Dear friends, 

A Holy Week Reflection:

Christians attempt to comfort sufferers by touting the benefits of suffering. “Suffering builds character,” we say. “I don’t want character,” says the sufferer. “I want relief.” Then come the inevitable questions: “Why does God let bad things happen?” and “Where is God when it hurts?”

The care that parents give their children suggests answers to both questions. For example, suppose a seven-year-old girl is taking her first ride on a bicycle. Her father, running alongside her, sees that she is about to hit a rough spot on the road but restrains his impulse to reach out and steady the bike. The dad wants his little girl to learn how to ride with confidence, so he does not prevent her fall. When the bike bounces off the bump, the girl panics, tumbles to the pavement, and scrapes her elbow and knee. The dad scoops her up into his arms and comforts her. Then he carries her into the house, cleans and dresses her scratches, holds her on his lap, and tells her a favourite story.

God is like that dad. He lets us navigate our way, but he stays alongside us. He does not prevent bad things from happening because he wants us to learn to deal confidently with hardship. But when we suffer, God scoops us up and stays with us. He shares our pain, sustains us, and consoles us.

That’s the message of the cross, and signing ourselves opens us to hearing it. God’s only Son became a man in Christ. In his human nature, God himself suffered rejection, humiliation, ridicule, abandonment, buffetings, scourging, crucifixion, and death. He embraced suffering as a man so that he could comfort us in our suffering.

When we make the sign of the cross we invite the Lord to join us in our suffering. We touch our forehead and move down to our breast, telling the Lord with this gesture that we want him to bend down to us. Then we cross our shoulders in a movement that asks him to support us—to shoulder us—in our suffering.     From The Sign of the Cross by Bert Ghezzi.

This week we have spent much time gathering as a community to pray, remember and reflect on the source and summit of our Catholic beliefs-  the Easter story. Katie and I have also spent the weekend and the beginning of the week reflecting on our journey with the PYP Program, whilst attending the IB Global Heads Conference at Singapore.  I thank the School Board for committing to our attendance at this conference biannually-  this year was particularly significant as the International Baccalaureate turns 50, and over 1800 people came together from around Australasia and the world to share their learnings and implementation of this.  This was also pertinent for Katie and I as we prepare our school for Evaluation in March of next year and School Registration in August of this year.   Our three new teachers in the primary school- Lloyd Scroope, Campbell Sloane and Yvonne Solly and two teachers from the ELC- Maryanne Winchester and Justine Angus- will also be attending the Making the PYP Happen PD next weekend in Sydney.  We also congratulate Lloyd and Campbell on the graduation from ACU, to be celebrate next Thursday.

Last night the P and F met for the second time this year-  much planning is underway for two of our major fundraisers this year-  the Holy Trinity Cook book and the School Fete. Thank you to those parents who have volunteered their help for the fete- please note there will be a meeting called soon about this.  A HUGE thank you to Lisa Bauer who has recently offered to help coordinate the Fete-  please consider helping Lisa with this task, or perhaps shadowing the committee this year, to learn how to coordinate a fete for the next one in two years time.  Next Friday 6th of April we will also be having our first Working bee for the year-  this will concentrate on two main areas-  the Kindergarten courtyard where we are designing some new play spaces, and the ELC.  We will also need help with a general tidy up of the school.  The working bee will be between 3:30pm and 6:30pm-  if you are able to stay for a little while after pick up or drop in on your way home from work, your contribution would be very much appreciated.  The P and F and school will also be putting on a sausage sizzle and drinks for families who are able to stay and help.  I will send a flyer home about this to remind families early next week. 

I hope your Easter will be a time of rest and reflection with our Risen Lord,

For those travelling, stay safe, and to all families, enjoy this break with your loved ones, 

Philippa