they continue to grow in his love. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
……Stephen Connelly, SCR
YOUTH TRIVIA NIGHT
Click image above for a link to a flyer
Friday 25 October in Parish Centre from 7-8pm. Games, prizes and food. No entry fee. Gold coin donation welcome. Colouring competition for lower grade children. Sponsored and organised by OLMC Youth Group. Contact Garnet on 0411 2586 428 for further info. All families with youngsters welcome.
(Also a Youth Movie Night will be held in the Parish Centre on Friday 1 November. More details to follow shortly.)
WEEKEND FOR CHAPPY
On Saturday 12 October some special activities have been arranged by the Sunbury Chaplaincy Committee to raise much needed funds for the Chaplains in the Sunbury Community. A sausage sizzle will be held at 6 different locations on Saturday 12 October. On that same evening a fun Trivia night has been arranged at Sunbury Memorial Hall with an exciting auction, major raffle and musical entertainment. A special collection will also be taken up on the weekend of 5/6 October to support the Chaplains in the Sunbury schools.
FREE COPIES OF SALESIAN BULLETIN
Free copies of the Salesian Bulletin are available from St Anne’s Church foyer.
ANNUAL PARISH ASSEMBLY
On the walls of our Gathering space are posted the reports and proposals of our numerous parish groups which were presented at our Parish Assembly on 7th September.
ANNUAL PARISH ASSEMBLY REPORT 2013
ANNUAL PARISH ASSEMBLY
Saturday 7 September, 2013
Over 30 Parishioners gathered in good spirit, commencing with prayer.
Michael McConville again facilitated with humour and encouragement.
Several apologies were noted.
Time was spent reviewing the proposals and outcomes of 2012 and the Parish Target “the people of OLMC Parish have become a Christian community in which we value one another and use our gifts for the good of all”
There were presentations from the Parish Primary School Principals. Noelene and Paul spoke of a program in collaboration with Salesian College that will enable the successful transition to Year 7, benefiting the students both socially and academically. The Religious Education Leaders, Rosalba and Colin with Richard outlined the RE program (based on the RCIA model), the Sacramental celebrations and the “Parenting in Faith” programs offered to parents.
Many of our Parish groups presented to the Assembly, outlining their work, plans and suggested proposals for the next year.
They included: Maintenance Team and Parish Centre Management, JG Community Garden, Knights of the Southern Cross, Justice and Historical Group. The Ecumenical group, Legion of Mary, RCIA, Baptismal Preparation Team and Emmaus Prayer Group were also represented. As was Bingo, Parish Web Page, Evergreens, RSJ associates, Children’s Liturgy and some of our Parish Neighbourhoods. There was a report on the Neighbourhood structure and Fr Kevin presented proposals on behalf of the Pastoral Team.
We heard of the incredible work of Saint Vincent de Paul, assisting their Sunbury clients with many hours of support and $8000 each month. The Conference is always in need of support with appeals and voluntary work.
The Youth Group are working to encourage parents and youth alike to become involved in liturgy and social gatherings.
Proposals, that were presented, to be considered by the Pastoral Coordinating Team include the financial support of an Overseas Project, Monthly Meeting Plan and a Parish Expo, maintenance issues of Parish property and involvement of Baptismal families. Other proposals suggested more Parish social gatherings eg picnic and morning teas hosted by Parish groups. Music in Sunday liturgies was discussed, as was the purchase of Liturgical banners for St Anne’s church.
A small group of parishioners gather monthly at Goonawarra Nursing Home for a sing-a-long with residents. Any musicians are warmly invited to join the fun.
All groups who were represented would warmly welcome any queries and/or new members.
Those who attended agreed that our Parish is blessed with many energetic and committed people who give freely of the time and talents for the growth of our Catholic community.
NOTE: A MORE COMPREHENSIVE REPORT IS AVAILABLE ON THE “PARISH REPORTS PAGE HERE.
Also a comment may be left at the bottom of this page if you would like to leave any feedback.
Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish Sunbury 
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