International Day of Friendship  - 30 July

“This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you. There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command… Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me.” - John 15:12-15, NLT

A Prayer for Friendship

Dear Lord, teach me to love others the way you first loved me. As I build relationships with others, let them see you in the extent of my generosity, the authenticity of my kindness, and the depths of my love. All of those things are only possible through you, the God who abides with me and calls me friend. 

Amen.

Sacrament of Reconciliation

The Sacrament of Reconciliation will take place this Sunday at 8:30am. We have three children from St Mary’s who will be making this Sacrament - Ethan, Thomas and Nace. Please keep these children in your prayers as they prepare for this sacrament. 

The Resilience Project

The Resilience Project began in all classes at St Mary's last week.  The Resilience Project is based on four principles - GEM principals:

Gratitude – Paying attention to the things that we have right now, and not worrying about what we don’t have. We practise this by noticing the positives that exist around us. 

Empathy – Putting ourselves in the shoes of others to feel and see what they do. We practice this through being kind and compassionate towards other people.

Mindfulness – Our ability to be calm and present at any given moment. We practice this through slowing down and concentrating on one thing at a time. This could be our breathing, completing a colouring sheet or noticing the noises we can hear. 

Emotional Literacy – Our ability to label our emotions as we experience them. Labelling our emotions helps us to manage our emotions (soften negative emotions and find positive emotions). We practice this by labelling our emotions as we experience different parts of our day.

This week we will introduce the students to the Principal of Gratitude.

For more information on the Resilience projects, please visit the parent page :

https://theresilienceproject.com.au/at-home/