Dear Parents, Caregivers and Students,

Thank you to all families that attended parent- teacher interviews. I like to acknowledge and thank everyone for adhering to the covid regulations that were put in place to ensure a safe environment. Staff commented on how much they enjoyed celebrating your child’s achievements with you. I spoke to many families after their interviews and these conversations were both affirming and positive.

Also a huge thank you to all families who supported the Year 6/7 Sydney Camp fundraiser. We bought $5700 worth of fruit pies and pizzas! Together we fundraised $2800 towards next year’s camp. I acknowledge Tim and Julie Vivian from Country Bakehouse for their hard work in preparing the enormous amount of food as well as thank them for their support and generosity. I don’t know too many fundraisers where it has been so easy to make this amount of money.

Learning to take initiative is a behaviour that helps children navigate their lives with courage and optimism. Children do become happier adults when they learn how to overcome challenges and obstacles and to step up and take initiative and involve themselves in activities that are meaningful to them. Year 2 student Harriet has today cut her very long hair in order to raise much needed funds for JDRF and Variety’s Hair with Heart. Staff and students today, got right behind Harriet and helped her fundraising efforts by organising a Blue-Red casual Day. Harriet’s aim was to raise $1000, which she has already exceeded. Harriet’s initiative is a wonderful example of living out of Mary MacKillop’s “Never see a need without doing something about it.” Please join me in congratulating Harriet on achieving her goal.

This week Catholic Education South Australia has launched its new tag line: Raising Hearts and Minds. This sums up in just four words what Catholic schools do and how we make a difference to the lives of young people. At Our Lady of the River School we value the intrinsic worth of every individual. We don’t just know students by name, we know who they are by heart.

This week we have had some former OLOR students join us as part of their Year 10 work experience program. I love sharing my love for teaching with those thinking about joining the profession. Next week we will have two more students join us.

Tomorrow, on the 15th of August, we celebrate the assumption (the bodily taking up to heaven) of Mary, the mother of Jesus.

In the 1981 movie “Raiders of the lost Ark” Indiana Jones went searching for the Ark of the Old Covenant which contained the Ten Commandments (Law), a pot of manna (heavenly bread) and the staff of Aaron (symbol of Priesthood). You can read about the Ark – but not Indiana Jones – in Hebrews 9:4. The Ark was kept free from all defect and corruption, made from the finest purest materials to God’s exact specifications.

Mary, the mother of Jesus, is the Ark of the New Covenant. As the Ark of the New Covenant, Mary carried Christ who is the Law, the Bread of Life, and the Royal High Priest. Her Immaculate Conception and her state as ever-Virgin kept her free from defect and sin, preserving her throughout her life, until her death where she was immediately assumed to preserve her from any bodily corruption on earth.

Basically, since Mary was preserved from original sin by the unique gift of Christ’s grace, she was able to experience the immediate perfect union with her Son in heaven, never knowing, tasting or suffering from bodily corruption or decay in any way.

One of the things that sets us apart as Catholics from other Christian denominations is that we have a rich understanding of Mary and a tradition of giving her the honour she deserves. She can teach us a lot through her example of virtue and her special role within the Church.

Tomorrow, on the Feast of the Assumption, we celebrate the 6th birthday of the Our Lady of the River Parish. A mass will be held tomorrow at 11 am in St Francis Xavier Church in Barmera. A ‘bring your own’ lunch will follow for those who would like to stay for some reflection time.

Hail Mary!

Nanda de Winter